Michael Kay tries to unring bell on Anthony Volpe smear

Michael Kay is either a wildly reckless buffoon or a shameless shill who will carry whatever water you hand him.

Or maybe both! You decide!

The YES Network play-by-player/ESPN Radio host dropped a juicy nugget while on air Tuesday: Embattled Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe refused to play at second base while in the minors earlier this year.

Kay — who was a newspaper reporter before moving into broadcasting — did say “allegedly” and that it was not a good look for Volpe “if it happened.” But he also made it quite clear that he believed it did happen, saying that “enough people have told me that it was done.”

About that …

As we mentioned above: One of two things is true here.

Thing No. 1: Kay is a 65-year-old man who has been a member of the New York sports media for over four decades. He should be supremely capable of confirming any piece of potential news about the Bombers within moments. But he still went on the radio and talked out of his ass, making comments he knew would make Volpe’s already-difficult existence even more hellish, regardless of their veracity. Like the dumb Brian Daboll party kerfuffle.

Thing No. 2: Kay’s reporting was 100% accurate. But the Yankees are not happy that he put word out to the world. So they have pressured him to walk it back at the expense of his personal credibility, even though there is no way his falling on the grenade will do anything to contain the damage, It will likely make it worse, in fact.

Either way … Kay continues to be a joke. He says he will explain more on his Wednesday show, but why would anyone even want to listen at this point?

Hand-wave.