Women and children cover your eyes. Everybody cover your eyes for that matter. Billy Wagner’s coming in from the bullpen. And it’s like déjà vu all over again, and again. Any relief felt by anyone associated with the Mets after Carlos Beltran’s walk-off home run on Wednesday night disappeared almost as soon as it arrived.

Wagner flushed Johan Santana’s ace-like start right into the sewers of Flushing. Unbelievably (or not), Wagner blew his third straight save, giving up a total of six earned runs in those appearances (including two three-run homers). The only positive thing he did in the Arizona series was help the grounds crew with the tarp on Tuesday night. And looking on the bright side―as Harry Doyle once said―at least he didn’t spike himself. His recent performance may even be the inspiration for a new phrase. When a closer blows three games in a row, we can now say “he Wagnered it” or “he pulled a Wagner.” He may not be done, though. He once blew five in a row back in 2000 with Houston.

This was just another game the Mets shouldn’t have lost. Santana tossed seven shutout innings and struck out 10. This is why the Mets traded for him. Ramon Castro blasted a home run, Fernando Tatis drove in two runs and David Wright hit an RBI double. With a 4-0 lead after seven, you have to win that game. Wagner’s not the only culprit, though. Go down the line in the bullpen―Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman didn’t fare particularly well. The offense once again stranded too many runners. And the home-plate umpire didn’t do the team any favors. But you can’t blame the ump when you lose a game like this.

Can the Mets recover from this atrocity? They’ve had the Atlanta sweep, the San Diego sweep, Wednesday’s almost-disaster and now yesterday’s game. How many punches to the kidney can a team take? This particular Mets team is not exactly filled with gamers, grit and character, who when they get knocked down, get right back up. I guess we’ll see what they’re really made of now. Or they can just start firing everybody and get the fire sale under way.