Yankees' total freefall stealing the spotlight from Mets' very similar disaster

If you find yourself watching this Yankees team disintegrate and thinking, "How is this ... the same season ... where all that other stuff happened?" you're certainly not alone. But don't absolve the New York Mets' extremely similar collapse while you're lost in thought just because they have a slightly larger cushion on the final Wild Card spot.

Yes, it really was this season where Juan Soto's return to the Bronx was a massive storyline, and the Yankees' Plan B leveled up in unison to steal a resounding victory in the first Subway Series. It was also this season where Jeff McNeil ate the Yankees' lunch at every turn in the Citi Field edition of what MLB hopes will turn into a rivalry sometime soon.

But these days, the Yankees are merely the league's punching bag, falling freely and unable to match their MLB-leading WAR with on-field output. When they hit, they can't pitch (and certainly can't close). When they pitch, their bats disappear. And when they're pitching, hitting, or doing neither, they sure can't field.

Plenty of ink will be spilled on the heat of Aaron Boone's seat, especially as the Red Sox continue to climb out of their own grave and put distance between themselves and the Bombers. But what about the Mets, who have essentially the same lead on a playoff spot the Yankees did a week ago (and we all know how swiftly that can disappear)? Coming off a seven-game winning streak, the Mets have been swept in San Diego and lost a home series to the lowly Giants. They've single-handedly let the Guardians back into the AL playoff race this week.

They're also experiencing the downside of the Juan Soto experience, as their bats continue to slumber and (naturally) their effort is questioned. After all, surely something must be accounting for the downturn. Their playoff chances, per Baseball-Reference, are down below 70%! Outside the city lines, I don't think most people would consider their straits as dire as the Yankees' situation. Why is that?

Yankees' disaster has stolen the thunder of Mets' collapse

To be clear, neither team has eliminated themselves from postseason contention. Though both are without juice, neither squad is without hope.

But the Yankees' rotation has withstood the losses of Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil and held things together with gum and glue. The Mets still employ every rotation member David Stearns banked on, but they're only technically still alive (and Frankie Montas is Frankie Montas). The bullpen absorbs five innings nightly in Queens, limiting its super status (where have we heard that before?).

This past offseason, many thought the Yankees and Mets would be Spider-Man meme'ing for decades, fighting for budgetary supremacy and titles. As it turns out, they're currently mirror images for a very different reason.

But the world has been much, much louder about one of these two summer flops.