Yankees don't have players doing spots on ESPN 1050 et al.--Neil Best, Newsday

"It long has been a battlefield in the local sports talk radio wars: Sign players for paid spots and hope they attract attention (and perhaps listeners), or at least show up on time.

• Whatever the pros and cons, the Yankees do not want any part of it. Joba Chamberlain found that out when he came within a midge's whisker of signing up for a weekly spot on Michael Kay's ESPN 1050 show, which recently added controversy-in-waiting Billy Wagner.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman nixed the idea. Turns out such gigs are a Yankees no-no. "It's a policy I've had in place for a long time now," he said before Monday's mist-out. "We should speak with one voice, whether it is the manager or general manager. They can speak postgame or pregame or in their normal interview process but not have a regular schedule."

• (Asked about being denied a place on Kay's show, Chamberlain said he was not aware of any such deal. Strange. Maybe his agent worked on it without telling him.)"...

(P.S. The sport is turning itself into a flea-bitten clown carnival with barkers around every corner. It is too much and will backfire on the whole industry). sm

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