It’s Season 8, Episode 16 of The Put it in the Books Show—Farace, Rodriguez, and Producer Joe (holding it down behind the wall) are on deck, while Keith is out under the weather (or maybe just sparing himself from watching more blown leads).The Mets managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again, coughing up a 3-run lead and losing to the lowly Nationals. This isn’t just a bad loss, it’s the kind of game that makes you wonder if the stretch run is going to be a stretch too far. Five games back of the Phillies and clinging to wild card position, every one of these collapses feels like a gut punch.Injury news doesn’t help either: Alvarez remains out, joined by Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, and Luis Torrens on the sidelines. On the flip side, Francisco Lindor just won NL Player of the Week, proving he can carry the lineup when he’s locked in. Baty has been on fire, Vientos is showing signs, and the offense overall has looked better… except when they’re blowing games against the Nationals.The bullpen additions are still a mixed bag, but somehow, when the hitting coach stopped coaching hitting, the bats got going. Go figure. Now it’s time to see if the Mets can pick themselves up—three in Atlanta followed by a massive four-game clash with the Phillies at Citi Field.So pour a stiff drink and join Farace, Rodriguez, and Producer Joe as they try to sort through the standings, the injuries, the blown leads, and maybe even corner Joe into apologizing to Brett Baty.