The Yankees were desperate to get younger. Meanwhile, the Jackie Robinson West All-Stars were in need of a complete image makeover. The All-Stars needed some help, preferably from a marginal power hitter who could do a terrible job of mentoring their younger players.
That’s when a deal came together.
After a quick call from Brian Cashman to the now-vacant manager spot for the dethroned Little League World Series champions, the trade happened. The deal makes almost too much sense for both sides. The All-Stars get a player whose body can probably handle the rigorous Little League schedule of one game on Saturdays and a Wednesday afternoon practice followed by ice cream. Meanwhile, the Yankees get to dump salary, which they’ve suddenly decided is important, as well as get somebody not named Alex Rodriguez.
As for the former Yankee great, he couldn’t be happier. After all, with the post-season ban in place on Jackie Robinson West, there’s no pressure on A-Rod to perform whatsoever, and that’s typically when he does best, in meaningless exhibition and regular season games. Furthermore, almost all of the players are driven to the games by their single mothers, and if there’s one thing that A-Rod cares more about than baseball (and money, blondes, tanning creams and glossy mirrors), it’s single mothers. Also, and this is just a huge financial perk for the 20-year MLB veteran, it’s infinitely less expensive to pick up on a waitress at a Chuck-E-Cheese than it is to fly in blonde dancers from the greater Tampa Bay metro area.
Although the undisclosed player that would go to the Yankees had yet to be discussed, it was presumed he would hail from a town quite a few miles away from the Jackie Robinson West All-Stars, unless of course the redrawn neighborhood maps happened to include players from that district, especially if those players are hitting .350 and can throw a slider and a curve.
