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In this case, the wish list was that their starter, Kyle Kendrick, could just hang with the Mets superb lefthander, Johan Santana. If only last night's scrum came down to a battle of bullpens, they'd feel pretty doggone good about ending up on top.
"When we have our [relievers] organized and healthy, I think we have the better bullpen - with [Mets closer Billy] Wagner out," manager Charlie Manuel said late last night.
That's the way it looked on paper, anyway. Which, again, is why there are no ballparks with a paper playing surface.
When the two starting pitchers were done for the night, the Phillies had the lead.
Mighty Casey, or in this case the Phillies' bullpen, was going to get its shot.
And then everything sort of went kerflooey.
Phillies relievers were charged with four runs in four innings.
The maligned Mets bullpen blanked the Phillies over the final three innings.
That gave New York a 6-3 win at Citizens Bank Park, allowing the Mets to salvage a split of the two-game series and recapture first place in the National League East.
Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado had a pair of home runs, including the game-tying shot off Rudy Seanez in the eighth that eventually bloomed into a four-run rally that doomed the Phillies.
"Delgado kind of cut the parade short," Manuel said.
The Phillies' manager was dealing with a short deck after emptying out his bullpen in Tuesday's exhilarating, exhausting, come-from-seven-down-to-win-in-13 victory. The Mets were in a similar bind. But the way the game played out, it was Big Chuck who had to explain his decisions.
The Phillies were still protecting a one-run lead going into the eighth after Scott Eyre pitched two shutout innings in relief of Kendrick.
With the 2-3-4 hitters in the Mets' order - Luis Castillo, David Wright and Delgado - coming up, the bullpen door swung open and out came . . . Seanez.
Before the game, Manuel said J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Clay Condrey were unavailable but that Chad Durbin could probably pitch an inning. But Durbin never entered the game, even though he warmed up briefly. The manager said afterward that it was decided before the game that Durbin wouldn't pitch.
Seanez got two quick outs. Pitching coach Rich Dubee came to the mound. The Phillies were aware that Delgado had two career homers off the veteran righthander and wanted to make sure they knew how they wanted to work him. Oops. Delgado lined his second pitch for an opposite-field homer.
After Carlos Beltran reached on an infield hit, Manuel made another unusual move. He went to Brad Lidge, even though he's been reluctant to use the closer in the eighth all season.
Which raised a couple of more questions. If he was willing to use Lidge, why not bring him in to face Delgado?
"We had Lidge ready if case Rudy got into a jam," Manuel explained. "But then when he got two quick outs, we decided to let him go on Delgado. We talked about it. It didn't work out."
Then there's the theory, popular among sabermetricians, stating that the real save situation doesn't have to occur in the ninth, that it can happen in the eighth, or even the seventh. Last night's game seemed to be a textbook example. Manuel could have used Lidge to get through the top of the order, then Seanez or somebody else to get the guys near the bottom.
"I would definitely do that," the manager said.
Of course, the unknown is how a pitcher who isn't accustomed to performing in save situations will react when he suddenly needs to get the last three outs to nail down the win. It's an entirely different experience.
Anyway, one thing that came out of this is a new understanding between Manuel and Lidge. The closer told the manager that, with the stretch drive officially under way, not to be afraid to use him in extended outings.
"It's nothing I haven't done in the past," he said. "I'm down there for a reason, to be used however Charlie wants me to be used.
"I have to make sure I'm geared up and ready at all times. My mind-set will be to be ready at any time from here on out."
Lidge made those points directly to Manuel after the game.
Even with last night's loss, the Phillies have engineered a remarkable U-turn just when they needed it most. Two weeks ago, they were soundly beaten by the woeful Padres in San Diego, their fifth loss in six games.
Since then, they have won eight of 10.
"We're on a roll despite not winning tonight," Lidge said. "Now we need to just take care of business. The way things are going, I think the race is going to be neck-and-neck right down to the last week of the season."
The Phillies missed a chance to gives themselves a little cushion last night. Santana allowed three runs. Kendrick gave up only two.
"He took us to a good place," Manuel said. Everything was falling neatly into place.
And then, Mighty Casey struck out. *
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