With Mark Teixeira Signing, Yankees Move Ahead in PR War

Sure, the Yankees may have become the team to beat in the American League, first with the signing of pitchers CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and now superstar slugger Mark Teixeira. But another aspect of these signings is that the Yankees have stolen the back pages away from the Mets.

Already some in the media are calling on the Mets to make a splash, perhaps by signing Manny Ramirez, but at the very least, by bringing in a Derek Lowe or resigning Oliver Perez. Will it help?

Before answering the question, let us examine the recent history in the PR wars. Anyone who lived in New York in 1986 recalls that the Mets owned the city, and not just after winning the World Series. In my elementary school class, there were many two Yankee fans. Everyone else rooted for the Mets.

But that changed in the mid-1990s when the Mets went through a swoon and the Yankees rose to the top, reeling off four championships from 1996 through 2000. Sure, the Mets made the postseason in 1999 and 2000, but those were followed by the Art Howe era, and even though the Yankees struggled in the playoffs since then, they've still owned the city.

That might have changed if the Mets had more success in recent years. They were a few outs away from the World Series in 2006, and blew their NL East leads on the final days of both 2007 and 2008. Still, they were in the World Series hunt for longer than the Yankees in 2006 and 2008, so the opportunity was there.

As for 2009, the buzz will be around the Yankees, simply because the expectations are astronomical. But the Mets are by no means out of the race in the NL. If they could get it together, make it to the World Series while the Yankees fall apart in the early rounds, the Mets could take back the city, but they'll have to win it all. Nobody remembers the losers of World Series, so if the Mets win the whole shebang, the city is theirs for the taking. Until then, even Manny Ramirez will not give them the edge in the PR war.

Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2008/12/10/yankees_sabathia/