The second half of the Major League Baseball season got started last night. This is when wins matter because you are getting closer to the playoffs. Both the Yankees and Mets got started last night as the Yankees started against the Boston Red Sox and the Mets got started against the Philadelphia Phillies.
While the obvious goal for both teams is to make it to October baseball. The road will be tough for both teams, however, the Mets will have somewhat of an easier road than the Yankees. This can be shown if you look at who both teams face coming up in the next month of action.
Let’s look at the New York Mets first. They are 48-41 and are six games behind the NL East leaders Washington Nationals. It is incredibly important that the Mets take care of the Phillies in these next two games. This is because upcoming for the Mets include series against the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals. These three teams are above .500 and it should be noted that the Marlins and the Cardinals are fighting the Mets for a Wild Card spot.
The other benefit the Mets have going into the Cubs and Marlins series is combined they have a record of 9-4. If the Mets want to make a push and separate themselves from the rest of the other teams fighting with them, then they need to get these wins now.
After the Cardinals series, then the Mets get a little break as they get the Rockies. Although these can be seen as a break by the fact that 41-48, the Mets are 0-3 against them. To finish up with who the Mets have after the Rockies, they get the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks to bring us to August 16th. I am not saying that it’s all roses and petals for the Mets, but after I go through what the Yankees have coming up. It will be clear as day which team has a better shot of making it.
On the other side, the Yankees got the second half of the season started against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees are 44-45 and are eight and a half games behind the Baltimore Orioles. After this series with the Red Sox that wraps up Sunday night, the road gets harder and harder.
After the Red Sox, the Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Only the Tampa Bay Rays have a record below .500.
If you take both teams side to side, the Mets are split that of the opponents they have upcoming in the next month. The Yankees on the other hand, have 9 opponents who are above .500. Also it should be noted, 4 of them are either in first place in their division or in the wild card. The Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians are division leaders. The Boston Red Sox are in 1st place in the AL Wild Card.
So if you look at both teams schedules for the next month, it is clear that the Yankees have a tougher road to get to playoff baseball than the New York Mets. It should also be noted, I am looking at this from the aspect that both teams have tough roads between injuries and who they have to play.
In the end, I just feel the Yankees have a few more hurdles to jump to get to October baseball than the New York Mets.