So here we are, at the start of the 2013 season, wondering whether it is possible that both the Yankees and Mets will finish below .500 this year.
As The New York Times's Elena Gustines recounts there have been six previous seasons in which the Mets and Yankees both had losing records. Now the question is whether we are staring at No. 7.
No one will be surprised if the Mets stagger to the finish line next September with 70 or 75 victories, good enough for — what else? — fourth place in the National League East. They have gotten a nice spring out of two pretty talented young pitchers — Jon Niese and Matt Harvey — and even a couple of members of their mocked and maligned outfield have looked good at the plate.
But they have half of a starting rotation, no closer and a young shortstop in Ruben Tejada who seems to be going backward at a pretty fair clip. In the end, they seem ready to walk to up to the counter and order the usual — a losing season with some mayo on the side.
The Yankees, of course, are another matter. They have not had a losing campaign since 1992 and even with their roster depleted by free-agent defections and assorted injuries they still have a championship veneer because of players like C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera and Robinson Cano, and, for that matter, Kevin Youkilis, who won two rings in Boston. As well, they have a couple of savvy, and unyielding, veterans in Hiroki Kuroda and Ichiro Suzuki and a now-healthy pest in Brett Gardner.
And then there's Derek Jeter, who, because he's Derek Jeter, will probably find a way to be a presence even if his ankle bothers him on and off all season.
But they are also old and less inclined to spend a fortune to fill holes in their lineup and no less an authority than The New York Times's Tyler Kepner is picking them to finish dead last in the American League East.
That's right, fifth place, or one spot lower than Tyler predicts the Mets will finish. In case you're wondering, the Yankees haven't finished last since they went 67-95 in 1990 and finished at the bottom of the seven-team A.L. East.
So what do you think? Will the Yankees do as poorly as Tyler — and others — are forecasting? Will the Mets do what everyone expects them to do, which is to lose more than they win while watching their attendance erode a little bit more? Will the two teams end up miserable together?
Or is there reason to be a good deal more optimistic than this blog post?
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