Baseball is back!

After 4 days of no real baseball the MLB season resumes tonight, both NY teams have more then held their own in the 1st half and the excitement is only building as we get ready for the 2nd half. So time to put in some thoughts as we get things kicking with some NY baseball banter.

As always I will start with them Yankees.

At the moment the NY Yankees are sitting pretty on top of the the AL East with a 3 and a half game lead, one of the surprises of the 1st half, led by Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixiera both whom have come back to turn back the clock like it's 2009. If I had to pick a 1st half Yankee MVP I will have to give the nod to AROD, he has been the key ingredient cause no one could had said they expected this from AROD. All the experts had written him off but look at him now, love him or hate him AROD gets the credit. To me the guy is still a big phony but this year it's been hard to tell, look at the way he has carried himself this year, saying all the nice and right things making us forgive and forget. To me he is the biggest reason because he has helped keep the pressure off the rest of the team.

Still there is a 2nd half of baseball to be played, and it's not like the Yankees are going to run away with it cause the AL East has parity, all 5 teams are still in it, what the Yankees have is a little bit of both, let me explain. When you break down the AL East there is not much pitching within the divison, for the most part the AL East is an all offensive division with the exception of the TB Rays who do it because of their pitching. The Blue Jays, Orioles, and Red Sox all have offense that can match up with the Yankees but where they all fall short is in the pitching dept. The Yankees have a little of both and because of that they have the slight edge. Barring any major injuries the Yanks should be able to pull it out, but if any of these teams are to overtake the Yankees a move or 2 will have to be made, and with the trading deadline just 2 weeks away things can change. This is where the rest in the division can make some noise and challenge the Yankees.

The rumors are out there and guys like Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir and Cole Hamels are out there to be had, if the Ray, Orioles, Jays and Sox's can pull the right deals then I give them a chance, but don't expect the Yanks to just stand pat, look for them to ad another arm and separate themselves from the rest of the parity pretenders in the AL East. Tanaka and Pineda are solid at the top but you still have a level of uncertainty with those 2 going forward and staying in the rotation, Ivan Nova just came back from TJ so you can't expect to much from him, then you have C.C. Sabathia who continues to be a big old problem that won't go away. To me another arm in the rotation is needed if the plan is to go deep.

So who should the Yankees go after?

Will the Yankees try and land a big fish like Johnny Cueto or Cole Hamels? or will they go the lesser route and go for a Mike Leake type of deal? Some Yankee fans want to believe that the Yankees will play it conservative and keep their young prospects and not trade away, maybe so but this is what the Yankees usually do around this time, just last week Rob Refsnyder was brought up to the big show just in time for the showcasing, if George Steinbrenner was still today you can betcha that the RobRefsnyder's, Luis Severino's and Aaron Judge's would be on their way out for the more expensive major league ready talent. Rob Refsnyder may not get you Johnny Cueto but package him and Luis Severino in a deal and now the Reds are listening.

Right now the NY Yankees are sitting pretty, they have the edge but dealers will deal and changes will be made.

And now with the METS...

It's hard to understand but the Mets are still in it, just 2 weeks ago it was doom and gloom as things were beginning to fall apart, but the Mets went out west and took care of the Dodgers and Giants came home and swept the Diamondback, and just like that the feeling is good again, just 2 games out we can't complain.

Thanks to the pitching the Mets have stayed relevant, at the beginning of the season my hopes where high because of the pitching and so far it has backed me up. But it won't be easy going forward, the 2nd half opens up tonight and right off the bat there is some stiff competition, 1st the Cardinals and then the Nationals to start things off on the road, then back home and it's 4 with the LA Dodgers. Yup no breaks, 10 games in 10 days, the Mets will be tested.

If you're a Mets fan of course you take where the Mets are at, with all the injuries and the no offense problems in the 1st half they are lucky to be where they at, but in my opinion these next 10 games will make or break the rest of the season, it will be the decider.

The pitching has kept them in it but if the Mets want to stay relevant in the 2nd half their offense has to wake up! I don't know if it was the hot weather but after 9 games without a HR the Mets were able to hit 8 in 3 games to sweep the Diamondbacks, hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

The Mets are still in it and they got nothing from Michael Cuddyer, and Lucas Duda was a no show as well, if these 2 can wake the fuck up the Mets will be a lot better off. Other keys to the 2nd half will be getting the guys back from the DL, Travis d'Arnaud and Steven Matz can only boost things, but with David Wright the plan should be to plan without him and ad a piece or 2.

If the Mets are still winning and the pitching is keeping you in every game the least Sandy Alderson and the Wilpon's could do is to show and in prove. I don't expect them to make any game changer moves but a couple of minor moves are more then realistic.

A nice start would be getting a shortstop and pushing Ruben Tejada to the bench, I'm thinking of a guy like Jean Segura who has speed and can leadoff. If the Mets decide to go after a outfielder I like to go for Josh Reddick or Ben Zorbist, another area that I would like to see some upgrade in is in the bullpen where a lefty would be nice, Alex Torres is not the answer and that rule 5 guy Sean Gilmartin with his soft tosses coming out of the bullpen is not going to cut it..

For now all you can do is stay optimistic, the Mets are still in it. Hopefully they will be able to turn the corner and make things easier and score more runs, the pitching is there to go place and no one will want to face the Mets rotation if they make the playoffs. For the 1st time in a long time baseball in Queens feels good, hopefully the Mets can weather the storm to open the 2nd half and keep that good feeling going.


Mets 1st half MVP: Although Juery Familia was great my nod goes to Jacob deGrom.

Yankee stadium kicks things off tonight at 7:05 as Mike Montgomery faces Masahiro Tanaka as Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners look to turned things around in the 2nd half, the balls should be flying tonight! The Mets get it going soon after at 8:15 as they take on MLB best record the St. Louis Cardinals, Noah Syndergaard takes the ball for the Mets as he takes on Lance Lynn.