Final Score: Nationals 8, Mets 1

This game against the Nationals was over the second Terry Collins decided to start Rafael Montero. The Mets never had a chance with Monty the BP pitching machine on the mound. I said after his last start he should be replaced in the rotation. Hell everyone other than Terry felt that way. Instead Terry went with him, and he had nothing. Keith Hernandez was even baffled by the decision. As he warmed up before the first pitch Keith talked about his horrendous numbers and all the walks he surrendered in his previous starts. Keith implied it could be a long night. Well it wasn’t a long night for Montero.

Get Him Out: Once Montero was handed the ball to start, Terry had many opportunities to salvage the game. Monty loaded the bases in the first inning on a Trea Turner single, Jayson Werth walk, and Daniel Murphy single. If I’m the manager, I’m already warming up my long man and pulling Montero from the game. I wouldn’t have even let him face Bryce Harper. Instead Terry left him in, and he walked in two runs. Somehow Rafael Montero managed to escape the first inning without surrendering the big game killing hit, and I thought to myself, “Thank God. At least his day is done.” Nope.

Get Him Out 2.0: In the second inning the Mets had two men on and two outs with Rafael Montero’s spot due up. Instead of pinch hitting, Terry kept Monty in the game. Mind blowing decision. He obviously struck out and then pitched like crap the following half inning.

Get Him Out (Last Chance): Montero surrendered a leadoff homer to pitcher Mat Latos in the bottom of the second inning to make it 3-1. Then he retired the next two batters before giving up a double to Murph and walking Bryce Harper intentionally. I thought at this point he was done. I thought Terry was finally ready to pull this bum from the game. Instead of taking him out, he left him in to surrender a three-run blast to Anthony Rendon. Unreal. The Nats added a couple of extra runs later in the game and the Mets never got anything going against the awful Mat Latos (before he was pulled with an injury). But this game was over because Montero took the mound.

Flushy Flushy: It’s not even fair to pretend that Gabriel Ynoa, Logan Verrett, or Sean Gilmartin give the Mets a great chance to win a ball game. They don’t. But they give the Mets SOME chance to win. And Montero gave them no chance whatsoever. It’s hard to believe Terry continues to flush meaningful games down the toilet. It’s not like we’re in a goddamn race for a playoff spot or anything!

Please Remember: Don’t forget Terry’s blunders. The team was on the path to destruction in August. Then Yoenis Cespedes came back and some other hitters became hot. And as a result of that Terry will receive credit for “not losing the team” and people will say “his guys play for him”. And you know what? He deserves some credit. If he gets the blame when the players fail to perform, then he gets credit when they turn things around. But don’t forget all the in-game blunders Terry has had this season. We’re probably going to wind up winning 84-89 games. Whether we win the Wild Card or not this season will be about the games we failed to win that Terry and Co. ultimately flushed down the toilet. Those games are the difference between a division title and a chance at the BS Wild Card sham playoff game.

Stiff Neck: Speaking of Terry’s blunders, Wilmer Flores still has an injured neck because Terry forgot to pinch run for him this weekend. Nice job TC!

Second Class Citizens: The Mets remain in the second Wild Card spot because the Cardinals lost to the Cubs. God the Mets and Cards are such second class citizens in the NL. The Cubs and Nationals are just a better class of club. Period.

Jeff Wilpon’s Boy: The Mets lost Triple-A manager Wally Backman yesterday. At first they said he was fired but later he clarified that he actually resigned. Who the hell knows? All I know is that I’ve read for years now that he’s a terrible manager who doesn’t listen to the organization and burned out a number of young arms at Triple-A including last night’s useless arm Rafael Montero. Remember when Monty was a top prospect? Rumor has it Wally killed him. There’s supposedly a long list of arms that he’s messed up. Apparently he’s stuck around with the organization because Jeff Wilpon loves him. I know many fans wanted to see him manage because he had the ’86 fire. Oh well. And now his watch has ended.

Today: Noah Syndergaard to the rescue today. Save us Thor!