Phils miffed that Mets froze their closer

PHILADELPHIA - Freezing the kicker before a potential game-winning field goal is a routine strategy, but freezing the closer? That's a new one, and it's what the Phillies accused the Mets of doing to Brad Lidge in the ninth inning of Friday's series opener.

With two outs, the Mets trailing 3-2 and runners at first and third, Lidge was halted by the umpires in the middle of his stretch as he prepared to deliver an 0-and-1 pitch to pinch hitter Jesus Feliciano.

Manager Jerry Manuel wanted to replace the runner at first, Josh Thole, with Luis Castillo, but he had to get Castillo from the batting tunnel to make the swap. Because of the crowd noise, the umpires couldn't hear the Mets initially, and Lidge wasn't stopped until Ike Davis, standing at third, waved his arms frantically.

When Jerry Manuel was told Saturday that his Phillies counterpart, Charlie Manuel, was annoyed by the move, the Mets' manager chuckled. "C'mon, Charlie," Manuel said. "We were waiting on Castillo."

Jerry Manuel further explained that he didn't immediately make the swap because Thole had stolen a base off Lidge earlier this season and figured he would be a threat. But when Lidge didn't pay Thole any attention, Manuel changed his mind.

"I needed to give him something to worry about, and that's the reason I sent [Castillo] in," Manuel said. "I wanted to divert the attention. I didn't want him to just concentrate on his slider, split or whatever. I wanted to apply pressure, that's all."

Charlie Manuel didn't see it that way. He launched into an argument with crew chief Jerry Layne that lasted so long, it probably did a better job of annoying Lidge than the Mets' abrupt timeout.

"Terrible it was allowed and when it was done," Charlie Manuel said. "He's in a stretch. He's in the process of throwing the ball. They're over there screaming, 'Time out!' "