This weekend's upcoming Subway Series has some extra juice because both New York teams are in the top of their respective divisions. As both teams pass the 50-game mark of the season, I figure it's be fun to go position-by-position comparing the Yanks and Mets.
First Base
The case could be made that Mark Teixeira and Ike Davis are the two most disappointing players for their respective teams. Teixiera's batting average has climbed above .250 for only the second time this season, and his 7 double plays are tied for second on the team. The bright side for Mark is that his 9 HR are tied for second on the team, and his 32 RBI puts him third overall. Over in Queens, Ike Davis' season-long slump has him batting .164 with 5 HR and 21 RBI. Things have gotten so bad for the 25-year old that a trip to the minors might be in his future. You have to wonder if Davis was really ready to come back from his rumored Desert Fever that he had during spring training
Edge: Yankees
Second Base
Robinson Cano has bounced back from his slow April, hitting 7 HR with 19 RBI in May, while raising his season average over 15 points. Cano's 8 HR is third among major-league second basemen. Daniel Murphy is a solid player who hits for average, but not power. He is batting .293, and is second on the team with 15 doubles.
Edge: Yankees
Shortstop
Derek Jeter has cooled of a little from his hot start, but his 75 hits is still leads all AL hitters. He is a quintessential lead-off man for the Bombers, putting a runner on base for the big bats in the 2-5 hole. The Mets have had a hole in the shortstop position after losing Jose Reyes this offseason to the Marlins. Ruben Tejada, Omar Quintanilla, Justin Turner and Jordany Valdespin have all started games this season at short.
Edge: Yankees
Third Base
David Wright is having a career year, his .362 average is second in the NL, and is rewarding the Mets for their belief in him after a couple of down years. His power numbers, 7 HR, are right on par with the rest of his career. His home numbers have improved dramatically, with 4 HR in 94 at-bats this season after hitting only 5 HR in 180 home at-bats last season. Alex Rodriguez has seen a dip in his power numbers, but his .279 average is his highest since 2009. The biggest knock on A-Rod is his production with men in scoring position, and it hasn't gotten better this year. He is batting .170 (9-53) while striking out 11 times.
Edge: Mets
Left Field
Left field has been a mixed bag for both teams this season due to injuries to Jason Bay and Bret Gardner (both guys may be back for this weekend's series). 24-year old Kirk Nieuwenhuis has had a solid start to his major league career, batting .294 with 12 extra-base hits. The Yankees have platooned Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez in LF and DH this season. Ibanez's 9 HR is more than any Yankee fan could have expected from him
Edge: Mets
Center Field
Yankees centerfielder Curtis Granderson, has a case to be a top-5 outfielder in the majors. The Grandy Man has hit 82 HR in two and a half seasons in pinstripes (he hit 102 HR in six seasons in Detroit). Andres Torres is starting to come into form after getting injured on Opening Day.
Edge: Yankees
Right Field
Lucas Duda (.259, 9 HR, 32 RBI) and Nick Swisher (.249, 8 HR, 34 RBI) are almost identical players. Swisher gets more recognition playing for the Yankees, but the 26-year old Duda is a little bit better.
Edge: Mets
Catcher
Both teams are missing the days of Mike Piazza and Jorge Posada. Russell Martin got off to a really slow start and is batting just .211 this season, however he has been playing a bit better as of late. Josh Thole has shown some promise, batting .299, but he missed almost the whole month of May with a concussion.
Edge: Mets
Starting Pitchers
The Yankees starting pitching staff (CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova) have started to turn the corner recently, but they rank 25th in the majors with a 4.46 ERA, and have allowed a major-league high 57 homers. In spite of that, they lead the majors with 26 wins. Nova (5.09 ERA) and CC (3.68 ERA) lead the team with 7 wins each.
The Mets starters (R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee) rank 8th in the majors with a 3.71 ERA. The knuckleballer, Dickey is in the process of recording his major-leage high 9th win as I write this, which will eclipse his win total from last season. Johan has been on point this season after missing all of 2011 following a shoulder surgery in Sepember 2010. His 2.39 ERA is 6th best in the majors, but the team often doesn't score for him.
Scheduled Starters:
Friday: Santana (3-2, 2.38 ERA) vs Kuroda (4-6, 3.82 ERA) Edge: Mets
Saturday: Gee (4-3. 4.48 ERA) vs Hughes (5-5. 4.96 ERA) Edge: Yankees
Sunday: Niese (4-2, 4.11 ERA) vs Pettitte (3-2, 2.78 ERA) Edge: Yankees
Bullpen
What was once the strong suit of the Yankees has suddenly turned into a glaring weakness. Going into the season the Yanks figured they would have Rafael Soriano, Dave Robertson, and Mariano Rivera as their fearsome three-some coming out of the pen. Season-ending injuries to Mo as well as Joba Chamberlain, and a DL stint for D-Rob has put Soriano back into the closing role he knew so well in Tampa. Cory Wade, Clay Rapada, and Boone Logan round out the pen, letting Joe Girardi mix and match based on his giant notebook of stats.
The Mets lead the majors with 12 blown saves, and rank 23rd in the majors with a 4.24 bullpen ERA. Frank Francisco gives Mets fans more gray hairs than Armando Benitez, with a 5.40 ERA. Even more nightmarish is Manny Acosta's 11.86 ERA! Bobby Parnell, Jon Rauch, and Tim Byrdak have all been suitable getting the ball from the starter's hand to Francisco's.
Edge: Yankees
Overall
The Mets are this year's Cinderella story. They have been a scrappy team that won't quit, and even as a Yankee fan it's hard to root against them. The Yankees have underperformed for much of the season, but are only a half game out of first in the AL East. This series will bring some of the juice back to New York baseball, and help rekindle this rivalry.
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