Michael Kay expects to return to YES

YES play-by-play man Michael Kay's contract is up, so after a couple of seemingly cryptic Twitter posts about his future after the Yankees' regular-season finale, viewers wondered whether he might be on his way out.

Not so, he said before Game 3 of the ALDS Wednesday.

Kay said he merely had been thinking of a phone conversation with Knicks announcer and fellow Fordham alum Mike Breen in which they talked about how appreciative each is to have the job he aspired to when they were college friends.

"That was in my head after the last out and I just said, 'Thanks for 21 years of allowing me to do my dream,'" Kay said. "If it came off cryptic I apologize. It was more, well, I don’t know if 'melancholy' is the right word. It was just reflective."

Kay said he fully expects to return to the YES booth in 2013 and beyond.

"I have no concerns about coming back," he said. "I know they want me back and I know I want to be back. If everything works out when we start talking then that’s what it’ll be.

"We have not had one discussion about our contract, but I definitely want to be back and I’ve been told they want me back . . . It was erroneously reported we have had contract negotiations. We have not had one discussion about a contract – not one."

I ran into John Filippelli, YES' president of production and programming, before Game 4 and asked him about Kay's status. He pretty much echoed what Kay said.

"Michael has time on his contract," he said, referring to the fact it does not expire until mid-winter. "We are in the middle of a Yankees playoff run that hopefully culminates in a championship. We're hopeful.

"But right now everybody has a lot of work to do, and when the season is over we will sit down and work it out . . . Absolutely, I would love to have Michael come back. When parties each want to come back you usually find a way to work it out. We’re very hopeful that Michael comes back."