ARLINGTON, Texas — For all the concerns and complaints throughout an anxiety-filled first half for our ball teams, both the Yankees and Mets wound up confounding critics, overcoming obvious weaknesses and ultimately fashioning mostly positive narratives.
Things looked dicey at times (and dire in the case of the Mets). Yet, the smart money says now our two teams are playing into October.
For all the talk about the Yankees’ being a two-man team, their rotation falling into sudden shambles and manager Aaron Boone having little clue how to get them out of a mess that saw them lose eight straight series, our streaky marquee team sits within a game of the top of baseball’s best division as they hit the break.
The Mets’ story is the real first-half shocker. Long assumed for also-ran status by most, somehow, some way the Mets moved into playoff position. While the Yankees are mostly fulfilling the expectations of the sport’s almost annual favorite, the upstart Mets — only the Mets could be considered an underdog with the sport’s highest payroll! — executed a stunningly speedy rally to relevancy.
Special thanks for that to two top-of-the-lineup stars who should be All-Stars (Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo) and inarguable, intangible assists from fun characters (the fuzzy, fast-food villain Grimace and singing second baseman Candelita). They’re all teaming up to energize Queens. OMG are they ever!
The resurgent Yankees are rallying around eager Ivy Leaguer Ben Rice, their improbable new cleanup man, but their main players remain more typical for the organization known for generational hitters. Future Hall of Famers Juan Soto and the incomparable Aaron Judge did everything possible to carry a lineup that was otherwise mostly underachieving. The Soto-Judge tandem fulfilled the hopes of the Yankees hierarchy as the most dangerous in the game, with the only negative the contract situation that allows Soto to leave at year’s end. (Soto is said to be enjoying his pinstriped time, but the Yankees are now aware there won’t be any in-season negotiations, as they’d hoped.)
Soto is everything as advertised as a hitter (and better than advertised as a defender), thanks to a batting eye rarely seen. It’s hard to believe that even with Judge batting behind him Soto manages to maintain his usual, healthy MLB lead in walks. (It’s just as hard to believe rivals are still pitching to Judge, who has seven fewer walks than Soto even though the Yankees are producing below-average production at cleanup behind him.)
Judge gets the vote here for MVP of a first half with a worthy foursome. There’s some small case to be made for the more consistent Soto and multitalented shortstops Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr., but Judge is again threatening the AL home run record — this time it’s his own. His 34 home runs are the most ever hit before the break by a Yankee.
While we’ve seen this storyline before from the Yankees and Judge — in some ways, the season seems like a carbon copy of Judge’s record-setting 2022 season — for months hardly anyone was predicting good vibes for the team from Queens. The club that was once 11 games under .500 and behind all but the noncompetitive Marlins and Rockies lately is outplaying everyone in the National League except the best-in-baseball Phillies.
Out of nowhere it’s a fun fest in Flushing. Fans are crediting Grimace — whose first pitch preceded the unexpected streak of excellence. The other unforeseen hero of the moment is Candelita, the stage name of surprise infield star and inspiration Jose Iglesias, who wrote the catchy new song “OMG” that’s become a rallying cry for a team that’s shocking doubters.
The story was the opposite only a month ago when they looked like they were headed for a certain sell-off. They could have staged a pretty good one, too, since they have coveted starters on short-term deals like Luis Severino and Sean Manaea and beloved slugger Pete Alonso, who has hit more home runs than anyone since entering the league in 2019 but who has the same expiration date as Soto.
At this point, with the Mets in playoff position and personal resources to dwarf every other team thanks to owner Steve Cohen’s largesse, they better be a buyer. While they don’t have anyone quite vying for an MVP award, and actually have only the minimum one All-Star (Alonso), they possess an unusually long litany of serviceable starters and a deeper lineup than almost anyone. Yes, I’m saying again they have a chance.
The bullpen remains an issue for both teams, but especially the Mets, whose relief corps is mostly overworked, underperforming or ailing, or some combination of all three. The current focus for both is to acquire viable relievers at a time prices are unreasonably high.
Our teams’ first halves were better than fine, and it feels like the Mets have some magic. But there are enough cracks to keep the concern going. Some end-of-game relief reinforcements for both do seem needed to give both teams a real chance for a second half that’s even better than the first.