I actually agree that Yankee image has been tarnished.

This is why Jeter is worth his salary even if his on-field performance diminishes:

"This regime has tasted playoff failure before. Yet there’s a difference coming off the Yankees’ pathetic offensive performance against the Tigers. The Bombers were humiliated in the ALCS. The team was booed out of New York. Instead of taking it on the chin and walking away the players whined, showing just how fragile their egos are.

They were shocked the 'faithful' turned on them. Was this a delayed reaction from the fans? Or was the level of disgust building before the postseason even began?

The empty seats at the Stadium during the regular season and playoffs do not provide conclusive evidence. That’s partly a residue of an anemic economy. Many fans cannot afford spending food or rent money on a Yankees game, even if the tickets are deeply discounted on Stub Hub."

I agree that the brand has been somewhat tarnished. 

It was also weird scheduling, a spoiled fan base who isn't particularly impressed by the playoffs anymore, and the negative aftermath of Jeter's injury.

 The ALCS didn't help, because it's the only time of the year that people are actually watching baseball games.  

 

The corporate crowd at the New Stadium backfired, too.  It's Saturday night, Jeter is out of the lineup, we can't name three players on the Tigers, ARod is hitting on that other lady: Let's go to a martini bar instead.

 

"The Yankees’ TV ratings on the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network are a better indicator of fan dissatisfaction. The Bombers averaged a 3.92 rating, down 8.3% from 2011 and YES’ lowest Yankees household rating since 2003. The nine-year low came during a season in which the Yankees battled Baltimore down to the wire to win the AL East, which should have driven the ratings to an all-time high."

The AL East's down-to-the-wire wasn't really as intriguing as Raissman seems to think (sorry, Bud Selig).

 

 I think the fans really like winning.  But, after so much winning, they get spoiled. 

The rivalry with the Red Sox was mostly absent, the rivalry with the Mets was mostly absent, and the other rivalries -- even down to the wire with the Orioles -- are fabricated.

"At the time we first reported the ratings drop, the thought was that more fans take it for granted the Yankees will punch their October ticket, so why watch? Considering the fan backlash and the Yankees’ reaction to it, maybe a negative perception had already caused these fans to turn off YES.

All of those old-grinder Paul O’Neill teams are now completely in the rear view mirror, finally replaced by a different breed of player, some of whom are perceived as selfish whiners. Players who went through the motions when their backs were to the wall.

How will this play on YES during the 2013 season? If the Yankees continue to be viewed as aloof and unlikable, if they give off an uncaring vibe, like Robinson Cano, the brand will be further tarnished. Like it or not, the current face of that brand is Alex Rodriguez."

The face of the brand is definitely still Jeter.  

 

Jeter's absence from Game Two certainly added to the foul mood (and the Bleacher Creatures oddly blamed Jeter's injury on Swisher, because of the botched fly ball in RF which extended the 12th inning).

As for aloof and unlikable players, I'm not sure that's affecting the ratings so much.  Cano has been aloof and unlikable for seven years in a row and the fans love it as long as he hits.

 

ARod may be a jerk, but he draws crowds.  Raissman said it himself -- the ratings haven't been this low since 2003.  No coincidence that ARod showed up in 2004.

So the ratings were high for a long time with Cano and Rodriguez, but it's the presence of ... ummm ... let's see ... it's the presence of Cody Eppley in 2012 that was the last straw?  I don't think it's quite that simplistic.