Peter Rosenberg appears to have backtracked after his fiery debate with Michael Kay.
On Wednesday’s edition of “The Michael Kay Show,” the two New York sports commentators erupted at one another when Rosenberg accused Kay of making excuses for the Yankees, who have underperformed expectations by a considerable margin this year.
But Thursday’s broadcast saw Rosenberg strike a different tone, reminding fans that Kay operates in a unique position as both the Yankees’ play-by-play man and an opinionated commentator.
“Michael’s in a very tough spot, and I think the listeners really take it for granted,” Rosenberg said. “And I understand why. Who relates to being the announcer of the New York Yankees? I get it, I don’t even relate to it. But because I’m close with him, I’m able to see why these positions are really hard.
“Either that, Don, or Michael does it to himself because he naturally ends up in this explanation role,” Rosenberg added.
Kay and Rosenberg kicked off a war of words on Wednesday because Kay said he thought the Yankees saw themselves as “better than a .500 team” last offseason, which resulted in the team only making a few additions in the re-signing of Anthony Rizzo and the deal for Carlos Rodon.
“I think they thought they were going to be a lot better, but now we see the flaw in that,” Kay said.
“I’m just being honest: This does sound sort of like excuse-making,” Rosenberg hit back.
Kay wasn’t a fan of that idea.
“I don’t give a crap what it sounds like!” Kay retorted.
“I’m telling you the reasons why it happened. If you people want to say that I’m making excuses, I don’t care anymore! I’m telling you the truth here. If you think it’s making excuses, good, go crap in a lake!”
The duo also got into about the Yankees’ ALCS berth last season, with Kay using the appearance as an example that the Yankees don’t always get it wrong — while Rosenberg pointed to the Astros’ 4-0 sweep as an indication that they didn’t deserve to be there.
The Yankees have fallen to 60-61, the latest in a season they have been under .500 since the 1995 team.
They sit 6 and 1/2 games out of the Wild Card and kick off a pivotal three-game set against the Red Sox Friday night.