SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Are you ready for some scalding Hawt Tayeks?! I know I am!
We have finally hit the All-Star break, which means more than a half of the MLB season is behind us. A lot has happened and there’s a lot to discuss. Let’s get started with this round of Ebs’ Hot Takes:
The New York Yankees are going to have a better second half than the New York Mets.
There. I said it.
REPEAT: The New York Yankees are going to have a better second half of the season than the New York Mets and yes, I’m very aware of the hate I just brought myself.
But hear me out before you bludgeon.
The Mets are three games above .500, while the Yankees are at .500 on the dot. Yet, the Bronx Bombers have won three of their last four games (all on the road at Cleveland), while the Mets are currently riding a three-game losing streak.
Then there’s the Matt Harvey injury. If I told you at the beginning of the season that the Mets would have a bigger injury problem on July 11 than the Yankees, would you have believed me? Probably not. But it’s true. Harvey is done for the season, and if there was an over/under for starts the rest of the season for both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, and it was set at 11.5, I’d take the under for both. Especially Matz. Not to mention, Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets’ best offensive player, might not be ready to play when play starts again for the Mets on Friday. Yikes!
Then there’s the fact that the Mets are 28th in both runs and batting average, both worse than the Yankees, who have their own problems scoring runs. Double yikes!
Lastly, the Yankees have No Runs DMC. Yes, Jeurys Familia is having an incredible season, but the Yankees have three Familia’s in No Runs DMC. All the Yankees need from their starting pitching is six decent innings and then Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman can take care of the rest.
Don’t count out Bryce Harper. The Washington Nationals phenom got off to a red-hot start to open the season, but after April Bryce Harper has cooled off in a major way.
Ever since a rough May, batting .200, Harper has seen his batting average rise every so slightly. What it comes down 
to is his ability to adjust to pitchers pitching around him, but it takes some time. He has to adjust to waiting for his pitch and needs to stop letting the pitchers dictate his at-bat. Once he can do that, everything will go back to normal.
Jose Altuve is going to win the AL MVP. Sorry, David Ortiz, but you’re going to have to take a seat behind this Houston Astros second baseman.
Is Jose Altuve the best player in baseball? Not yet, but it’s getting darn close.
Altuve is having an incredible year, batting .341 with 14 homers, 51 RBIs, 67 runs and an incredible 23 steals. He literally does it all for Houston. With Harper having slowed down, Altuve has secured his spot as the second-best player in baseball and is close on Mike Trout’s tail.
Speaking of tail… come back tomorow for Junoir Blaber and please follow us on Twitter – @DJEberle66 & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
