PORT ST. LUCIE — They started the game at 2 o’clock yesterday, an hour later than usual out of respect to the visitors. The Yankees, having played the Marlins at their new ballpark Monday night, preferred to stay in Miami and then travel yesterday morning to the Mets’ Grapefruit League home.
When the bus rolled into Digital Domain Park, out came Nick Swisher. And Brett Gardner. And Ivan Nova. And, um, Bill Hall. No future Hall of Famers to be seen throughout St. Lucie County.
Yes, the Yankees treated this Subway Series preview — the first Yankees-Mets exhibition game since 1996 — like it was a low-paying January autograph show.
Some of this can be attributed to mere logistics. It’s standard for star players to blow off long trips, and the Yankees had to drive another three hours back to Tampa from here. Yet the picture enhanced the perception that the perennially contending Yankees and payroll-shedding Mets might share a city, but they occupy different worlds.
It also prompted the question: Can New York ever become a Mets town again?
“I think the Mets fans [are] as frustrated as hell,” YES broadcaster Al Leiter, one of the best pitchers in Mets history, said before the Mets’ 7-6 victory yesterday. “They just can’t wait to be proud of a winning, championship team, almost to a fault, because of the frustration of the bad years.
“And then oh, by the way, you’ve got to look 10 miles away at the Yankees and their brand, their logo, the worldwide attention. So it’s easy to be jealous of their success on the field, and also their popularity.”
It might surprise you to learn that, in their 50 years of going head to head, the Mets have outdrawn the Yankees 21 times. Far more telling, though, is that the Yankees bring a 19-season attendance winning streak into this campaign, having last fallen short in 1992. Bet heavily on that streak reaching 20.
What could allow the Mets to pull off a run in attendance triumphs, as they did from 1964 through 1975 and again from 1984 through 1992? Or even just to come close, given that Yankee Stadium holds about 5,000 more fans than Citi Field? It’s more about just the Mets rising. In this era of YES and Yankees-brand cologne, they also would need the Yankees to stumble considerably.
Here are five potential Yankees stumbling blocks/Mets building blocks:
1. Hal Steinbrenner. If the Yankees’ owner really holds the line on getting the Yankees under the $189 million luxury tax threshold for 2014, and insists on paying no tax in subsequent seasons, then general manager Brian Cashman would have less room for error.
2. The new collective bargaining agreement. With significant restrictions in place for both the amateur draft and international signings, the Yankees can no longer overwhelm the competition on these fronts. They will have to out-scout more than out-spend.
3. Stadium solutions for Tampa Bay and Oakland. The American League is already superior to the National League. If the Rays, already running circles around their richer foes, secured a modern ballpark and greater revenue streams — Good Lord. The A’s, meanwhile, are hoping to move to San Jose so they can be relevant like they were a decade ago.
4. The economy plummets. Like it did in 2008, making it uncool for bigwigs to sit in those ultra-pricey Stadium seats. Prompting the Yankees to cut ticket prices. Hurting their bottom line.
5. Think of the children. Citi Field is very kid-friendly, whereas the Stadium appeals more to CEOs, celebrities and Mega Millions winners. Maybe that can pay off for the Mets in the long run.
The two clubs meet again today at Steinbrenner Field, and the Mets will bring their whole roster. Again, circumstance: The Mets broke camp and will head straight to New York from Tampa. The Yankees even agreed to start the game at noon, to give the Mets more time to hustle home for tomorrow’s season opener against the Braves.
Perhaps someday, it won’t seem like the Yankees are doing the Mets a favor just by sharing a field for a few hours, but it could take a while.