Cory Lidle's Last Public Interview on WFAN

Deceased Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle's last public words were made calling into WFAN to defend himself on Monday.

In an unusual move for an athlete, Lidle phoned WFAN after being informed that Mike Francesa and Chris Russo were criticizing him for newspaper quotes that the radio hosts thought slighted the job Joe Torre did in the Yankees' ALDS loss to the Tigers.

"What I wanted to do is call in and defend myself for what you guys think I said," Lidle said on the air.

"I'm sitting here trying to enjoy my day in New York and I get a text-message from a friend of mine that says, 'You better call and defend yourself,' " Lidle said.

Russo retorted that no Yankee should enjoy the day in New York, because the "Yankees just got embarrassed."

Russo added that if "I am a Yankee, I am not enjoying any day in New York."
Lidle responded, "I have friends here. I am not allowed to go and enjoy this day in New York?"

Lidle continued, "I want to win as much as anybody. What am I supposed to do, cry in my apartment for the next two weeks?"

Lidle ended the interview by declaring, "On the record, I think Joe Torre is the man for this job and I'll leave it at that."

When the news broke yesterday, Russo said, "It is unbelievable. I am as shocked as I've ever been on the radio here."

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