Monday, August 3, 2015

Baseball In New York Is Fun Again

Summer in New York hasn't felt like this in quite a while.  The Yankees and Mets are both in first place in August for the first time since 2006, and there's a buzz in this city about both of its baseball teams.  Football training camps just opened and that's an afterthought right now.  Because New York is currently a baseball town.

As is obvious to pretty much everybody, I'm a Yankees fan.  But I'm not one of those Yankees fans who hates the Mets.  I hate the Red Sox.  I have no ill-will towards the Mets.  Sure, they entertain me with their "only the Mets" moments (Mets fans know what I mean), which sometimes seem more frequent than not.  Take this week.  Two perfect examples.  Wednesday night, Wilmer Flores is crying on the field when he finds out he's been traded to the Brewers, only to have the Mets back out of the trade and Flores remain on the team (and hit the game-winning homer on Friday).  Then on Thursday, they went to a rain delay with two out in the top of the ninth and a 7-5 lead instead of just playing in the rain for five minutes.  When they came back out 45 minutes later, a three-run homer made it 8-7 Padres, then the Mets went down in the bottom of the ninth after another three-hour rain delay.

Perhaps it's because of these Mets moments that it's so much fun to watch them win.  It's a reward for their fans, who stick with the Mets through all of this.  Mets fans are one of the most loyal bunches in all of sports.  And they're also some of the most passionate.  That's one of the coolest things when the Mets are winning.  The sellout crowd at Citi Field looked phenomenal on national TV last night!  It was like the glory days of Shea Stadium all over again.

I have no doubt that the support they receive from their crazy fans (who are coming out in droves this season) is one of the reasons why the Mets are so good at home.  Mets fans deserve the chance to finally watch this team win.

The Yankees are much more used to winning.  But after two straight years out of the playoffs, there's much more of an appreciation for what Joe Torre's dynasty did.  Winning is not something to take for granted, which Yankees fans finally understand.  And that's where the appreciation for this year's team comes in.  This year's Yankees have the swagger that was missing during the Mariano and Jeter Retirement Tours.

They've suddenly become likable, too.  And I think a lot of that has to do with A-Rod.  During the last two playoff-less years, he was the one making headlines for all the wrong reasons.  This year, he's not just behaving himself, he's healthy.  And productive.  So is Mark Teixeira.  Best of all, the guys all like each other, which is obvious in the way they play and has rubbed off on everyone.  They're having fun again.  Maybe that's why they're winning.

That's another thing making the 2015 baseball season so special in the Big Apple.  Both teams are fun to watch.  For completely different reasons.  The Yankees are playing typical Yankees baseball.  The Bronx Bombers are back, crushing three-run homers and outscoring their opponents behind starting pitching that's sometimes somewhat suspect.  And if they've got the lead late, look out.  Good luck trying to hit Betances and Miller.

It's the complete opposite in Queens.  The Mets have starting pitchers coming out the wazzu.  Everyday is either "Harvey Day" or "De Grom Day" or "Thor Day" (I think Syndergaard is Thor, but it might be De Grom).  Then they need a spot start and get Stephen Matz driving in three runs while also pitching seven innings in his Major League debut.

With that rotation, the Mets have something special.  It's easy to get excited about.  Problem is, they couldn't hit.  Until last week.  Yoenis Cespedes is the piece the Mets were missing.  They've had the pitching all year.  Now they've got the offense to back it up.  Suddenly we're not hearing even the most optimistic of Mets fans talking about their "potential."  They're legitimately good, which is on full display.

Imagine what the atmosphere's going to be like at Citi Field when these two first-place teams meet in the Subway Series in mid-September.  That's going to be a Subway Series like no other.  Well, at least unlike any since the 2000 World Series.

There's still two months left in the season, so a lot can still happen.  But with the way things are going now, there's no reason not to think that they won't both make the playoffs, something that hasn't happened in nine years.  And who knows?  Maybe there will also be a Subway Series in October.  Wouldn't that be something?!

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