New York Mets & Yankees Mid-Season report

We are midway through the 2009 MLB season and the New York teams are on opposite paths so far this year. I will begin with discussing the Yankees first half.

The Yankees ended the first half of 2009 losing all 3 games of their series with the Angels.That sweep did damage to the Yankees in the standings. Going into the Angels series, the Yankees were only 1 game behind AL East leading Boston and are now 3 back. A good week should close the gap in the standings.

With the way that the Yankees started the year, no one would have predicted they would be as close as they are now. Nothing seemed to gel for this team until around mid-June. At that point the pitching really came together and allowed the team to stay in ballgames. Shortly after that, the offense really rounded into form like everyone knew it would. The lineup is too talented to have stayed as cold as it was at the start.

Mark Taxiera leads the team in home runs (21) and RBIs (63).
Derek Jeter's .321 average leads the team.
AJ Burnett has a 3.77 ERA which leads the Yankees rotation.
Burnett, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettite each have 8 wins to lead the team.
Burnett also leads the Yankees with 101 strikeouts.
Mariano Rivera has 23 saves at the All Star break.

Mets

The Mets situation could be a whole lot worse than it is at the season's midway point. The Mets are 42-45 and are 6 games behind the Phillies. It may seem like a lot of work to catch up, and it is, but without Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, JJ Putz and Jose Reyes on the DL for a significant amount of time, his could have been a whole lot worse. The Mets very easily could be buried in the standings right now.

The last series before the break was a positive one for the Mets as they took 2 of 3 from the Reds. Angel Pagan who had also been hurt for most of the year returned and was a big contributor in the series.

The Mets traded Ryan Church to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur before the series. I think the move will help the Mets in the long run. Francoeur is a good outfielder that can cover a lot of ground which is a good thing to have at spacious Citi Field. The knock on Francoueur, though, is his lack of patience at the plate. If Howard Johnson can get him to take more pitches and draw more walks, his bat will be a huge plus in the lineup. He has power and will be able to help the Mets score more runs, something they have struggled to do for the most part all year. Francoeur's bat will likely be an even bigger help to the team once Beltran, Reyes and Delgado return as the presure to produce runs will be eased.

Simply, the Mets need to get healthy if they want to make a playoff push during the second half of the year. The pitching also needs to be a bit more consistent. For this team to succeed, the starters need to pitch at least 6 quality innings each time out. With the injuries, even better than that it seems is needed. Oliver Perez' return from the DL can help in this area. If Perez can command his pitches each night, he can be among the top pitchers in the game as is well documented.

Gary Sheffield leads the team with 10 home runs
David Wright's 44 RBIs are the most on the Mets. He also leads the team in steals with 20.
Carlos Beltran's .336 average leads the Mets.
Johan Santana leads all starters with a 3.09 ERA, 112 strikeouts and 10 wins.
Francisco Rodriguez has 23 saves and a 1.90 ERA.