So Much Bad Mets History With Marlins Standing in Way of Postseason

New York — The night before, the Yankees had climbed into a first-place tie with the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and clinched a playoff berth. Early the next morning, Omar Minaya, a former Mets general manager who now serves as a special assistant to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, visited the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown. In a quiet lobby, he ran into familiar faces who offered congratulations on the Yankees’ latest milestone. The moment highlighted the cross-town dimension of a season in which both New York clubs are navigating their own playoff narratives.

Minaya, who ran the Mets from 2005 through 2010, spoke with colleagues about the current Mets and his role with the Yankees. The conversation also touched on his son, a former standout basketball player at South Carolina and Providence who is in Orlando’s training camp, and on the team in town that remains a reference point for Mets fans and critics alike. “I think the Mets will be fine,” Minaya said, offering a cautious assessment rooted in his long experience with the franchise he helped shape.

The Mets’ postseason pursuit remains entangled with the Marlins in the NL East. The two franchises have traded high-stakes showdowns and near-misses in recent seasons, and the memory of those moments colors expectations as the season winds down. While Minaya’s comments provided a public note of confidence from a former Mets executive, the broader storyline centers on whether New York can translate its potential into a postseason appearance despite the historical headwinds posed by Miami.

As the calendar turns toward October, the Mets’ chances will be measured not just by wins and losses but by how they fare in the division race against the Marlins, a legacy that has shaped fans’ perceptions of the franchise for years. The cross-town dynamic, meanwhile, continues to define a season in which both New York teams are still in the mix for October action.