Mike Francesa talked all things Yankees and Mets with BT and Sal on Wednesday, and it didn’t take long for Sal to tease the WFAN legend and Yankee fan about the team in Queens being the new “varsity” squad in New York.
But Mike says not so fast, and even if there has been a power shift in the city, the Mets aren’t on top until they’re the last team standing.
“When the kid wants the Mets tickets instead of the Yankee tickets under their Christmas tree, that’s a problem. It doesn’t happen in one year, but the erosion happens drip, drip, drip,” Mike said. “Now the Mets are on equal footing. They are not ahead of the Yankees, but they are on equal footing for the first time in their lives. And Cohen is the king now, except one thing. He’s not the king, in my mind, until he has a big smile on his face and a trophy in his hand going down the Canyon of Heroes.
“Until that happens, you don’t own this town. He needs now - and the burden is on him - he got the spotlight, the headlines, and the back pages. He has the spotlight now. He now has to produce. Has to.”
The Mets can’t accomplish that in December, so signing Soto and plucking him from the Yankees is a huge move and a massive statement. But they can’t be kings of the city until they finally end their title drought.
“They’ve never had sustained success. He will have to produce not only sustained success, but he will have to produce championships,” Mike said of Steve Cohen.
“It’s a seismic move, there’s no question about it...you had that moment, and you enjoyed. Now comes the pressure of winning.”