Once again, Mets fans are stunned as their favorite team has snatched a loss from the jaws of victory. In an eerily similar situation to many games last September, the Mets bullpen melted down spoiling a tremendous opportunity. The only difference this time is that there was no Willie Randolph to kick around after the game. This time it was interim manager Jerry Manuel who made like Ralph Kramden stammering his way through why he took out ace Johan Santana after 8 superb innings. Once again, the modern day approach to handling pitchers which is dictated by the almighty pitch count has reared its ugly head.

Santana pitched beautifully for eight innings allowing just 2 runs. After the first inning, when he struggled with two outs, Johan settled in and went through the Phillies lineup with ease only giving up a homerun to Shane Victorino the rest of the way. Unfortunately with Billy Wagner unavailable because of shoulder spasms, Manuel attempted to cobble together a closer by committee. Unfortunately, two of the four relievers used could not get anyone out. Sanchez loaded the bases by giving up three straight singles. After the game Sanchez said he made the pitches he wanted to make. Interesting, the pitches he wanted to make had nothing on them. They may have been in the location he wanted but the velocity was not where it should have been.

Joe Smith got the ground ball he wanted and it should have been an out. Jose Reyes miscalculated and tried to turn a double play but got neither. Pedro Feliciano came in carrying a can of gasoline instead of a glove. Five runs later, Aaron Heilman got the final out as the crowd of 55,000 plus let the Mets know just how they felt. The Mets scored one in their half of the ninth but any hopes of a comeback were dashed quickly and just as fast as you can say September 2007, the Mets were one game back instead of one game ahead.

Please explain something to me. Why does an organization trade four of its premier prospects and spend 137 million dollars on a pitcher but is afraid to let him complete his job? Santana should have been given the opportunity to start the ninth, especially because of the unavailability of Billy Wagner. I would have no qualms of taking Santana out had he given up a couple of hits in the 9th. Why do these pitchers get babied so much? The stock answer is, and it was bantered around last night, is that we need Johan for the stretch run. Well tell me then, where is the line in the sand? When will he be allowed to finish a game, after September 1st? Will it even matter by then? Santana only threw 105 pitches. You mean to tell me Santana didn’t have another 25 or 30 pitches last night.

No question that this loss bothers me as it must most Mets fans. But what troubles me more is that in the last four games, the Mets have reverted back to some of their old habits. In the six games prior to the All Star break, all Mets victories, the pitching gave up 4 runs. In the five games since the break the Mets pitching has given up 33! Even the offense, to some degree, has shown inklings of reverting to its former self. Last evening for example, the Mets scored 4 runs as a result of homeruns. They only manufactured one. Poor judgment by the third base coach Luis Aguayo choked off potential rallies too. The 10 game winning streak gave us hope and we thought perhaps things would change. But remove the 10 game streak and the body of work remaining is consistently inconsistent.

Last night’s game was a devastating loss. It could have been a real feel good story for the Mets but instead it became a nightmare. Will the Mets bounce back tonight or will things continue to deteriorate. A loss like last night should at least provide a lesson. The lesson should be that when your closer is not available, let your ace attempt to finish the job. That’s what he is paid to do.