Scott Servais learned Thursday he was fired by the Mariners when he saw the news scrolling at the bottom of a television screen. It was an unconscionable mistake by a struggling Seattle team that — performance on the pitcher’s mound aside — has blown a 10-game lead in the AL West over the past two months.

It’s hard to believe that these were the same Mariners that blew the Mets 22-1 in a three-game series at T-Mobile Park just over a week ago. But it was a rare high point for Seattle, which had an 18-25 record since July 1, and Servais also had the misfortune of seeing the resurgent Astros — who had been abandoned in May — take advantage of the sudden gap at the top of the division.

How many times have we here on the East Coast seen the Yankees go through similar bouts of weakness under manager Aaron Boone, only to have GM Brian Cashman step in and get the Yankees back on their feet in the home stretch? Servais was fired in the middle of his ninth year and had only one playoff appearance to his name – the 2022 wild-card spot that ended the franchise’s 20-year postseason drought, which at the time was the longest active drought in the four major professional sports leagues.

After Servais was fired, Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners’ longtime vice president of baseball operations, seemed particularly sorry about how the manager learned of his fate.

“On one of the least favorite days of my professional life, the worst part was the fact that Scott … found out about it on a newscast,” Dipoto said at a news conference. “It’s killing me and I know it hurts a lot.”

While Dipoto’s embarrassing faux pas is reminiscent of previous Mets gaffes, such as Buck Showalter, who practically announced his own firing on the final weekend of the season last year, or Willie Randolph, who was flown 3,000 miles only to be ejected at 3 a.m. ET after winning the first game of a West Coast trip, Servais’ situation is more similar to Boone’s Bronx residence.

Not from a win-loss perspective, of course. Now in his seventh season, Boone’s .586 winning percentage ranks fifth among Yankees managers all-time (minimum three seasons), just behind Billy Martin (.591). But no one in that group has failed to win a World Series title, and Boone is currently 0-for-6 in that regard, continuing a 14-season losing streak that began after Joe Girardi won the title in 2009.

Cashman’s standard alibi for the championship drought is to call the playoffs a game of chance, with a randomness that belies a $300 million payroll and analytical projections. But in the Bronx, and still under the management of a Steinbrenner — even the milder-mannered Hal — the Yankees must be results-oriented. And Boone is entering the final five weeks of his expiring contract as manager.

So what are the consequences of another empty October this time? Hard to say. There’s no sign that Boone has fallen out of favor with Cashman’s front office, but if not for the ineptitude of the Orioles themselves, the Yankees would have been all but eliminated from the AL East race a month ago.

During a month-long slump, the Yankees were among the worst teams in the major leagues with a 9-16 record, and since July 1, they’re still just 22-21. Incredibly, but thanks to a 40-19 start, the Yankees were atop the AL East by 1 1/2 games over the Orioles going into Friday’s games. They also have a relatively easier schedule for the rest of the game, facing opponents with a .491 overall winning percentage down the stretch.

That means Boone’s fate depends on October, as a source has indicated that talks about a contract extension will be delayed until the Yankees’ playoff run is over. That’s standard procedure for Steinbrenner and Cashman, but the question remains: How far do Boone and Co. have to go to keep him in the Bronx?

Anything short of a long push into the ALCS would be unsatisfying. Boone has missed the playoffs only once but is 2-8 in the ALCS, including a sweep by the Astros in 2022. In the Bronx, this season was heralded as a World Series or bust season as the one-year loan of Juan Soto pushed the Yankees’ payroll to $313 million, easily the highest amount ever set for the franchise, but that ultimatum will be put to the test by Boone’s evaluation in late October.

Joe Girardi was fired in 2017 after a narrow seven-game ALCS loss to the Astros. It was only the second year of a rebuilding process that saw rookie Aaron Judge lead a group of Baby Bombers. While this was mostly attributed to a personality clash over Girardi’s old-fashioned approach to the young players, Boone’s ability to bridge the locker room and front office — along with his outward-facing media persona — has earned him high marks in all the areas where Girardi has failed. The question of whether Boone is capable of leading — or motivating — a squad to a World Series title will be answered in October.

While Boone’s future remains uncertain, it’s interesting to note that his perfect successor just signed across town with the Mets — and Carlos Mendoza shows why the former Yankees bench coach was widely recommended for the job. It’s been a tumultuous decade in Flushing — but when isn’t it? — and the career of a Mets manager or front-office executive is typically only marginally longer than the lifespan of a mosquito.

Mendoza is the sixth manager since the 2017 season (counting Carlos Beltran’s three-month winter tenure), but his team with new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns – the man who hired him – is shaping up to be a winning duo for the long haul. Mendoza has shown an unusual feel for both the media demands of major markets and his accelerated training in a locker room full of new players, both traits no doubt honed by his development within the Yankees organization – and working with Boone.

Mendoza has steered the Mets through some dizzying lows, including an 0-5 start that was the perfect nightmare for a rookie manager with Yankees pedigree in Queens, and he helped a team that was 11 games under its record (24-35) as recently as June 2 to a playoff run. In a crowded field of Manager of the Year candidates, Mendoza should be the frontrunner, in part because he helped the Mets exceed expectations on his first try – no small feat for Flushing.

One of Mendoza’s obvious strengths is holding players accountable and motivating them, in addition to his knack for lineup making. While lineup making is more of a collaboration with management (i.e. analytical input), promoting Francisco Lindor to the first position and Mark Vientos to the second spot were game-changing moves. In a season that was slated to be a transitional one – paying $64 million to players no longer on the 2024 roster – Mendoza was a big reason the Mets are fighting for a second playoff spot in three years.

It’s a welcome change in Flushing. With so much personnel turnover recently, from the ownership suite to the manager’s office, the Mets should be one of MLB’s more stable franchises in the years to come.

Famous voice for Votto?

After announcing his retirement on Wednesday, Joey Votto will likely be an instant Hall of Fame induction in five years. Votto, a six-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP, finishes his 17-year career ranked 42nd in on-base percentage (.4094), 92nd in home runs (356) and 103rd in offensive WAR (59.6).

Votto signed a 12-year, $251.5 million contract with the Reds at the start of the 2012 season, and Cincinnati made the playoffs three times during the contract’s term – twice losing in the Wildcard round and once in the Division Series. Votto batted .244 (10 of 41) in those 11 playoff games, with no home runs and an OPS of .563.

The Reds declined their $20 million option on Votto for this season, and the Toronto native signed with the Blue Jays in hopes of finishing his career with his hometown team. But the 40-year-old Votto never made it past Triple-A Buffalo — until he drove to the Rogers Centre to visit the Reds on Wednesday following their 11-7 victory over the Blue Jays.

“This game is faster,” Votto told reporters. “I’m not fast. This game is about more dynamic defense. This game has changed over the last quarter of my career. I’m slower. The only thing I could try to do is play offense, and I’ve been terrible, especially for my position. At some point, the writing is on the wall.”