That Phils/Marlins game was one of the more tense I've seen in a long time, especially the last two innings.

I'm still not sure Cantu was really out at home in the bottom of the 8th.

I'm still not sure Cantu was really out at home in the bottom of the 8th.

The ump called him out. Therefore...he was out.

Lidge truly IS "Lights Out" this year. He's allowed seven fewer dingers than he did in 2007. Pitching in CBP, that's a miracle.

I think we've heard the last of the Marlins... well, at least until they decide to torture the Mets next weekend.

I know, it was a hard play, very close. Out was not bad call.

However, an inability to get a run home with men on 2nd and 3rd and no outs means you deserve to lose. That one hurt the Mets, though.

At least the Brewers lost.

That one hurt the Mets, though.

Yeah, but it wasn't all bad, either. If the Phillies had to win, having it be against the Marlins has its upside for the Mets. Pushing as many other potential WC contenders as possible as far back as possible has its own value. The Brewers lost, the Fish lost, the Cardinals lost, and the Astros lost. And the Fish could even be an outside division contender, too . . . or they could have been, had they swept the Phillies and come into New York next weekend with a shot.

Sooooo, at this point, while the Mets slipped back behind the Phils by a half-game (but still tied in the loss column), they have a cushion on the Brewers, and a really solid lead on everybody else for the WC. And the Marlins' loss helped with that. The Cardinals, Astros, and Marlins are all within solid range of being eliminated sometime by mid-week, leaving just the Brewers . . . who are not exactly making like a team about to go on a run, either.

So now I want the Fish to go back to winnin' tomorrow, at least as long as the Mets win, too. Get us back in first place, while at the same time pushing the Fish closer to elimination.

The ump called him out. Therefore...he was out.

Thanks for clarifying that.

Latest word on a possible return (for bullpen duty) by John Maine.

He threw a bullpen session today. He had lousy command (to be expected after the long layoff, as Warthen pointed out), but reasonable velocity for the first time back. If he

1) is OK tomorrow after the session today, and

2) is able to throw Monday with a bump up in velocity and better command, then

3) the Mets may activate him.

Sounds like a big-time longshot to me, and I hope the Mets are very, very cautious. But kudos to Maine for trying.

I wonder if we are watching the end of Pedro's career. He'll get an incentive laden deal if he wants one but he might not want to bother. It's so weird to watch him pitch right now because he is pitching timidly. He is throwing about as hard as he has in previous seasons but the command is off and he is afraid to challenge guys.

I wonder if we are watching the end of Pedro's career. He'll get an incentive laden deal if he wants one but he might not want to bother. It's so weird to watch him pitch right now because he is pitching timidly. He is throwing about as hard as he has in previous seasons but the command is off and he is afraid to challenge guys.

That would be a bummer for me. The Pedro-DeShields trade might be the first ever baseball move where I took notice of and followed from start to finish. I was a baseball fan and an Expos fan from 1991 onwards, but the Pedro trade was probably the first move where I realized the wonders of the baseball economy. I mean trading a starting and beloved 2B for a skinny-ass pitcher seemed bad at the time, but somehow I remember being excited about the move. Maybe it was the baseball cards, or maybe the media, but I was excited about Pedro, and thankfully my faith was rewarded. One of my favorite and most tragic experiences was watching Pedro take a perfect game into the 10th, only to see Bip Roberts shatter that dream.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it has been an absolute pleasure to see Pedro pitch for the past 15 years, and it would be a shame if he went out a shell of his former self.

"We all got it coming, kid."
--William Munny

He might be better off flaming out hard like he seems to have done. If he, say, hangs it up after this season his dominance is still fresh in the memories of most people. He'll also retain his record for highest career ERA+ by a starting pitcher, and for any pitcher who has pitched more innings than Mariano Rivera. If he hangs around and strings along some mediocre to somewhat effective seasons then he has a chance to go out like, say, Goose Gossage did, where his dominance had largely been forgotten (which I feel hurt Goose in his HOF voting, although of course it ended up not mattering in the end). And it's not too far for Pedro to fall before he drops below Lefty and the Big Train in career ERA+...all this is to say that if this is indeed a total collapse, it might really benefit him in a couple ways.

However, an inability to get a run home with men on 2nd and 3rd and no outs means you deserve to lose.

I can see sending Cantu with no one out, but how does Andino not move up to third on that play? If the contact play is on, you have to have the guy moving from second to third on any ground ball.

An incredibly tense game, where, once again, Lidge sits in the pen while the Phillies relievers court disaster in the 8th. If there was any time for a two-inning save, last night would have been it.

Pedro goes in the hall even with a few mediocre years at the end. And, yes, it is both a shame for him to go out a shell of his former self and not at all unexpected. The Munny quote is relevant.

An incredibly tense game

I've been keeping track of all the high-LI moments of the Phillies' season, and by my count, there have only been a few games (April 3, June 15, August 26, September 16) that had more high LI events than last night's game with the Marlins (four 5.00+ LI events).

So, last night's game was definitely in the top-five most-tense games of the season going by LI.

The Brewers' collapse has taken much of the steam out of the Mets-Phillies race, although the Marlins are still on the fringes. Right now, it appears the Mets and Phils are vying for who faces Los Angeles and who plays Chicago. And while the Cubs may currently be the best team in the NL, they're hardly a lead-pipe cinch.