8 games back, I'd probably salute as the ship goes down.  8 games back July 15th and it's over.  Even now we can't ever catch a break and pick up a game on Philadelphia.  They WERE just down 3-2, but every time they're down by a run, I seem to log back onto the scores and see that Utley/Werth/Victorino/Howard (pick one) just hit a 2-run HR and now they're up.  Werth this time.

That said, I'd get rid of Church and Schneider for a start.  I'm tired of having ex-Nationals players around.  Sorry, doesn't build a winning culture and they sure haven't done anything to disprove that.  I'd trade Delgado, who's on the old side and now coming off an injury.  You can't expect last year's MVP performances again.  Beltran I'd be amenable to trading but I'd really want something for him--some re-signable starting pitching for 2010-12 or so.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES would i ever trade any of the following: wright, reyes, beltran, delgado, santana, krod. except for delgado, i still want each of them on the team in 7 years time, they are stars. i would also prefer not to trade parnell, feliciano, putz, or green because I feel our bullpen is a big key to our success and all of those players have done extremely well except Putz, and we cant trade him while he's on the DL anyway.

I WOULD suggest trading Daniel Murphy, Eddie Kunz, Jeremy Reed, or Fernando Tatis for a power Corner OF/1B. I wouldnt mind acquiring Nick Swisher from the Yankees, and I would be ecstatic to get Matt Holliday from Oakland. We could also use a good SP, but that might be pricier and we have some good arms in the minors for future years. We're not quite so dereft of SP as we appear with Maine and Perez on the DL, and we still have Niese, Figueroa, Gee, and maybe even Brad Holt awaiting callup in the near future.

I still think this team can win, and I'm not ready to give up yet. Last year at the end of June we were 8.5 games out and had just fired our manager, the team in dissaray. 2 months later we had a 3 game lead. This game can change quickly, and so i would wait until at least the all-star break to count us out unless we sustain more major injuries or fall to like 10 or more games out.

I don't think that the Mets need to be 8 games back to make a couple of trades. I said in my most recent podcast that I think that the Mets need to get a starting pitcher (we've lost 2 to injury after all) and a power hitter. Both are a tall order so I'd settle for 1 of 2. Who we can give up would depend on the needs of the sellers in the market. We can't trade Daniel Murphy unless we have someone else to play first base. If we trade Ryan Church we needs someone in the outfield who can play good defense besides Beltran. I like Jeremy Reed and wouldn't want to move him. It's a tough call.

If I were the GM, I'd make sure the players we have not injured before I committed further resources towards this year's run. If Johan Santana is injured, I think we just fold the tent until next year. If not, I would look for starting pitching and a lefty first baseman or lefty outfielder.

We definitely need starting pitching, after Johan Santana there is a HUGE drop off, I like Pelfrey, but he's not a 2 starter, he's a good 3 or a great 4, not a 2.  This might be a little far fetched, but we need a Jake peavy, or maybe even a Zack Grienke.  We would have to give up a lot.  I think it would have to be another Santana-like deal.  We might have to give up some prospects, If we still have any.  Or maybe one of our corner outfielders.  It would be tough though.  I think their offense is fine.  Summary: The Mets should stay quiet during the trade deadline, unless if they decide to go after some top of the rotation pitching.