2015 Baseball Preview: Yankees and Metropolitans
It is hard to think about baseball when it is freezing cold outside and the snow is piled higher than a little leaguer’s hat. Nevertheless, the season is upon us and we can’t ignore it. After all, even if they both had poor showings last year, we do have the New York Yankees and Metropolitans in our backyard.
If you want to escape this miserable weather and perhaps take in a spring game, the Yankees practice and play at Legends Field in Tampa, Florida, and the Mets at Tradition Field in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. As of this writing, the Yanks are enjoying weather today with a high of 78 degrees and the Mets at 81 degrees. And some people thought it was actually hard being a major league baseball player.
The first game on the Yankees Spring Season Home Opener Schedule is slated for March 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Of note is the fact that the Phillies are projected to finish last in the running to win the World Series. The Mets Spring Season Home Opener is scheduled for March 6 against the Tigers of Detroit.
So where are our boys of summer headed this season? In the opening by Las Vegas odds-makers, both the Mets and the Yanks are pegged at 25/1 to win the World Series. The Yankees are 14/1 to win the American League pennant and the Mets are 12/1 to win the National League pennant. The Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels and Saint Louis Cardinals are the top four favorites to win the World Series. The Red Sox are tied for the fifth spot with the Seattle Mariners.
Of note for Yankees fans is the fact that ace Masahiro Tanaka, who finished last year with a record of 13-5, even having missed the last two months of the season with a partially torn UCL, is up and throwing bullpen sessions, pain free.
Mets fans can find encouragement in their 2014 National League Rookie of the Year, Jacob deGrom.
The last time the Yankees won the World Series was 2009, against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets haven’t won since beating the Boston Red Sox in 1986.
If either will be there at the end of this year is questionable. But then again, this is New York!
Note: The Yankees have another player who did not play baseball at all last year. He is an older guy that plays infield and has racked up some pretty good batting stats. I think his last name is Rodriguez.