Mets Hit Rock Bottom in D.C.

The Mets came into Washington with hopes of getting back on the right track by beating up on the worst team in baseball. They had just lost three out of four in Atlanta while scoring nine runs in four games, and facing a Nationals team that was just swept by the Cubs. After scoring one run in the last two games of the series, the Mets are at the lowest point they have been all season, and you can throw in the off-field antics as well.

Everyone thought this would be the Mets' time to get things going again. I was at Nationals Park for the games on Monday and Tuesday, and everything got off to a great start in the opener Monday night. The Mets took advantage of J.D. Martin making his MLB debut and scored five runs in the first two innings, which was also more than half the amount of runs New York scored in four games against the Braves. Livan Hernandez pitched seven strong innings and put to rest any rumors of losing his spot in the rotation in a 6-2 win.

I knew Tuesday's game was going to be tough for the Mets since Long Beach, NY native John Lannan had pitched very well over his last few starts. With the Mets inability to score runs coupled with the chance that Oliver Perez could self destruct at any time, New York needed to have a good plan of attack against Lannan. Perez did not pitch poorly, but walked two in the 4th which led to two Nats runs, and he also hit a batter and walked one in the 5th that led to two more Washington tallies. While he was not hit hard, it is unacceptable to walk six batters in a start, and Perez cannot afford to be giving out free passes to hitters like Austin Kearns. He had pretty good command of his fastball, but his slider and other off speed pitches were all over the place.

Lannan was excellent in the 4-0 Nats victory. He threw 80 strikes out of 106 pitches and did not walk a batter in a complete game shut out. There is no doubt he pitched a great game, but the Mets hitters do not foul off enough pitches and have trouble making pitchers work. With all the injuries, a lot of the Mets are very easy outs right now like Brian Schneider, Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora, and Omir Santos. Even David Wright has a poor approach at the plate because he always takes the first pitch, and then he gets in a hole and has to swing at a pitcher's pitch.

The Metropolitans ran into another hot pitcher in Craig Stammen on Wednesday night. The righty stifled the Mets bats over seven and a third innings of work by only allowing one run. Mike Pelfrey bounced back from a rough start to pitch very well (7 innings, 3 ER), but it was not enough since the Mets offense was dead once again in the 3-1 loss. Only four hits for the Mets, including a Pagan triple that led to the lone run because of a throwing error by Christian Guzman. Luis Castillo was tossed in the second inning for arguing about whether he had full control of a ball on a throw from Wright, which he indeed did bobble. When you have as many runs as ejections, something is wrong.

The Mets scored five runs in the first two innings of the series, but they then went on to muster only one run in the next 25 innings. Pitiful. This was their chance to make a statement that they were still alive in the NL East and Wild Card races. They failed to get the big hits and rattle some young pitchers, and struggled to make big pitches in key moments.

Now the Mets enter an eight game stretch where they play in Houston for four games, a place where they never play well. Then they face the Rockies for four at Citi Field. Both of those teams have been very hot, and New York will be lucky to win one game in each series. Their pitching is just not good enough right now to carry them because of their anemic offense. The Mets have hit one home run in six games since the break. No one on the staff is consistently sharp, except for Johan Santana.

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You never want to close the door on the season near the end of July, but the Mets look done. By the time everyone returns from injuries, it will probably be too late to make a run, especially with the Phillies playing so well. I know the Mets blew a seven game lead with 17 to play in 2007, so we know anything is possible. The unfortunate thing is I just have not seen the fight, urgency, and any clutch play out of this team at all. They go through the motions night in and night out, and they continue to play a losing brand of baseball.

(Photos Courtesy of myself, David Suntup)