Just because he made some yappy comment about how "The Yankees are all hype and no substance."
So why don't we go position by position here... and obviously, teams aren't finalized yet. But this is just for fun. And I'll make some guesses when I feel confident.
Catchers - Jorge Posada and Jose Molina vs. Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro
Posada, even coming off surgery, is by far, the best offensive player here. Molina is the best defensive guy here. Castro is the better catcher on the Mets, and he doesn't even start.
Advantage - Yankees.
First Base - Mark Teixeira vs. Carlos Delgado
Teixeira is the second best player at his position in the game (behind Pujols). Delgado is like... the second oldest player at his position. Aside from a fluky month and a half... where Delgado hit like Bonds (and was probably taking some form of drug), Carlos was a complete stiff.
Advantage - Yankees.
Second Base - Robinson Cano vs. Luis Castillo
Cano is in his early 20's, coming off a bad year. Castillo is in his mid-30's, coming off a worse year. And he walks with a limp. And he's supposed to be a speedster. And barring a rules-change, you still can't steal first base.
Advantage - Yankees.
Third Base - Alex Rodriguez vs. David Wright
David Wright is the best third baseman in the NL. There's no doubt about that. Sadly for him, Alex Rodriguez is a 3-time MVP, and one of the top 3 players in the entire game. A-Rod outdoes Wright on offense and defense.
Advantage - Yankees.
Shortstop - Derek Jeter vs. Jose Reyes
Yankee fans are going to jump straight up my ass about this, but I'm going to be honest here. Jeter's aging. And I'm not the type to salivate over his calm eyes and intangibles. I'm a stats guy. Reyes has better stats. He loses points for being an immature hot dog though. And everybody knows you can't get a hot dog at Shea in October.
Advantage - Mets
Left Field - Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui/Manny Ramirez vs. Fernando Tatis?
As it stands, Damon and Matsui are better, more proven, and probably equally defensively inept to Tatis. In the event that Manny ends up in the Bronx, this becomes an even more ridiculous advantage. Tatis had a fluky couple of months before getting hurt. He hasn't been even decent in about 10 years.
Advantage - Yankees.
Center Field - Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner/Nick Swisher vs. Carlos Beltran.
Although, if Manny comes to the Bronx, Damon will shift to Center. Regardless, Beltran is one of the 3 best defensive CFs in the game. And he's capable if not overwhelming on offense. He's better than anybody the Yanks will stick in Center this year.
Advantage - Mets.
Right Field - Xavier Nady vs. Ryan Church
Nady went for 25 homers and 97 rbi last year between Pittsburgh and the Yanks. Church was surprisingly better than decent for the Mets, except for those repeated concussions. Church is better on defense. Nady is probably better on offense. Neither one has fully proven themselves.
Advantage - Even.
Starting Pitching - Sabathia, Wang, Burnett, Chamberlain & Hughes
vs. Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Niese... and... Oliver Perez! Or Derek Lowe.
Do we need to get in-depth about this? You can argue all you want about Santana vs. Sabathia... but after that, it's all Yankees. Wang, Burnett and Chamberlain are so much better than Maine, Pelfrey and any of those other four names... that it's not debatable. And whether the Mets get Lowe or Perez, again... this isn't even close.
Advantage: Yankees.
Bullpens: Jose Veras, Brian Bruney, Edwar Ramirez, Damaso Marte, Phil Coke vs. J.J. Putz, Dr. Von Heimlich, Gag Me Sidearm, and the Chokin' Twins.
Point is... the Yanks bullpen was solid last year. Actually a little better than solid.
The Mets pen was the worst in baseball. I don't have stats to prove this. But does anybody want to argue about it? What? No? Mmkay. Putz is the only significant new piece.
Advantage: Yankees.
Closers: Mariano Rivera vs. Francisco Rodriguez
Mo's coming off surgery and says he'll be fine. He's up there in age, but he's coming off a good year. Rodriguez set the saves record last year. His velocity was down for most of the season. And he allows a ton of baserunners. Paired with some suspect defense, those baserunners could be dangerous for the Metsies. But we'll see.
Advantage: Even.
So in closing... the score is 7-2 for the Yankees. Which could also very easily be the final score of every game the Yankees play against the Mets in the coming season. Especially when the Yankees get Manny.
