NEW YORK -- The first pitch had not been thrown in either league championship series, but the Yankees and Mets already are on their way to the World Series.

At least, that's what the New York papers say.

The tabloids have turned on the hype machine for a Subway Series, making the Mariners andCardinals out to be nothing more than designated victims along the way.

"I think it's a little premature myself," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. "But we'll find out."

There has been quiet talk about the possibility all summer, but the talk quickly is getting louder.

Mets manager Bobby Valentine actually was asked about it before Sunday's division series game, and the subject became front- and back-page news in Monday morning's tabloids. "ON TRACK," blared the New York Post, "Yanks, Mets keep Subway Series dream alive."

The hype picked up more steam Tuesday, with special Subway Series-themed baseball sections in both papers. "NEXT STOP!" exclaimed the Daily News, "Yanks, Mets one step away from Subway Series."

The newspapers aren't the only ones pushing the idea. There's talk on the radio, at the ballparks, all over town.

"I think after last year (when both teams also were in the league championship series), people are sort of assuming it's going to happen sooner or later," Yankees manager Joe Torre said Tuesday. "There's no question that when you go around to a restaurant or to pick up your dry cleaning, that's the talk, not even considering this a challenge. They say, "the Subway Series, the Subway Series.' "It would be great for the city, no question. It would be exhausting. But I think the city would be excited."

There was a time, back when the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants played in New York, that Subway Series were common. They happened seven times between 1947 and 1956.

Torre was a kid growing up in Brooklyn then, so he knows what it was like. But he also knows what it would be like now. "It was exciting then," Torre said, "but I don't think it's going to be close to what it would be if it happened again."

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