NY paper slams 'chicken' Ohtani for snubbing Yankees

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was gracious in defeat Sunday after learning that his club was out of the running for Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani, hailing the 23-year-old as an exciting young talent and wishing him the "best of luck."

The folks at the New York Daily News weren't nearly as cool about the whole thing.

In response to Ohtani's decision, the newspaper called the two-way phenom a "chicken" on the highly critical front page of Monday's paper while also characterizing his decision as a "snub" and accusing him of being scared of the "big city."

Ohtani, who has reportedly narrowed his list of prospective teams down to seven, will likely end up with a West Coast club in a smaller market, Cashman suggested.

"I started getting a feel that wasn't good a few days ago," Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch on Sunday. "I know that our presentation was excellent. The feedback from that was outstanding. I did get a sense that I can't change that we're a big market and I can't change that we're in the East. That was something that, presentation or not, might be difficult to overcome."