New York baseball might be headed for its darkest times in decades. Because, believe it or not, both the New York Mets and New York Yankees are spiraling. And it’s a nightmare scenario come true. The Yankees, for example, were swept by the Miami Marlins, and as if that’s not bad enough, they even lost to the Rangers in the series opener. And now across town, the Mets seem to be matching the energy, and—and not in a good way.

The Mets lost seven of their last eight games and are dancing super close to the same ledge that the Yankees are trying not to fall off. Just a while ago, the idea that both these teams could miss the playoffs seemed unthinkable. Now? It seems like a real possibility.

Carlos Mendoza knows it, and the Mets manager, who may be frustrated after Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, didn’t mince his words.

Mendoza mentioned, “1-9, or whoever’s in the lineup, we have to be better…[Chavez and I] are watching a film…if you get a good pitch, you hit it hard; after that, it’s out of our hands…” And he is not wrong; the Mets just have not been hitting lefties. Once, they were known for torching southpaws, but now Pete Alonso, Lindor, and even Vientos have all regressed. Last year, they had all crushed lefties with an OPS over .800. This season, it’s a different story.

This season, Lindor is at .640 and Vientos is at .584, and as a team, they are just batting .225 with a .657 OPS against left-handers. Still, Mendoza is trying to stay optimistic, saying that eventually things will turn, but he also added, “We all want results,” and it shows that patience is running dry. Meanwhile, the Yankees are also reeling. Their bullpen collapsed on Monday as they gave up homers to the Rangers. One of their new trade acquisitions, Jake Bird, is already demoted. The other two, like Bednar and Doval, both have ERAs that are north of 6.00, so they are not the reinforcements fans were hoping for.

Meanwhile, the standings are brutal, as the Yankees have slipped into third in the AL East and are clinging to the wild card spot. They are tied with the Mariners. The Rangers and Guardians are right behind, and the New York Mets are 1.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and are barely hanging onto a wild-card spot. With less than 50 games to go and tough schedules, including the seven Mets and Phillies matchups and a Yankees stretch filled with Astros, Sox, and Jays, both teams have very little room to make errors.

The Mets’ rotation is spiraling—so why are the top kids waiting in Syracuse?

Let’s be real, if you’ve watched the New York Mets lately, you know that something has to give, and the rotation is a mess. Frankie Montas just got cooked and allowed seven runs in four innings. Kodai Senga gave up 11 earned runs in his last 12 innings, and Clay Holmes hasn’t exactly inspired much confidence either. After all, his ERA stands at 4.72 over his last seven starts.

Meanwhile, down in Triple-A Syracuse, two young arms, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean, are excelling like no one’s business. So, naturally, the next question is—what’s the holdup? Mets President David Stearns met with the press and attempted to explain the front office’s mindset. “It’s always a combination of when developmentally those guys are ready, and also when there’s the need and how to fit it on the roster.” So it means they are not there yet, but if you ask fans, it’s time to get them.

Sproat, for example, has allowed just two runs in his last 33 innings. That’s not good; that’s awesome. He sure had a rocky start at the beginning of the season, but he didn’t falter and turned a corner after that. As for McLean, he is looking ever better. On Tuesday, he went 5.2 shutout innings and gave up just one hit and struck out seven. His ERA in Double-A and Triple-A is 2.60 with 120 strikeouts. He is meant for the big leagues—and the stats say so.

Montas, for example, has a 6.68 ERA in seven starts, so the contrast is sharp. The front office needs to rethink and maybe take that plunge. What do you think?