Did the New York Yankees and New York Mets really play Friday night at Yankee Stadium? From the sound, and the size, of the crowd there was no way to be sure. Yankee Stadium was -- amazingly -- not sold out Friday. The team announced attendance of 47,874 -- a good crowd, sure, but not the standing-room-only throng you would have seen in years past for the Subway Series.
The other thing is this was a quiet crowd. Even Yankee play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay noted the lack of buzz throughout the building.
Of course, you can make the argument that R.A. Dickey and the Mets pitchers had a lot to do with that as the Mets won, 2-1. Still, though, there were a good percentage of Mets fans at the Stadium and you would have -- at least -- expected a raucous ninth inning. Instead, it was a quiet one.
What was this, a Yankees-Royals game?
The novelty, it seems, has worn off when it comes to Yankees-Mets, and interleague rivalries in general. Too much of a good thing. It is sort of like the Yankees playing the Red Sox 19 times a year. It is hard to get completely fired up for every one of those games.
The Yankees and Mets have been meeting in the regular season now since 1997. It's not a big deal anymore. It's nice, but it isn't different. It is just part of the schedule.
You had the feeling the crowd at Yankee Stadium Friday night senses that, too.