With the baseball season nearly 1/5 of the way through, both local teams have had their issues. However, they’ve been able to win their share of games as both teams are over .500, with the Yankees at 17-16, and the Mets at 16-13. Let’s compare the two team’s trouble spots, and take a look forward.

Starting Pitching

‘bull;For the Mets, both Johan Santana and John Maine are 3-2 with a 2.91 and 3.48 ERA, respectively. So they are both giving their teams a chance to win day in and day out. The same can’t be said for Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. These two guys are wildly inconsistent and are putting their teams in early holes.

Best Case Scenario: Pedro Martinez comes back as Pedro, and Santana and Maine both have good years. Perez finds some sort of consistency, and G.M. Omar Minaya makes a midseason trade for a decent starter.

Worst Case Scenario: Pedro comes back showing his age, Perez stays inconsistent and there are no available pitchers at the deadline.

‘bull;The Yankees have been saved by Chien-Ming Wang’s 6-0 start, Mike Mussina, who has overachieved as a fifth starter and Andy Pettite has been dependable, but the young guys have been terrible. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, the two top prospects who would not be traded for Johan Santana, are 0-6 with a collective ERA close to 9. For the foreseeable future neither will be in the rotation as Hughes is on the D.L. with a fracture rib, and Ian Kennedy was sent down to Triple-A to get his mechanics and head right.

Best Case: Hughes comes back healthy and shows the potential that he’s capable of and Ian Kennedy pitches well enough to go out there every fifth day. If they do not come back strong, Alan Horne, Darrell Rasner, Jeffrey Marquez, or Chase Wright, will prove to be valuable minor-league options

Worst Case: Hughes injury is serious and he does not come back strong. Kennedy was overrated as a prospect, and is not the pitcher that the Yankees thought they had. Then Hank Steinbrenner fires Brian Cashman, and the Yankees trade their plethora of young prospects for an overpriced starter.

Underachieving and/or injured Hitters

‘bull;Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada were supposed to be part of a vaunted Yankees offense that was supposed to challenge the run scoring record. Instead Cano and Giambi are hitting below .200 and showing zero power and Posada is on the D.L. for an unknown amount of time. Alex Rodriguez is also injured, and will be back in 2 weeks.’

Best Case: Posada comes back and hits like he should, Cano continues to grow as a hitter, and Giambi is a little more than dead weight.

Worst Case: Posada doesn’t come back, the stress of signing a $30 million dollar contract in the offseason is too much for Cano to handle, and Giambi is dead weight.

‘bull;The Mets have gotten through the season so far, even though Moises Alou has been injured, Carlos Delgado hasn’t been able to hit a beach ball, and Jose Reyes has played without the emotion or pizzazz that made him the major’s most exciting player. Now even though Alou is back, will he be healthy for more than 30 games at a time?

Best Case: Reyes regains his confidence and all-star form, Alou comes back as a hitting machine, and Delgado plays well enough to justify keeping him in the line-up

Worst Case: Alou shows why 41 year-olds do not sign long contracts, Reyes can’t find his mojo, and Delgado never even has a reason to come out for a curtain call for the rest of the season.