What a wild ride the New York baseball teams took their fans on over the last week. Both the Mets and Yankees thrilled their fans, making them feel like they were racing around hairpin turns and riding the fastest roller-coaster at their favorite amusement park.
Starting in Queens, the "Mets-ies", as Casey used to call them, quenched the thirst of their run-starved fans by acquiring three very good (one of them great), offensive players. Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe were brought on board a couple of days before the July 31st trading deadline. The day of the deadline showered Mets fans with more joy as Yoenis Cespedes, one of the better hitters in the game, was traded for. All three players were an upgrade and immediately paid dividends, culminating in a sweep of the first place Washington Nationals that put the Mets in a first place tie with the Nats. They subsequently took sole possession of first the very next day.
Over in the Bronx the Yankees chose to stand pat and go for it with the players currently on their roster. They are in first place in arguably the weakest division in baseball and do not think they have to mortgage their future to win their division this year. The day before the trading deadline the Yankees were down 5-0 after the first inning in a game they ended up winning 21-6. It was one of the crazier baseball games in decades, providing further proof that this could be a special Yankee team.
It's the latest in a season in a long time that both New York squads have been in first place at the same time, which has Gotham fans dreaming of another Subway Series. While it's guaranteed that Luis Sojo won't get the Series winning hit this time around, as he did in the 2000 Fall Classic, depending on who you ask you'll get different answers as to which team will win if indeed they meet in October.
Either way, serious playoff runs and a local World Series would make for an awesome Fall in New York!