Are we witnessing a sudden power in the New York baseball landscape? For months, one team looked like an unstoppable force, and the other was a resilient group battling to find its identity. Then, suddenly, the script flipped upside down. The tables have turned for the Mets and the Yankees, two NYC powerhouses.

In mid-May, these two teams played a gripping series in the Bronx and the Yankees looked dominant, winning two out of three games. The Bombers started off with a strong 6-2 win, before the Mets managed to grab the second game 3-2, off a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Nevertheless, the Yankees won the series by routing the Mets 8-2 in the decider, which included Cody Bellinger’s grand slam during a six-run eighth inning.

Fast forward to July 4th at Citi Field, and the fortunes of the teams had a total turnaround. The Mets authored a complete two-game sweep of their crosstown rivals. The series opener was a dramatic, see-saw battle. New York got out to an early edge with a pair of early home runs. But the Mets came right back, which included a game-turning 2-run homer by Jeff McNeil in the 7th. That home run set the home team up for a hard-earned 6-5 victory.

If the first game was a tense thriller, the second one was a one-way traffic. The Mets destroyed the Yankees in an all-out slug fest on July 5th, winning 12 to 6. Brandon Nimmo did not wait and opened the match with a grand slam in the first inning.

Following his lead, Pete Alonso, aka the Polar Bear, came on and stole the show. He hit 2 home runs and earned 5 RBIs. This game solidified the Mets’ dominance in the league and handed the struggling Yankees their 6th consecutive defeat.

These two games have highlighted two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Yankees are in a free fall. They had a great start to the season which saw them registering a 42-25, but it was followed by a losing run of 16 defeats in 22 games.

At the same time, the Mets have got out of a rough patch. After losing 13 out of their last 17 games in June, they have won 4 out of 5 in July. As of now, they have a 51-38 record and sit in second place in the NL East.

This sudden and dramatic reversal has sent shockwaves across the city. And the on-field action tells only half the story. The rest is being written in bars, on social media, and around water coolers by a fanbase that feels its time has finally come.

A chorus from Queens: The fans have their say

One fan cut straight to the chase, perfectly capturing the feeling of a power shift: “We OWN you and Diaz OWNS judge…it’s a Mets city now.” Well, does it sound like a justified claim after a dominant two-game sweep? It stems from the Mets’ historic ‘little brother’ complex. But it digs even deeper: Against Aaron Judge, Edwin Díaz has been nearly untouchable.

Judge is a generational slugger, yet in his career, he’s 0-for-4 (or maybe 0-for-3) against Díaz, having struck out twice facing him recently in closing situations during Subway Series battles.

Other fans took a more theatrical, sarcastic approach to their gloating. The Yankees’ six-game losing streak provided the perfect material for dark humor. “Officially eliminated from the playoffs. Wow,” wrote a fan. Well, that’s not true.

The Yankees aren’t literally eliminated in early July. But the fan is probably mocking the feeling of the Bombers’ catastrophic slump. A team that once looked like a juggernaut is now on a nosedive. During their six-game skid, the Yankees’ starting pitchers had an 8.36 ERA. The bullpen was even worse at 11.65.

Some of the sharpest jabs focused on a stunning role reversal. “I don’t think embarrassing covers this. This team is a dysfunctional mess,” a comment read and it hit hard because it flipped an old script. The “dysfunctional” label now fits the team in the Bronx, rather than a team in the Queens.

Uncharacteristic errors from Gold Glover Anthony Volpe show cracks in the Yankees’ fundamentals. Manager Aaron Boone’s decision to shuffle the infield has created defensive confusion. The entire lineup seems to stall when Aaron Judge isn’t playing at an MVP level.

Perhaps the most creative taunt weaponized the Yankees’ own bravado against them. Fans in Queens know the classic talking points of their Bronx counterparts. One fan brilliantly parroted those famous refrains, dripping with sarcasm: “Yankees are the big brothers. We have 27 rings. We are the best team in baseball. Aaron judge mvp. Volpe the next derek jeter. Ring 28 otw”

To cap it off, they added a photo of the flashy Jazz Chisholm Jr, a player who perfectly embodies the the Yankee stereotype for many Mets fans.

Each phrase was precisely. “27 rings,” well it feels like ancient history when the current team is imploding. “Aaron Judge MVP” sounds hollow as well after he went through a 3-for-24 slump. “Volpe the next Derek Jeter” is not quite accurate amid his offensive and defensive struggles. And Chisholm’s solo homer in a 12-6 loss was the perfect symbol. It was a flashy moment in a complete team failure.

Ultimately, the fan reactions celebrated the way the Mets won. “Subway Series turned slugfest, Mets brought the smoke and left the Yanks in the dust,” another fan chimed in, perfectly illustrating the offensive difference between the two teams.

The Yankees’ homers were lonely solo shots. The Mets’ homers were knockout blows. Brandon Nimmo’s first-inning grand slam was a statement of intent. Pete Alonso’s two homers and five RBIs were the work of an executioner. The Mets “brought the smoke” with 12 runs and left no doubt.