When news broke Saturday morning that the Yankees had won their arbitration case, I thought the only thing that meant was that Dellin Betances would be paid $3 million instead of $5 million this season and that was that.
But what unfolded over the next few hours was a war of words that has the Yankees organization drawing battle lines with its best player over the last three years.
Team president Randy Levine set up a conference call with reporters, the purpose of which is still unclear because most teams prefer to let the arbitration ruling stand and move on from what is generally an uncomfortable process.