With Joe Torre safely gone, Sports Media Celebrities find truth serum about the Yankee who got rid of Torre--RANDY LEVINE

I won't take this from a human vat of margarine, Randy Levine who's also not a "son."

• Levine, supposedly in charge of the "business" end of things, had been trying to get rid of Joe Torre for years. It's nice, but not helpful for the "Guardians of the Game," judges of immortality and dispensers of millions of dollars, to now actually "report" on something important: The fact that while the stupid fans and players have been waiting around for years, Randy Levine has been running the show. These media celebrities from glossy publications some of whom appear on the YES Network, believe they're the "conduit" between the teams and the fans. Not so. I don't need a meaningless quote from what should be a private players' dressing room. The Randy Levine story will probably determine if I ever go to another Yankee game or even remain a fan. This huge story remained virtually uncovered until now--UNTIL MUCH TOO LATE.
• One exception, Peter Gammons mentioned Levine's influence earlier this year on an ESPN telecast, but his assertion was put down by the very powerful NY Daily News Sports Media columnist, Bob Raissman. Too bad:

• From NY Daily News, 5/21/07, Bob Raissman's column re: Gammons characterization of Randy Levine's power (which now looks correct) with which Raissman disagreed:

"All the talk about Joe Torre's Yankee future, or lack thereof, is like gum stuck to a shoe - annoying and hard to get rid of. The story goes beyond the obvious speculation. It's not good enough to just predict whether the manager will stay or get the boot.

• Who will make the decision? And who are Mr. Torre's detractors inside the organization? That's the direction ESPN's Peter Gammons was headed Sunday night in the fourth inning of Yankees-Mets.

Jon Miller asked Gammons if Torre could lose his job. Gammons said it's "not impossible" and reported that George Steinbrenner likely would have something to say following the Bombers' current series with Boston.

• "There are some problems (for Torre). Randy Levine, the club president who apparently is back in power, is no Joe Torre fan," Gammons said. "There is no question there is pressure coming from George Steinbrenner and some other people in the organization who question Joe Torre despite his resume of remarkable achievement."

Bringing Levine into the equation is curious. Or is it? In recent years Levine's role with the Yankees has been clearly spelled out. He is in charge of the business side, so it must have been surprising for him to hear he is back in power.

• It really does not matter what Levine thinks of Torre. Even in Steinbrenner's weakened state, he - or the family member running the Yankees that particular day - is not going to place an urgent call to Levine and get him involved in pure baseball decisions.

For Gammons to leave the impression Levine has enough juice to pull the plug on Torre is a huge reach. As usual, there could be more here than meets the eye, ear, nose or throat."

• (Unfortunately, it turns out Gammons was right). sm

Raissman: "For many years - and this is not a well-kept secret - there has been animosity between Levine and Gammons. They don't speak. The bad blood came as a result of Levine taking issue with a Gammons report about the Yankees acquiring a player for major dough. Levine called an ESPN executive directly, telling him Gammons' report was not accurate.

Needless to say, Gammons was not thrilled about this.

So, could Gammons' attempt to cast Levine as the heavy in this Torre drama be payback for Levine showing him up, and going over his head?"

• Reposted here 10/13/07 and today 10/18/07.

So Gammons had the goods on Levine, but his info didn't receive the attention it should have.

• The point is, I would've walked around New York carrying a sign "Randy Levine is trying to get Joe Torre fired" for the past few years if I'd known the seriousness of the situation. Again, I don't need meaningless quotes from a smelly locker room from celebrity baseball writers. The topic of Randy Levine might've been an "inconvenient truth" for the Guardians of the Game.

(sm)

• Story from the safely ensconced YES NETWORK celebrity, Tom Verducci, SI.com, 10/18/07, an interesting read, but much too late. "Yanks Have Blood on their Hands."

Then we have the AP story which completely misses, never mentions Randy Levine: AP Sports columnist Litke, published on SportingNews.com, "Boss and His Boys Chase Off the Guy They're Looking For." (He's probably also a voting member of BBWAA). Keeper of the truth.

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