2014 Subway Series Preview

That time of the year has arrived. The battle for New York is upon us as the Subway Series is set to go in Major League Baseball. Both teams have made some major changes in the offseason, trying there best to improve their baseball teams, with some interesting words being thrown around during the winter. We will get to that in a little while. There is a promise of something you will see every year. At least once a year the Mets and Yankees will leave a memorable moment in time. So before we get into this years series, this crosstown rivalry does have a little bit of history behind it.

This will mark the 18th time since interleague play began in 1997, that the teams will face off during the regular season. The Mets won the first ever game played between these two teams, 6–0 behind Dave Mlicki complete game shutout. The Yankees went on to take the final two games of that series. In fact the Yankees won the first two series between the teams, before they earned a split of the series in 1999. In total, the Yankees have won the season series eight times, while the Mets have won the series three times (2004, 2008 and a sweep of last year). In total, the Yankees are 54-40 all time in the regular season against the Mets. The teams have split the series five times. There have been great memories associated with this rivalry, like June 12th, 2009 when Louis Castillo droppped the game ending pop up allowing the Yankees to get the walk off win, Mets get the walk off win over Mariano Rivera twice during the years and so on.

So now that we know that there have been some great moments between the two clubs, with more to come in this season. There's a lot of interesting ways to look at this series, with focus on two storyline in particular. First is that this is going to be Derek Jeter's last series against the Mets, something the Mets are going to be very happy to see. During his career, Jeter has killed the Mets, as he has a .368 average with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 84 games against the Amazins.  Jeter has felt very comfortable hitting, and playing, against the Mets so he is looking to close out this rivalry with a bang before he retires.This year Jeter been able to hit .250 with a homer and seven RBI in his final year in the bigs.

The other big storyline in the series is the fact that Curtis Granderson will be making his return to the Bronx for the first time since leaving for the Mets as a free agent. Granderson made a pretty big splash when he was first introduced as a member of the Mets when he said “A lot of the people I’ve met in New York have always said that true New Yorkers are Mets fans.” (WFAN) So he made a pretty bold statement in his first press conference with his new team. Sadly he hasn't really been able to back up that claim, as he is hitting .185 with three homers since signing the four year deal with to play in Flushing. So you know, thanks to his bold comments and his underachieving play to this point in the year, that Yankees fans are going to be all over Gradnerson. It will be intriguing to see how well he is going to handle the situation.

With all that taken into account, its going to make for some must watch baseball. Of course, both teams will always be compared to eachother. So staying in that spirit, we will do that now for a breakdown of this series.

Catchers (Brian McCann vs. Travis d'Arnaud)
This one is almost a no contest. Sure d'Arnaud has done an alright job behind the plate. The offensive production isn't quite there just yet, but the Mets hope he will be able to turn it around. Meanwhile Brian McCann has been as advertised in a Yankee uniform. He has provided the offensive pop that the team was looking for when they signed him. Same thing goes for his defense.

The Edge: Yankees

1st Baseman (Mark Teixeira vs. Lucas Duda)
This one isn't even a contest really, Teixeira is just so far ahead of Duda in both offensive production and defense it's not even really funny. I'll give Duda a little bit of credit, he hasn't been too bad on the defensive side of things. From an offensive perspective, it's not even really close, Tex has the advantages, being he is a much better hitter.

The Edge: Yankees

2nd Baseman (Brian Roberts vs. Daniel Murphy)
This is the first time I will flip the switch here on the two teams.  Brian Roberts has been average at both sides of the ball this year. Defense is ok but hitting is a little below par. Murphy is a better defensive second baseman and better hitter. This one is a little easier to pick.

The Edge: Mets

Shortstop: (Derek Jeter vs. Ruben Tejada)
This one almost isn't really fair to pick. I know that Jeter isn't near the top of his game like he was almost ten years ago. Jeter and Tejada can play well on the defensive side of the ball, Jeter is better but not by much. When it comes to hitting, however, that's a different story. Tejada can't hit a lick, while Jeter still can to a degree. This one is again a no contest.

The Edge: Yankees

3rd Base (Yangervis Solarte vs. David Wright)
From a defensive perspective this one isn't even really close, Wright is a better all around defensive 3rd baseman. Simple as that. When it comes to hitting, at least right now, its a little closer than people would have guessed. Solarte has driven in 20 runs and is hitting .315. Wright is hitting .289 but has driven in two more runs than Solarte. Both guys have hit two homers. But if you look at the whole body of work, I think it might be a no contest.

The Edge: Mets

Right Field (Carlos Beltran vs. Curtis Granderson)
This one is an interesting position to look at. We know both guys can hit for power and can play the outfield. But there is a few stark differences. Beltran has a slight edge on defense and when it comes to hitting it's not really close. Sure both guys are power hitters but Granderson strikes out too much while Beltran is a much better all around hitter. Figuring out the advantage is pretty easy.

The Edge: Yankees

Center Field (Jacoby Ellsbury vs. Chris Young/Juan Laguares)
Another case of almost a no brainer. Ellsbury is a better all around ball player than whoever the Mets have roaming Center field. It would be a lot closer though if it was Laguares in for the Mets. Laguares is a better defensive outfielder but the hitting aspect favors the Yankees.

The Edge: Yankees

Left Field (Brett Gardner vs. Eric Young Jr.)
Both guys have good speed, both guys have good range in the outfield and both guys are decent hitters, with a slight edge in offensive production from Gardner. This one will be fun to watch

The Edge: Even

Designated Hitter (Bobby Abreau vs. Alfonso Soriano)
This one too is a bit of a no contest. I know both guys are getting up there in years, but Abreau is 40 and hasn't played much the last few years. After being a once feared power hitter, he hasn't been at that level in quite a while. Soriano still has a little jump in his bat. He can't hit quite as well as he did in his first stint with the Yankees, but he can still swing the bat once in a while.

The Edge: Yankees

Starting Pitchers:
Bartolo Colon (2-5) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (2-3) 
Zach Wheeler (1-3) vs. Vidal Nuno (1-0)
Rafael Montero (0-0) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (5-0)
Dilon Gee (3-1) vs. Paul Maholm (1-3)
Pitching staff has been weird this season. They have had some inconsistencies on both sides that can be said. Just based on who is starting in this four game set, they may be able to pull out a split of the series.

The Edge: Even