John Kruk Thinks The Mets Will Be Better Than The Yankees For The Next Half Decade

ESPN Analyst John Kruk is known for being the outcast of games he covers. He provides little input, seems to know less than a former major league player should, and the other analysts make fun of him when they run out of material. Kruk is the guy that would purposely fall down a flight of stairs in high school just to get a laugh or two. Now he is saying the Mets are going to take over the back page of all the New York papers for the next half decade.

Before getting into this debate, one element should be made clear. Much like the Giants over the Jets, the New York Yankees will always dominate the papers, no matter what the standings are. Now getting into the Mets being the better team in the next half decade, Kruk said,

"“I think the Mets have more longevity over the next four or five years. The Yankees’ players are older and naturally not as good as they were, and it’s going to hurt them again next year and the year after because they have most of these guys signed for so long. So, I can see the Mets stealing the back page from the Yankees.”"

Kruk is not wrong in some respects. The Yankees have a lot of old timers that are signed through next year. Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, and CC Sabathia come to mind instantly. However, The Yankees have replacements for every old timer. Beltran is starting to show that not playing well may cost you your job, even if you are making $15 million per season. Chris Young is starting to take playing time away from the veteran who has struggled in the Bronx since day one.Gregory Bird, Aaron Judge, and Luis Severino are waiting in the trenches to get to the Bronx. The Yankees aren’t scrambling to find their future like they have in past years.

For the Mets, the future is now. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom are manning the rotation. Harvey is coming off Tommy John surgery and looks great at the beginning of 2015. DeGrom was looking like the former NL Rookie of the Year until the Yankees destroyed him last night. There is also their star, David Wright. Wright is signed through 2020 and is stuck in the Mets inability to field a winning team. Often injured, Wright is a great player on a mediocre to poor ball club. Speaking of players getting older, Wright is now 32 years old and is about to start seeing his best days behind him. Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer are examples that Kruk’s Mets also have old talent that have seen better days.

The Mets future is two pitchers and an oft-injured third baseman. The Yankees may have a lot of old timers, but they have above average players at a majority of positions. Players like Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Michael Pineda show that they will compete for years to come.

Kruk enjoys making outlandish statements, and this one may even have seemed to make sense for a couple seconds after he said it. However, really looking at the teams and the turnover in the next few years makes you realize that the Yankees future is brighter and all the papers will keep talking about the real team in pinstripes.