So, the first two games against the Mets this weekend are in the books, and while there is some good news, there's also some crappy stuff that went down this afternoon.
First, the good news. Cole Hamels looked good last night as he finally beat the Mets this year. He lasted 6.2 innings and only allowed one run. The offense picked him up when they needed to, and Cole got the win. I know I've said it before, but he has to keep pitching like this if the Phillies want to have a shot in the playoffs. A four man rotation with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ or Pedro Martinez would be tough to top for any team, even St. Louis, so to see Cole pitching well again is a very, very good thing.
The offense didn't score much yesterday, but they didn't need to. Four runs with Cole on the mound should be more than enough, and it was last night. Shane Victorino dropped three doubles and Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins all drove in runs to give Cole all the support he would need. It was exactly the kind of game the Phillies needed to get the series started.
Then came today's game. Jamie Moyer looked like the guy that had been pulled out of the rotation when Pedro Martinez came up in the first inning, allowing four runs. After that, he settled down, and the Phillies went out and scored eight straight runs. Unfortunately, the bullpen then came into the game, and while the pen has been solid for most of the year, today they just didn't have anything. Brett Myers allowed three runs, and Ryan Madson blew the save, thanks to a two run home run by David freaking Wright, giving the Mets the win and putting the Marlins five games behind the Phils again.
I can't get on the offense today, since they beat up on Mike Pelfrey, who has had the Phillies' number this season. I can, however, get on the bullpen for blowing an 8-4, then a 9-5 lead. If Jamie Moyer has your team in position to win a game with a four run lead, you had better take advantage of it. If the team that is right behind you in the standings is playing the worst team in baseball, you had damn sure be able to win with a four run lead going into the eighth inning. Today, the Phillies couldn't do that, and the Mets made them pay. The Mets aren't going to the playoffs this year, but you can bet they will be happy to play spoiler, especially to the team that knocked them out of the playoffs each of the last two seasons. I've seen the Phillies come back each of the last two years, and I know that a five game lead is not safe, not at this point.
I want the Phillies to be five games up with five games to play. That is when I think a five game lead will be safe. All that today's game did was raise even more questions about the closer position. Ryan Madson doesn't really have the stomach for it, Brad Lidge has blown ten saves, and Brett Myers has only been back for a week. Who the hell is the closer? Lidge is being paid way too much money to be a setup or mop up guy, but with that many blown saves this season, can the Phillies trust him? Can Madson find a way to get the nerves to move from the eighth inning to the ninth and be the closer that the Phillies need? Can Brett Myers show that he can recapture what he had in 2007 and close for the last month of the season? Out of everything going on with the Phillies right now, the closer spot is the biggest question mark, and something that makes me afraid as the Phils head down the stretch. If they don't have someone that can close out games, they had better be damn confident in that starting pitching, because the bullpen is anything but set right now.
Tomorrow, it's a doubleheader for the Phillies against the Mets. In game one, Kyle Kendrick (0-1, 5.06 ERA) is going against John Maine (5-4, 4.52 ERA). If he doesn't pitch well, I'm driving to Philly to personally trade him to Japan.
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