I want to say Nola's 2021 is like Hamels' 2009 but I think we said that in 2019 too.
That said, Nola was never supposed to be an ace when we drafted him and he's had a bit of an unlucky year (when you look at WHIP and FIP and BABIP) while still putting up the 2nd-most WHIP of starters (though Eflin might be past him if healthy). If Gibson (or Suarez) are actually better than him that can only be a good thing. If he 's inconsistent from start-to-start rather than collapsing completely in September that might be fine too.
I don't like the anti-vax issue either but Nola and Bohm and Falter were just the unlucky ones to actually test positive and be definitively outed. We all know there are others (and can guess who some of them are). I'm still waiting to meet the player on this roster who has actually take a strong public pro-vaccination position, let alone suggested it would be good if his teammates did it.
