Subway Series Preview

Yankees vs. Mets
New Yankee Stadium
(three games)

That goodness we're out of Boston. I know it sucks to lose eight in a row to them, but at least they're still only two out, and the best part is they don't have to play them again until August. Maybe in the next three months they can actually figure out how to beat them.

Most fans I've heard from today seem to think the Yankees are in trouble. Me? I don't think so. They're the same team that was able to win 21 of 29 games before heading into Fenway and I'm confident they can regain that form.

The one thing that does concern me as the Yanks head into their first Subway Series of the year is the pressure that comes along with it. We all saw how tight the Yanks played in the three games up in Fenway and I'm just hoping that they can handle the pressure of a Subway Series, because honestly, up until now they haven't show they can handle such pressures.

One thing the Yankees have going for them is that the Mets head into this series with a ton of key injuries. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, John Maine, J.J. Putz, and Oliver Perez (who kills the Yankees) are all on the DL. Still, the Mets find themselves just four games behind the world champion Phillies in the NL East. They've gotten a lot offensively out of Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and some solid performances out of their backups, and on the pitching side, Johan Santana looks like he's headed for a Cy Young award, and Francisco Rodriguez has been light-out out of the pen. Speaking of those Phillies the Mets just finished off a series at Citi Field that saw the Phils take two of three from the Mets. Overall the Mets have lost 7 of their last 11 and are 31-27 for the season.

Both teams head into this series after taking a beating from their division rival, so it's safe to say both will be looking to put that ugliness behind them and have a good series. Last year the Mets two four of the six games against the Yankees.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, SNY, WCBS, WFAN
RHP Joba Chamberlain (3-1, 3.79 ERA) vs. RHP Livan Hernandez (5-1, 3.88 ERA)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 4:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, SNY, WCBS, WFAN
LHP Andy Pettitte (6-2, 4.22 ERA) vs. TBA

Game 3: Sunday @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WPIX, TBS, WCBS, WFAN
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-3, 4.89 ERA) vs. LHP Johan Santana (8-3, 2.39 ERA)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez - He may be struggling, hitting just. 234/.393/.495 with 8 HR and 25 RBI on the year, but that two-run double he hit last night in Fenway may just be the hit he needed to get out of this slump.

He's also had a lot of success against the Mets, hitting .328/.413/.549 with 8 HR and 26 RBI in 31 games. When he's played against the Mets in Yankee Stadium those numbers become ridiculous. He's hitting .453/483/.830 with 6 HR and 19 RBI in 13 games at the old stadium against the Mets.

Rodriguez vs. Hernandez: .625/.684/1.438 (10-for-16), 3 HR, 10 RBI, and 4 doubles.
Rodriguez vs. Santana: .238/.360/.524 (5-for-21) 2 HR, and 2 RBI.

METS: David - The Mets third baseman has been one of ttheir best offensive player this season. Probably a close second to Carlos Beltran, but unlike Beltran, Wright has killed the Yankees. In 24 games against the Yanks, he's hitting .367/.431/.667, with 7 HR and 22 RBI. At the old Stadium his numbers were nearly just as good, .362/.423/.553 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. In the six games against the Yanks last year he hit .480/.481/.760 with 2 HR and 7 RBI.

On the season Wright is batting .362 (leads team)/.458/.526 with 4 HR and 35 RBI, he also leads the team with hits (38) and stolen bases (17).

Wright vs. Chamberlain: 0-for-1
Wright vs. Pettitte: .444/.500/.833 (8-for-18), 2 HR, 3 RBI
Wright vs. Burnett: .167/.267/.250 (2-for-12), 4 RBI, 5 strikeouts

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Xavier Nady, RF: 15-day DL with an injured right elbow, he's playing in extended spring games down in Tampa. He could rejoin the Yankees next week.
- Cody Ransom, INF: 60-day DL with a strained right quad, he's playing games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
- Jose Molina, C: On the 15-day DL with a strained left quad. He's begun baseball activities but still thinks he's 10 days away.
- Brian Bruney, RP: 15-day DL with a flexor muscle problem in his forearm. He's been throwing bullpen sessions, and on Saturday will pitch in Trenton for the Double-A Thunder. If all goes well he could rejoin the Yankees on Tuesday against the Nationals.
- Damaso Marte, RP: 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. He's also begun throwing bullpen sessions.

METS:
- John Maine, SP: 15 day-DL with right shoulder fatigue.
- J.J. Putz, RP: 15-day DL after having right elbow surgery - he's out 8-10 weeks.
- Ramor Martinez, SS/2B: 15-day DL with a fractured left pinky.
- Angel Pagan, OF: 15-day DL with a strained right groin.
- Jose Reyes, SS: 15-day DL with right calf tendinits.
- Carlos Delgado, 1B: 15-day DL with a right hip impingement.
- Oliver Perez, SP: 15-day DL with right patellar tendinits.
- Billy Wagner, RP: 60-day DL after having left elbow surgery - he will miss the season.