After dominating the New York baseball landscape for the better part of 25 years, the New York Yankees now look like a team at the edge of a steep cliff.
There is a momentum shift that is not going unnoticed by both fans and media alike where the Yankees and those upstart New York Mets are concerned.
The Mets have been the brunt of many jokes when it comes to their ever-shrinking payroll, and most of it is warranted and justified. But what exactly has a $200 million dollar payroll done for our crosstown rivals who now look like they are on the ropes and going down for the count halfway through the month of May?
I offered one troll who came to our game thread mocking the Mets during the first game, the following retort:
“Here is a one-question Baseball IQ Test: Going forward which organization, minors included, has the best chance of sustainable success? The Mets or Yankees?”
Not only did he not reply, he never came back.
While as Mets fans we live and die with every win and loss, something that has gone unchanged since the mid-seventies for the die-hards, I think most of us know full well where both teams are heading.
The Yankees spent an incredible $500 million+ dollars at free agency this winter and in doing so they became the oldest team in the league – and whether they improved anything – well that’s still up for debate.
But looking at Joe Girardi squirm, grimace and sigh, and watching the Yankee skipper frequently turn his head away from the field with a look of disgust, I would suspect things are not exactly going as well as they had planned.
Meanwhile over in the other dugout, Terry Collins has looked at ease these last two days, and during his post game interview on Tuesday night, there he was laughing and joking as he relished his two game sweep of the Yankees.
Maybe Andy Martino of the Daily News summed it up best this morning when he wrote:
The Mets’ era of austerity and player development might eventually create a playoff team, or it might dissolve into nothing. But in a week defined for the Yankees by crises of age and health, the Mets are saying hello to new teammates, and indulging hope.
Big picture, you’d rather be the team with the $200 million payroll. But the sizzle of youth is, for at least one hot moment, more fun than being old.
Lets enjoy this moment while it lasts….
