Hills be shaken: The Mets are more popular than the Yankees in New York City.

That, at least, is the finding of a recent Quinnipiac University poll conducted on that very matter. Yanks rooters, though, can console themselves with the knowledge that they still own the NYC suburbs and New York State as a whole.

The money quote from Quinnipiac:

The Subway Series between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees is headed for extra innings as 45 percent of New York City baseball fans prefer the Amazins and 43 percent back the Bombers, according to the Quinnipiac University New York Baseball Poll released today.



Statewide, fans back the Yankees over the Mets 48-34 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds.



The Bombers are ahead 53-14 percent among upstate fans, with 9 percent for the Red Sox. Among suburban fans, 49 percent cheer for the Yankees and 44 percent root for the Mets.

It’s worth noting that the Mets’ lead within the city limits is within the margin of error. However, let us not allow mitigating details get in the way of a clickable headline.

All of this sort of stands to reason. The Yankees are still transitioning into the post-Derek Jeter era, they’re coming off a fourth-place finish in 2016, and they’ve missed the playoffs in three of the last four years. The Mets, meantime, have made the postseason two years running, thanks mostly to a star-quality rotation, and won the pennant in 2015. They’re also expected to contend again in 2016, whereas the Yankees may get buried in the tough AL East.

This is subject to change, of course, especially if the tremendous core of young talent the Yankees have in place lives up to the press clippings. For now, though, it’s a Mets town, albeit barely.