It may only be two months into the season, but the Mets sweep over the Yankees is easily the highlight of the 2013 season. Chants of "sweep" and "Let's Go Mets" were heard in full force last night at Yankee Stadium in the 9th inning as the Mets completed a four-game, two-stadium season sweep over their crosstown rival Yankees for the first time since the Subway Series began in 2000.
Mets fans made their presence felt last night in the Bronx in what was one of the quietest Subway Series games ever. Yankees fans were nonexistent in their home park last night. The 44,207 fans in attendance were silent until late where Mets fans took over. While it was just another game for the Yankees and their fans, it was more of a pennant race atmosphere for the Mets and their fans. The Yankees have dominated the Mets in Subway Series play with the Mets only winning two season series in the first 16 years of the rivalry. The Yankees were 54-36 in those 16 years against the Mets in the regular season, also including a 4-1 series win in the 2000 World Series.
The overlooked, 4th place Mets squad took care of business this week in Queens and in the Bronx. Their pitching was dominant getting terrific outings from Jon Niese, Matt Harvey, Jeremy Hefner, and Dillon Gee. Gee recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts last night and Harvey had 10 Tuesday night in the Mets comeback walk-off victory. While the Yankees were playing without many of their big names in Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Kevin Youkilis, and Alex Rodriguez, it still marked a very impressive week for a Mets team that had been struggling mightily. This Mets team has zero expectations this season as they are in a rebuilding process, hoping for some young prospects to pan out for them soon in Zach Wheeler and Travis D'Arnaud.
While bitter Yankees fans will continue to say they don't care about this series, Mets fans have New York bragging rights. Mets fans are fully aware that this team is rebuilding and will likely not be in the playoffs in 2013, and maybe even 2014. This team is showing some heart and is giving the fans something to look forward to as they try and turn it around. After a 17-29 start, the Mets have now won five straight games as they head to Miami to face the last place Marlins, who are in far worse shape than the Mets with a 13-41 start to the season. Mets fans deserve to relish in this sweep. In a rebuilding season, any stretch of wins, especially against the rival Yankees, is definitely something to smile about. The Mets have some big division games coming up where they can work their way back to .500. Terry Collins squad can make the dog days of summer in Queens a little more enjoyable as Wheeler and D'Arnaud will soon be on their way as the Mets continue to get younger and build a winning team for the future.
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