My Team - Nationals at New York Mets

Scheduled starters

Friday: Strasburg versus M. Harvey
Saturday: Gonzalez versus Gee
Sunday: Zimmermann versus Hefner

As a kid in the late '60s and early '70s, I was a big Mets' fan. For years, I pretended to be Tommie Agee in the sandlots, diving for flyballs just for the fun of it. Also, my hometown had the Mets' Double-A team for a while, with guys like Ron Hodges, Buzz Capra and Benny Ayala coming through the roster on their way to the bigs.

Even as I became an Expos fan, I kept a soft spot in my heart for the Metropolitans. Yeah, they've had some tough times lately.

David Wright is the linchpin of the team. With his recent contract extension and showing in the early parts of the World Baseball Classic, he's the face of the franchise & dependable on both sides of the ball. John Buck is showing early power, and guys like Ike Davis & Lucas Duda are dangerous power bats. Justin Turner and  Jordany Valdespin are guys off the bench who aren't afraid to get a pinch-hit in a late-game situation. If I remember right, Valedspin had five home runs last year, and three were against Washington (and I also thought two of that three were pinch-hit homers late in games).

Friday night's starter, Matt Harvey, is a lot like Stephen Strasburg - a young guy with a world of confidence & the stuff to potentially throw a no-hitter any given start. With guys like Jonathan Niese, Bobby Parnell and Brandon Lyon, they may not be the '69 vintage pitching staff but they are competent.

I would guess Friday night is gonna be a classic pitchers' duel. Maybe Washington's bats will come alive Saturday and Sunday. I have no idea who's gonna win this series, but if I must I'll guess Washington wins on Friday, the Mets win on Saturday, and Washington wins on Saturday.

For the Nationals, it's getting to be time for LaRoche and Ryan Zimmerman to join in the offense. Zimmerman's throwing woes have garnered attention in the media, but as long as there is no unspoken injury he will work thru it.

On Washington's pitching staff, Dan Haren is still trying to re-work his approach in public. He's got the smarts, but his stuff's been getting hammered lately. Henry Rodriguez, Clippard and Storen out of the 'pen have gotten back to nibbling around the corners of the plate instead of attacking hitters. Duke had a couple of good outings, and has had some rough times as well. Is it time to find a left-handed specialist?