Game 43: Yankees vs. Mets

Hello from Yankee Stadium, as we get set for the first game of the Subway Series – the 15th year that the Yankees and Mets have locked up for Interleague play.

At right, Mark Teixeira and David Wright – who’s on the DL for the Mets – got together today in Madison Square Park for a Delta Airlines promotion. 

Just for kicks, I went back and looked at the first lineup from a regular season Mets-Yankees game, played on June 16, 1997. It’s remarkable; you never would have guessed that the Yankees’ starting outfield would have been Hard-Hittin’ Mark Whiten in left, Chad Curtis in center and, of course, Paul O’Neill in right field.

Joe Girardi was behind the plate that evening for the Bombers, hitting at the bottom of a lineup that featured Derek Jeter leading off and playing shortstop. Well, some things haven’t changed.

“It’s been that long – it’s hard to believe,” Girardi said. “As a player, going into certain establishments – a deli I used to go into in Armonk – you would have a good share of Yankees fans, but there was always a Mets fan or two. There would be ribbing. You’d walk around certain places in the city, and people would comment, ‘You can’t let the Mets get you.’ People are very aware of this series.”

Some pre-game notes of interest from the clubhouse:

Alex Rodriguez had his routine hip exam re-scheduled because of the Yankees’ late arrival from Baltimore, but there is no particular urgency to get it done. … Chris Dickerson (concussion) had some memory exams for about 15 minutes in Gene Monahan’s office and believes he can avoid the disabled list. … Eric Chavez was in the clubhouse and said he’ll try to resume putting weight on his left foot this week. He’s walking fine, a good sign. … Pedro Feliciano was bummed to not be pitching against his former team in this series. He did vow to strike out Ike Davis, and since Davis is on the DL, Feliciano said he got lucky and said he could still get it done in July. … Phil Hughes is supposed to see Dr. Christopher Ahmad tonight to determine the next step of his rehab.

Here are the lineups:

METS (21-22)
Jose Reyes SS
Daniel Murphy 1B
Carlos Beltran RF
Jason Bay LF
Fernando Martinez DH
Justin Turner 3B
Josh Thole C
Jason Pridie CF
Ruben Tejada 2B

Pitching: R.A. Dickey RHP (1-5, 5.08 ERA)

YANKEES (23-19)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Jorge Posada DH
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF

Pitching: Freddy Garcia RHP (2-3, 3.22 ERA)