What a week it’s been for our two ball clubs. On opposite coasts, from home and away, the Yankees and Mets did their part to make the final week of the regular season special (hopefully). From the state of Washington to Washington Heights New Yorkers felt the fun and intensity of September baseball throughout each game. Now comes the final challenges, ones that won’t be easy to handle (especially in one case), but as the Mets would say “Ya Gotta Believe.” So all aboard the believers bandwagon, let’s go to both boroughs.

Yankees

“This is 161st street/Yankee Stadium…” where the Bronx is Burning with playoff fever. After missing out on the postseason last year, we’ve known playoff baseball would be back at 161st and River for a while, but now the Yanks are finishing the job. A season that has at times featured bipolar play is on the verge of ending with the bombers as AL East champs and the top seed in the AL. Their 92-64 record seemed unlikely down the stretch as the team couldn’t get out of its own way at times. But in the last few weeks, we’ve seen the Yankees resemble the team we want them to be.

The lineup finally has the length Yankee fans have been begging for, as it’s no longer just up to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm a resurgent Gleyber Torres, a healthy Stanton and Rizzo and the arriving Jasson Dominguez gives Aaron Boone all kinds of options. It has also improved the bench, an area the team has typically struggled in during Boone’s reign.

While the lineup has begun to sort itself out, the biggest development is the pitching staff coming around, both in the rotation and pen. Gerrit Cole now leads a staff that has several solid options for October. Carlos Rodon has enjoyed a big second half, while the now healthy Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt have thrown the ball well of late. While Marcus Stroman has still been a bit spotty, Nestor Cortes has been brilliant in August and September, complicating the Yankees roster decisions for the playoffs. The aforementioned bullpen has stepped up since the change from Clay Holmes to Luke Weaver in the closers role. Weaver has been lights out in the ninth, while Jake Cousins, Tommy Kanhle, and the returning Ian Hamilton have built the bridge to Weaver.

Boone’s teams have never been great in September, until now, as they are one of the hottest teams in the league. 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, all saw the bombers scuffle down the stretch which hurt their chances at home field in the later rounds. This isn’t an earth shattering thought, but you want to be playing well going in. The Yankees have managed to do just that, as we saw on this past trip to Seattle and Oakland, the Yankees played an alert brand of the game, looking dialed in and taking advantage of silly plays rather than making them. They have had the talent of a championship team for a while, but now they’re playing with the attitude of one too.

The Yankees come home from this 5-1 west coast trip, to host the Orioles and Pirates in the Bronx over the final week. The magic number to take the division crown after a year long battle with the O’s is one. With the champagne on ice Tuesday night, the Yanks can have themselves a party to start the week with a win, and then lock in on the best record. They have a two game edge and the tiebreaker on the Guardians so they still have some work to do in that department. I can’t wait for playoff games at the big ballpark in the Bronx, the crisp fall air, stressful nights sitting through the game, and beer showers in the stands. The playoff fun is just around the corner!

Mets

“This is Mets/Willets Point…” where the Mets have capped the home schedule in memorable fashion Sunday night. The Mets have improbably (as I’ve said many times already) hit the final week of the season in sole possession of the last wild card spot in the NL. From the depths of being well below .500 earlier in the year to the brink of completing an all time great turn around. This 6-1 home stand against Washington and Philly really typifies all the good work this team has done for months now. Great contributions from everyone involved on this roster.

This offense has been scrappy and has taken a village to make it work, but they’ve done exactly that. From regular contributors like Alonso, Lindor, and Nimmo to emerging talents like Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos, and newcomers like Jesse Winker, the Mets have gotten help from everyone. Even star rookie Luisangel Acuna has become a pivotal part of the team in recent days. They’ve overcome injury to reach this point and their increased depth gives them a chance to matchup well come October.

While the lineup has improved, the Mets pitching has come a long way too. Sean Manaea and David Peterson have led a pitching staff that also gets solid work from the likes of Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Tylor MeGill of late. The improving staff is backstopped by a bullpen that got a lot of extra help at the trade deadline and has pulled it together. Edwin Diaz has stabilized in the ninth inning and guys like Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek have helped build a bridge to the closer. While they’re far from consistent, they’re good enough to work with.

The final week of the season takes the Mets to Atlanta and Milwaukee, holding a two game lead over the Braves in the Wild Card. The job is simple, go to Atlanta and exercise years of demons to secure a playoff spot…easy right? With everything on the line in the ATL, it’s going to be a stressful few days, but I think we all would have signed up for that months ago. It’s really an opportunity to right the wrong of blowing the division title in 2022 in Atlanta at the end of the year. If the Mets can find a way to leave Georgia with the wild card in their hands, there is good news, in facing a Brewers team that will be playing for nothing as they are locked into their playoff seed. It may feel like it’s going to take a miracle…but Mets fans are used to those!

We have a chance an extremely exciting October in The Big Apple. The Jets are 2-1 and looking good. The Giants got a big win Sunday and face a reeling Cowboys team at home Thursday night. The Rangers and Islanders start in 16 days and the Knicks kick off the season in one month. Let’s have deep runs from our Yankees and Mets to add to the fun and keep the energy up around here! After all, nothing matches the passion of New York sports when we have our teams going at the same time. Hit it!

You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!