A true Yankee dynasty used to be composed of five or six Hall of Famers--all of whom would be immortalized in Cooperstown wearing the pinstripes of the old New York Highlanders. I'm talking about guys like Lou Gehrig, a native New Yorker who played 2,130 consecutive games at first base for the Yankees, and Babe Ruth, who hit most of his 714 home runs in the House that Ruth himself Built. Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford--all Yankee legends.

How about the current Bronx Bombers? Sure, they win, but Yankee Stadium is little more than a revolving door for players looking to collect a ring.

Closer John Wetteland won in 1996, then left for Texas. The Yankees loved David Wells so much that they traded him for Roger Clemens. And this year, it has gotten out of control: David Justice, Denny Neagle, Glenallen Hill, Luis Polonia, Jose Canseco. Who hasn't played for the Yankees?

Now for the Mets, the last remnant of the National League left in New York--if Long Island really counts as New York. National League baseball doesn't belong in New York unless there's a legitimate rivalry to get the fans riled up.

The likes of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry--which admittedly faded after they left Brooklyn and Harlem in 1957--has never been rebuilt in New York. Sure, the Mets have challenged the Braves consistently for the last five years, but that's no rivalry. The Mets didn't even face the Braves in the postseason this year.

So Mets fans are left to direct their vicious wrath--and it is vicious--in the direction of the Bronx, where the Yankees' 25 championships outnumber the Mets' two titles. But don't equate mere jealousy with a real rivalry.

When the Dodgers and Giants were alternating National League pennants in the '40s and '50s, they had actual role players. Everyone in Brooklyn knew Jackie Robinson could play first or second, bunt his way on base and steal home whenever he wanted. Manhattan could always count on Bobby Thomson to come through in the clutch. Willie Mays and Duke Snider roamed the outfields of the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field like a mayor struts around City Hall.