Steve Cohen won’t say he cares about the Yankees, but the crosstown rivalry is back
Steve Cohen was above it all on Tuesday, making it sound like he never took the tumultuous process of buying the Mets personally. He didn’t have an ax to grind at his introductory press conference, instead talking about spending money on free agents and building a winning organization.
“I’m not trying to make money here,” Cohen said. “It’s about building something great, building something for the fans, winning.”
At the same time making it clear that a man who has made billions doesn’t just throw it away on a whim.
“Are we going to act like drunken sailors in the marketplace? No,” Cohen added.
And even when initially asked about the giant elephant in the five boroughs, the dominance of the Yankees in the intra-city “rivalry,” Cohen shrugged it off like a true Mets fan.
“I’m not competing against the Yankees. This is the Mets, we’re gonna create our own excitement,” Cohen said. “I’m competing against 29 other MLB clubs. It comes down to us making good decisions, taking advantage of opportunities, and we’re gonna do it.”
Here’s the reality: The Yankees are not just one of those 29 other teams. Even without a World Series trip in the last decade, they have been consistently successful on the field and in the market.
Cohen’s infusion of a cash and a hard reset will benefit the Mets. But it will also be good for the Yankees. Competition is always good to spur a team or organization on.
Sure, the Yankees may not be the team that is most affected. The Phillies, Nationals, Braves and Marlins will have to deal with Cohen and his cash more directly. While the Mets certainly have some building to do before they are a team to deal with, they could start throwing down the gauntlet this winter by going after big-name free agents.
That could affect the Bombers.
The Mets and Yankees will both be looking for starting pitching and catching. J.T. Realmuto and Trevor Bauer would make big splashes in Queens for a new owner who comes in as not only the richest owner in the league but the only one that didn’t suffer losses last season. Those two are probably not realistically in the Yankees' plans this winter.
The Yankees and Mets, however, could find themselves fighting for the likes of catcher James McCann or a starter like Charlie Morton.
And, if the Mets really wanted to tweak their crosstown cousins, they could respond to the potential of a universal designated hitter by going after DJ LeMahieu under the guise of letting Robinson Cano retire from second base.
Even Cohen knows that if these two teams tangle for a free agent, it will not be the same as either New York team being in a bidding war against the Phillies or Padres. It will be magnified on the backpages, the rival TV networks and radio stations in this town.
And it will be good to see the two teams competing again.
The New York baseball rivalry has been lopsided for a decade now. Frankly, we should all miss the early days of the heated Subway Series. There were days of back-and-forth trash talk between families and friends who built their summers around those six games, living for the bragging rights that came with their team winning.
In his press conference Tuesday, you could tell that Cohen had enjoyed a little bit of that too. Cohen talked about going to the Polo Grounds to watch the Mets play with his dad and spending summer evening with his buddies at Shea Stadium. He knows what it’s like to watch the Yankees build a dynasty in the Bronx while the Mets struggled. He’s heard the trash talk before.
He certainly knows how to add a little twinge to a compliment for the Yankees.
“The Yankees have a great history. They’ve won 27 championships? Or 28 now? So, you know, that’s pretty impressive,” Cohen said when asked again about the Yankees, a subtle reminder that the Bombers have been stuck on 27 for 11 years. "That’s what happens when you build a great organization and they had that. Saying that, there were times when the Mets were great too. We just want to be great more often. So that’s what I’m focused on and I’m ready for the challenge. I’m all in here.”
And we’re all in for a rejuvenated New York baseball rivalry.
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