And Isn't It Ironic...

Oh how funny the Opening Series is for both New York teams this year. The baseball gods are laughing because this couldn’t have been scripted to be any funnier. If this is a sign of things to come then Yankee fans better hold onto their seats because 2016 could be another crazy year.

I don’t pay much attention to the Mets because let’s face it…..most of my life they have been irrelevant. As I was looking over the Opening Day results I laughed when I saw that both the Mets and the Yankees opened up against the teams that killed their postseason run last year. The Mets had Matt Harvey take the mound yet again but did not get their revenge against the Royals.

The Yankees took on Dallas Keuchel once again and well…..it wasn’t the ending that we all hoped for. Baseball is funny like that I guess.

So the Yankees started this season with a loss just like they ended last season. More irony, but I am not going to panic. A win last night eases that.

I can’t help but think back to how when I was younger the Yankees had some miserable years. The Eighties were not kind to the Yankees. Meanwhile, the Mets were the team to follow. In 1986 the “Lets Go Mets Go” VHS tape was watched regularly in my house and Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, and Darryl Strawberry were icons to many Mets fans including my dad.

On the other hand, the Yankees took over in the 90′s. The Yankee farm system was finally showing off some of their best prospects and the Core Four was born. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte helped bring winning baseball back to the Bronx and a dynasty was born. The Mets were just the other team on the other side of the city now. The tables had changed and all of the buzz about the Mets I had been hearing was suddenly gone.

Last year was the first time since I was born that the Mets started to steal some of the Yankees thunder again. As our team continues to carry some lengthy contracts on some older players the Mets continue to get younger and start to bring up their own kids, just like we did.

So what will this year bring? I never like to draw similarities about the Mets and the Yankees but I realized last night that the Mets already have a strong identity. They have a starting rotation that could be championship caliber. In fact, their rotation reminds me a lot of the Yankees 1998 rotation where Andy Pettitte, David Wells, David Cone and “El Duque” Hernandez were a powerhouse rotation. This year, the Mets have a killer rotation. Great pitching rotations help win championships. The Yankees had that great rotation in 1998 and won it all……could the Mets be next? Is this their year?

These teams couldn’t be anymore different. The Yankees have a veteran lineup and will have a strong bullpen. On the other hand, the Mets have a younger team and their starting pitching is their strength, The Subway Series is going to be very interesting this year.

I can appreciate irony, it keeps things interesting. I believe that you can’t predict baseball and just when you think you have it all figured out baseball throws a curve ball at you and you swing and miss. I have a feeling this season will be filled with irony. I choose to leave on this high note though…..the Yankees may have lost the Opening Day game for five years in a row now, but there is this one time in 2009 where we lost the first game of the season but won the championship. Something to think about because if it happens again, wouldn’t that be ironic?

 
   
–Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 

Thank you for your loyalty to Bleeding Yankee Blue. 
Please shop at the BYB store!  
On Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu 
On Facebook, LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue!
Don’t forget to check out the BYB Hub.