The Yanks, the Sox, Armando and Del-Got-It!

Things just keep getting better and better for those of us here at Y2K. What a day to be a Mets fan! The sun is shining, the Mets are 5 games up on the Braves in the NL East, the Yankees are tied for last in the AL East, 14.5 games behind the MLB-best Boston Red Sox.

There's just so much to be happy about, let's touch 'em all.

The Yankees: Can They Rebound?

Ridiculously early as it is, I feel no hesitation saying the Yankees will not win the AL East. For one thing, the Red Sox (36-15) are simply too good, and for another thing, the Yankees just aren't good enough.

Games back is a critical, handy statistic, but it can lead to false hope. All you Yankee fans out there can trust me on this, I'm a Mets fan. As a Mets fan who suffered, in turns, at the hands of the Braves or our own team's front office, I have a lot of experience convincing myself that that 14.5 game deficit can be overcome.

The thing about being 14.5 games back is that there's a big difference between the club that's 14.5 games up and the one 14.5 games back. In this case, the difference is evident just by looking at the records.

The Red Sox are 21 games over .500, the Yankees are 8 games under it. That's after 50 games. It's not early anymore. It's not late, but it's not early, and after nearly a third of the season, the Yankees haven't just been mediocre, they've been bad. Like Tampa Bay Devil Rays-bad.

(You ever feel like you can look at a guy and know it's just not going to work out?)

As bad as things look right now, Yankee fans have convinced themselves they've got two reasons to hold out hope of yet another division title: 1) we're talking about the Red Sox here, and 2) 1978.

Regarding 1, the whole dynamic of Red Sox-Yankees changed in 2004, at least for me, admittedly somebody on the outside looking in. The biggest choke in Yankees-Red Sox history is either 1978 or the 2004 ALCS, and to the extent that the ALCS is a head-to-head showdown, I think that's gotta get the nod.

But speaking of 1978, Sweeny Murti over WFAN penned a great piece yesterday on his blog about what makes 2007 so different from 1978; for Sweeny as for me, it comes down to records:

"The 1978 Yankees, at the point of their largest deficit of 14 games, were 6 games over .500," Murti writes. "That was a team playing okay, just not as well as those red-hot Sox were playing. These Yankees are 13 ½ games behind Boston after losing Memorial Day. They are 7 games under .500."

Things have only gotten worse from there.

The Red Sox pitching is too good, their lineup is too solid. Sorry Yankee fans, it's just not happening this year. May 30 and I have no second thoughts about saying it.

There's always the wild card.

What a Game!

Yesterday played host to the most thrilling night of the season (at least so far) as the Mets won a pitcher's duel thanks to a familiar meltdown from an old friend.

I'll be honest: I'm not one of these Mets fans who's happy when Armando Benitez enters the game. I never say to myself, "well we know he melts down in big situations" when the big guy trots in from the bullpen. After he melts down? Sure. Not before. Maybe it's because he owned us that first year with Florida. Who knows.

So it was with no confidence that I saw Benitez take the mound. Afterward, flush with surprise that the Mets had pulled off a victory down a run with two outs, I clapped my hands and shouted to no one in particular: What a fucking finish!

And how about Oliver Perez with the mutton chops last night? The look that defined the late-90s Mets was back yesterday as Mostly-All-Sometimes-Nothing Ollie took the ball.

To Boo or Not to Boo?

Me and the Hound are heading out to Shea tonight to see Tom Glavine take on Barry Zito. The question is, is it worth booing Barry Zito or not?

I tend to think it's not worth doing. It's one thing when the Mets offer the same amount of money as someone else, and then the player goes and signs with the other team. That's a full-fledged spurning.

In this situation though where the Mets weren't willing to offer nearly as much as the Giants did, how pissed could you really get? I wanted Zito too, but not at that price, and if the guy ended up going for the money, well, as a young and hungry professional myself, I can understand that well enough.

Anyway, that about does it for the Glass Man. See you out there tonight. Can't wait for the crowd to erupt into another "You Take Steroids" chant for Bonds before wildly cheering Mota. That'll be fun.

- A.F.O.M.G.

(Images courtesy of nycsportsnews.com, cache.deadspin.com, sfgate.com and crankygreg.typepad.com)