September 18, 2006 The Detroit Tigers’ hot start under Jim Leyland. The Houston Astros’ re-signing of Roger Clemens. The Chicago Cubs’ seemingly imminent firing of Dusty Baker. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ deadline-beating trades by Ned Colletti. The Boston Red Sox’s meltdown under Terry Francona. The Florida Marlins’ unlikely streak led by Joe Girardi. The Atlanta Braves’ end to a long run with Bobby Cox.

They’re all nice vignettes, headline-grabbers at one time or another. Over a six-month season, every team has to get some level of decent play, good or bad. But with two weeks to go, now that it matters, look who’s leading the pack in each league.

In both cases, the team with the highest payroll that plays in the biggest media market and flexes its muscles the most is the team with the best record and seems best-suited to win the pennant. Twenty-three weeks in, it comes down to the New York Yankees and New York Mets as World Series favorites, a New York-New York finale, as in 2000, but more evenly matched this time.

Realizing the newfound strength of the American League Central, Rodriguez correctly predicted that only the division winner would represent the East, but A-Rod wasn’t about to predict the five-game sweep at Fenway Park last month that put the Yankees 6 1/2 games ahead and provided impetus for the 9 1/2-game lead they had entering Monday’s games.

The Mets had their own concerns. Three weeks ago, the blood clot detected in Tom Glavine’s left shoulder seemed to necessitate surgery and end his season, if not his career, and that quickly halted World Series talk, especially with Pedro Martinez shelved with a calf injury.

The Mets’ lineup is deep with Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca and newcomer Shawn Green, along with Cliff Floyd and Jose Valentin, and the playoff rotation is three-strong, with Orlando Hernandez following Martinez and Glavine. The No. 4 guy is 14-game winner Steve Trachsel, if he recovers from his recent slump, and the closer is Billy Wagner with 38 saves. It’s a huge upgrade from the days of Art Howe, just two short seasons ago.

As for the Yankees, the one playoff team they might have feared was the Minnesota Twins, but that was before Francisco Liriano was lost for the season. With lefties Johan Santana and Liriano facing a lineup of lefty swingers Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano, the Twins would have had high hopes. Santana might not be enough.

But like the Mets, who are only as good as the health of Martinez and Glavine, the Yankees will heavily rely on Mariano Rivera, 36, who hasn’t pitched since Aug. 31 because of a forearm strain and may not pitch again until the playoffs, according to manager Joe Torre, whose rotation includes a 43-year-old (Randy Johnson) and a 37-year-old (Mike Mussina), and thank goodness for 17-game winner Chien-Ming Wang.

It helps that the lineup is comparable to the best in history, not just because of the numbers but because of how methodically hitters work counts. The Yankees have a hard-to-believe .364 on-base percentage, and 852 runs or 5.7 per game, a run-per-game more than the Oakland A’s.

Making matters worse for opponents, the Yankees added Abreu, watched Matsui complete his rehab from a broken left wrist with a four-hit game and await the return of Gary Sheffield, who’s coming off left wrist surgery. Through it all, the MVP favorite is Derek Jeter, who excelled with Matsui and Sheffield sidelined and A-Rod going through the worst stretch of his career, playing as if he had a gaping hole in his bat, glove and psyche.

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