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July 23, 2012 Mets 2012 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 96: Loss to Nationals

Nationals 8 Mets 2

This game was actually much closer than the final score would indicate. No, really. REALLY.

Mets Game Notes

Chris Young had a rough first frame, allowing a leadoff single and then a two-run homer to wunderkind Bryce Harper. The Nationals then went 0-for-23 with a pair of walks until Adam LaRoche singled with one out in the ninth. Would you have guessed such a streak could have occurred, based on the final score?

Young finished seven innings of two-run ball, and though it hasn’t been completely his fault, the Mets have now lost seven of his nine starts. He’s gone at least six innings in six of his last seven starts, and I wonder if it makes sense to sell him now, while his stock is high, to a pennant contender for a prospect. Unless, of course, the Mets hold on to the “we’re buyers” stance — in which case, I fully expect to see Young pitching in relief three days from now.

The Mets drew one walk in 36 plate appearances, despite seeing 142 pitches (a hair less than four pitches per plate appearance, which is a pretty good rate). Not sure what to make of that. Likely, it means nothing.

David Wright has a 1.000 slugging percentage against the Nats thus far this year. However, the Mets have 3 wins and 7 losses against the Nationals, so … what’s the difference?

The Yankees acquired Ichiro Suzuki. The Mets did not. They’re going to wait and see what happens over the next seven days; no need to rush into anything, after all.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Nationals do it again on Tuesday evening at 7:10 p.m. R.A. Dickey faces Gio Gonzalez. I’ll be in attendance at the Field at Shea Bridge / (Harry) Chiti Field, so most likely, my post-game will be either really late, or posted on Wednesday morning.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. timmyjones July 24, 2012 at 12:09 am
    damn this team. i am done with these freakin clowns. all 25 of them can go whipe $hi+ for a living because they dont belong in the majors. they are all better off running clinics on how not to play the game. trade duda. trade wright. trade johan. trade dickey. trade murph. trade them all because they are all !!%# and its time to start from scratch. and how can i forget about bay. well bay can go jump into a bay for all i care he is an a$$ who is probably better at hockey. and i keep saying it this team can’t put away hitters when it gets to two strikes. 2 strikes to zimmerman gets a f in fastbal down the pipe. prado on saturday gets the 2 strike knock. morse and espinosa get the 2 strike hits in the first game of the nat series in washington last week. trainer gets the 2 strike hit yesterday who the hell is that guy anyway. damn this team and that big foreheaded a$$whipe in the front office they are all cheap piece of craps im done with them let me know when they play the game the right way!!!!
  2. meticated July 24, 2012 at 12:23 am
    -looking up from my chiseling the tombstone for the 2012 Mets season-….oh hello…”this is my annual summer job”…”care to have a whack with the word freefall” ?
  3. argonbunnies July 24, 2012 at 2:03 am
    The Marlins beat us to pillaging the win-now Tigers. Rumors have Josh Johnson leaving as well. Would Harvey, Parnell, and Bay + $ do it? Would we want to do it, given Johnson’s injury history?
    • Joe Janish July 24, 2012 at 8:44 am
      No way do the Marlins take Harvey, Parnell, and Bay for Johnson. Start with Harvey or Wheeler AND Flores, and add more minor leaguers from there.
      • argonbunnies July 25, 2012 at 6:01 am
        I guess you’re probably right. It depends on whether they’re long-term rebuilding or short-term rebuilding. Parnell would help them over the next couple years, as would Bay, simply by moving Morrison’s awful D to 1B. We’d throw in enough cash to make Bay cheap. Harvey, of course, is the cornerstone. I dunno, I think I’ve seen teams make deals like that for injured aces.

        The Padres’ haul for Jake Peavy was Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard and Adam Russell. Ya never know.

  4. DaveSchneck July 24, 2012 at 9:12 am
    Joe,
    hopefully Davey will have some compassion and euthanize the 2012 Mets by Wednesday evening. I am going to give Sandy and the others the benefit of doubt regarding buildig towards 2013 and 2014. How the hell is this team going to compete with the Nationals? They are so much better than the Mets and have young hit end talent that barring injury is poised to dominate for years to come. Are we supposed to believe that guys who are unproven even at the high minor league level are going to be the answer? The Nationals have a billionaire owner, a huge TV market, two of the best young players in the game, and the best pitching in the NL. They have held first place virtually all year without their closer, have lost their starting catcher for the year, and their big outfield bat for over half the year. The few holes they have can be filled easily with trades or an offseason FA. Their payroll this year is lower than the Mets, and that includes paying Lannan $5 mil to pitch in AAA. Their payroll commitments next year are lower than the Mets as well, and that is before the Mets exercise Wright’s and Dickey’s options.
    • Joe Janish July 24, 2012 at 9:53 am
      In addition to the Nationals, there is that sleeping giant in Miami. Now that they’ve decided to pull the plug on 2012, I’m concerned to see what kind of young talent the Marlins will bring in as a result of trading off superstars like Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez — which appears to be the plan.
  5. Dave July 24, 2012 at 9:23 am
    I don’t see any way the Mets can trade Chris Young. There is no one else who can start. We can’t bemoan rushing the development of Matt Harvey in one breath and then give away a major league starter for a likely nothing prospect.
    • Joe Janish July 24, 2012 at 10:02 am
      First, off, I’m not in the camp that is bemoaning rusing Matt Harvey’s development. I think Harvey can develop at the MLB level on a team that’s out of the pennant race.

      Second, you’re assuming Young doesn’t bring back a MLB or MLB-ready starter. Who knows? Maybe Young could fetch someone like Brian Matusz — a former prospect whose stock has dropped but still is young enough to turn it around.