NEW YORK, NY March 31, 2008 —Baseball returns to Yankee Stadium today for one more year, as the Yankees open their season against the Blue Jays. The Mets start 2008 on the road in Florida.

Both teams begin this season with something to prove.

WNYC's Dan Blumberg has more.

The Yankees come into this season with new leadership, both in the dugout and in the owner's box. Joe Girardi takes over for Joe Torre as manager and Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are publicly taking over for The Boss.

The Yankees will try to improve their recent playoff fortunes. They'll have the same potent offense as last year and they'll be relying heavily young pitchers, like Joba Chamberlain.

Meanwhile, veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte will likely have to deal with fans taunting him for his admission that he used human growth hormone.

As for the Mets, their new ace Johann Santana will be on the mound today, as the team tries to vanquish the memory of last year's historic collapse.

For WNYC, I'm Dan Blumberg.