Talk about ugly. The past week for the Yankees and Mets could not have been uglier, creating such a stench that it is now overshadowing the drawn out, seemingly boring Subway Series for this weekend.To say that this series is big for both teams is a bit of an understatement. Both the Yankees and the Mets need to win this series, or panic could begin to set in.
After getting swept by the Red Sox, it is clear that Boston is in the Yankees head, or at least in the heads of Yankee fans. The Bombers are now a stunning 0-8 versus Boston this year, and all eight games haven't been close.
If the Yankees can take one thing away from the series in Boston it is three things:
1) The Yankee offense is still one of the best in baseball. Mark Teixeria is having an MVP type of year with 19 home runs, 52 RBI and a .289 batting average. Ever since A-Rod returned to lineup in May, Teixeria has been in the middle of every single Yankee rally; without him, the Yankees offense clearly would suffer. Furthermore, Teixeria could have a big weekend against the Mets. He is a lifetime .366 hitter with 4 homers and 19 RBI against the Kings from Queens.
Add to the fact that Johnny Damon (13 homers, 35 RBI), Melkey Cabrera (6 homers, 24 RBI), Robinson Cano (9 homers, 35 RBI) and Nick Swisher (12 homers, 35 RBI) have all enjoyed big seasons as the understudies for the Bombers. It certainly helps an offense when their home ballpark is bandbox, but these guys have hit well on the road this season.
2) Starting pitching: The Yankees still have a deep rotation with Andy Pettitte, C.C. Sabathia, Joba Chamberlain and A.J. Burnett. All four can make up for problems at the back end of the rotation and in the bullpen.
Speaking of that back end of the rotation; there is some serious concern about Chien-Ming Wang. Wang has been awful this year. He is 0-4 with a 14.34 ERA, and has not pitched more than three innings in a game this season. If Wang continues to struggle, then Phil Hughes will get another look, but he has not been great.
3) No Competition. Outside of the Red Sox, and maybe maybe the Toronto Blue Jays, the rest of the American League stinks to the high heavens. The Tigers are barely over .500 in the Central, with the Twins, Indians, White Sox and Royals all under .500 and struggling to find consistency.
Out West, the Rangers have surprised many with a four game lead over the Angles, but does anyone really believe that the Rangers can win with guys like Vicente Padilla, Scott Feldman and Kevin Millwood as their top three starters? I don't think so. Meanwhile, the Angles are at .500 and are beginning to show their age with Vladimir Gurrero and Gary Matthews Jr. struggling. In other words, if the Yankees don't win the AL East, they will likely be the wild card at the end of the day.
As for those New York Metropolitians, the drums of mourning are heard in the far away distance. Call it injuries to top players, i.e. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, John Maine, Ryan Church, Carlos Beltran, et al. Fact remains, however, that even with a makeshift lineup, nothing has changed for the Mets; they are still a heartless ball club.In their embarrassing series loss to the Phillies, in each game, the Mets held 3-0 leads only to watch the Phillies storm back to take the lead for good. How did the Mets respond? Well, they went away quietly into the night without any clutch hitting.
In Wednesday's meltdown the Mets had only two base hits in the game's final five innings. The Phillies, meanwhile, got a gigantic three-run homer from Raul Ibanez to win the game in the 11th inning. Talk about clutch.
In Tuesday's disgrace, the Mets made about a dozen fielding errors to blow a 4-0 lead. In the end, Chase Utley came away the hero with a solo home run in the 10th to win it for Philadelphia, 5-4.
The Mets are a joke. As much as Met fans want to deny it and ignore it, this club never hits in the clutch. They have no heart, and it doesn't help matters when their manager, Jerry Manuel, quotes Rich Kottite and Art Howe after the game by saying, "We battled."
The losses to the Phillies are not just losses, they are examples of a three year run of futility for the Mets, stark reminders of promises broken, and dreams shattered. The losses to the Phillies bring back memories of game seven NLCS 2006; bring back the memories of seven up with 17 to play in September 2007; bring back the memories of the Marlins dancing around the field in the final game ever at Shea Stadium in September of 2008.
How do the Mets react to these moments? They shrug it off. Hey, it's just baseball. Don't tell that to the Yankees who will likely come out like a team possessed this weekend as they try to forget their previous humiliating week. For the Mets, it's just baseball, and if they don't care, why should Met fans care?
PREDICTIONS:
GAME ONE: YANKEES 7, METS 3. Livan Hernandez has horrible numbers against the Yankees, and it won't get any better tonight.
GAME TWO: YANKEES 18, METS 1. It doesn't matter if the Mets pitched John Maine, or Bozo the clown, the Yankee bats will be smoking all afternoon long.
GAME THREE: METS 5, YANKEES 4. I will give the Mets one since Johan Santana is on the mound against A.J. Burnett who has been struggling lately. But a Yankee sweep would not be surprising.
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