Jeter colludes with Yankees -- no need for Russian middle man

         

Jeter can walk into any sports bar in Manhattan tonight and everyone will offer to buy him a drink -- Mr. Yankee has just given his main allegiance a huge Christmas present with Giancarlo Stanton -- setting up what may be a dynasty that will rule baseball for the next decade. I've just tweeted to Red Sox, Blue Jays, TB Rays and Orioles that they must demand MLB stop this outrageous collusion. This summer I re-read (for the first time in decades) The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. I'd forgotten the final twist: (Spoiler alert!) The devil is a Yankees fan.
       The people who are really to be blamed here are the leaders of the MLB. First, they wanted to get rid of the Montreal Expos and so they handed the Expos cash-poor owner the gift of the Marlins at a big discount. Fast forward to 2017 and MLB rejects local groups like Jeb Bush and others from new ownership -- people that would have to walk into Miami restaurants and look fans in the face. And instead has brought in a Naples investor (who's had to borrow a lot of money to do the deal) and Mr. Yankee (who's making sure his primary loyalty gets his help).
      One key detail -- within 24 hours of Stanton giving Marlins a list of four teams, Jeter had done a deal with Yankees -- the most important deal in Marlins history.  No complex negotiations, just here's your Christmas gift.