Hang on -- give me a second to remove my foot from my mouth.
I'm not alone in predicting the Yankees-Tigers series would go the other way, but what no one could have predicted was how poorly the Yankees would play after Game 1.
What happened to the bats? What will they do about their pitching? Who stays? Who goes? Yards and yards of newsprint will be filled with debates about what went wrong, who was to blame (wild guess -- A-Rod takes some heat) and how it can be fixed. I'll leave it to the real experts to spill ink over that.
The simple fact is that it's over. The Subway Series train barely left the station, and it was the OTHER team that didn't hold up their end of the bargain.
Has the Mets' path to a World Series just gotten whole lot easier? You betcha, although I won't overlook the Tigers and the A's as dangerous American League opponents. But those teams remind me much more of the National League teams the Mets have pounded on all year.
Let's not forget, too, that the Mets are missing two of their top three starters, and that Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds still might have something to say about who takes the NL East. Hell, Greg Maddux might have something to say about it too.
But I'm in shock. All of New York is in shock. The Subway Series dream has died. We'll continue to follow the Mets' run to the World Series, but our shift on the Subway Series watch is over.
I'm just wondering -- any Yankees fans out there going to root for the Mets now that their team is out? No shame in admitting it, who could blame you for wanting a New York team to make the Series? E-mail me or post a comment.
Comments (11)
I will admit it....My husband and I said yesterday that we will cheer for the Mets!!! When the Yanks lost game 3, I looked at my husband and said, "It's over"!! I had a BAD feeling all night and then all day on Sat... You can not just blame A-Rod. The whole team LOST!! Please don't fire Joe!!!
Hey guy--I am absolutely heartbroken. My beloved yankees are done for the season--must put yankee wardrobe in storage for another year.
Do you agree with "The Warrior's" comment on Yes network that the Yankees did not have the energy of years passed and they seem to treat the game as a business? It surprised me coming from a former Yankee World Series player.
What bothers me the most is this is fodder for the "yankee haters".
Count me as at least one Yankee fan that will be supporting the Mets. But, let's keep things in perspective. In an article entitled "Balance of Power Shifts to Flushing", Wallace Matthews wrote, "[s]aturday, the Mets erased any doubt about which is the best baseball team in town. After all, they're the only team still playing baseball." Irrefutable logic to be sure (cough, cough) Except, does anyone doubt that the Yanks would have swept the Dodgers? Has any fair-minded Met fan wondered aloud about whether the Mets could have beaten the Tigers? Look, the Mets have the second best lineup in the game and they deserve credit and all of the praise they're going to receive over the next few weeks. But, let's not lose sight of the fact that they feasted on inferior competition in the NL. It's not even clear that they are a playoff team in the AL. Sure, I'll be supporting our friends in Queens for the next few weeks (we hope) but let's not make broad pronouncements about a shift in the balance of power in New York.
But the Mets didn't play the tigers and the Yankees didn't play the Dodgers. Would the Yankees have beaten L.A.? No, not if they scored six runs in three games like the Yankees did against Detroit in Games 2-4. Besides, the Yankees' problem isn't talent -- it isn't even about their opponent -- it's all about what's wrong with their team chemistry, coaching, and richest player.
Yankee Apologist, no Mets fan will take you seriously as long as you say things like that. "Does anyone doubt that that Yanks would have swept the Dodgers?" Guess what, nobody (including me) doubted that the mighty Yankees would SWEEP the Tigers and storm through the playoffs....but look what happened. Perhaps if you simply said "Congratulations Mets," then you would be taken seriously.
Yankee Apologist as a proud Met fan, I can honestly say please take your backhanded compliments and wait til next year. Please do not root for my team.
The match ups are what they are. The Mets took out a VERY hot Dodgers team, that ran into the playoffs with monster winning streaks. The Tigers were overlooked by a group of players who failed to realize that Detroit was one of the best teams in Baseball for a large chunk of the season. When you looked into that Yankee dugout during this series not a single player had any intensity. Aside from the pinstripes NOTHING was a reminder of the teams from the late 90's. However game 3 of the NLDS in LA, proved why the comment of the best TEAM in baseball risides in queens rings very true. A 4-0 lead evaporates into a 5-4 defecit. The home crowd is ROCKING and not 2 3 or 4 innings later, but the very next inning the Mets rally to take back the game for good. That (as much as I hate to say it) was very Yankee-esque. That was reminiscent of a dominant squad that USED to play in the Bronx. LET'S GO METS!!!
I really try to like the Mets (who could dislike David Wright and Willie Randolph?) but Mets fans always manage to sour me on the team. Sure, many Yankee fans have been arrogant and boastful over the last decade. But, I'd take arrogant and boastful any day over bitter and delusional. Have you even watched an AL game this year? Compare the Dodgers lineup/staff to the Tigers and let me know which team you'd rather play. So, let my try this again: Mets good. But, Mets play weak competition. If Mets play competition that Yankees play, they don't win. You guys follow?
Good luck to the Mets. But I don't believe ANY AAA Plus (aka NL) team can beat ANY AL team in a 7 game series. The Mets are just the best of the bad.
"Bitter?" What are we bitter about? We have absolutely nothing to be bitter about. I think you'd better take a look in the mirror there. "If Mets play competition that Yankees play, they don't win." Now THAT sounds like bitterness.
That is just what all you Yankee fans are telling yourselves to make yourselves feel better.
Al Competetion. Are you guys smoking crack? The Devil Rays, Orioles, Red Sox? Please. Other than the AL Central, there is nothing special here. The Yankees are not a 'team', and Jeter is a selfish man; not a captain. At least they listened to and respected Munson, although most did hate him.
On the off chance people are still looking at this entry, I thought I would direct you to some independent evidence of my claim:
http://www.diamond-mind.com/newsletter/en060817.htm#bigger
(check out the part entitled: Who's the Senior Circuit Now?)Bottom line is that if you accept Diamond Mind's analysis, the Mets win around 87 games in the AL East. That makes them the Blue Jays folks (not even a playoff team in the AL).
Tom Verducci wrote an article within the last year for SI looking at pitchers that switched leagues. He found that a pitcher moving from the AL to NL could expect to see a 1 run decrease in their ERA (i.e. Clemens posting a 3.91 ERA in 2003 with the Yanks and a 2.98 ERA with the Astros a year later; your boy Petey posting a 3.9 with the Sox in 2004 and then a 2.82 with the Mets last year;Bronso Arroyo: 4.52 in Beantown to a 3.29 in Cincy; or my favorite, Josh Beckett going from a 3.38 with the Marlins last year to a 5.01 this season).
So, let's be a bit more careful when we say that the NL actually does provide the same level of competition.