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Yankees emerge as late issue in Coakley-Brown fight

E-mail|Link|Comments () January 18, 2010 08:00 PM

Robert Bukaty/AP

Red Sox great Schilling showed off his support for Brown at a rally Sunday in Worcester.

By Globe Staff

Republicans, Yankees -- what's the difference?

That's U.S. Rep. Ed Markey's attempt today to knock down perhaps the most unlikely issue to enter the last days of the intensifying U.S. Senate battle in Massachusetts.

Pinstripes entered the race with a comment Democratic contender Martha Coakley made on WBZ Radio last week referring to Curt Schilling, the Sox pitcher whose gutsy play helped give Boston the 2004 and 2007 championships, as a Yankee fan. (Schilling is supporting Republican Scott Brown).

Coakley corrected herself after being challenged by WBZ's Dan Rea, then later issued a statement saying she was joking.

Markey continued that line today when asked about the Sox-Yankees confusion by Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

"A lot of times we do confuse the Republicans with the Yankees,'' Markey said, a reference to how customary it has been in recent decades in the Bay State to send Democrats to Washington instead of Republicans.

Several polls put tomorrow's contest as a dead heat between Brown and Coakley.

The subject of Coakley's diss, however, has taken the hubbub in stride.

"It's not really that big of a deal," Schilling said (see one video clip here). "But again I think it's just another sign of her aloofness, or just the fact that she's very out of touch I think with the people."

tags Coakley, Scott Brown, Senate, Yankees