The Yankees and not the Mets still own the Big Apple

The Yankees and Mets are both contradicting the forecasts made earlier in the spring for each team by the prognosticators. The season is not rolling out the way it was supposed to be.

Listening to the Michael Kay Show this afternoon, I was reminded of certain predictions made before this season. Predictions that had the Mets as possible favorites to win the World Series. Predictions that the Yankees wouldn’t even sniff the playoffs. While it’s still early in the 2017 season, those predictions seem wildly off.

It wasn’t just the media making these claims. Met pitcher Noah Syndergaard went as far as to say that New York was now a Met town. After all, the Mets were the beneficiaries of these predictions and the man they call Thor decided to make some bold claim himself. Then some major injuries occurred, plus some off-field drama, and it seems that the wheels have come off.

Meanwhile, the Yankees, after a 1-4 start to the season, are in first place in the American League East. They’ve had some major injuries too. Didi Gregorius was out for the first month of the season after getting injured in the World Baseball Classic. Gary Sanchez was out for a month as well. They still weathered the storm.

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So, what happened that made these bold predictions obsolete? For starters, the Yankees offense leads the league in several categories and are right behind in others. Their pitching, which has struggled lately, started out well, but their solid bullpen has bailed them out enough times to stay atop the East.

Meanwhile, the Mets are atop the Major Leagues in injuries and drama. From Thor Syndergaard refusing an MRI, to Matt Harvey missing a game after being out all night drowning his sorrows over his girlfriend, the focus in Queens seems less on baseball and more on who’s hurt and who’s going to show up for a game.

On the other side of town, the Yankees have been mostly humble. They let their bats do the talking. This is a group of guys who all seem to get along well. The type of Yankee team that former General Manager Gene Michael assembled in the 90’s. The talent is there, but more importantly, this is a team with class. They didn’t make silly predictions like Thor did, they just went out and played.

Perhaps the Yankees won’t keep up this pace all season. After all, they just recently lost three out of four games to the Houston Astros. They came right back and took two out of three from the Kansas City Royals. While Friday night’s games against the Rays was a winnable game that slipped away from them, you get the feeling that they’ll be resilient and come to the park on Saturday ready to win.

The Yankees Twenty-Five Most Memorable Home Runs

In the Yankees storied history, twenty-five of their home runs stand out as moments in time never to be forgotten and always treasured by baseball fans.

So, predictions be damned, New York is still a Yankee town. The guys in Flushing Queens can have their Dark Knight and their Thor or whatever ridiculous name they want to call themselves. The 25 guys in the Bronx will settle for just being called “Yankees.” And enjoy the town that still roots for them.