That time of year

By Mike McGann
Posted Monday, October 2, 2006

There’s something special in the air. The once green leaves are now turning a sickly yellow, the football Giants have already blown their Super Bowl hopes, there’s fresh slate of attack political ads on TV.

And, oh yeah. Both New York baseball teams are headed to the playoffs, which start Tuesday. The Yankees drew a freefalling Detroit team and should dispatch them with relative ease. The Mets drew the pesky Dodgers, who, while less of a worry than either the Astros or Phillies might have been, are still a bit of a matchup problem.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that this is the year that the Mets and Yankees, who tied for the best record in baseball with 97 wins each, finally face each other on a relatively even basis on the big stage. 2000? Please. The Mets actually getting to the Series was something of a fluke — few thought they were in the same class as the Bombers.

Sure, the Yanks have an awesome lineup — but the Mets’ is nearly as deep, and nearly as good. Neither team has lights-out starting pitching — and I’d give the Mets the edge in terms of the overall bullpen, despite the great (and maybe past his prime) Mariano Rivera.

In fact, the Dodgers might be the toughest step for the Mets to get past to make the series — and if they match up there with the Yankees, it could finally, be one for the ages — an echo of those heady days in the 1950s.

The truth of the matter, though, is that Mets fans will have a hard time enjoying the journey. Too often, the light at the end of the tunnel has been a train — so this Dodger series scares the daylights out Mets fans. And it should.

But something tells me Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez has one great post-season left in him, one last amazing run on the big stage. And while the Mets will miss Pedro Martinez on the mound, it will be “El Duque” and Tom Glavine and an explosive offense that carry this team to 11 postseason wins.

You might want to get your money down now on the A’s and Dodgers, as the price on both will go up once this prediction gets out.:)