Nelson Figueroa turned back into a pumpkin this evening, as the Mets  lost to the Nats by a score of 4 to 10.  He had a strong first inning, then gave up a run in the next three, but seemed to get a bit unnerved by Elijah Dukes and the goings on in the visiting clubhouse. He walked five and was wild. He then gave up 3 more runs in the fifth, and the Nats remained ahead the rest of the night. We couldn’t expect Figgy to pitch lights out every game, afterall there is a reason he’s been playing in random international leagues.  Jorge Sosa didn’t as much stop the bleeding as grab a fork, roll it around in salt, and then stick it into the cut and twist, giving up four more runs in the sixth. Joe Smith, Dirty Sanchez, and Billy Wagner each contributed scoreless innings. Wagner gave up a hit, Smith struck out the side.

The Mets had 12 hits, but not in a manner that scored runs. Reyes went 2 for 4 but was caught stealing second. Alou doubled on a 3 for 5 night. Easley and Wright both had solo homeruns.  

Poor pitching more than anything else tonight. You can try to blame the cold, but its not like it was magically warm up on the mound during the half innings that the Mets were up to bat. Who cares what Dukes was doing, if you get rattled that easily you shouldn’t be playing in New York, or you’re Ollie Perez. I’m sure Straw heard 100x worse coming from the stands in the outfield. The Mets have always seemed commited to Sosa, but with his struggling and Smith still performing, one has to wonder whats happening when its time to reactivate Matt Wise. Offense wise, 12 hits is a good sign, but when 9 of the 12 are singles its generally not going to be enough to win ball games. Unless of course, they all come in one inning.