From Maury Brown’s Biz of Baseball

Executive Director Michael Weiner releasing the following statement, which reads in-part,

“If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.”:

“The recent passage by Arizona of a new immigration law could have a negative impact on hundreds of Major League players who are citizens of countries other than the United States. These international players are very much a part of our national pastime and are important members of our Association. Their contributions to our sport have been invaluable, and their exploits have been witnessed, enjoyed and applauded by millions of Americans. All of them, as well as the Clubs for whom they play, have gone to great lengths to ensure full compliance with federal immigration law .

“The impact of the bill signed into law in Arizona last Friday is not limited to the players on one team. The international players on the Diamondbacks work and, with their families, reside in Arizona from April through September or October. In addition, during the season, hundreds of international players on opposing Major League teams travel to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks. And, the spring training homes of half of the 30 Major League teams are now in Arizona. All of these players, as well as their families, could be adversely affected, even though their presence in the United States is legal. Each of them must be ready to prove, at any time, his identity and the legality of his being in Arizona to any state or local official with suspicion of his immigration status. This law also may affect players who are U.S. citizens but are suspected by law enforcement of being of foreign descent.

“The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written. We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly. If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.

“My statement reflects the institutional position of the Union. It was arrived at after consultation with our members and after consideration of their various views on this controversial subject.”

full article

***

I am, no fan of the law–but I am not sure what actions the MLBPA would consider, or if they would be in any way successful.

There have been calls for a boycott of the Diamondbacks, seeing as their owners are major supporters of that state’s Republican party, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily fair to punish that team’s players, including the ones at the lower levels of the organization (who we’re ostensibly trying to help) for political disagreements with the team’s owners.

I will, however, say that I hope that perhaps those most affected by it will make themselves heard come November.

Share on Facebook

Me: “Two packs of skittles, please.”

Clerk: “You like that candy, huh?”

Me: “You have no idea.” As I count my change, I realize that this is the same person with whom I talked about the parade a month ago “By the way, you know the Yankees got Granderson, right?”

Clerk: “Wha? I heard about the Bruney thing…”

Me: “Yeah. Curtis Granderson for Coke, Jackson and Kennedy.”

Clerk: “No way! We’re getting 28!”

******

So yes, the Yankees have, pending physicals, acquired Curtis Granderson for Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. Granted, the physicals are not guaranteed–and Arizona is also a player in the deal (they get Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy and give up Daniel Schlereth and Max Scherzer)–but the clerk’s reaction, wide eyed and “OMG MY LIFE RULES” seems to be a fairly common one amongst Yankee fans.

How do I see the trade?

It’s a little hard to contemplate Austin Jackson not being in pinstripes after we’ve kept talking about him for so long, but Granderson is, as of right now, better than Jackson. He (Granderson) had a bad 2009 so there’s a little risk in hoping that 2009 was an off year and not a downward spiral, but what it does mean is that the Yankees have that much more leverage in negotiating with Johnny Damon.

I’ll miss Phil Coke’s postgame interviews, but I will rest easy knowing that he won a ring with the Yankees.

The part of the deal that strikes me most is that Arizona is giving up Max Scherzer–who is young and with tremendous upside–for the inconsistent Edwin Jackson.

In fact, netting E. Jackson and Kennedy, it’s hard to see how Arizona benefits–although Kennedy, at least, might find much more success in an NL environment.

The other big news of the day is that Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN.

That’s pretty big. Also, one that came out of basically nowhere. However, it does mean that he is trending above Tiger Woods on Twitter, and that is, given recent revelations, a testament to just how big a name Gammons is.

Regardless of any perceived bias, Gammons is still an institution, and helped nurture the talents of many we read today. No word on if this is a retirement or if he is moving on to another gig, but wherever he goes, I do wish him well.

Share on Facebook

Is it too early for this? I think not.

Here are my top ten Yankee moments from 2000-2010–feel free to leave a comment with any you think I missed!

10. Subway Series A lot of you might argue that this is too far down on the list, but the 2000 Yankees team was perhaps better lucky than good. If the most remembered moment of that series involves Roger Clemens throwing the barrel of a bat at Mike Piazza, then, well, it’s probably not a very good World Series.

