Keidel: Yankees Are Right Back Where I Thought They'd Be -- Behind The Mets
By Jason Keidel
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It seems everyone, including my treasonous editors, have demanded a public apology from yours truly.
After eulogizing the 3-6 Yankees, they went on a tear, commandeered first place, and leapfrogged the very team I told you would own the five boroughs and beyond.
And it doesn't help that the team I told you would bogart the bold ink and the standings, the Mets, tumbled down the rungs of relevance. After their epic, 11-game winning streak, the Mets just tanked, making me look like a buffoon.
But since most fans are so notoriously stubborn in the face of facts, I'll give it a shot.
The Yankees, despite their recent run, have won just one of their last six games, have all but surrendered pole position in the AL East, and look like I thought they would a few weeks ago.
And, thanks to an article in the New York Times, I have some ammo supporting my assertion that the Yankees are in the vortex of a turbulent time.
One of the main metrics of a team's prominence is the number of fans they draw, of course. But not just home crowds. The Yankees were road monoliths, drawing epic crowds that drowned out the home team. Indeed, over the last 20 years you have seen the Yankees invade a team and town, and enjoy 20,000 vocal locals, swathed in pinstripes, shouting down the freckling of fans who were there to root for the home team.
According to Sunday's article, the Bronx Bombers are now bombing away from the five boroughs. Indeed, the Yankees are now last in road attendance, averaging 22,820 per game. Correct. They didn't dip down the totem pole; they've plunged to the cellar.
It's an astonishing drop, not just because they're the Yankees, the preeminent franchise in American sports, but also because they've led the majors in road attendance four of the last five years. Since 2001, their average road crowd has not been below 33,000, which is fifth overall. So it's not just a local writer who sees the signs. The world west of the Hudson has lost epic interest in the Yankees.
And, as a temporary Mets devotee, I have Matt Harvey leading my staff all summer. No doubt the masses were fidgeting over Harvey's health, whether his surgery will stick. But it seems his repaired elbow is just fine. He's back to form, to the point where it's not about how many runs he surrenders but rather whether he surrenders any at all.
I got all kinds of grief when the Yankees suddenly and surprisingly overtook the Mets in record and in the standings, but Harvey handled that. He may not get the statistical notch on his belt, but when you've not allowed a run in three of your last four starts, then it helps the team beyond the box score. Monday night was a pristine example.
I've been a Yankees fan since 1977, but if I have to choose my team or my reputation, the latter laps the former. And now that the Mets (23-16) are once again ahead of the Yankees (22-17), I don't feel as dumb as I did last week.
Upon assuming the helm in Green Bay, Vince Lombardi vowed to turn the Packers into the Yankees of football. Ironically, during his iconic run into the record books, accomplishing his stated goal, the Yankees went in reverse, going over a decade without a postseason appearance.
Then George Steinbrenner took over. Then we had the 1980s, a forgettable and regrettable epoch, the only decade over the last century that didn't yield a World Series title. Then we had the Joe Torre teams, with such epic karma that it carried over into the Joe Girardi era. There's no 2009 title without the old salt from the salad days.
But no run is eternal. It jars our old-world sensibilities to see the Yankees struggle. We're too used to having their mail forwarded to the World Series. But it has happened before. And just as dynasties are ephemeral, so are slumps. The Yankees have too much money, magic, and mojo to take a prolonged leave from October.
This is the third year of a rebuild that will last until ... well, we don't know. The good news is there's no dynasty to replace New York's. The St. Louis Cardinals are probably the face of baseball, and not even the redbirds are assured a slot in the Fall Classic.
We've been told pitching wins baseball games. And the Mets have that, and have Matt. And the Yankees don't. One ace is dealing while the other (Tanaka) is buried in the deck. One chose to have surgery, recovery, and supremacy. While the other chose to play doctor, surgeon, and now solemn starter who has his mail forwarded to the DL.
Don't count the Mets out, or the Yanks in. Not yet. Perhaps in a month you may, but not in the month of May.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
