Mets lining up deGrom, Scherzer for Yankees series putting fans in vulnerable spot

It’s almost like … one of the teams in New York has a desire to win and overtake the city with hype and the other is fine coasting along until, arbitrarily, things “turn around.” Baseball fans over the last three decades would certainly think the former club was the New York Yankees and the latter was the New York Mets.

Not quite! We’ve been slowly witnessing a role reversal in 2022, even with the Yankees’ historic start to the year. “The best team in baseball” has quickly morphed into the most frustrating team in baseball, while the Mets have maintained impressive consistency to stay on the Yankees’ tail before overtaking them in the standings recently.

Admittedly, Yankees fans weren’t all that bent out of shape after the Mets swept the two-game series against the Bombers at Citi Field. Generally, these games do not matter and the Subway Series is nothing more than a spectacle for MLB. Additionally, the Mets are good! The Yankees had a bunch of costly injuries at the time. They lost two road games. Nothing to sweat over.

But now? Now the Mets are clearly trying to make a statement as the Yankees opt to limp for the remainder of the month. Right now, Max Scherzer (who they already faced on July 27) and Jacob deGrom are lined up to start at Yankee Stadium next week.

How will the Yankees counter that? Domingo Germán (again) and Frankie Montas. Good luck! Seems like one team is hell bent on shifting a narrative while the other shrugs instead of responding.

Yankees in trouble with Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom lined up to start

This is just the icing on the cake for what’s happened over the past year, though. Last offseason, Steve Cohen orchestrated a trade for Francisco Lindor and signed him to a monster extension. This past offseason, he made the logical decisions any smart big-market club would do by signing Scherzer and trading for Chris Bassitt. He’s reinvigorated an otherwise dejected fan base.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have taken advantage of their loyal fan base by almost never delivering upon their desires, especially under general manager Brian Cashman for the better part of the last decade. And, more times than not, when he’s tried to fulfill them, he’s failed.

How about this year’s trade deadline, too? Both the Yankees and Mets were victims of markets that exceeded their comfort. What did the Yankees do? They went ahead and made four trades that still cost them significant prospect capital. The result? A bad starter, an injured center fielder, and an underachieving outfielder. All big names, though! Don’t forget that! The two lesser-knowns in Scott Effross and Lou Trivino have been great, though.

On the other hand, the Mets did the best bargain shopping they could do within their restraints, and have seemingly hit home runs with all of them after paying far less than what the Yankees did. When the Mets begin to make better, more aggressive decisions than the Yankees, then you know there’s a massive shift in the tide.

The biggest issue here is that the Yankees are leaving their fans in the dust. They can’t win any trash talk battles because of how they’ve constantly gotten embarrassed over the last four-plus years. The most heated battle of the Yankees-Mets “rivalry” is among the fans. And the last few years, Yankees fans haven’t had a leg to stand on.

Does it matter who “runs” New York? Probably not, unless you’re Sal Licata. Does it matter who properly manages a team, puts the right product on the field, does right by the fans, and actively gives said fans fuel to be excited to watch/rep their team?

Yup. And that’s what starting Scherzer and deGrom against the Yankees does, precisely.

Mets’ trade deadline randos outmuscling Yankees’ acquisitions by plenty

The New York Mets acquired three randos at the MLB Trade Deadline, all of whom are outmuscling Andrew Benintendi. Neato. We love it.