IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW YOU START THE SEASON; IT'S HOW YOU FINISH!

I'm not gonna lie, I am a little bummed that we ended as a Wild Card, because that's never good enough. We always want more, and we expect it. It's not the scenario that we want but we at least get to see October baseball. We can't say the same for that other New York team.

I say this thinking about my friends and coworkers who are Mets fans. On Tuesday, we play the Red Sox and on Tuesday the Mets are playing golf.....or maybe eating their feelings. They certainly would have a lot of feelings to eat. The Yankees could've been in the same situation. They had some of the same flaws, but the Yankees were able to figure them out.

At the beginning of the season, the Yankees were panicking after losing Gerrit Cole. I was poking fun of the Mets because after spending a stupid amount of money on Juan Soto, they created a science experiment for a pitching rotation that included converting blown save connoisseur Clay Holmes from a bullpen role into a starter. How could that not be a complete disaster? If you are gonna blow $765 million on one guy, at least build a formidable pitching staff so Soto wasn't working on overdrive to make up the runs they were sure to give up with a crappy pitching staff.

At first, both the Yankees and the Mets started out strong. Of course, we are used to seeing that with the Yankees. Both teams had an early lead in their divisions, and it looked like both teams invested well. They held a major-league best 45-24 record heading into June 13 at 21 games over .500 and a 5.5-game lead in the NL East. It was the dream team that Steven Cohen envisioned when he spent lavishly to win it all. Until it all fell apart with a 38-55 record from June 13 to September 28 to finish the year with a disappointing 83-79 record. Both teams did a free fall, but the Yankees managed to pull it together.

The Mets collapse was brutal. Their poor offseason pitching decisions caught up to them while the Yankees got creative internally. I still say Carlos Rodon evolved into the pitcher I never expected this season and then came Cam Schlittler who blew everyone away....both the Yankees and opposing hitters that couldn't adapt to his style. He proved himself enough to earn a role as the third starter in the Wild Card series coming up.

Both teams had a freefall, but the Yankees managed to pull themselves up by their cleats and salvage the season late. Thanks to guys like Ben Rice and Aaron Judge cashing in on big moments they won enough games to finish with a 94-68 record tying their record from 2024. They might not be division winners this time around, but they are playing in October.

It's proof that as nice as it is to see a red-hot start to the season, a strong finish is just as important. The Yankees managed to right the ship and are playing October baseball. The Mets and Carlos Mendoza on the other hand have a long, agonizing winter to get through and I'm more than okay with that.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj