Yankees' Lonn Trost Claims Poverty To Hide Documents

The New York Yankees have been, are and most likely will continue to be baseball's richest team with enough cash to buy an unending stream of talent. Money has never been an issue for Steinbrenner's team and with billions in public aid (whether the public knew about it or not) the Yanks cut costs on their new stadium. Yet when Assemblyman Brodsky questioned Lonn Trost about the communiques surrounding the deals made with city and state officials, Trost complains that it would be too expensive to get everything together.

From The Times-Union:

Lonn Trost, chief operating officer of the New York Yankees, dug in, so to speak, under questioning from state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky. The ball club itself was in Cleveland on Monday. The New York action took place in state Supreme Court in Albany.

Mr. Trost went for the bottom line, uttering the figure $5.5 million. That, he says, would be the cost of gathering all the documents Mr. Brodsky is trying to obtain about the publicly subsidized construction of the new Yankee Stadium.

More casual fans, less intensely interested in the inside baseball of stadium construction and other off-the-field arcanum, can be forgiven for wondering of Mr. Trost: Your point, sir?

There should be no point, because mentioning $5.5 million is nothing to that ballclub. With a team payroll of $201.5 million dollars (not to mention the front office or those that work in the stadium), providing those emails to Brodsky and the people he represents should not be a problem. Then when you factor in the billion(s) that the Yankees took from the taxpayers, we as New Yorkers have every right to see exactly how the deal was done.

Yankees Cheated NYC Out Of $11 Million

Eleven million dollars isn't really that much when you consider the billion dollar plus public financing of the new Yankee Stadium. Still, it was discovered that they improperly deducted expenses from their rent and are finally paying it back. I know most New Yorkers love the team, but the management of the ballclub is absolutely despicable.

From NY1:

The city comptroller's office said today that the Yankees improperly deducted more than $11 million from its annual rent bill for Yankee Stadium between 2003 and 2006.

An audit by Comptroller Bill Thompson finds the Bronx Bombers overstated expenses by more than $24 million, allowing the team to underpay its rent.

Thompson also says the Yanks deducted nearly $10 million in 2006 for planning costs for the new stadium, after claiming those deductions in previous years.

The comptroller says the team has agreed to pay it all back with interest.

How sad that even with all the perks they get from the city, the front office feels that they can abuse the taxpayers that come to watch their games (for ridiculous ticket prices too). It is nice that they are paying it back with interest, but only because Thompson's office audited them. It isn't like the fessed' up to it or anything. Now I'm waiting for Bloomberg to address the issue and punish Steinbrenner's crew, but I won't hold my breath.

Kucinich Goes After The Yankees...And The Mets

With the slightest amount of interest in Major League Baseball, a fan can tell you that the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox is legendary. However, there isn't much tension between the Cleveland Indians and the Yankees...or the Mets for that matter (Mets are in the other League, but that's besides the point). Regardless of team rivalries, Congressman Kucinich is leading an investigation into the construction of the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, being built simultaneously in the Bronx and Queens respectively.

From RawStory:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich is opening an investigation into perks for New York City officials being offered as part of a deal to build a new stadium for the New York Yankees.

Kucinich (D-OH) chairs a House Oversight subcommittee, and he has made similar inquiries regarding the New York Mets stadium, which offers similar perks for city officials.

In its investigation of the deal between the Yankees and New York City for land on which the new stadium is to be built, Kucinich's Domestic Policy Subcommittee found that the lease allows city officials free use of a luxury box in the new stadium and priority rights to purchase up to 180 tickets per game.

Hmm, city officials would exchange taxpayer money for special perks....in New York City of all places? Never! For the amount of money New Yorkers have put down for the ridiculously wealthy Yankees is obscene even without the perks to grease local officials. If the Yanks get the additional money they've requested, public assistance for the team will almost touch $1.3 billion dollars. Oh and fans will still have to pay outrageous prices for seats.

We'll have to see how far Kucinich will go to stop the special favors, but don't expect a refund from George Steinbrenner for the costs of the stadium anytime soon.

Rudy Has A Hillary Moment...Yankee Style

As a loyal dyed in blue Dodger fan, there are certain things I am not allowed to do, like support the Angels and certainly not the Giants (I could tell you some stories but I wouldn't want to get in trouble). So when I heard that Yankee "fan" Rudy Giuliani was rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series I was a bit taken back. It was a pretty low moment of pandering even for Rudy.

From AM New York:

BOSTON - Sounds like a baseball flip-flop. Rudy Giuliani, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, said Tuesday he's pulling for their most hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox, to win the World Series over the Colorado Rockies.

"I'm rooting for the Red Sox," the Republican presidential contender said in response to a question, sparking applause at the Boston restaurant where he was picking up a local endorsement.

"I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't because I'm loyal to New York."

First of all, Met fans have nothing to do with Yankee fans. If you watch baseball in the New York area, you would know that there is no love between the two sets of fans. Rooting for a NY team is somewhat acceptable for a politician, but going for the Red Sox is sacrosanct here.

If New York gave Hillary hell over her baseball mishap, Rudy deserves even worse.