MLB Second Half--Hoping for Losers

As Major League Baseball begins its second half of action after the All-Star break, the playoff picture really begins to take shape. After 10 or 15 games, it becomes pretty clear whether or not a certain team is going to be in contention for a playoff spot or not.

For the New York Mets, that time frame could be as short as three games. Going into the break, the Mets sat 7.5 games back from the Atlanta Braves, the leaders in the NL Wildcard race. Their second half started with a home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Were the Mets to get swept, while the Braves won a series or picked up a sweep of their own, that would put the Mets 9.5 or more games behind, effectively out of contention for 2011.

Regardless of the Mets' success or failure in the first series, though, the likelihood is that things will not pan out for them. They will most likely continue to fall further behind the Phillies and Braves and out of the race.

For the Mets, like most teams that fall behind, that would mean they would start looking at making trades to clear some cap space and getting some good prospects for the following season. Already the Mets have moved Francisco Rodriguez, but that is not making a big difference for them. Now the trade talks have extended to Carlos Beltran and even David Wright.

Beltran is an understandable trade, because his contract will be up after this season, and it is unlikely the team will be able to resign him. But why Wright? The guy who has been the star and carried the team for four straight seasons? No, that would be foolish. They will not need that much money to resign Reyes, and the thought of keeping Reyes, Wright, Ike Davis, and new young star Justin Turner makes the Mets' infield sound downright scary.

Can't the Mets' front office see that they are going to have a decent offense even if they don't get Reyes back next year? The young talent they are grooming has been forced to step in early, and they have delivered. It makes sense that they would continue to do so. Go get some pitching, and leave the lineup alone. With Johan Santana back and more strong starter to back him up, the Mets might actually have something to say about the NL East next year.