A few more hours of waiting to see if the Mets buy some help. The White Sox picked up Ken Griffey Jr today. There's a huge rumor that Manny Ramirez is headed to the Marlins in a three-team trade with the Pirates.

The Yankees are probably done with their shopping, picking up Xavier Nady from the Pirates and Pudge Rodriquez from the Tigers. Let's see what the Mets will do.

The two most critical needs for the Mets right now are outfield help and a setup or long relief pitcher. The Mets may not be after an outfielder since Ryan Church is expected back in the lineup (knock on wood) soon. Church's return would probably mean a Fernando Tatis / Endy Chavez platoon in left field.

Then there's the relief pitching situation. Who's hot and who's cold changes from week to week. This week Wagner and Heilman are hot. Smith, Feliciano and Schoeneweis are cold. So it's hard to know who to replace. I know one thing for sure. We need a long reliever ala Darren Oliver. I'm hearing Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts talk about possibly acquiring former Met (2004-2006) David Weathers.

Another issue is the fact that the Mets don't have much to give. You can't get a "difference maker" without giving up something pretty good. The top shelf prospects are gone. Who else do the Mets have that we can depart with who other teams also want? Maybe we could dangle a resurgent Fernando Tatis. Feel free to leave your thoughts before or after the deadline.