It’s a good time to be a baseball fan in New York right now, and no I’m not just talking about the Yankees. For the first time since the second Mets Great Collapse, both New York teams are thick in the playoff hunt in August. The Yankees have been winning with pure power. Over the past 10 games they have scored a total for 90 runs. 90 RUNS!!! You don’t need to be a math wizard to figure out that they’re averaging 9 runs a game in that span. Thats absolutely insane. Before the season people were questioning whether or not the Yankees would be able to score any runs. There were nothing but questions surrounding this line up in the beginning of the season. How much production would they get out of their older players such as Beltran, McCann, and Teixeira? Would Ellsbury stay healthy enough to be a productive bat? Will they get any production at all out of A-Rod, who is coming off of a year without baseball and a steroid suspension. The Yanks have answered these questions by being one of the strongest offenses in baseball. The score about 100 runs a night and either Teixeira, McCann, or A-Rod hit a home run every at bat. In all seriousness this team can absolutely rake.

The one achilles heel for this team is their starting pitching. Tanaka and Pineda have been as hot and cold as it gets. One game they go out and throw 8 shutout innings of 3 hit ball and the next they’ll get tagged for 6 runs in 3 innings. CC Sabathia is a shell of the pitcher he once was. You almost feel bad for the guy when he is on the mound. Its essentially batting practice for teams when he pitches. Luckily for them they receive tons of run support. When the game is close in the 8th and 9th inning the Yankees have one of the best setup/closer duo in the league. Dellin Betances locks it down in the 8th inning and Andrew Miller comes in to close things out in the 9th. Its almost line Mariano never left (almost but not quite). If the starting pitching can hold up in games that their offense doesn’t score a zillion runs then the team will be looking at a deep playoff run.

The Mets have been the complete opposite story. The young arms of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard have carried an anemic, basically minor league lineup through the season. They kept them within striking distance of the Washington Nationals who on paper have one of the best lineups in baseball. Yes, the Nats have vastly underperformed but you can’t take away from what these young Mets pitchers have done. They would almost need to pitch a shutout in order to get the win. The Mets offense was a pathetic, sad excuse of a major league lineup. And then the trade deadline came. Mets fans can hate Sandy Alderson and the Wilpons all they want (rightfully so) but they gave this team a much needed offensive upgrade. The acquisitions of Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson were great starts. They gave the Mets much better options off the bench as well as guys who could start when needed to give some starters a rest. The big splash came when they acquired Yoenis Cespedes from Detroit. Cespedese gives the Mets a much needed power bat to plug into the middle of the batting order. Cespedes can do it all. He hits for both average and power, something the Mets desperately needed. The only downside is unless the Mets dish out the money and sign him to an extension before the season is over (which they won’t because they’re cheap), Cespedes will become a free agent. He is essentially a rental for the rest of the season but hey, if he can bring us a World Series I don’t care.

The trade that didn’t happen may turn out being one of the most important “trades” of the trade deadline. It was announced that the Mets trades Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores to Milwaukee for Carlos Gomez. Flores heard wind of the trade and became emotional on the field to the point of tears. He wanted to be a Met for life and was literally crying because he thought he got traded. Then only hours later news comes out that the deal was nixed by the Mets in what was one of the most bizarre days as a Mets fan. That raw emotion and love for the team that Flores showed made him an instant fan favorite. The attitude around this Mets team completely changed following the trade deadline. There is excitement and optimism around this team that hasn’t been seen since 2008. If the Yankees starting pitching holds up and the Mets continue to hit, we can be in for some exciting playoff baseball for both teams.

-Kev