"...A Crucial Hernandez Error Led to a 5-Run Phillies Ninth. Cost the Mets the Game!"

A couple of untimely errors did our heros in last night. First, Idol-Favorite Katherine McPhee made made three Elvis-Night errors by (i) appearing in tight jeans and a bizarre shirt that somehow emphasized her stomach while de-emphasizing her greatest non-vocal assets, (ii) singing a hokey medley of "Hound Dog" and "All Shook Up" that sounded like a bad wedding/bar mitzvah band during that annoying portion of the evening when they get kooky and take on the 50's (she should have sung "Shout" from Animal House and passed out fake RayBans, while she was at it) and (iii) doing a completely over-the-top rendition of "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You." It was not a great night for her, and much like Kramer told Miss Rhode Island during her preparation for the Miss America Pageant, "If you stumble, if you hesitate, you can kiss the crown goodbye." We'll see if the voters are as forgiving.

The other error occurred in last night's Mets-Phillies game and was made by Met fan favorite Aaron Heilman, who pitched the bottom of the 9th, with the game tied 4-4 after Carols Delgado 2-Run blast in the top of the 9th. With the bases loaded, Heilman got Bobby Abreu (a favorite of mine and former member of my root baseball team) to bounce a ball weakly in front of home plate. Heilman tried to field the play himself and threw the ball over Delgado's head at first base, allowing David Dellucci's to score the winning run and giving the Phillies a 5-4 victory in the opener of the big NIL East showdown. The error squandered a terrific comeback for the Mets, who fought their way back into the game after pretty much being shut down the entire evening by Philly starter Brett Meyers. I'll turn the details over to Toasty Joe and Mr. Met, but I will say that the comeback is something of a silver lining for the Mets, who in recent years past would have rolled over and played dead after failing to score early and falling behind. One other encouraging Met note--reliever and internet fan favorite Heath Bell was called up from Norfolk yesterday (reliever Bartholone Fortunato was demoted to AAA). This is somewhat peculiar, in that the Mets all but ignored Bell during spring training, allowing him to pitch something like 3 innings the entire Spring. Evidently, his recent success as the Tides' closer has been impossible to ignore, even for the Mets. Maybe this will make management more comfortable handing Heilman a job in the starting rotation. Or maybe the Mets are showcasing Bell for a trade to bring in some retread starter. Knowing the Mets, it's probably the latter (I hear from ESPN's Peter Gammons that the Orioles may make Bruce Chen or Rodrigo Lopez available) , but it is still a good sign that Bell has been called up. Hopefully Tom Glavine will right the ship tonight.