Reese Kaplan -- Just When You Thought Things Couldn't Get Worse...

Billy Wilder was one of Hollywood's great directors, perhaps most famous for all time standouts like "Double Indeminity," "Sunset Boulevard," "Some Like It Hot," "The Seven Year Itch," "Witness for the Prosecution," and "The Apartment."

One picture he also made starred Ray Milland and Jane Wyman about an otherwise normal middle aged man going through his life aided and abetted by his increasing dependence and addiction to alcohol. It was called "The Lost Weekend."

Well, when they say it can’t possibly get any worse, then the Mets turn around and demonstrate that in fact it absolutely can. And while no one is advocating alcoholism, perhaps having a lost weekend Billy Wilder style would have made it easier to take.

When the schedule was put together back prior to the start of the 2023 season most folks would have assumed that the mid August series with the Atlanta Braves was going to represent an intense struggle for the top of the division. The stadium would be packed to the rafters and everyone on each side of the game would be playing at their absolute finest.

Instead what happened was the early destruction of the New York Mets’ competitiveness and their slow and then rapid slide down closer to the cellar than their climb to the top. The great sell off happened which made sense rather than deluding yourself into believing that the $364 million payroll (give or take a shekel or two) was worth preserving and repeating for upcoming seasons.

So that bit of depressing diamond diatribe brought us to this August weekend series against the Atlanta Braves. Starting game number one of a doubleheader required some forced roster changes wherein second-time-around successful Jimmy Yacabonis was told thanks for the memories in order to promote Denyi Reyes from Syracuse for a second look. This Denyi Reyes possessed an unimpressive record in the minors and the majors. This big 28 year old AAAA had an impressive start in rookie and A ball levels but it’s been downhill ever since.

As he took the mound against the division’s best team, no one was expecting a return to grace from many years ago. Instead what they foresaw was pretty much what happened when he gave up 5 runs in a handful of innings while sacrificing 8 hits and pretty much serving as a batting practice pitching machine for the formidable Braves lineup. If not for a running into the fence leaping grab by another surprise doubleheader promotion, Tim Locastro, off the bat of Luisangel Acuna’s big brother, it would have been even worse.

After that came the appearance on the mound of AAAA infielder Danny Mendick who in a single inning of pitching allowed not 1, not 2, not 3 but 8 runs to score. The final numbers on the board made you mistakenly think the Braves posted three touchdowns to the Mets’ mere field goal.

Oh, it got worse. In the second game the Mets received yet another fine start by late arrival Jose Quintana who under normal circumstances should have been in line for a victory after hurling 6 full innings allowing just a single run and thus lowering his season ERA to a number better than provided by now ex-Mets Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at 3.03.

He was followed in turn by Trevor Gott who for once got the job done. Then came late inning work by Drew Smith who yielded a field goal of his own as three Braves runners crossed the plate in his 1/3 of an inning pitched. The next supporting reliever lasted through 1 and 2/3 innings pitched and Phil Bickford was decidedly better, only allowing 1 more Brave to make his way home.

The Mets had also done further roster manipulation bouncing the bludgeoned Denyi Reyes for reliever Tyson Miller who got to see his new Mets teammates fall all over themselves from a seat out in the bullpen. Oh yeah, there was the 27th rosters member elevated for this twin bill, Reed Garrett. He wasn’t as bad as Danny Mendick as he only gave up 6 runs in his 2+ innings on the mound.

Yes, everyone knew when the housecleaning began it was going to get ugly and difficult to watch before it improved but not everyone had envisioned quite how bad. From the sidelines in much of the long day were injured players, some regular players, Mets fans worldwide and we members of the reporting trade. Unfortunately there’s no way even a Pulitzer Prize winner could make this chicken shit smell like chicken soup.