Weepy Ian O'Connor calls WFAN to defend his status as an ambulance chaser who should be revered

Mike and Chris on WFAN say Torre has been on the air with them for 12 years. They mention again several sources say the Ian O'Connor "scoop" from Steinbrenner recently was set-up by someone on the Yankee side, probably Randy Levine. (Torre appears to be aware of this). Of course it made an international celebrity of Ian O'Connor, and this is one of many reasons it should have been ignored. There's no need today for beat writers in baseball. They are unnecessary at best.

• RANDY LEVINE IS THE FACE OF THE NEW YANKEES. IN THE CURRENT DISORGANIZATION AND VACUUM, HE'S NOW THE GUY.

P.S. Michael Kay is very busy carrying water for Randy Levine right now on NYC local ESPN radio.

• RANDY LEVINE WENT OVER PETER GAMMONS' HEAD TO A HONCHO AT ESPN--IT'S SAFE TO SAY MICHAEL KAY IS AWARE OF THIS. GAMMONS WAS ROUNDLY SUBDUED AS A RESULT OF LEVINE'S ACTIONS (noted on this blog).

• UPDATE: SANDY KOUFAX WAS JOE TORRE'S FIRST PHONE MESSAGE.

UPDATE 2: IAN O'CONNOR AND RANDY LEVINE BOTH CALLED WFAN TO SAY THERE WAS NO SET-UP. FINE. WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT THEM TO SAY? Levine got what he wanted. I'M LOOKING TO PETER GAMMONS NOW, SINCE I HEARD HIM SAY YESTERDAY LEVINE HIMSELF WON'T BE AROUND LONG.

• Update 3: A weepy Ian O'Connor came on with Mike and Chris, and this is what I'm left with after his saying it wasn't a setup: His first duty is to keep his job. He is a glorified ambulance chaser, nothing more. He wants-- like his pals in the BBWAA--to consider himself a "journalist," almost a religious figure. All for sensationalist fluff that got him international celebrity. And he continued to try to bring the focus back to Torre. A disgrace.
• At one point he said, "That's our job," in the context of its unpleasantness. I've heard this defense before from BBWAA members, including one writer who's already in the HOF. First, he's using this phrase as a defense for his actions. 2nd, no one said he had to do this odious job--did someone force these guys to be international celebrities, with practically lifetime appointments to judge others and get paid for it? They actually believe they're sympathetic figures, these ambulance chasers who otherwise hang out where young men undress.

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