I obviously picked the wrong Mets-Phillies game to attend. On Tuesday night, the Phillies—in a game lasting more than five hours—came back from 7-0 to win, 8-7, in 13 innings. The Phillies used so many players (including eight pitchers) that catcher Carlos Ruiz had to play third base. And the Phils stole the division lead from the evil Mets.
But I went to the park on Wednesday. And on Wednesday, the Phils went up 3-1 early, in a tense game, only to lose, 6-3. The loss handed the division lead back to the evil, evil Mets.
Bummer.
It probably shouldn’t have happened. Although pitcher Rudy Seanez took the loss in the boxscore (weirdness: Seanez took the win on Tuesday!), manager Charlie Manuel deserved the demerit. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and a one-run lead, Manuel kept Seanez in the game to face Carlos Delgado, who’d been, by far, the hottest hitter of the night for the Mets. When Delgado came to the plate, fans were begging Manuel to put closer Brad Lidge, who was already all warmed-up, into the game. But Manuel stuck with Seanez, apparently intent on using the oh-so-effective Lidge for only three, not four, outs. Delgado homered, tying the score. Manuel did finally bring Lidge into the game in the eighth—but only after Seanez put another Met, Carlos Beltran, on base.
Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. Lidge didn’t look at all sharp, allowing a double and a two-run single after Seanez’s departure. But by then, the momentum was with the Mets. It felt like there was no stopping the Mets.
On Wednesday, anyway.
Regarding the Tuesday Phils game and how they used so many players… i always liked this saying, “The head coach decided to pitch by committee sending every starter out that night.”
I haven’t been following the season much but just taking a peek at the standings looks like my ‘Stros are in fourth at 11 back. Who knows… maybe they’ll pick it up in the second half of the season like they tend to do.