Game recap July 31: There’s always a new low

Primer

Zack and Jake are still here. That’s good! Bautista and Mesoraco are still here. That’s bad. Both will pass through waivers. That’s good! The Nationals didn’t blow it up. That’s bad. This game (Steven Matz vs Tanner Roark to start a two game set in D.C.) comes with free frogurt. That’s good! The frogurt is cursed. That’s bad. Jose Reyes isn’t starting. That’s good. Jose Reyes contains potassium benzoate.

If you’re ready to leave now, get in line with the rest of the Mets fans who wish this season was just over already.

Game Recap

There’s a great scene in “Moneyball,” where Billy Beane is driving to see Oakland’s minor league team while the major league team plays for the 20-game win streak. His daughter calls and tells him to come back and watch the game, at which point he turns on the radio and hears the broadcaster simply say, “If you’re just joining us, you’ve missed a lot. I think my recap will be simple: the A’s scored six in the first, one in the second and four in the third.” Beane proceeds to make a U-turn, return to the stadium and watch the A’s finish their historic streak in truly stupendous fashion on Scott Hatterberg’s walkoff home run.

So on that note, you’ve missed a lot. I think I’ll keep the recap simple: the Nationals scored seven in the first, three in the second, three in the third, three in the fourth, three in the fifth, six in the eighth and beat the Mets into the ground by a final score of 25-4. Steven Matz was awful, and the cavalcade of relievers the Mets sent out were just as bad for the most part. Wilmer Flores left the game in the first with dizziness and dehydration, and he was probably the lucky one.

There were a couple of bright moments. Jeff McNeil hit his first career home run off the facing of the second deck in right. A Michael Conforto double and a home run from Austin Jackson led to a three-run rally that really pissed off Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley, which was amusing.We also got to see Jose Reyes pitch and get destroyed, which was somewhat cathartic. Other than that, this was a game you were better off missing.

Thoughts from the Game

The only major thought from this game is man, do the Mets have a lot of work to do in their bullpen. Most of the relievers they traded for at the deadline last year are bad, and for some reason, several intriguing arms are still lingering in the minors or sit unused in the bullpen. Tyler Bashlor, Drew Smith, Eric Hanhold, Stephen Villines, Adonis Uceta and the newly acquired Bobby Wahl should all see significant major league action the rest of the season to evaluate their viability for 2019. I’m sure the Mets will just opt to track down Chris Beck again though, because that’s just how they roll.

Other Mets News

The Mets let the trade deadline pass without making any moves. In a vacuum, that’s not entirely surprising; the roster is a mix of guys who they really shouldn’t move (Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler) and rental pieces that don’t have much value (Jose Bautista and Devin Mesoraco). The latter group will almost certainly pass through waivers, meaning the Mets still have another month to snag a couple more marginal pieces.

More concerning than the lack of moves was the press conference that followed. John Rico came out and said the Mets haven’t decided whether they’ll go for it or rebuild for 2019. Commentary on which direction makes more sense aside, this is the latest in what feels like a tsunami of examples of the incompetence and dysfunction within the front office. It’s baffling that a major league team would enter a trade deadline with what amounts to no long term plan, but it’s just par for the course for this organization.