Both New York baseball teams have established themselves at the top of the standings this season. The Mets are 78-44 and hold a four-game lead in Newfoundland East despite the Braves having been on the rise since early June. The Mets have held first place all but one day this season, when they were out 3-2½. The Yankees are 74-48 and have held first place in the AL East since April 27. At one point, they held a 15 1/2 game lead. They’ve had a tough time over the past 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 executives may start to wonder if this is a World Series preview. . This would be the second “Subway series”, after 2000.
Of course, the Mets have to face their division’s Braves and perhaps the mighty Dodgers of the NLCS. The Yankees will probably have to finally learn how to beat the Astros, if they are even able to reach them.
It’s obviously an incredibly difficult path for either team to win the World Series, but I’ve been instructed to see which one I’d rather bet on.
Odds of winning the World Series
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
- Dodges +350
- Astros +400
- Yankees +450
- Put +475
- Brave +1100
I listed the top five teams just for a point of reference, but the task here is to see if the Mets or the Yankees would be a better choice at this point.
The case of the Yankees
The Bronx Bombers live up to that moniker this season, leading the league in home runs and runs scored. Giancarlo Stanton is on his way back from injury and when healthy the Yankees can put on a seriously daunting lineup with Andrew Benintendi and DJ LeMahieu serving as table dressers (likely with one in the nine holes and the other in the lead) for Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Josh Donaldson. It’s the type of lineup that could put up a few twisted numbers per game in the playoffs and we’ve seen three-run homers turn the streak around on multiple occasions.
Assuming the Yankees get Luis Severino back and find a way to get Frankie Montas back on track, the playoff rotation with Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Montas and Severino has great potential. Or maybe the Yankees use Jameson Taillon in a rotation and let Severino do his relief thing.
The bullpen has been a problem for weeks, but you can work your way to a playoff-dominant setup. Let’s say Clay Holmes, Aroldis Chapman, Wandy Peralta, Scott Effross, Lou Trivino, Ron Marinaccio and Severino are all at their best. This would give Aaron Boone an arsenal with a wide variety of different weapon types.
Simply put, the best version of the Yankees is a team that can do some serious playoff damage and bring home the title.
Of course, they haven’t been their best release for about six weeks now.
The case of the Mets
Chris Bassitt is an All-Star caliber pitcher who has twice finished in Cy Young’s top 10 votes. He’s 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in his last 11 starts and 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four starts in August.
He would be the Mets’ No. 3 starter in a playoff series, after elite aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. Maybe Carlos Carrasco comes back from injury in time to be No. 4 or maybe it’s Taijuan Walker. Either way, the Mets are likely to have the best playoff rotation.
Oh, and in the back of the bullpen awaits baseball’s closest closest, Edwin Díaz. He now has 28 for 31 save chances with a 1.46 ERA, .89 WHIP and 97 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.
The Mets also have a solid roster with superstars Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor serving as their backbone. Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo are all having great seasons. Mark Canha is as good as the bottom third hitters. Daniel Vogelbach has also been a revelation at DH.
It’s always about 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 will likely be full of stars. They have an almost automatic door closer. They have a deep offense that doesn’t rely on the longball while also being able to handle game-changing clutch bombs.
I’m bullish on the Mets.
The choice
I’m going with dishes and it was not a difficult choice. The Dodgers are the only team I would take before the Mets right now and I’m not opposed to taking the Mets over the Dodgers. It’s the most complete Mets team in a long time.
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