Last month, the Phillies lost a 1-0 game to Johan Santana and the hated New York Mets. So if you had told me before Tuesday's game the world champions would bomb 4 homers off Santana, I would have expected the Phillies to win rather easily

Wrong.

Despite the blasts, the Phils lost, 6-5, to the Mets and saw their lead over their rivals from the north dwindle to 2 games.

With ace Cole Hamels on the mound for the Phillies, tonight's game is an imporant one. Yes, it's only early June, but the Phils can't let a depleted Mets team get any momentum. The Phillies are the best team in the division, but for some reason they haven't shown it against the Mets this year.

It looks like the Mets are going to add former Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez to their bullpen.

Rodriguez, who saved a record 62 games for the Angels last year, and the Mets apparently have agreed to a three-year, $37 million contract.

The Mets bullpen was awful last season and led to their second straight season-ending collapse which left them out of the playoffs.

As a Phillies' fan, I hate to see the Mets get better. But this off-season it doesn't matter, because the Phillies are World Series champions!

Barring a 3-game sweep of the New York Mets this weekend, the Phillies shot at the post-season is over.

Losing 2 of 3 games to the Washington Nationals, the worst team in the league, while the Mets were sweeping the Brewers in Milwaukee, left the Phillies 3 games behind the Mets with just 22 games to play.

The Phillies can't expect the Mets to collapse like they did last year, when they blew a 7 1/2 game lead with 17 games to play.

The bullpen, the Phillies strength for most of the season, has blown several games over the last month. Chad Durbin, above in an Associated Press photo, has been the culprit in many of those losses. Meanwhile, the Mets' bullpen, much maligned and without All-Star closer Billy Wagner, seems to have righted itself.

And every Phillies fan knows how woeful the offense has been since the All-Star Break.

I hope I'm wrong, but unless the Phillies can muster up a sweep this weekend, another baseball season will end in disappointment.

Oh well. At least the Eagles open Sunday. E-A-G-L-E-S!!!!