Pinstriped Purgatory: Weak connection to the community, Pizza Rats promotion doomed Staten Island Yankees Updated Feb 07, 2021; Posted Feb 07, 2021 The Staten Island Yankees played as the Pizza Rats in a handful of games last season. (Staten Island Yankees) Facebook Share By Peter Kropf | Special to the Advance (EDITOR’S NOTE: The author is a published sports journalist who gives readers a first-hand account of the Staten Island Yankees’ rocky relationship with the New York Yankees, its unprecedented lawsuit against MLB and the Yankees, attendance and financial struggles, internal strife within the franchise, and deteriorating ballpark conditions. Human-interest angles, such as COVID’s impact on team personnel, are examined as well.)