Phenom

I got an email from an old fraternity brother who said that the Yankees had played better than the "JV" Mets since the ASB, and that the Yankees would be in first place in the NL East. Here is my response:

Number of teams with winning records the Pinstriped-Wearing Mercenaries...uhhh, I mean the Yankees have played since the All-Star Break--- 0. That is "zero", as in "None".Too bad they'll not face the likes of Tampa Bay in the post-season, should they not be sent packing on 1 October.

"JV", indeed...

Let's see how big and bad your $200 million dollar machine is from 10 August thru 30 August, when they play some teams that may actually contend. Let's see how hot Yankee bats are against actual real-live major-league pitchers...

And even should your Yankees not choke (do you really think Bobby Abreu will hold up under the glare of a pennant race?) and actually make the post-season, they'll likely be doing playoff battle with teams like Boston (see 2004), Detroit (see 2006), or the LA Angels (see 2002 or 2005). Given recent history, it is not likely any of these teams will feel any real intimidation playing the Yankees. Also, considering the numbers that Yankee starting pitchers have put up this year(even the "stud" Chien-Ming Wang has an BAA of .263 --hardly "ace" stuff), and given the fact that no Yankee SP seems capable of getting past the sixth inning without allowing 10-12 baserunners, the idea of defeating laughably inferior opponents by scores of 11-5 (that's essentially what this last "winning streak" has been) seems patently unrealistic.

In other words, brace yourself for yet more crowd shots of banners reading "A Third The Payroll, Ten Times The Heart" in the final innings of the ALDS as the Yankees face round-one elimination, yet again.

I will give you that the Yankees have won more games since the ASB than the Mets. I do respect facts. Yet I do ask the facts be examined. The Mets have gone 15-9 in the same period, yet have faced actual contenders (some on a west-coast road trip) during this 24 game stretch. Against San Diego, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and the Chicago Cubs (any of the above is just as capable of pulling an upset WS win this year as were the St Louis Cardinals last year), the NY Mets are a combined 8 wins and 5 losses.

Could your Yankees post similar numbers in head-to-head meetings with Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, and the LA Angels? Let's see! That's why the games are played!
Perhaps they may just live up to their bloated payroll numbers and make a solid account of themselves.

You may say the Mets could just as soon spit the bit down the stretch, and they just may, for all anyone really knows. But the truth of the matter is this: when it is all said and done, the Mets will have had still another good season, winning ninety- plus games. Anything beyond that is a cherished bonus.

As far as the Yankees go, their season-- as it has for many years now-- has just two possible outcomes: they win it all, or they are merely on the short end of some other team's miracle...

So: will they- 3XL payroll and all- win it all, or will they yet again play the role of neighborhood-bully-who's-been-cut-down-to-size? Neither option sounds too honorable, if you asked me...