FLUSHING, NY – Say what you want about Jerry Manuel last night, he proved he’s a standup guy.

After the Mets’ disgraceful 8-6 loss, the Mets manager took the blame for the bullpen implosion and decision not to keep Johan Santana in for the ninth inning.

“We just happened to have a bad night," Manuel said. "I obviously made some bad choices and it didn't work out." Unlike his predecessor, Manuel has shown a tendency to take control of the situation and if the decision is a wrong one, he will be more than willing to take a hit.

Second guessing was warranted last night. Without Billy Wagner, Manuel decided to put the ball in the hands of lesser men, rather than keep riding his ace, who finally pitched up to his big game expectations. With only 105 pitches and the Phillies having trouble figuring him out, the interim manager decided to shut Santana down.

"I was told that I was done, and I'm not going to go against anything here," Santana said. "At that time it looked like it was the right decision. I don't know what the results would've been if I would've stayed out there for the ninth."

Without Santana, the cast of characters followed, which made Shea Stadium cringe. First, Duaner Sanchez couldn’t record an out. Then Joe Smith game up a run, as Jose Reyes had another brain cramp and didn’t go to first, while being beaten to the second base bag.

Out goes Smith and in comes Pedro Feliciano, who was very ineffective and allowed the Phillies to blow the game out. At least, Aaron Heilman got the outs needed, but that was after the barn doors were blown wide open.

If this game teaches the Mets anything, it’s that they may need more bullpen help at the deadline. Yes, they need an outfielder, but instead of getting an All-Star on the corner, general manager Omar Minaya needs to look for a serviceable major league starter for left field and then use the rest of his chips for an arm. Right now, when you look at it, Wagner is as good as advertised, but the rest of the ‘pen is suspect at best and you never know what’s going to come out of it on a given night.

Wagner, suffering from muscle spasms in the shoulder, may be available tonight, but we won’t know until game time.

And if he can’t go in tonight’s game we will see if Manuel learned his lesson from last night’s game.

Then the heartbreaking defeat won’t be a total loss.

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