Are the Seattle Mariners up to the sheer magnitude of the task?

Can they handle the responsibility?

The Yankees celebrated early and often in Game 3 on Friday.(AP)

Sadly, it appears as if the answer is no.

The Mariners squandered more opportunities than a blind squirrel running past a field of acorns in an 8-2 Game 3 loss to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. They blew a 1-0 lead in the first Friday and, despite putting runners on base in seven of nine innings against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte and reliever Jeff Nelson (although New York closer Mariano Rivera retired five in a row to end the game), they couldn't get the clutch hit when they needed it.

"I think anytime you have a man in scoring position and don't get him in, it's a missed opportunity. You just have to go out and keep battling," said Mariners first baseman John Olerud, 1-for-4 on the night and 0-for-2 with men in scoring position. "It's better than not getting anybody on base."

Now, the Mariners have lost serve in Safeco Field and the old, creaky, cranky Yankees are eyeing their fourth World Series appearance in five seasons. Meanwhile, across town, those are the Mets with cold beverages in hand, their feet propped up on the coffee table.

New York, New York?

OK, OK. So we're not there yet. But the way things are going, you can bet your last slice of New York pizza that we'll be there when the World Series begins a week from now. Danger is lurking around every base. With the Yankees snatching a two-games-to-one lead in the ALCS, the status of this most recent Subway Series threat has been upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane.

Already, St. Louis appears more overmatched in the NLCS than a Central Park tourist after midnight. Come on, the Cardinals are down two games to none and they've got Andy Benes on deck to start Game 3 on Saturday? Why not start refunding their fans' ticket money right now?

So that leaves the Mariners, for better or worse, as America's Team. At least, they're the team representing the significant portion of the country that is pulling against New York, New York. Which includes most of the Farm Aid states, the Rust Belt, the Bible Belt, the Deep South, the Deeper Southwest, the Pacific Northwest and all the surfer dudes along the California coast.

No doubt about it. Right now, the Mariners clearly would receive more electoral votes than either Al Gore or George W. Bush.

"We're just concentrating on trying to win games here," Olerud said. "We're not thinking about things other than our next at-bat or the next pitch."

The way things have gone the past two games -- the Mariners have been whipped 7-1 and 8-2 -- maybe they ought to expand their field of thought. Something. Anything.

"Today was a must-win situation," Seattle franchise player Alex Rodriguez said. "Every game in the playoffs is a must-win situation. You can't look at the big picture. You have to look at the small picture and take each pitch at a time."

Can you imagine the trauma that will be inflicted on the rest of us if a Subway Series becomes reality? They'd have to pass a city ordinance outlawing careless and reckless use of Frank Sinatra. "Start spreadin' the news/Every Sinatra cliché we will abuse..."

Not to mention having to watch dueling politicians marking their territory. Lifelong Chicago Cubs fan Hillary Clinton, who now is on record as saying she's a lifelong Yankees fan, would have to admit that, yes, in reality, she is a lifelong Cubs fan, a lifelong Yankees fan and a lifelong Mets fan.

And what about New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, an avid Yankees follower who crossed into enemy territory this summer during interleague play and actually had the gall to wear a Mets jacket in Shea Stadium? With a wife and a girlfriend, both of whom are very public, Giuliani has more women than Seattle outfielder Al Martin.

Oh, the humanity! Already, the city is overheated. Already, you can't find a hotel room in midtown Manhattan for less than $350 a night. Already, the tabloids are budgeting extra for ink.

"Win, Win!" cried the New York Post the other day after the Yankees and Mets both won.

"On Track!" read the back page when you flipped over the newspaper.

Nothing changed Friday. The Mariners scored in the first on Edgar Martinez's RBI single, but they left two runners aboard against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte.

The Yankees popped for two runs in the second when Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez both took Seattle starter Aaron Sele deep, and the Mariners answered that by putting two runners aboard in the bottom of the second ... and stranding them.

With runners on second and third with just one out, Rickey Henderson dumped a soft broken bat grounder toward third, and Mike Cameron followed with an inning-ending ground ball.

It was about then that reservationists at hotels all over Manhattan began fielding phone calls by the gross.

Is this any way for a team holding the baseball hopes and dreams of nearly the entire United States to behave?

The Mariners simply don't have the punch to come back when they get behind. Not with a bottom-of-the-lineup featuring David Bell, Joe Oliver and Mark McLemore. And not in the pitcher's paradise that is Safeco Field.

Look. New York is a great city, and everyone should experience a Subway Series at least once in his or her life. And, like it or not, being that there hasn't been a Subway Series since 1956, perhaps we'd better start getting used to the idea.

"If it ever happened, it would be wild," Yankees manager Joe Torre said Friday. "It would be absolutely crazy in New York."

"I'm trying not to think about it," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "We've got a lot to focus on (with St. Louis). But it would be an exciting thing for New York, and for baseball."

Exciting? Well, Yankee Stadium's Monument Park always sends chills up your spine. The Yankees' pinstripes are bathed in history. And over at Shea Stadium, Rusty Staub is sure to appear somewhere.

And really, Billy Joel's New York State of Mind is a fine song.

In fact, you can almost hear it in the distance now. "The New York Times, the Daily News ..."

Or is that simply the drone of the tabloids roaring off the printing presses?