It’s been a bit since I’ve been on The Beat, so it’s good to be back talking about our fair city’s baseball teams. The dust of the trade deadline has finally settled and there are plenty of new faces in both boroughs as the pennant races in both leagues heat up. Both the Yankees and Mets are locked in tight battles with the Orioles and… seemingly the entire National League in the Mets case. The dog days of August make for high drama on the field and it is fun for a change to have the Yankees and Mets both hunting at the same time.

The Yankees in particular are in a race for the AL East, the likes of which we haven’t seen since their glory days battling the Red Sox the mid 2000’s. The Bombers were an absolute mess just two weeks ago after being humbled by the Mets in their own house. But since then, they have pulled it together with a strong run of play, seeing them get clutch wins against the rival Red Sox and perhaps the MLB’s best team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

A big piece of that turn around has been the arrival of Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins. Jazz certainly is smooth in everything he does, from hitting bombs to playing the field to running the bases, number 13 has brought a jolt to a Yankee club in need of one. The offense has benefitted from him providing more depth to it and the return of Giancarlo Stanton in the middle, despite his slow start. Mark Leiter Jr. (nephew of former Yankee Al) came over from the Cubs and has done nothing but get big outs from the pen along with former Padres righty Enyel De Los Santos. They will soon be joined by Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton in the pen and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation, who may soon take Nestor Cortes job from him.

I have to say I walked away from the deadline wishing Brian Cashman did a bit more but this haul of additions has been solid so far, so I tip my cap to him. Hopefully it continues as the Yankees look to stay hot despite the rain moving into the tri-state with a schedule of weak teams ahead of them. They play the fourth easiest schedule left in the entire league, one they need to take advantage of to ultimately win the AL East and potentially claim the top seed in a seemingly wide-open American League. The Yankees have in my opinion the most talented roster in the American League, and anything less than a World Series appearance would be a disappointment for this group. It’s time to lock and get after it for this wild sprint to the finish.

Before I move onto the Mets, in keeping with the theme I wanted throw it back to an emotional night in Yankee history, one that came against the team they are chasing today, the Orioles. In August of 1979 the Yankees tragically lost their captain and catcher Thurman Munson, in a airplane crash. This will forever be one of the darkest days in Yankee history, one that left a mark on the fans and players alike for an eternity to come.

But the healing power of sports can do funny things, and the Yankees on the day they buried their captain played the first place Orioles at the Stadium that night. They looked out of the game for much of the night trailing 4-0 until Bobby Murcer, Munson’s closest friend in the world hit a three run homer to wake up the team and the crowd. The home run was followed by a walk off two run double to win the game for the Yankees 5-4. The pain and anguish of the day gave way to joyous celebrations of what it means to be a teammate and human being. It’s enough to make you well up, I certainly am right now. Rest in peace Thurman who left us on August 2nd 1979 and Bobby who passed away in 2008.

Across town the Mets took their dog fight to make the National League playoffs to the Gateway City for a makeup game against the Cardinals, one they had to have, and get it they did. The big blow was the bases clearing double you see above from Tyrone Taylor to blow the game open. Lefty Sean Manaea continued his brilliant pitching with another strong outing and the Mets coasted to a win, making them 59-53 on the year and just 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card place. The win was all the more critical coming off the back of a brutal series loss to the struggling Angels over the weekend. Give the Halos, and hard throwing Ben Joyce in particular, credit for showing up for these games but in a tight race like the Mets have to step up and be better against bad teams.

The Mets will get a chance to make up for underperforming against a bad team with their series this week in Denver against the lowly Rockies. They need to take care of business against Colorado before they head to the great northwest to battle the Mariners who are in a tight race for the top spot in the AL West themselves. It would be nice if the bats would wake up as the pitching has held up its end of the bargain for the most part of late. The bullpen has been bolstered with much needed reinforcements from the deadline and new starting pitcher Paul Blackburn should be a lift to the staff. The Mets have been a disaster with runners in scoring in position in particular this year and no player has personified that more than first baseman Pete Alonso.

While he hasn’t had a bad season, 2024 has been pretty far from what we’re used to from Pete Alonso. Whether that be because of his contract situation or whatever else could be in his way, the Mets absolutely need better from the prospective free agent. If he doesn’t pick things up at the plate the Mets may not be able to make the playoffs, and Alonso will almost certainly have played his last game in Queens.

The Mets have done an excellent job of turning things around, an encouraging sign for what lies ahead under Carlos Mendoza and David Stearns. While it would be disappointing if they don’t make it, the task that lies ahead down the stretch won’t be easy considering the quality of the opposition currently occupying the final Wild Card places. The good news is the Mets control their destiny with games coming up against both the Padres and Diamondbacks who they are currently chasing. That road trip to San Diego and Phoenix will likely make of break the season so it’s all hands-on deck time.

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