Hard to compare anyone to the run that Yoenis Cespedes had in 2015, but since he is the big trade deadline acquisition for the Mets in 2016, that’s exactly what we can do with Jay Bruce. Bruce is officially the Bizarro Cespedes. (For those of you not familiar with Bizarro Superman, I direct you to the video below):

Bizzaro Superman Explained by Seinfeld

And never before was this comparison more on display than in tonight’s win over the Marlins. In a tie game in the bottom of the 9th, Bruce steps up to the plate with 2 outs, as a pinch hitter for Rene Rivera. A chance to be the hero, Bruce instead lines a 1-0 pitch right to first base, inning over. Fast forward to the very next inning, the very next opportunity for Yoenis Cespedes to play the hero. With two outs and the Mets bullpen in danger of being further overextended, Cespedes sends a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center for a game winning, walk off home run.

Tonight was just a prime example of what has been going on since Bruce arrived in NY. As August comes to a close, lets take a look at the first August splits for each:

Cespedes(2015): 120 AB, 8 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R, 4 SB, .275/.331/.542, 25 K

Bruce       (2016):   85 AB, 2 HR,   6 RBI,    5 R, 0 SB, .165/.245/.271, 26 K

Seen enough, how about Cespedes’ numbers in limited August 2016 action:

37 AB, 5 HR,   9 RBI,    7 R, 0 SB, .324/.390/.703, 5 K

And as we all remember, August was just a taste of what Cespedes would do in September. Throw the stolen bases away, because Bruce never really stole bases before he was here, but take a look the batting average and the power numbers. It’s glaring. Worse than that, Bruce has struck out more than 2015 Cespedes in 35 less AB’s.

But there is good news Mets fans. In his many different versions, Bizarro Superman may be flawed but ultimately wants to be heroic. Jay Bruce isn’t trying to strikeout every time he steps up to the plate(although it looked that way against the Phils), and he wants to succeed here. Maybe a little Cespedes magic will rub off, and Bruce will get a chance to play the hero yet.