09. Jobamania Not since, perhaps, the coming of Derek Jeter had a Yankee rookie been so heralded. In one year Joba Chamberlain had risen from the lowest levels of the minors to becoming one of the most recognizable names in New York, and perhaps most of all, along with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, signalling the first ripened fruits of a reborn Yankee farm system.

08. Boston Massacre(s) A rare regular-season five game series in Boston in 2006 that saw the Yankees sweep will always bring smiles to the faces of Yankee fans. As nice as it was, however, the four game sweep in August 2009 may have been even more meaningful–the law of averages coming full bore after an 0-8 start and a sweep that included perhaps the best regular season game all year–a 15 inning scoreless affair ended with an Alex Rodriguez home run.

07. Jeter Flies into the Stands (h/t Matt Lorenzo): This one moment perhaps sums up what Derek Jeter means to the Yankees. During a regular season game in 2004, Derek Jeter attempted to catch a foul ball, and in doing so ended up diving into the stands along the third base line. He emerged bruised and bloody but never the worse for wear; the Yankees went on to win the game in extra innings.

06. Aaron Boone Plays a Pick Up Basketball Game At some point between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Aaron Boone played a pick up game of basketball and tore his ACL, and the Yankees needed a third baseman. Enter Alex Rodriguez. Fans love him or hate him, but his mark on the team this decade–from playoff goat to playoff hero, from HAH! to Cynthia to Madonna to Kate, from hip surgery to 500 home runs, his mark on the team is indelible.

05. Mariano’s 500th save…and first RBI It might be this moment, much more than the 2000 World Series and even more than the Luis Castillo dropped pop up that best exemplifies the differences between the Yankees and the Mets. More importantly, it exemplifies just how much Rivera has meant for the Yankees–whatever the fault with the save statistic, only one other pitcher in MLB history has that many, and unlike Rivera, he does not have a stellar postseason record. Every year this decade Yankee fans appreciated Mo just a little more and in 2009, he was the only closer not to blow a lead in the postseason. It’s not a coincidence.

04. Babe, Bucky, Boone, any Questions? One swing on an October night in 2003 summed up everything it meant to be a Yankee, and everything that, until 2004, it meant to be a Red Sox. Eighty-four years, summed up in ball that sailed over the left field fence. Never mind the ultimate consequences, that one moment, those few minutes–if one ever asks you why you are a Yankee fan, just find a video of that swing.

03. Nine Innings From Ground Zero. Nevermind the ultimate result of the 2001 World Series–what matters is that in October 2001, the Yankees played. They fell behind Oakland two games to none and then won three straight, partially due to perhaps the greatest play of Derek Jeter’s defensive career; they beat the 116-win Mariners in a five game ALCS (remember the No-game-six chants?), and then, most remarkably of all, they managed to perform the same feat in back-to-back World Series games: Tying each game with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Even today, so many years later, no one in New York will be surprised at all when you tell them that it was Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius that hit those home runs. The most chilling moment, however, may not have been the home runs, but instead when, in game five, the entirety of the Stadium started chanting Paul O’Neill’s name, a moving send off to one of the Yankees’ most beloved right fielders.

02. Goodbye, Hello I must confess, if you had told me as recently as 2005 or 2006 that the Yankees would ever leave the old Stadium, I would not have believed you. Still, despite the flaws, they pulled it off as well as such things can be pulled off–the farewell ceremonies were done while the Yankees were still in the playoff hunt, they got the glory of one more All Star game in New York City, Mariano Rivera threw the last pitch, and then, when they moved across the street, they won it all in year one. The old Stadium was not baseballl’s cathedral because of its aesthetics; it was baseball’s cathedral because of everything that happened on the field. If 2009 is any portent, the ghosts moved across the street, and the Yankees wasted no time in Christening their new digs.

01. 27 This isn’t much of any debate. The Yankees won two World Series titles in the decade, and they actually won more games when they missed the playoffs in 2008 than they won in the 2000 season. In 2009 the Yankees were the best team in baseball, played like it, and had a postseason to remember. Whether it was Alex Rodriguez carrying the line up on his back through the ALDS and ALCS, Matsui’s rampage in the clincher or Mariano Rivera simply playing G-d, the 2009 World Series may very well be the most satisfying World Series for Yankees fans since the 1996 team upset the defending Atlanta Braves.

Share on Facebook