Final Score: Nationals 3, Mets 2

The Mets got Murph’d and No-Yo’d again. They dropped 3 out of 4 at home against the Nationals. Absolutely pathetic. They need Yoenis Cespedes in the middle of the lineup. When your offense is dependent on one guy, it’s undoubtedly a weakness. But it’s the reality for the New York Mets. It is what it is. The Mets need Yo. Period. Steven Matz had a strong start to close out the pre-All Star break schedule. He went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits. He only struck out 5 and walked 4 which wasn’t ideal. But he was throwing his slider. He’s pitching through the elbow bone chips, and he’s found a way to remain effective.

Walk Werth and Screw Murph: Matz made a mistake in this game. He walked Jayson Werth and gave up a two run shot to Daniel Murphy. Murph made it 2-0. The Mets walked Jayson Werth twice in this game. We love walking Werth. We should probably stop doing that. It makes no sense. Werth isn’t that good and Murph is a force in the Nationals lineup. Let’s stop giving Murph opportunities to burn us. And as far as Murph goes I ranted about it yesterday. He’s public enemy number one. He’s our arch enemy now. His 21 RBIs against the Mets are the most in a single season since Ryan Howard. It’s a joke at this point. He’s destroying us. Go to hell Murph.

Jose Did Stuff: Jose Reyes hit two solo homers batting right-handed. Amazing. He’s seemingly the only hitter who decided to show up. Good for him. Obviously two runs wasn’t enough.

Gio Doesn’t Stink: Gio Gonzalez has had a bad season. But he dominates at Citi Field in his career. So he shut down everyone other than Reyes over 5.2 innings. Duh.

Our Boy: Alejandro De Aza made the final out of the game. He went 0 for 3 and he’s awful. He cracked a foul ball earlier in the game off his knee/inner thigh. I thought for sure he had shattered the bone and would leave the game. But of course he was completely fine because he’s not an important player and the baseball gods decided to spare him. The baseball gods are just watching us suffer and twisting the knife. At least Michael Conforto is killing it in Vegas right now. I’m guessing he’ll be back in the MLB lineup very soon.

To Hell With Fantasy: Wilson Ramos hit an RBI single in this game to make it 3-1 Nationals and starter Tanner Roark came in to pitch 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. I have them on my fantasy team. I hate them.

The Needs: The Mets could really use another bat, a starting pitcher, and a setup man. That’s an offseason wish list not a trading deadline agenda. But Sandy is going to have to figure out how to patch this lineup up. We are 47-41 and tied with the Marlins for the last Wild Card spot. If we aren’t going to compete for the damn division, we still need reinforcements to stay in this Wild Card race.

This Week: The All-Star Break is here. The Mets need a breather. Cespedes reminded everyone after the game that there’s a “lot of baseball left”. Thanks for putting it all in perspective Yo. It’s a long season. Let’s take a break this week, nurse our wounds, and come out of the gate strong.