Who Will be the Kings of New York?
Now that football season is over, we can turn our attention to baseball and look forward to the local teams gear up for an exciting season. The New York Yankees and New York Mets have been struggling in producing winning seasons these past few years. Both teams this year look alittle different with pitching and position players. The Mets are looking to gear up for a playoff contention season with adding a few bats this offseason in free agency along the young arms they have that can carry them. The Yankees are going to look a lot different now that all of the core four have gone onto retire. The Yankees lost some key additions over the years to free agency but this team still has the talent to do some damage in the season especially in there division. The bullpen for the Yankees has a serious eighth and ninth inning pitching staff. What the Yankees did to fill in the shortstop position was trade for a very young talented player from the Arizona Diamondbacks team his name is Didi gregorius. He is a very talented defensive player the only downside to him is his bat which his average is in the low 200's which is not good. Unlike the Yankees, the Mets never addressed the situation and will go into the season with using Wilmer Flores as there everyday Shortstop. Most Mets fans don't want that to happen but they don't have a player developed enough or don't want to spend the money in free agency,
The New York Mets fan base is getting anxious for something exciting to happen with this baseball team. These past few years have been rough in having losing seasons which can cause fans to not come to games or have them not interested in the ball club. This year seems like it will be different with the young arms they have in the starting rotation that have people in baseball making them one of the best rotations in the entire league. Leading the way will be Matt Harvey who is coming off Tommy John surgery which is very difficult to come back from. It will be interesting to see if he has the heat on his fastball along with the movement he had on his off speed pitches. After seeing this next person first hand I think Jacob DeGrom is going to be a very special pitcher. He reminds me of a Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander in how his command is. Even though he was called up late in the year last season he was a well round pitcher who was adjusting to the big show very well. Most pitchers cant handle being on the big stage but DeGrom handled himself very well. He was the only third mets player in team history to win Rookie of the year as a pitcher. He is one person who is going to have a strong career if he is able to stay healthy.
The back end of the Mets rotation Zach Wheeler, Jonathan Niese, Dillon Gee is the back bone of the staff who will be key in the Mets Success this season. The one problem they have with Niese and Gee is the contracts that are big which is holding the Mets from signing big names to bring to the team. Wheeler is coming off a injury play season that could affect his future. The rotation needs to pick each other up in order to be successful. The bullpen is going to be a question mark going into the season because of them not having the key setup man along with having no closer. It will be hard if they don't have a sturdy bullpen to just rely on the starting rotation. If any of the starting pitchers aren't working they can move onto another plan by bringing up players who are supposedly ready to be in the big show. We will have to wait and see in what the Mets do in handling the situation.
The Mets offense will have some new additions with Michael Cuddyer, and John Mayberry Jr. who will help in the outfield and infield. Mayberry has killed the Mets over the years with his speed along with his bat. Since 2011 his career has been up and down but he is a very good bench player who can give opponent's problems which will be a big plus. Cuddyer has had a steady career with his production offensively and defensively. His addition will give them Mets options in either putting him the infield or the outfield. It will depend on who the pitcher is on that day of the game but this allows the Mets Manager Terry Collins to play around with his options in who has been hitting and who needs to have a day off. The one person who will need to have a productive year is the face of the franchise, and team captain David Wright. David Wright is coming off a injury plagued season and the Mets are hoping this season he will be healthy and be the old player he once was. The offense seems like it will have alittle more depth they just have to be set in different spots on the order. If David Wright can stay healthy he can be a big problem.
Two other people who need to be productive are Curtis Granderson , and Lucas Duda these players will have a bigger role this season. Granderson is coming off one of his worst seasons in his career he had problems from the start of the season till the end. At times Curtis looked like he would break out of the slump but then he would go back to his old ways. If Granderson is able to settle down, and figure out his swing he will prove many mets fans that he was the right person to sign. Duda needs to have the same production he had last season and bring in it again this season. Last Season Duda stepped up big when they needed the power or a big hit. The Mets will have a lot of speed this season as well with their young players.
The New York Yankees begin a new era without their star captain Derek Jeter who retired this past season. Now the Yankees begin a new season with a new look without any former players who came from the organization. It will be interesting in how the big name Superstars produce in giving them a big hit or key defensive play. The one person who I think everyone is anxious to see is Alex Rodriguez who is coming off a year long suspension for using steroids. No one expects him to do much because of him being out for the year as well as being a year older. I don't think he will be a big addition at all back in the lineup I think he will cause problems among the team.
I think Chase Headly will be a good cornerman at 3rd base. Headly has been a strong player defensively wise at his position. His bat has been a huge question mark but his average has been a very steady one. The infield will always miss having Jeter and Cano who were strong defenders. I think though with Gregorius, Ryan, and Drew they will be good enough to cause havoic in making the plays when there pitching staff needs it. The defense in the infield will be a work in progress lucky enough Spring training will give them enough time to work it out. Mark Teixeira will be something to watch because of how will he produce still coming off the wrist injury. Yankees fans are hoping he can be productive in some way if he cant then they will try to play Brian McCain there since he played there last season.
The Outfield I think will have a better year in how much production they will get in stealing bases as well as producing Runs Batting In. Last Year Jacoby Ellsbury seemed like he adjusted to his new home very well. He along with Gardner need to get on base alittle more than they did last season to cause problems with there speed on the bases. When both players are on the bases they have pitchers on the edge because of what they can do. Chris Young is a good addition who seemed more relaxed after he joined the Yankees after being released from the Mets the year before. Young has good speed also has a good arm which can give manager Joe Giradi help when needing to switch the lineup. Ramon Flores is getting the possible chance this season to be on the Major League roster who has pop in his bat. One Person who I am interested in seeing if he makes the big league roster is Austin Judge who many think he is ready to become a huge superstar.
The Pitching Staff for the Yankees is going to be what people will watch for this season. If Sabathia, Nova, Pineda, and Tanaka can come back from injury and be strong pitchers the Bronx bombers wont have much to worry about. All of these four pitchers are coming off major injuries that are hard to come back from that needs time to adjust to again. With their rival the Boston Red Sox's boosting their lineup in signing to big bats this offseason the Yankees will need to bring their best in order to beat them. Ivan Nova will need to step up big to help the back end of the rotation. The Fifth starter will be a big question mark in who will be placed there Kuroda went back to Japan to play back home. The Bullpen for the Yankees is much better than it was last year which caused them many games last year by blowing the lead. With the addition of Andrew Miller the lefty from the Baltimore Orioles will give the Yankees a key inning person. He will allow the Yankees to able to use him for multiple innings. The one person I think who will be a great closer is the Young All star Dellin Betances who has a powerful fastball, and his offspeed is getting better. With the new Additions from the Marlins and Braves I am also interested in how they are used it will be fun to see.
Overall, this season I don't expect a World Series Championship from either team but I think they will be very competitive. I think the Mets will be a team the National League that many will have problems with. I think the Mets will be close in winning their division if not they will compete for one of the Wild Cards. The total of wins I believe will be around the low 80's which would improve from last season. The Yankees will be competing in a tougher East Division with what the Red Sox's did along with the Orioles. It will be tough because the Yankees are a older team but are going to struggle if they cant stay healthy. The pitching staff is the biggest objective the team will be concentrating on. They will be in contention with the Wild Card but it will come down to the end of the season I believe. I think the overall wins the Yankees will have is about mid 80's which will give them the edge but by not that much. Its going to be very interesting this year in baseball but lets see what happens. Lets get this crazy winter season over with and lets get baseball season started already.
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