The annual interleague series have meant much always meant much more to the Mets than they have to the Yankees, and they’ve lost some luster since both the Yankees beat the Mets in the 2000 World Series. Until then, the series had regularly pitted playoff-contending teams against each other, but the Mets dropped off after their 2000 pennant. Finally, the Mets seem to be on the up. When the Mets’ ability goes up, so does the appeal of these series.
For the Mets, this series at Shea Stadium starts a stretch three difficult series; the Mets visit Atlanta and Florida following the Yankees series. The Mets have not covered themselves in glory against baseball’s best so far this season. The series against the Yankees will go a long way to determining how long the Mets will be mentioned in the same breath as the Braves, Marlins, and, for that matter, Yankees.
For the Yankees, the biggest question heading into the series against the Mets is what will the lineup look like? With the absence of the designated hitter, Joe Torre will have some tough decisions to make. Tino Martinez has been cooling off of late and Torre has committed to giving Jason Giambi at-bats, so does that mean Giambi will see some time at first? What about getting Bernie Williams in the lineup in center? Gothamist would like to see Torre use Giambi and Williams Friday night against the wild Zambrano and also figure out a way to give the slumping, Hideki Matsui, a day off during the series.
What really gets the Yankee fans’ heart pounding is the thought of Pedro Martinez facing the Yankees with a bat in his hand. Pedro has hit so many Yankees over the years, that Carl Pavano owes it to his teammates to at least knock him down. Martinez has had his start moved to Sunday and Gothamist can’t help but wonder if he might need to have it moved to Monday when he won’t have to face the Yankees. Roger Clemens took his medicine a few years ago; hopefully Pedro stands up and takes his.
Entry by Peter Trinkle and Tom Boorstein
