WFAN host drops ridiculous take about Yankees DFAing Aaron Hicks to copy Mets

You have to have been around this city a while to get a WFAN hosting gig, right? Theoretically, the people who gets those jobs are familiar with the local sports scene? OK. Answer this, Brandon Tierney. How often have the New York Yankees ever made a $27 million decision in response to something the New York Mets did?

Or, more specifically, how often have the New York Yankees made $27 million decisions in response to an impressive five days of Mets baseball?

Somehow, that's the way Tierney believes the New York baseball landscape works.

Despite the Yankees barely blinking through the first several years of Steve Cohen's ownership blitz, the WFAN host still managed to insinuate this week that Hal Steinbrenner bit his tongue and authorized the release of Aaron Hicks because, on some level, he was jealous of the Mets' "energy" and recent youth movement.

Never mind the fact that Anthony Volpe has been on the Yankees' roster since Opening Day, while the Mets dilly-dallied in calling up their top prospects like Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Mark Vientos. Never mind that Hicks was replaced not by a top prospect, but by veteran outfielder Greg Allen. Never mind that the Mets and Yankees have enjoyed a weird handshake deal not to get in each others' way the past few years because of Steinbrenner and Cohen's friendship (the Mets didn't interfere in the Aaron Judge chase for even a second).

Why let facts get in the way of a good story? Or, barring that, a really weird and nonsensical story?

Yankees DFA Aaron Hicks because they were jealous of the Mets, says man who lets Yankees live rent free

Here's what Tierney "wondered" on this week's show:

"The Mets are bringing up all these kids, Mets are starting to show a little zest, a little vibe. And the Yankees, outside of the mid 80s, very rarely ever react to the Mets. They do things they do for their team, and residually, for the fanbase.

The Hicks move, you would think it would be for the fans, but I don’t think that it was. I actually think they look at the Mets and Cohen and their payroll, and how they’re starting to get their mojo back, and I feel like on some level, they did it because they wanted to match the energy of the Mets."

Brandon Tierney

"You would think it would be for the fans, but I don't think that it was."

Just let that rattle around in your brain for a second. Getting rid of Hicks was an obvious baseball move. It has been for months, if not a full year. While Steinbrenner may have been slow to act, he finally relented in the name of improving his roster and chances of winning in 2023, while showing willingness to absorb a sunk financial cost.

If you believe that the Mets are the gold standard this season, then technically, any move at all meant to improve the Yankees' roster is a "response" to Cohen's bunch. But, considering the Mets are slumping and have only recently put together a five-game heater, it's far more likely Steinbrenner simply said, "Alright, we're getting our mojo back a little bit ... it's time to stop playing around here with an outfielder who spends more time complaining about his role than training for his role."

Steinbrenner made the Hicks move because it was logical -- and, yes, due to its logical nature, it made the fans happy. If you're Tierney and you sweat orange and blue, though, we understand why you might nonsensically deviate and see it in a different prism.