The Mets are a really fun team to watch right now. They’re hitting on all cylinders and it feels like winning is starting to come easily to them. Finally, after all of the ups and downs the first half of this season brought, fans can watch a Mets game without having the paramedics on standby.
The last time it was this fun to watch the Mets, the calendar read 2006 (I’m purposely skipping ’07 and ’08). While it’s highly unlikely that these 2015 Mets will surpass the 97 wins that the 2006 squad won, it’s starting to seem this year’s team may end up being the better of the two.
With guys like Reyes, Wright, and Beltran in their prime, the 2006 Mets certainly had the offense over this year’s team. Carlos Delgado was a threat at the plate that Lucas Duda can only hope to reach during a hot streak. Jose Reyes gave the 2006 team something this year’s team has lacked, speed on the base paths. There just weren’t many weak links back then.
There is little doubt that the team in ’06 was more balanced offensively. However, there is absolutely zero doubt that the 2015 Mets hold the edge in the pitching department, by a huge margin. In 2006, the Mets relied on an aging Pedro Martinez (who couldn’t complete the season) and Tom Glavine, and then a bunch of journey-men in John Main, El Duque, Steve Trachsel, and Oliver Perez. The majority of the 2006 pitching staff wouldn’t even make this year’s rotation. Those who would, would be a number 5, not a number 1 or 2. No, there is no comparison in the pitching department.
When you think about it, the 2006 and 2015 Mets are polar opposites in regards to pitching and hitting. So which is better, having a stacked lineup or a loaded rotation? The 2006 Mets proved that you can’t just hit your way to the world series – you need pitching, healthy pitching. What will the 2015 Mets prove?
What do you think? How does this year’s squad stack up to 2006’s?
