Help Wanted: Media Trainer and Publicist For Yankee Executive With Oral Diarrhea

This is an awkward moment in NSI history - two authors of the blog penning a similar post at the same time. Here is another take on today's Randy Levine media meltdown:

On the day that the Red Sox and Yankees renewed their famous rivalry, Yankee President Randy Levine had another franchise an entire league in his cross-hairs. Proving yet again that he is completely out of touch with the general public, Levine thought that completely ripping Major League Soccer and their commissioner would be the best way to respond to criticism about empty seats at the new Yankee Stadium. As quoted by the AP, Levine lashed out:

"Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke," Levine said Friday. "We draw more people in a year than his entire league does in a year. If he ever gets Major League Soccer into the same time zone as the Yankees, we might take him seriously.

"Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees. Even he wants out of your league."

While we can't argue the veracity of Levine's statement, we can easily question his choice of targets. Don Garber, the commissioner of a failing league, was simply lamenting the empty seat issue, saying "It's incomprehensible that you watch a game, and there will be front-row seats empty." Don Garber might be the commissioner of a sports league, but his sentiments very well could have been those of any Yankee fan - from superfan Freddy "Sez" to any one of the writers here on NSI.

The problem is, Randy Levine, Lonn Trost, and most of the other high level executives representing the New York Yankees are completely out of touch with the average Yankee fan. We're one bad interview away from Levine or Trost taking a page out of former Motorola CEO Ed Zander's book and saying "I love my job, I hate my customers [fans]."

It seems that evert time Levine is quoted, he is vehemently refuting someone else's critical statement . Levine is on the defensive at all times, and he is making the New York Yankees look bad. He even responded to a crazy idea that we shared with Richard Sandomir of the NY Times, suggesting that the Yankees tear down the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar.

The time has come for the Yankees to reel Randy Levine in by hiring a media trainer to work with him around the clock. Until he learns the proper way to conduct an interview, the Steinbrenners should ban him from speaking to the press. After the training is over, the Yankee should hire a publicist for Levine who will stay by his side at all times that there is even a remote chance of him speaking to the press.

The New York Yankees are the most famous franchise in sports and are worth $1.5 billion. When will their upper level executives stop making asinine quotes to the media as if they are cocky ivy league graduates running a startup?