How long before Carlos Beltran makes a difference and will the Mets improve on the second half? (Photo LSV)

New York - Four days now for the New York Mets to think about what is ahead for the remaining 75 games. At the All-Star break they are 48-40 and four games back of the second place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.  They will take it, so will their fans.

This All-Star Weekend from Big Papi to Miguel Cabrera has been all about redemption. (Photo Bill Menzel)

Anaheim CA: The All-Star Game opening ceremonies began July 15, 2010 with Amber Riley’s (of Glee notoriety) version of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” throughout which the audience was treated to a montage of portraits and special plays by this year’s group of All-Stars. We panned their smiles. We got slow motion. The heartstrings were being worked as only baseball can do. But this years opening ceremonies would have been more cogent if Amber Riley had taken a crack at Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” instead of Aguilera’s “Beautiful” because this All-Star Weekend from Big Papi to Miguel Cabrera has been all about redemption.

The sign say's it all. (Photo LSV)

Anaheim, CA: Not everyone that came to this jammed packed Angels stadium today came to see the All-Star game, as approximately 100 protesters came to tell Commissioner Bud Selig that he needs to move the 2011 All-Star game out of Arizona.

The protesters a mixture of young adults, teenagers and seniors, Latino and Anglo came to tell the commissioner that Arizona should not receive any benefits from an integrated game such as baseball with approximately 30% Latino and foreign born players.

The 45,408 fans that were hurrying to enter the stadium for today’s game did not seem to mind the commotion and chanting of “Boycott Arizona” as this All-Star weekend has been more in the tradition of Southern California, layback and fun with an out side festival adjacent to the stadium and a more relaxed and almost party atmosphere. In fact many people walking by seemed to agree and gave the protesters a “thumbs up” sign.

Protesters taking the message to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig: Boycott 2011 All-Star Game. (Photo LSV)

This issue of the 2011 All-Star game in Arizona is slowly becoming a pressure cooker for Major League Baseball. The All-Star game is the “Crown Jewel” of MLB that generates millions of dollars in sponsorship revenues and to think that this Boycott of Arizona is not eventually going to transfer over to a call to boycott the companies that are associated with the 2011 All-Star game if it’s held in Arizona is naïve.

Stay tuned as this novella (soap opera) continues

El Jefe o El Boss his form gone but his spirit will live on (Web Photo)

George Steinbrenner did it best when it came to manipulating the media, all for the benefit of his beloved New York Yankees. It sparked interest and most of all ticket sales. Steinbrenner, love him or hate him, it always came down to doing what was best for the Yankees. In the end it was best for baseball.

One of many protest that the community has held at new stadium. (Photo LSV)

Advisory for Thursday July 15, 2010

Contact: Robert Carrillo, 4DSBXCoalition: 347-739-9825 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.4dsbxcoalition.org

BRONX COMMUNITY TO DeMAND YANKEES LIVE UP TO PROMISED Benefits FOR LOCAL Residents, BUSINESSES & Organizations

On Thursday, July 15th at 12 noon, the South Bronx community will stage a press conference outside Yankee Stadium with For The South Bronx Coalition (4DSBXCoalition) and attorneys from the Urban Justice Center to demand that team management deliver on its promises to support local residents, organizations and businesses. 

The group will deliver a demand letter to Randy Levine, President of the New York Yankee Partnership, which owns the team, challenging them to release documents tracking each commitment made in the 2006 Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) to transparently show whether they have lived up to – or how far they have fallen short of – those pledges. The Yankees’ CBA outlined specific support for local business development; employment opportunities for Bronx residents; environmental protection oversight; and resources for local not-for-profit and community based organizations. In particular, the team committed to hiring local businesses and residents for the stadium construction and to establishing both a one million dollar job training program and an annual $800,000 fund to provide grants and equipment to local community groups.  Almost $4 million is now at stake with very little if any accountability to the community.

Serious issues still exist between the community & the team. (Photo LSV)

“The Yankees may be All Stars on the playing field, but how Randy Levine and his partnership play with the South Bronx is real bush league", stated Robert Carrillo, the Coalition’s chairperson. “This is an uphill battle with the Yankees. They have, sadly, local politicians in their back pockets clamoring for a photo op at every opportunity. The truth of the matter is that all these improvements in the community, be they the Metro North Station, Mill Pond Park, even the 3 ball fields, which if the NYCEDC, Parks & Recreation, and the Yankees had done a hint of a community study would know the community had bigger visions for that space, are not intended for those in the community. They’re part of a larger vision by a few for what this community should be. We must fight on, and we will. Our differences notwithstanding, we offer our condolences to the Steinbrenner family on their loss”, he concluded.