Both New York baseball teams have been at the top of the rankings this season. The Mets are 78-44 and hold a four-game lead in the NL East despite the Braves being on the rise since early June. The Mets have been in first place every day but one this season, when they were 3-2 and a half games out. The Yankees are 74-48 and have held first place in the AL East since April 27. They at one point held a 15 1/2-game lead. They’ve fallen on hard times in the last month-plus, but they still have an eight-game lead.
The two teams are set to face off Monday and Tuesday in their second and final regular-season series in 2022. New Yorkers and TV anchors may begin to wonder if this is a preview of the World Series. It would be the second metro series, after 2000.
Of course, the Mets have to contend with the Braves in their division and possibly the mighty Dodgers in the NLCS. The Yankees will probably have to finally learn how to beat the Astros, if they are even able to catch them.
It’s obviously an incredibly difficult path for either team to win the World Series, but I’ve been tasked with seeing which one I’d like to bet on.
Odds of winning the World Series
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
- Dodgers +350
- Astros +400
- Yankees +450
- Mets +475
- Brave +1100
I ranked the top five teams just for a point of reference, but the task here is to see if the Mets or Yankees would be a better choice at this point.
The case for the Yankees
The Bronx Bombers are living up to that moniker this season, leading the league in home runs and runs scored. Giancarlo Stanton is coming back from injury and, when healthy, the Yankees could field a seriously intimidating lineup with Andrew Benintendi and DJ LeMahieu serving as table-setters (likely with one in the nine hole and the other in the lead) for Aaron. Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Josh Donaldson. It’s the kind of lineup that can put up some lopsided numbers per game in the playoffs, and we’ve seen three-run homers turn series around plenty of times.
Assuming the Yankees get Luis Severino back and find a way to get Frankie Montas on track, the playoff rotation of Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Montas and Severino has great potential. Or maybe the Yankees use Jameson Taillon in a rotation spot and let Severino do his thing in relief.
Reds have been an issue for weeks, but you can open your eyes to a dominant organization in the playoffs. Let’s just say that Clay Holmes, Aroldis Chapman, Wandy Peralta, Scott Efross, Lou Trivino, Ron Marinaccio and Severino are all at their best. This would give Aaron Boone an arsenal with a wide variety of different types of weapons.
Simply put, the best version of the Yankees is a team that can do serious damage in the playoffs and bring home the title.
Of course, they haven’t been their best version for about six weeks now.
The case for the Mets
Chris Bassitt is an All-Star caliber pitcher who has twice finished in the top-10 of Cy Young voting. He is 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in his last 11 starts and he is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four August starts.
He would be the no. 3 of the Mets in a playoff series, behind elite pitchers Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. Maybe Carlos Carrasco returns from his injury in time to be the No. 4 or maybe it’s Taijuan Walker. Regardless, the Mets likely have the best playoff rotation.
Oh, and at the back of the bullpen awaits the best in baseball, Edwin Díaz. He is now 28 for 31 in saves with a 1.46 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 97 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.
The Mets also boast a strong lineup with superstars Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor serving as the backbone. Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo are all having very good seasons. Mark Canha is as good as the third lowest scorers. Daniel Vogelbach has been a revelation in DH as well.
It always comes down to who plays well when it matters most, but looking at the Mets, they have all the ingredients to win it all. They have two aces and the playoff rotation is likely to be full of All-Stars. They have an almost automatic shutter. They have a deep offense that doesn’t rely on the long ball, while being able to make clutch, game-changing bombs.
I’m Bulgarian to the Mets.
Choosing
I’m going with Mets and it was not a difficult choice. The Dodgers are the only team I’d take ahead of the Mets right now, and I’m not against taking the Mets over the Dodgers. This is the most complete Mets team in a long time.