David Lennon columns

Mantle's Yankees won the World Series in 1956, while Ted Williams' '47 Red Sox didn't make the postseason.

Luis Gil and Carlos Rodon have been the worst offenders.

For the sake of this exercise, we'll consider the Mets more in buyer mode and take Severino & Co. off the deadline list.

On a day that began with manager Aaron Boone essentially benching Gleyber Torres for his apathetic performance the previous night, most of the other Yankees didn't bother to show up either.

Game One of the Subway demonstrated the Mets' recent offensive surge - and the Yankees' recent woes - may last a while longer.

The Yankees have dropped four of their last five series as they head into Citi Field to face the red-hot Mets.

With Giancarlo Stanton joining Anthony Rizzo and prospect Jasson Dominguez on the injured list (and Juan Soto and Aaron Judge surviving scares), the Yankees have absorbed some heavy blows.

Reggie Jackson experienced the horrors of 1960s Birmingham for a Black player, and his words carried a lot of power.

Gil topped out at a career-high 108 2/3 innings in 2021, and only pitched four innings last season coming back from the TJ procedure. He's now at 81 1/3 and it's only late June.

Under normal circumstances, with Cole at the peak of his powers, he could certainly handle the role of enforcer. But payback can be a slippery slope.

After the game, Judge himself provided some positive news, saying the preliminary X-rays and CT scan were negative. All that was left was to wait for the swelling to subside before coming up with the final prognosis.

Rice doesn't have the throw-over familiarity with the big-league staff, and as much as Rizzo looked creaky with the glove this season, he at least had experience in his favor.

Since their May 29 team meeting, the Mets are 11-4, slashing their wild-card deficit to 1 1/2 games, and are only four games under .500 (33-37).

Hal Steinbrenner routinely gets whacked any time he opens his mouth, but it would help if his audience would actually listen to what he says.

Grooming Brett Baty to be an actual second baseman seems like a nutty in-season project, especially when the Mets wouldn't even have him get some leftfield reps during spring training.

Amazingly, thanks to MLB's expanded playoffs and a glut of mediocrity throughout the sport, the Mets still are capable of getting there. 

Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge make up for lack of production from the likes of Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres.

Ever since 2018, when the Supreme Court's ruling opened the floodgates for legalized sports gambling in 38 states, followed by the proliferation of betting apps and the broadcast carpet-bombing of site ads, the threat level has been rising.

The Yankees don't want Juan Soto on the bench for one pitch longer than absolutely necessary.

Soto fighting through the discomfort for as long as he did was hardly surprising. He's among the sport's most durable players.

The AL East-leading Yankees have won 11 of their previous 14 games, coming off a 7-2 West Coast trip. The Dodgers? Let's just say this high-priced blockbuster isn't getting great reviews lately.

The rookie has been dominant, but the Yankees will be keeping an eye on their surprising star, who had Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Given the sorry state of the Mets, it was realistic to wonder what — if anything —  actually could be done to save the season. The next day, the Mets began pulling those levers, for different reasons.

Darryl made the most of the second chance life gave to him.

Lopez's rebellious behavior was the first major in-season test for the Carlos Mendoza/David Stearns administration.

On the scale of playoff team or fire sale, with one representing an October wild-card berth and 10 signifying an everything-must-go July sell-off, the Mets' needle was tilting firmly toward eight after Tuesday's brutal sweep. 

Maybe Shohei Ohtani would have been cut out for New York after all.

With two months before the trade deadine, perhaps Sunday's emotional victory can act as some sort of springboard.

"We've got a good amount of money coming off the payroll in the offseason," Steinbrenner said. 

Incredibly, the Yankees are just fine without Cole, and should be for a while, with a rotation that had the second-lowest ERA (2.95) in the AL

Clay Holmes gives up a few weak singles in Mariners' four-run ninth, costing Marcus Stroman win 

From starting rotation and bullpen to lineup, they're firing on all cylinders.

Carlos Rodon now has thousands of friends in the stands when he pitches in the Bronx. 

As day draws closer for Mets to retire No. 18, the couple reflects on health struggles they faced together.

With everyone struggling, the manager can't bench everyone. But, he keeps looking for answers. The newest option? Mark Vientos.

Seemingly rejuvenated since manager Carlos Mendoza chose not to start him in St. Louis, the Polar Bear seems to be heating up, even if he says there's no correlation between the two.

The technology is ready and a challenge system on balls and strikes could be featured next year.

The Mets have plenty of other concerns: Kodai Senga's rehab, Brooks Raley's elbow and a sputtering, inconsistent lineup.

Injury return timetable for Senga and Raley appear to be in serious jeopardy.

Go-ahead three-run double in seventh inning latest sign that he's too important not to lock up long term. 

The 30-year-old Cy Young Award candidate is a bargain at four years, $53M plus a $9.8M posting fee.

A night after a crushing loss marred by a debatable play at home, the Mets executed a pair of game-saving plays flawlessly.

Though they would ideally get more length from their starters, it's hard to complain about results so far. 

Luis Severino took a no-hitter into the eighth on Monday night with a fastball averaging 96.2 mph and a sinker at 95.6.

The manager is getting to balance the data with the human element.

After letting his emotions go after his walk-off two-run homer in the 11th inning Sunday, Mark Vientos chose to talk about his team and the present rather than the past.

JP Sears, who dominated the Yankees last week, is looking like the real prize of the entire Frankie Montas fiasco.

Entering Tuesday, as a team, they were hitting .234 (ranked 20th in MLB) with a .691 OPS (18th), not the numbers anyone had in mind for this $306 million roster.

Alex Verdugo had three hits for Yankees, including a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth. 

Thought to be top free agents, they were among the last to sign, for less money than expected, and have yet to catch up.