Mets Starting to Look Like Yankees

That headline looks disturbing, I know — why would we want the Mets to be anything like the hated Yankees (except for their two dozen championships)? Well, their offense is starting to remind me of the Bronx Bombers, and that’s a good thing.

Whenever I would watch a Yankees game over the past couple of decades, I would marvel at their lineup. It was quality hitter after quality hitter, with no break. And when a pinch-hitter was needed, it was a professional batter.

And when a regular got injured, the starting spot was filled with a bona fide major leaguer.

More often than not, the Mets had holes in their lineup over the years. Sure, maybe they almost always had a quality 3-4-5, but the rest of the spots were filled with less than adequate bats. And the bench? Not professionals; usually career minor leaguers who did not belong in the majors. Those were the same guys who would fill in for an injured player.

Things have changed over the past couple of weeks. Perhaps as important as Yoenis Cespedes were the acquisitions of Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. In most games only one of them starts, and when David Wright comes back, they will both likely be on the bench for most games. But that’s okay; they will be called upon almost daily, and you just know the at bat will be a quality one. You could not say that with the old cast of characters warming the Mets bench the past couple of years.

The Mets are still not as powerful as the Yankees were — a limited budget vs. an unlimited one makes that almost impossible. But the Mets finally have depth on the roster. And that will go a long way in the push for October.