Is it baseball season yet?

Eventually, the weather around the New York City/New Jersey area will warm up.  Baseball fans will plan outings to Citi Field and Yankee Stadium without having to think about staying warm.  And, just maybe, the Mets will actually win more games than the Yankees.

Sports Illustrated thinks so.  The U.S.'s leading sports magazine predicts the Mets will finish 82-80 and the Yankees 77-85 this season.  That's not too much for Mets fans to get excited about, but it's been seven years since the city's National League team had a winning record.  Only once in the past 15 years have the Mets finished with more wins than their crosstown rivals -- and the Yankees beat them in the World Series that autumn.

Thanks to interleague play, the two New York teams will square off against each other at Yankee Stadium on April 24-26 and at Citi Field on September 18-20.  Optimistic Mets fans hope their team will still be in contention for a post-season spot during the latter series.

The Yankees hold a 56-42 advantage over the Mets in regular season games since interleague play began in 1997.  Mets fans, feeling their team is on the rise with the strength of its pitching staff, believe the Bronx Bombers are in decline and ready to cede most of the city's attention to Queens.  It's been 23 years -- when both teams finished in fifth place -- since the Mets have drawn more fans to home games than the Yankees.

Perhaps this is the year the Mets are once again a better team and attraction than the Yankees.  Maybe Sports Illustrated is right.  Then again, SI picks the Cleveland Indians to win this year's World Series -- which hasn't happened since 1948.  The last time SI picked Cleveland to win it all, in 1987, the Indians lost 101 games and finished in last place!  Don't bet on the Indians winning the World Series this year, either.

Charley's 2015 predictions:
NL East: 1-Washington, 2-Miami, 3-New York, 4-Atlanta, 5-Philadelphia
NL Central: 1-St. Louis, 2-Pittsburgh, 3-Milwaukee, 4-Chicago, 5-Cincinnati
NL West: 1-Los Angeles, 2-San Francisco, 3-San Diego, 4-Colorado, 5-Arizona
AL East: 1-Baltimore, 2-Boston, 3-Toronto, 4-Tampa Bay, 5-New York
AL Central: 1-Detroit, 2-Cleveland, 3-Kansas City, 4-Chicago, 5-Minnesota
AL West: 1-Seattle, 2-Los Angeles, 3-Oakland, 4-Texas, 5-Houston

What do you think, baseball fans?