BlackAmericans.com

Joe Torre is about two hours from Yankee Stadium, but, for at least the next few days, he has sashayed back into the middle of New York’s baseball season.

The new cost for the best seats in Citi Field is a 79 percent increase over this year, but still shy of the $2,500 tickets at the new Yankee Stadium.

Anyone who lived in New York at the time knows the Mets ruled the city in the ’80s.

Willie Randolph is expected to watch the All Star Game Tuesday as a guest of the Steinbrenner family, providing a bit of local intrigue for an evening that will be filled with history and emotion.

David Wright filled an open slot on the National League squad and Yogi Berra help kick off the festivities leading up to the All-Stars.

José Reyes and Keith Hernandez engaged in an intense conversation on Sunday about comments Hernandez had made about the Mets player that day.

As easy as it is to say that the Yankees are the No. 1 team in New York, it was surprising to hear Jerry Manuel utter it.

The tandem of José Veras, Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera stifled the Mets on one hit over the final three innings to protect Andy Pettitte’s lead.

No one in baseball has been picked off this season more than José Reyes. Only one other pitcher has picked off as many runners as the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte.

Johan Santana was outdueled over six innings by another left-handed pitcher, Andy Pettitte, who carried a 19-inning scoreless streak into his start.