Bad recipe: HR-hitting team meets hot knuckleballer

Nobody becomes baseball's hot pitcher without humiliating the Yankees on national TV. For starters, half the people in America immediately fall in love with the guy, for beating the Yankees. Plus, you have the hype factor, the FOX or ESPN machines that gin up rivalries, story lines, etc., for the sake of ratings.

I remember Mark Fydrich crushing the Reggie-Thurman team. Felix Hernandez did it to our recent orders. Justin Verlander. Yu Darvish. It's a rite of passage. (Dice K never pulled it off, which was the first crack in his hype dyke.)

Tonight brings R.A. Dickey's claim to greatness. The knuckler vs the homer-happy team.

Steel yourselves for the over-the-top hype, for immediate drama over no-hitter potential, and a CC meltdown that will make the entire night a Mets party.

Good night to see Prometheus.