Everyone knows how the Nationals have treated the Mets as their private punching bag this year. Here’s how they’ve done against Mets pitching:

Carlos Torres – 8 G, 6.00 ERA

Jeurys Familia – 7 G, 5.68 ERA

Bartolo Colon – 4 G, 4.13 ERA

Zack Wheeler – 4 G, 5.96 ERA

Dillon Gee – 3 G, 5.50 ERA

Jon Niese – 2 G, 8.10 ERA

Jacob deGrom – 1 G, 4.50 ERA

Jenrry Mejia – 4, G, 0.00 ERA

When you look at the club’s top pitchers, the only one to have success is Mejia. So, of course our manager decides now is the time to reprimand him for his antics after he achieves a save. Geez Louise, if there’s any time at all in 2014 where it’s been appropriate to celebrate a victory, it’s after a win over a club that beats you like an unwanted redheaded stepchild.

If anything, Terry Collins should be doing the dance Steve Martin did after his son caught the ball to win the game in “Parenthood.”

Instead, as Adam Rubin tweets: “Terry Collins said he told Jenrry Mejia to tone things down to avoid ‘embarrassing’ other team.”

Generally, my preference is for athletes to act like everything they do is completely expected and that coming through in clutch situations is no big deal. But we know that’s not the way the world works. We know that batters stand in the box after they hit a big home run and now they do a “running of the bulls” thing in the dugout after each home run. Why is this okay?

A player delivers a game-ending hit and his teammates come out en masse to congratulate him. Why is this okay? Especially because we’ve seen athletes getting hurt participating in this over-the-top celebration. We’ve also seen players imitating the champagne celebration for winning a pennant by coming out and dousing the player with water. Again, why is this acceptable and what Mejia does isn’t?

Is it the solo nature of Mejia’s celebration? If his post-game antics were even more choreographed and involved even more people, would it then somehow become okay? Do we need to bring back Justin Turner and have him throw a pie in someone’s face to make this acceptable for the masses?

After the game is over, Mejia stomps around and makes himself look ridiculous in the process and we have to be concerned because the other team might be embarrassed? If Mejia gives up a hit, every player on the other team is jumping up and down and acting like they just found out they had a winning Power Ball ticket. Are they ever concerned about embarrassing Mejia?

It’s a double standard and it stinks.

My compromise is that once the game is over, as long as no one on the team makes a threatening gesture towards anyone on the other club – all celebrations are fine. Mejia can stomp and do his duck walk and no one complains. A batter gets a walk-off hit and the other team can run around like mad men and it’s all good.

But no in-game theatrics, either on the field or in the dugout. Nothing more involved than shaking someone’s hand, giving them a pat on the back or a high-five is allowed. The commissioner should fine those who stand in the batter’s box and those who point or gesticulate, regardless of which side of the ball they are on.

This way, everyone knows what’s allowed and what isn’t. Then we can go on with more important things, like trying to figure out why one team regularly takes us behind the woodshed. And players can be embarrassed for things that really matter, like losing to a team 12 times in 15 tries.

And our manager can focus on the important stuff, too.

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