Error, not Park, causes Phillies to lose to Santana, Mets

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The result is what we expected: the Mets, who sent Johan Santana to the mound, beat the Phillies, who were starting Chan Ho Park. What wasn't expected was just how well Park would pitch and just how close the Phillies would be to winning this game.

Santana pitched 7 strong innings, struck out 10 batters and gave up only 2 hits as he cruised to a 1-0 victory for the Mets. Surprisingly, Park kept up with Santana, going 6 innings and allowing no runs on two hits. Park probably even should have stayed in the game another inning, considering how well he was pitching and the fact that he had only thrown 91 pitches. Phillies fans (me included, check my tweets earlier in the day) should all apologize to Park for not giving him a chance in this one, he proved that he deserves a few more chances to hold on to the 5th spot in the rotation.

What ended up failing the Phillies in this game was, for once, not the pitching, but instead the defense. The usually excellent fielding of Pedro Feliz failed him for one play, when he made an errant throw to first base, and it was enough for the Mets to squeak out the lone run of the game in the 7th inning.

Chalk this loss up to an anomaly: Pedro Feliz rarely makes errors. The Phillies got a great game from Park, but Johan Santana proved that he is still the best pitcher in baseball. Luckily for the Phils, the Marlins also lost, which keeps Philly in first place.

Santana outdeuls Hamels, Mets win 6-4

For seven innings, the Johan Santana/Cole Hamels showdown was the duel that everyone expected it to be. Heading into the top of the 8th, the Mets held a 2-1 lead over the Phils, but from there Hamels failed to keep up his end of the duel. He loaded the bases on a pair of hits and a walk, forcing the Phillies to turn to their bullpen, which was unable to hold down the Mets who scored 3 runs to stretch their lead to 5-1. Fortunately, the Phillies battled back as they finally got to Santana, getting a pair of hits in the bottom of the 8th that drove him out of the game. Greg Dobbs then stepped in and smashed a 3-run home run, but the Phils rally ended there. They ended up losing the game 6-4.

Santana was as good as advertised in this game, rapidly mowing down Phillie batters. He finished with 10 strikeouts in his 7 innings of work and only gave up 4 hits. Hamels looked good but not great most of the night, giving up 8 hits and striking out only 4 batters. David Wright had his number all night, picking up three hits against Hamels even though he had previously gone 1 for 11 in his career against the lefty.

The win moves the Mets into first place, and it also makes three wins in a row for the Mets against the Phillies. Santana proved tonight why the Mets doled out the big contract for him, dominating the Phillies usually potent line-up. This was about the best start he could have possibly asked for against the Mets biggest rival.

Jimmy Rollins may make his return tomorrow when the Phillies look to find some of the magic they had last season against the Mets. It's still early in the season, and the Phillies look better in April this year than they did last year, but they need to find some consistency. Having Rollins back would go a long way to gaining that stability.

Mets Might Sign Kyle Lohse

It looks like the Mets are trying to tie up the NL East in January. ESPN's Jayson Stark is reporting that the Met's acquisition of Johan Santana does not take them out of the running for Kyle Lohse. Mets GM Omar Minaya went on to say that the Mets could "absolutely" afford both Santana and Lohse. If the Mets make the move to sign Lohse, he would probably become their number 4 starter, and probably would ensure that Orlando Hernandez will be playing for a new team next season. Even though the Phillies have little chance to sign Lohse, this move would ensure that they will need to look in the bargain bin for another starting pitcher. Let's hope they have some move up their sleeve to counter all of the Met's deals. The Mets started the offseason with a whimper, but have really stepped up their efforts to be the best team in the National League.

To read Stark's ESPN article, click here.

Uh Oh, There Goes the Division

In a move that blows the Phillies signing of Pedro Feliz out of the water, the Mets have acquired arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana. The Mets mortgaged their future, giving up four prospects (outfielder Carlos Gomez and three pitchers: Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra), but they now have a guarantee that they will be division favorites for as long as Santana stays in New York. There are still two hold-ups to the deal, as Santana must waive his no-trade clause, which he will, and he needs to agree to a multi-year deal with the Mets. Don't hold our breath that it will fall through, though, as it is believed that the Mets wouldn't have agreed to the trade if they didn't think they could work out a deal with Santana.

This move shifts the balance of power in the division back to the Mets. The Mets had a weak off season up until this point, and the Phillies seemed to have done just enough to make them favorites. But the addition of Santana changes everything. As a lefty ace, he is the perfect foil to the Phillies strong left-handed hitting. I can already see Ryan Howard whiffing about 20 times on a Santana breaking ball this year.

Here is the Mets current rotation:

1. Johan Santana
2. John Maine

3. Oliver Perez

4. Pedro Martinez

5. Mike Pelfrey/Orlando Hernandez

Compare that to the Phillies rotation I put up in the previous post, and the Phils are at a clear disadvantage. It's a good thing that Pedro isn't Pedro anymore, or this division would be a cakewalk for the Mets. I would bet they trade El Duque for a prospect and let Pelfrey take over the #5 spot.

This trade puts the onus back on the Phillies to improve their pitching. As bad as it it for teams to be reactionary to what other teams do, the Phillies have to go out and sign Kyle Lohse right now. Signing Lohse would at least cut the gap between the two rotations. I don't care what kind of money it takes, the Phils need to pay up if they want to stay competitive. I am not sure exactly how good the prospects the Mets had to give up were, but it is clear that they want to get back into the playoffs this year, and in the next few years to come. They may have given up too much to get Santana, but they may have also sealed up the NL East. The time is yours, Phillies.