Long-time subscriber, E. Steele, sent these interesting stats regarding the Yankees’ and Mets’ records and schedules to date:

Strength of Schedule thus far: NY Yankees: 23rd NY Mets: 5th Games vs >.500 teams: Yankees: 22 Games (15 Wins) Mets: 37 Games (23 Wins) Games vs <.500 teams: Yankees: 38 (29 Wins) Mets: 25 (17 Wins) Context goes a long way! #LGM pic.twitter.com/kNrLTUtqGp

SU has noted that the Mets have played the NL West a bunch of times – both at home and on the road. That is the NL’s strongest division. The Yankees have feasted on the Orioles and some of the other bad teams. As long-time subscriber, B. Rosano, points out, the goal is always to beat up on the bad teams and then go .500 vs. the top teams. For the Yankees, the test comes now with series upcoming against the Rays, Blue Jays and Astros. SU has enjoyed the ride so far, of course. The Yankees are carried by their pitching and Judge/Stanton. I will be very, very interested to see how they fare against the better teams. The big concern is still that Judge cannot stay healthy for an entire season, and he has carried the team this year. I mean the dude is hitting over .300 and in baseball this year, that feels like hitting over .350 in a normal season as batting averages are so depressed.

The Mets’ pitching is still down Scherzer and deGrom, but their offense is much more balanced from top to bottom in terms of guys who put the ball in play and get on base. SU would pick the Mets over the Yankees in a World Series if the teams played today assuming deGrom and Scherzer were both healthy.

What is up with the PGA Tour and the break-away Saudi LIV Tour? A number of stars have signed up for the money from the Saudis (and the large appearance fees) while risking suspension from the PGA TOUR. The question will be if the suspensions are permanent. The Major Tournaments, e.g., US Open, can determine on their own who can play, and the upcoming Open this week is allowing everyone to compete. No doubt there will be some awkward moments in the clubhouse, and SU says expect some booing on the course from the fans. Bottom line is that it’s a money grab by some of the top players. I guess the question is whether the PGA Tour will start to offer up appearance fees for top players going forward. SU is not an expert on this but I have read that some of the criticism of the PGA Tour is that they are not looking to give some extra money to the top players vs. those who are ranked 100 or higher. I guess the thinking is that the fans come to see the stars and they should get some up front money for being there. Thoughts? The ATP Tour does not do this in tennis although the top seeds get a bye into the 2nd round of the non-Grand Slam tournaments.

The Boston – Golden State series has been interesting. It feels like we will go to a game 7, and anything can happen this year. The games feature major runs by each team; not like the games are close throughout. Steve Kerr is the master of making game-to-game adjustments with his line ups and playing time. Last night, he went with Gary Payton II for major minutes to emphasize defense over offense. Paid off for him.