Just get the split, please

"People are going to have to get people out."

That was Jerry Manuel's postgame assessment of Tuesday night's awful loss to the Phillies. It's bad enough you blow a 7-0 lead after four innings, but to allow the Phils to win in walk-off fashion and take over first place -- that had better light a fire under these Mets, who slept through the final eight innings offensively.

Yes, Luis Ayala should have been able to retire Eric frickin Bruntlett to end the game, but he has little closer experience. (I bet you miss Billy Wagner don't you?) And to be honest, the lost 7-0 lead doesn't bother me that much since it that was the score fairly early in the game and once the Phillies posted five in the fifth, especially in that park, it was anyone's ballgame.

But of course the media will make a big deal of the blown 7-0 lead, as if that was the score in the eighth.

What bothers me more is the lack of offense after the fifth. Nothing. Nada. Sure, they slapped Jamie Moyer around, but then the bats took the night off. Meanwhile, the Phillies rallied to win. Awful. It stings.

But that's one of the reasons the Mets got Johan Santana, and if he can win Wednesday night, the Mets will be back in first, status quo. This is a stopper game, and we'll see if Santana can do the stopping and if his lineup can remember how to hit a ball.