New York Yankees and Mets: Holding Their Own With Heads Held High

Despite the odds against them to make the playoffs, both the New York Mets and New York Yankees appear to be giving it their best shot. They’re playing hard and they’re not making mental mistakes. If not for this year, it’s certainly a good sign for next year.

Sometimes, cliches hit the mark. When the going gets tough, the tough get going is especially revealing as we watch both the New York Yankees and Mets scramble for that final wild-card spot in their respective leagues.

At a time when either or both teams could mail it in, accept the long-shot odds and begin to make plans for a hunting trip in the fall, the Mets and Yankees are doing anything but that. This, at a time when you can’t even say they’re in the middle of a pennant race. Realistically, they’re on the outer fringes looking up and not down in the standings.

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Both teams appear to be afflicted with the same diagnosis. They can’t put a string of wins together that might allow them to start vaulting  teams ahead of them. Can we expect the Mets or Yankees to go on a nine-game win streak like the Kansas City Royals?

Probably not, and the reason stems mostly from the off-and-on starting pitching.

Would you bet, for instance, that the gem tossed Tuesday night by C C Sabathia will be repeated in his next start? On the other side of the coin, what are the chances that Jacob deGrom’s worst start of the year won’t be followed up with seven strong innings and 11 strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals? You just don’t know.

New York misses Derek Jeter in more ways than we can count. But more than anything, it’s the blueprint of excellence he left behind that counts most.

Jeter didn’t come to the ballpark every day hoping to win; he came to the ballpark expecting to win. You go out there and grind it out whether it’s April 1st or October 1st.  And at the end of the day, you either have a win or a loss. At that point, it didn’t matter to him. In fact, getting ready for the next game mattered most.

If the Mets and Yankees continue that spirit, which they’ve shown they can do as we move further down the stretch, win, lose, or draw the season can be marked as a success.

The Mets and Yankees have shown us they are very capable of being bad. Nonetheless, it can be “whited out” with a cup-half-full look back at the season.

By this time next week, we should have a clearer picture of what their standing is in the sprint for the American League wild-card spot. Hopefully, they have one up or down. Next Thursday, (September 1) the rosters go from 25 suited up to 40.

Otherwise, both New York managers Terry Collins and Joe Girardi will have to play Russian Roulette with the season in deciding when and how much to play the new kids coming to the team. You hope it does come down to having to make those decisions because it would mean both continue to hunt for a playoff spot.

The fact that both teams are still fun to watch is a credit to the managers. Most of all, it’s a credit to the players themselves.