It has been many years since there is so much anticipation between Mets fans and Yankee fans for the 2015 edition of the Subway Series beginning on Friday, April 24 at Yankee Stadium. The Mets enter the series with (can you believe it) the best record in baseball at 13-3. The Yankees, after a slow start, have won 6 of their last 7 games including 3 out of 4 from the very good Tigers. Currently, the Yankees have a record of 9-7 and are tied for first place in the AL East. Clearly, right now the Mets are the hottest team in baseball and the Yankees might be the second hottest team. This is the first time in the history of the Subway Series both teams enter the competition at least tied for first place. Two of the most talked about players this spring (albeit for different reasons) Matt Harvey and Alex Rodriguez will be in the limelight. This year both teams will host a three-game series which guarantees a winner for each series.
The Mets have been hit with the injury bug. They will enter the series without David Wright, their best positional player, their starting and much improved catcher Travis d’Arnaud, and relievers Jerry Blevins, Vic Black, Josh Edgin, and Bobby Parnell. Let’s not forget the loss of Zack Wheeler, their projected number two starter. In spite of these loses they have been winning with excellent starting and relief pitching. They have been scoring just enough runs to win many close games. Their closer, Jeurys Familia, is a perfect 8 for 8 in saves. If the Mets win 50% of their remaining games they will win 86 games. Since 90 wins usually guarantees a ticket to the playoffs, Mets fans can definitely start thinking about post-season play. Turning to the Yankees, they enter the series much healthier. Starters Ivan Nova and Chris Capuano are expected back in a couple of weeks. Brendon Ryan, their backup shortstop, will also return shortly.
The pitching matchups for the first three-game series include Jacob deGrom vs. Michael Pineda (Friday), Matt Harvey vs. CC Sabathia (Saturday) and Jon Niese vs. Nathan Eovaldi (Sunday). We will see power arms from all these pitchers. Among the 104 qualified starters Eovaldi, Harvey, and deGrom rank in the top ten in average velocity of their fastball.
The eyes of New York fans will be glued to two special players. Of course, I mean A-Rod and Harvey. A-Rod has surprised the fans and baseball experts by looking like his old self. He is hitting the fastball and physically looks great. Matt Harvey has returned from Tommy John surgery and also looks like his old self. I can’t wait to see the matchup between these two players.
I will have a follow-up posting after the series concludes. It is now 20 minutes from the start of game one. Enjoy the three-game series. This is A MUST SEE.