salt in the wounds

it's been a tough year for new york baseball

veteran yankee pitcher andy pettite and former yankees pitcher roger clemens are named in the mitchell report ... pettite admits to steroid use ... roger denies, denies, denies ... and says andy "misremembered"

the yankees spend $40,000 to unearth a david ortiz jersey from the cement at the new yankee stadium

the yankees prized rookie pitcher throws 34 innings ... goes 0-4 with a 6.62 era ... and spends 4+ months on the disabled list

the "ace" of the yankees pitching staff ... "ace" by default because a true ace didn't exist ... trips over 3rd base and is lost for the season

the yankees underachieve ... the mets underperform

the mets disgracefully fire their manager in los angeles at the start of a west coast road trip ... at 2 am in the morning new york time

the yankees are eliminated from postseason play for the first time in 13 years

the mets collapse ... and tumble out of the postseason mix for a second consecutive september ... the 2007 collapse was more colossal ... the 2008 collapse more disappointing after high expectaions

yankee stadium and shea stadium played host to baseball for the last time in september ... next up citi field ... and allianz of germany field at yankee stadium of new york

and now this ... on the first day of october ... on the first day of baseball's postseason ... sans new york yankees ... sans new york mets ... this tbs banner hangs on 7th avenue in downtown new york

the guy in the forefront is, of course, josh beckett of the boston red sox ... yep, the boston red sox who are winners of 2 of the last 4 world series championships ... and arch-rival of the new york yankees ... it could have been worse ... the red sox player could have been new york's favorite ... jonathan papelbon ... actually, beckett was the choice over dustin pedroia because ... at 6'5", beckett fills the poster better vertically than the midget pedroia would have

the guy in the background ... all-star third baseman david wright ... of the "not playing baseball in october" new york mets

harsh!