Phillies 8 Mets 7

Quick: how long does it take to overcome a seven-run deficit?

Sorry, that’s a loaded question … what I meant to ask was, how long does it take to overcome a seven-run lead when you are the Philadelphia Phillies? We already know the question doesn’t apply to the Mets, who don’t know how to score once the halfway point of the game has passed.

The Mets blew an early seven-zip lead, letting the “fightin’ Phils” chip away without response. While the Mets bats went to sleep after the fourth frame, the Phillies were just waking up.

Chris Coste delivered the game-winning blow off Scott Schoeneweis with a bases-loaded single in the 13th. Coste had entered the game in the 8th, and from that point on went 4-for-4. Unbelievable.

Notes

Don’t blame the bullpen for this one. Pedro Martinez allowed five of the eight runs, and the offense did nothing after the fourth. The offense, in fact, seemed to be promoting Zippo lighters with their anemic response to the Phils’ comeback.

Interesting, isn’t it, that the Phillies’ starter went only three innings, the Mets had Aaron Heilman pitch three innings of relief, yet by the end of the game, it was clear that of the two Manuels, Charlie did a much better job of bullpen management.

Speaking of, I am SOOOO tired of the fair-weather Mets fans, radio jocks, and others who love to jump on top of Aaron Heilman’s neck when he’s lying flat on the ground. We’ll hear none of these shortsighted nincompoops talk about Aaron’s HUGE performance for three innings of relief, not to mention his fantastic finish in the top of the 13th, striking out both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and getting a weak popup from Pat Burrell. No, we won’t hear from the Heilman-haters until he blows another game. Funny, though, how Aaron seems always to be put into situations set up for failure. We need to do some statistical research and see how many times he’s been put “on the spot” compared to other relievers — we rarely see him come in with a three-run lead, for example, yet I’d guess that 90% of his appearances are in either tie or one-run situations.

The Mets caught a tremendous break in the third inning, when Fernando Tatis’ ground ball pelted Carlos Beltran in the backside in fair territory as Beltran retreated to third base. The umpires ruled it a foul ball, which it wasn’t, and Tatis eventually delivered a three-run homer. Beltran should have been ruled out, Tatis a single, and who knows what might have happened from there.

Damion Easley — a.k.a., my favorite Met — went 4-for-5 with 3 runs and 2 RBI, and was a double short of the cycle.

Ryan Church was the only met to go 0-for-6. Everyone else in the starting lineup reached base safely at least once.

Ramon Castro left the game in the fifth with a sprained quad. This is his third leg injury this year … what the heck?

Next Game

The Mets will try to make it a harmless split by beating the Phillies on Wednesday night. Game time once again is 7:05 pm. Johan Santana goes against Kyle Kendrick. I’m liking our chances … though we may need a full nine from Johan.