The Dog Days of August

Every baseball season feels like the longest marathon. For the most part, it is a 6 and a half month marathon. We have passed the All-Star break and the trade deadline. We are in the dog days of August when division races shape up and wild card spots are up for grabs. The Yankees sit comfortably in the playoff picture. The question will be whether they are the AL East division winners or wild card participants. They are in a heated battle with the Baltimore Orioles for the division. The expectations have not changed as Juan Soto and Aaron Judge continue to impress on a nightly basis. Soto, in a contract season, continues to make himself more and more money. A friend of mine said “whatever you think Juan Soto is worth, double it.” It might turn out to be true. He is ready to reset the market for largest contract in baseball history. As long as those two are in the lineup, the Yankees have a chance against any team in baseball. Their pitching needs some fine tuning and better starts from their rotation but again, with those two, anything is possible. Across town, the Mets are scrapping and fighting for a wild card berth as the division race is, essentially, over for them. They are trailing the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. They start a 7-game stretch against the Padres and Diamondbacks. That will decide how serious they are and whether or not they will play meaningful baseball into September. Time will tell if the Mets can keep our focus off of football for a couple nights a week. The Mets have been mediocre since the All-Star break. Even more so after they lost Kodai Senga. Senga pitched in one game this season so while they won before him, his injury sucked the life out of the club on July 26th. His loss has dejected the team, and they have yet to find a rhythm since that moment when they were on top of the world, beating down their rival, the Atlanta Braves. They need to find it in a hurry. Their offense must produce at a high level, one that mirrors when they were one of the better teams in baseball. If they have one more run like that in them, they can sniff the postseason and try to make a run. Things will heat up for both teams and fast because football season is right around the corner and if they cannot play well, they will slip to the back page. Playoff races in baseball are thrilling and exciting. Let us hope that we get to focus on two teams instead of just one cause the football season looms. Check out my sports show: “Game Time with The Goose” every Saturday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM on WTBQ AM 1110 FM 93.5 and on WGHT Radio with co-host Zach Kruk, Sports Director of WTBQ and WGHT!