Subway Series: Confidence level is high

I don't follow the Yankees very closely, or the American League at all, which confounds one particular colleague at work who will ask me what I think of Ivan Nova, or if I saw that Twins-White Sox game.

The only Nova I have any opinion on is Aldo Nova, and since I am in an NL-only fantasy league, I couldn't care less about what goes on in the junior circuit. I have enough to worry about with the Mets and the two-time champion Winslow Homers.

But since it's Subway Series time again, I took a closer look at the boys from the Bronx, who will play this series without their beloved Captain (who always kills the Mets but is otherwise playing like an aging No. 8 hitter).

Did you know that 3/5ths of the Yankees rotation is made up of Nova, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon? A youngster with a WHIP of 1.4 and two retreads? That cannot be sustainable. And those are the three starters the Mets will face this weekend.

Confidence level: HIGH.

I'm thrilled that the Mets will have Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and R.A. Dickey pitching in the series. And while Mike Pelfrey is much, much better at home than he is on the road, I don't mind seeing him sit this one out.

The Mets just won four of six on the road against two of the three teams that have been in first place in the AL, and the Yankees will be No. 3. The Mets currently have a better road record than home so far this season, but that figures to turn at some point, and what better than now, when the team is scoring double digits per game?

I'm less than thrilled that two of the three games will be national broadcasts, on Fox and TBS Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Sunday I'll be at a barbecue at a friend's house and won't be able to hear the audio anyway, and we'll have to work something out for Saturday because Joe Buck gives me a twitch.

If you think about the stretch of games the Mets are in the middle of — three first-place AL teams, followed by four games in LA and then three at first-place San Francisico — that's a pretty tough run. And yet the Mets are in a good position to come through that with a winning record for the trip and plus-.500 at the All-Star break, with David Wright ready to return right after that.

Think of where this team was two months ago. Amazing.

NOTE: Since I mentioned Aldo Nova at the top I wanted to include the music video for "Fantasy," but embedding was disabled. So you can find it here. Aldo's leopard jumpsuit is worth the clickthrough on its own, and if anyone can tell me what the deal is with the hunchback guy carrying Aldo's guitar, I'd appreciate it.

Instead, in the spirit of the Subway Series, enjoy "Let's Go, Mets, Go!"