June Swoon

By Eddie Castro
For the most part, this season, baseball in New York has been on top. Both the Yankees and the Mets came out of the gates as hot as the weekly heatwave, with both teams being atop their respective divisions. The Yankees are looking to return to the Fall Classic (World Series) for a second consecutive year, while the Mets look to take one more step towards the World Series. What the past two weeks have taught us all is that it is a long season, and all teams will hit a wall throughout the course of the 162-game campaign.

For the Mets, it’s been a combination of terrible pitching and inconsistent at-bats. As we go to press, the Mets have lost nine of their last 10 games. In those 10 games, they have scored a total of just 19 runs. Before this 10-game stretch, the Mets were not only atop the National League East division by 5 ½ games, but were the top team in all of the National League. In a recent interview Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the team’s struggles, he said “We are relying so much on our top guys.

Once you get past the fourth of fifth batter, we’re having a hard time creating opportunities, creating chances for us and it’s hard to score like that”. The numbers of late, backup Mendoza’s statement. In 12 of the last 13 games, the Mets have scored 5 runs or less. During that stretch, hitters five through nine have hit for a combined average of .183, which is the worst in the majors.

It’s pretty much the same issue the Bronx Bombers have been going through lately. The team recently snapped a six-game losing streak in which they went 29 innings without scoring a run. Slugger Aaron Judge has also been in a bit of a hitting slump with his batting average dropping from .390 before the recent Red Sox series to the mid-350s, which is still really incredible. The Achilles heel with Judge’s performance is that when he doesn’t hit, neither does the rest of the lineup. Another factor is the team’s pitching.

Decimated by injuries all year long, the team continues to search for pitching depth to replace significant losses such as Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil. The Yankees still sit at first place in the American League East by two games; however, division teams such as the Rays, Red Sox, and Orioles have gained some ground within the last 2 weeks. It is still early for both New York teams to turn it around, as both clubs are expected to not only make a few calls come the trade deadline, but are also expected to get a few key players back from injury.

We are still a month away from the halfway point of the season with a lot of good baseball ahead for both New York teams. Hopefully, this June Slump turns into a sizzling July for both the Yanks and Mets.

Sports Notes: (Basketball) The NBA draft resumes tonight with day No.2. With powerhouse teams like Milwaukee, Boston, and Indiana due to miss top players for the upcoming season, how will the Knicks and Nets capitalize on building a championship contender in the East?