By Anthony Bosco
So many questions will be answered. Maybe.
The New York Mets and their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees, will hook up again in interleague play this weekend when the Mets host a three-game series at Shea Stadium in Flushing.
This year’s edition of the annual series holds plenty of intrigue for fans of both teams, in this, the fifth year of interleague play, which pits teams from both the American and National league against one another in regular season play.
The Mets failed to make the playoffs last season, one year after losing to the Yankees in the World Series, four games to one. The Yankees, on the other hand, made it back to the fall classic only to lose in seven hard-fought games to the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks.
What makes this series so highly anticipated is the Yankees pitching rotation. According to a spokesperson for the Mets, the Rocket, Roger Clemens is scheduled to start the second game of the series Saturday afternoon. The game will kick-off at 1:15 p.m. and be nationally televised on FOX.
Clemens, who will face off against Shawn Estes, has not pitched at Shea Stadium since the alleged and now infamous bean-ball incident when he plunked Mets catcher and perennial all-star Mike Piazza in the head during interleague play two years ago at Yankee Stadium.
Since the incident, from which Piazza recovered unscathed, Clemens has yet to take the field at the Queens ballpark — something many insiders attribute to Yankees manager Joe Torre and not just lucky timing.
The pair met again in the World Series two years ago, sparking yet another strange turn of events, when Piazza’s broken bat bounced toward Clemens and the pitcher picked up the piece of timber and launched it back in the direction of Piazza, who was trotting up the first base line. Piazza approached Clemens, but no fists were thrown.
Also adding intrigue to the series is the scheduled return of Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, who has been sidelined most of the season by an injury. Pettitte will face off against Steve Trachsel in the series’ opener, to be played Friday at 7:10 p.m. and televised on both WPIX and WCBS simultaneously.
The series will conclude Sunday night when perhaps the most consistent hurler on the Mets’ staff, Pedro Astacio, takes the mound against fan favorite David Wells in another nationally televised affair. ESPN will carry the game live, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05 p.m.
This also will be the first taste of the Subway Series for plenty of newcomers on both sides. For the Mets, Mo Vaughn, Robin Ventura, Astacio, Estes and Jeromy Burnitz will take part for the first time, while Jason Giambi, John Vander Wal and Rondell White make their first trips to Queens.
Also for the Yankees, former Mets third baseman Robin Ventura will revisit his old stomping grounds, and College Point native and Christ the King alum Steve Karsay will make his inaugural trip to Shea donning pinstripes.
Each game of the series is sold out, putting the scheduled attendance for the three-game weekend set at more than 170,000 fans.
The series could also prove critical for both teams in the standings, with the Yankees, as of Monday, situated in second place in the American League East behind the Boston Red Sox, while the Mets stood tied for second with the Florida Marlins in the shadow of the Atlanta Braves.
The Yankees currently hold a 15-9 edge in head-to-head competition with the Mets. The meeting of the two New York teams has been one of the highlights of interleague play since its inception five years ago.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
