Native New Yorker John Lannan got his first career complete game shutout vs. the Mets tonight. The Nationals are now only 39 games below .500 with the win. Lannan is an alum of Chaminade High School in Long Island same as Pessimet contributor Schepfest. Lannan dominated the Mets his last time out as well, pitching a complete game on June 6th when he allowed only one earned run. Tonight he scattered just seven singles against the same putrid offense.

Oliver Perez and his walks. I’m not sure if Perez will ever figure things out on this level. He has the talent but really has never been able to harness it properly. Very frustrating to watch, sometimes I find myself yelling at the TV, just throw it down the middle! You know the hitters are not going to swing when Ollie is his wild self. He has allowed 17 walks now in 17 innings pitched since returning to the majors. He has more walks than strikeouts on the year, at 38BB/32K. You’re just not going to go far with stats like that.

Well back to five games under. We’re really not that much better than the Nationals are right now. We have better pitching, but they have much better hitting. Omar was on with Gary and Keith  during the broadcast and he was making statements that alluded to the Mets season being lost to injuries and it sounded like he was  saying basically the season is over and “it’s just one of those years”. I found it annoying after a while.  It seems like we’re already almost playing out the stretch and if and when guys get healthy then it’s just a bonus. Seems like every time Omar speaks he is already planning for next season. Let’s face it the season is over and lost, 10 games behind now!