New York ? For the first time in a long time, the Subway Series looks like a fair fight.

When Derek Jeter, Joe Torre and the $200 million New York Yankees come rolling this weekend into Shea Stadium, they’ll see more than just a familiar face in the other dugout. They’ll see a team with a better record, too.

Willie Randolph has the new-look Mets off to a 22-19 start in his first year as manager after 11 seasons spent coaching with the Yankees. And he knows all about the Big Apple buzz that comes with every Yankees-Mets series.

“I’ve been through a lot of this,” Randolph said. “The players really don’t get into all the hype. When I was on the other side we saw it as something that was overhyped.”

Not to most of the fans. Mets rooters view every Subway Series as a chance to slay Goliath, to win citywide bragging rights for a while – at least until the playoffs.

For Yankees backers, these games often are a nuisance because there isn’t much to gain: If they win, they were supposed to. If they lose, an endless parade of annoying Mets fans will be reveling all afternoon on talk radio.

Such is the nature of a one-sided rivalry – the Yankees have 26 World Series titles to two for the Mets. And since interleague play began in 1997, the Yankees have been to the playoffs every year while the Mets have made it only twice.

Of course, one of those was in 2000, when the Yankees beat the Mets in the World Series, 4-1.

“Some people are trying to make it a big rivalry,” Jeter said. “I think Mets-Yankees has lost a little luster in the past few years, especially since we played in the World Series. You can’t get any bigger than that. But there’s still some excitement.”

Probably a little extra this year, thanks to the Mets’ offseason overhaul. Coming off their third straight losing season, the Mets hired new general manager Omar Minaya, who lured a pair of big-name free agents in Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran.

Both are off to solid starts in New York, helping the Mets recover nicely after losing their first five games of the year. Beating the Yankees a couple times would provide even more momentum.

“It’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s different. You pick the adjective and it has some place in this series,” Mets pitcher Tom Glavine said. “It’s hard to explain to somebody who has never seen it what it’s all about. I think from a players’ standpoint, we tend to downplay it a little bit because it’s just part of a schedule, but we know the fans are certainly into it. There’s a different level of excitement and electricity in the ballpark.”