Thor Years Later

So yeah. We're four years since the big Mets World Series team that...kind of came and went rather quickly. They built a roster, refined it, went to a World Series, then everybody got hurt, then everybody else left, and now here we are. A very okay Mets team trying to rebuild.

And yet the spirit of the 2015 squad is still there, as Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are still worthy aces. Yes, Thor's ERA is a bit higher than we'd like this year, but he still has 77 strikeouts, and he hasn't gotten injured yet, which tends to happen around this time of year. And deGrom isn't exactly doing a Cy-Young caliber year, but he's still a solid ace.

If anything, the pitchers behind them in the rotation are picking up most of the slack: Zack Wheeler's having his best season to date, Steven Matz has a low ERA, and even Jason Vargas is doing okay. What worries me is Edwin Diaz, who only has 13 saves, and seems to be literally turning into Francisco Rodriguez in 2009. And also Jeurys Familia, who hasn't recovered from his return from Oakland.

What also intrigues me is the All-Veteran bench that the Mets seem to be employing. They've already gone through Rajai Davis and Keon Broxton, but they're now employing Carlos Gomez, Adeiny Hechavarria and Aaron Altherr, and have recently signed both Matt Kemp and Ervin Santana. Man, if this was 2014, they'd be in good shape with all those guys.

Bold strategy, Cotton. But...as Gomez is hitting slightly better than he did in Tampa, and Hechavarria has been a solid replacement for Robinson Cano at second. Plus...need I mention all the relatively nice players who are on the lineup, like Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith and Wilson Ramos?

This is a surprisingly alright team with a few problems keeping them away from the Braves, but as the Phillies come down slowly from first, the Mets could easily strike. It could happen.

Coming Tomorrow- He was hurt for a month, came back, and...the team's just kinda doing alright.