So here’s what we need to know… the Mets and Yankees have new stadiums. Those stadiums cost a lot of money to build. That’s especially the case with the new Yankee Stadium, which apparently was embossed with gold: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWktQi9fwW4&hl=en&fs=1]
Anyway, since the Mets and Yankees have those new stadiums to pay for (actually, aren’t WE paying for the Mets stadium? CitiBank? Nice deal) they need to have good teams. Actually, make that really, really good teams.
In order to get those good teams the Yankees went out and bought a whole mess of free agents like CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira… you know the deal. If it’s a name, the Yankees buy it.
The Mets countered by getting J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez for their beleaguered bullpen though the rest of the club looks pretty much the same. Nevertheless, some baseball pundits believe that’s good enough. After all, the reasoning appears, it was the Mets that blew it the past two years. They just up and gave it away.
Regardless, the good folks at Sports Illustrated believe both the Mets and Yankees will be in the playoffs this year. The Mets, they write, will win the NL East and the Yanks the AL East. The Phillies? Hey, at least the WFC get the wild card and a quick exit in the playoffs.
Here’s how SI sees it:
ALDS: Yankees over Twins; Angels over Red Sox NLDS: Cubs over Phillies; Mets over Dodgers ALCS: Angels over Yankees NLCS: Mets over Cubs WORLD SERIES: Mets over Angels
The Mets winning the World Series?
Really?
Such a prediction says a lot of things, but mostly it shows how strong (top heavy?) the NL East is.
But really… the Mets?