Remember all that talk about how the Mets were going to "Take Back New York"?
Seems like only yesterday.
In fact, it was sooner than that: It was just a few hours ago.
Until tonight, the Mets did look like a better team on paper.
Well, you know what they say: Baseball games aren't played on paper, they're played on grass. (Except when they're played on plastic. Give the Mets credit for this: They've never accepted artificial turf.)
Tonight's opener of the Subway Derby at Yankee Stadium II? It turned the Flushing Heathen's battle cry of "Ya gotta believe!" into a cry over shattered belief.
In the bottom of the 1st inning, Mark Teixeira hit Jacob deGrom's 17th pitch of the night over the right field fence, driving in Brett Gardner ahead of him, and the Yankees led 2-0.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the 3rd with a home run, his 1st of the season. Gardner singled to center, although our old friend Curtis Granderson threw him out trying to stretch it to a double. Then Alex Rodriguez drew a walk. Then Mark hit another Teix Message, his 2nd of the game and his 7th of the season. Brian McCann singled. Carlos Beltran walked. Chase Headley singled to load the bases. Stephen Drew flew out to center, but it was enough to get McCann home. (Which is saying something, because he runs slower than the average Met fan's thought processes.)
The Mets got a run back in the top of the 6th, but that was it. Michael Pineda pitched brilliantly: 7 2/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts. Let's face it, just about any of the Yankees' starters would be the Mets' ace -- even ahead of the overrated Matt Harvey.
Yankees 6, Mets 1. WP: Pineda (3-0). No save. LP: deGrom (2-2). And, as Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay would say: "The time of the game, a very manageable 2 hours and 33 minutes."
To paraphrase the film 300, Met fans did not enjoy this, but it was over quickly.
The series resumes tomorrow at 4:00, for the Fox Saturday Game of the Week. The fake ace, Matt Harvey, starts against the real ace, CC Sabathia.