With the money flowing freely in the Bronx and in Flushing, you can (almost) piece together the what-if checklist for a Subway Series. Sound crazy? Not really, said one Baseball executive, who believes the Mets now have the National League?s best endgame duo in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz and that the Bombers might just take a run at Mark Teixeira.

In the meantime, the ease with which Cashman and Minaya snared their prey ? CC Sabathia and Rodriguez ? left their peers envious. "There wasn?t much subterfuge, both [Cashman and Minaya] did exactly what they set out to do," said one major league official. "In this economy, that?s pretty rare."

Somehow, the Yankees and Mets were able to create their own stimulus packages. The Bombers, in particular, are now so emboldened they were nervy enough to ask the Brewers for compensation in a potential deal for Mike Cameron.

Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin was said to be livid ? understandably so. The Yankees had just out-bid the Brewers by $61 million for Sabathia, and yet demanded the Brewers kick back a few dollars from Cameron?s $10 million salary. No doubt Cashman is remorseless; he sees the Sabathia and Cameron transactions as unrelated. That?s a pure corporate reflex, driven by a front office that?s used to getting what it wants with its financial might. As A?s GM Billy Beane says, "fighting the Yankees dollar for dollar is like using bows and arrows against smart bombs."

Of course, not everyone agrees the Yankees and Mets are on a straight, unfettered path to the postseason. The Bombers, for one, still have to upgrade their offense, even as they?re hotly pursuing A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe ? with Ben Sheets as the dark horse.

Andy Pettitte remains a viable option, too, but only if he agrees to take a massive pay cut from last year?s $16 million salary. Cashman flew to Pettitte?s home in Texas on Thursday for a face-to-face negotiating meeting ? perhaps the final conversation the left-hander will have with the Yankee family if he doesn?t agree to pitch for $10 million in 2009.

But regardless of Pettitte?s decision, the Yankees still will need to score enough runs to sustain the newly-minted starting rotation. There?s talk that the Yankees could emerge as eleventh-hour suitors for Teixeira, although Cashman publicly insists he?s trying to lower payroll, not fatten it.

"I don?t believe that for a minute," said one industry rival. After showing up at Sabathia?s door on Monday night with an extra $21 million, is there any reason to think the Yankees will stop just short of Teixeira? For now, the Red Sox are the primary suitors, but agent Scott Boras intends to keep the door open long enough for the Yankees to come charging through.

The Mets have their own agenda, giddy as they were on Thursday. When Minaya spoke about newfound "hope" fans will have this season, he was talking about recouping the 29 blown saves that doomed his team in 2008.

K-Rod and Putz are all about power and dominance; they?re strikeout specialists who just might have the same blow-away quotient that Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland did in 1996.

But that?s not to say K-Rod?s transition to a new set of teammates will be a smooth one, or that Putz will be happy losing his closer?s job ? even in a winning environment. Rodriguez was disliked by many Angels, and by others around the American League, even the normally tolerant Rivera.

Before the AL All-Stars arrived at Yankee Stadium last July, Rivera instructed clubhouse workers to keep K-Rod?s temporary locker as far away from him as possible. The reason?

K-Rod is everything the Yankee closer is not ? loud and ego-driven and particularly over-reactive.

Imagine, then, how Putz ? who some scouts say has better stuff than Rodriguez when healthy ? will feel while serving as Rodriguez?s eighth-inning butler. Minaya acknowledged it will take some finessing by the Mets to make Putz comfortable.

He said, "there?s definitely going to be a conversation. You can?t just say, ?this is it.? "

Yet, Minaya is ready to embrace the better times ahead.

He knows the Mets have inched significantly closer to the Phillies in the last 48 hours, even if Cole Hamels called the Mets "chokers" on WFAN.

The GM, who was unaware of the Hamels insult Thursday morning, prefers to forget about last September.

"For the Met fan it?s exciting today," he said.

"I think that a lot of things going on right now, layoffs and all that, we can make Mets fans at least hopeful, keep some hope alive."

Hope goes a long way in December: it?s the bridge to pitchers and catchers.

Still, nothing fuels the October fantasy machine like money, which in these dreary, depressed times, is coming down like a hard rain in the Bronx and in Flushing.

Repeat after the bow-and-arrow army: Don?t look up, the smart bombs are already flying.