Holidays be damned, the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman knows that YES network hypocrisy doesn’t take a day off.
Man, that Johnny Damon Friday press conference can only be described as a vintage Al Yankzeera moment.
Watching Brian Cashman and Yankee prez Randy Levine step to the microphone and praise Damon only made me wonder how they characterized him in private moments when he was sticking it to the Yankees.
However, the most disingenuous part of this Phoney Fest, came when Al Yank’s chief Minister of Propaganda, Michael Kay (above), engaged Damon in a suck-up session, er, interview. This is the same Kay who in 2004, on his ESPN-1050 show, expressed outrage over Damon daring to have long hair and a beard. Kay called Damon a “caveman” and constantly put the focus on Damon’s appearance rather than his performance.
“Is this the type person you want representing your organization?” an indignant Kay asked in 2004. He ranted on, saying the Red Sox were encouraging “clubhouse chaos” by allowing Damon to wear his hair and beard the way he wanted to.
Of course, when you live in the controlled world of Al Yankzeera, freedom ain’t a high priority.
And yeah, that “clubhouse chaos” sure had an adverse impact on the 2004 Red Sox. Things got so bad Damon and his teammates actually won the World Series.