(Long Island, N.Y.) The first installment of the 2009 Subway Series could not have come at a worse time for either the Yankees or Mets. Both teams are playing perhaps their worst baseball of the young season and are limping into Citi Field for the annual three-game set in Queens.
The Bombers have lost three in a row, including a short two-game sweep in the Bronx at the hands of the first place Tampa Bay Rays. The Mets also dropped a deuce to a division rival, losing a pair in the nation’s capital to the Nationals.
With a 20-22 mark, the Mets are holding up the basement in the National League East and looked listless on this past road trip (1-6). With only two wins in their last 10 games, the Mets have serious deficiencies in more than one area. Their starting rotation has been suspect and their bullpen is a disaster. With no real power threat in the line-up, Jason Bay and David Wright struggling and COO Jeff Wilpon making a surprise appearance in Atlanta, the watch for both manager Jerry Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya may get hot if the Mets play as poorly as they have of late against their cross-town rivals.
The Yankees are not in as bad a position as the Mets, but their injuries are mounting and they are beginning to take effect. Jorge Posada is the latest to go and has joined Curtis Granderson (groin), Nick Johnson (wrist) and Nick Swisher (bicep) on the shelf. Posada is expected to miss up to a month with a hairline fracture on his right foot after fouling a ball hard off it during Wednesday’s 10-6 loss to Tampa. To lose four of the starting eight position players for any period of time is bad enough, but Johnson is going to require surgery and Posada has spent a lot of time on the disabled list over the years.
Marcus Thames, who has been seeing more playing time with Granderson out, is also day-to-day with a sprained ankle.
Injuries are part of the game and the Mets know a thing or two about that. It has not been as bad for them as last year, but they still are missing Carlos Beltran. The centerfielder is still out recovering from offseason knee surgery and his absence has left a big void in the line-up. Wright may be trying too much and leads the major leagues with 55 strikeouts. Bay, who was inked to a huge free agent contract to be the clean-up hitter, has hit just one home run and has only 16 RBI. You know things are not going your way when Rod Barajas, a catcher that was signed as the Mets’ third choice over the winter, is leading the team with 9 long balls. Jose Reyes has been slow to come around after returning from his own injury and is hitting a mere .210 and running the bases like an undisciplined rookie.
After Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, the starting staff is full of holes and question marks. Oliver Perez was finally dropped as the number five arm after a not so surprising 0-3, 5.88 start. The relievers have been unreliable outside of closer Francisco Rodriguez, yet even he has already blown two saves but has an ERA under two.
Needless to say, one of these two teams will get right by the end of the weekend. By the time they meet again at Yankee Stadium next month, things may be different for both clubs – for better or worse.
