Braves 3, Mets 1 (49-53, 7 GB)

OK, so the Mets lose to the Braves and fall seven games back. They should be out of it. But the Mets just might have pulled themselves back into the thick of things with two trades on Friday.

First of all, a note about Friday's game. Steve Trachsel had one bad inning, and that killed him. The sad thing is, for Trachsel, the bad inning resulted in just 2 Atlanta runs, and that proved insurmountable for the Mets. The big problem right now is that the Mets are playing without THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. They need him to set the table. And they need Mike Piazza to break out of his slump. Now.

OK. The Mets made two great trades on Friday. How, you ask, could these trades have been so great, when the Mets can't score runs, and all they did was pick up two pitchers? Well, I'll tell you. The Mets no longer have a "back end of the rotation". You never knew which Jae Seo was going to pitch...whether or not he was going to be effective. And Scott Erickson had one good start, but as I've said - he wasn't the answer. (And neither was Matt Ginter.) Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano are the answers. The Mets no longer have question marks in the number 4 and 5 spots in the rotation.

Let's break down the deals first. Benson comes from the Pirates, along with second base prospect Jeff Keppinger (I know nothing about him) in exchange for Ty Wigginton, and Matt Peterson. The Mets also ended up sending catching prospect Justin Huber to Kansas City in this deal. To get Zambrano (and Bartolome Fortunato - a minor league pitcher, again, about whom I know nothing), the Mets sent the Devil Rays Scott Kazmir and minor league pitcher Jose Diaz.

I wasn't crazy about the Mets trading Kazmir at all. But that was when I thought he'd be involved in a deal for A pitcher, in a rental-type deal. But this makes a ton of sense. Both Benson and Zambrano are 29 years old. Both are proven to be at least solid pitchers, who can at times be very, very good, and who are going to be in the majors for a while. And best of all, they might now be with the Mets for a while. Benson has said he'd work out a long-term deal with the Mets if he was traded to New York (he's going to be a free agent at the end of the season), and Zambrano is under contract for a few more years. Peterson and Kazmir, for all their potential, are still a year or so away, and who knows where they'll be in a year. They both might turn out great (I have a feeling Kazmir will be better than Peterson), but for all we know, they could be busts. We know that Benson and Zambrano will be able to contribute for a good amount of time - and don't underestimate the wonders Rick Peterson could work with these guys. As for Wigginton, it's going to be weird seeing him in a Pittsburgh uniform, but in reality, the Mets won't miss his offense too much. He was hot and cold, and is not really much better than a .280 hitter. He increased his trade value, and had to go. He will be missed, though.

There still might be more deals on the way Saturday, GM Jim Duquette said in a conference call Friday. The Mets could still be looking for a veteran offensive presence to take Wigginton's roster spot.

So let's look at the rest of the season this way. The Mets roll out Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, Steve Trachsel, Kris Benson, and Victor Zambrano. As long as they can muster about 5 runs a game, they should be able to win about 3 out of every 5 games, if not more. That would put the Mets at 85-77 to finish the year, which would be good enough to win the division. They need to start winning now, though. And it begins Saturday night, with Kris Benson on the mound in Atlanta. Benson pitched his last two games against the Braves. He won the first, giving up 2 runs in 8 innings, and in the second, gave up four runs in 6 IP. I think facing a pitcher three times in a row would tend to favor the hitters...but maybe Benson will be pitching on adrenaline for his new team.

DON'T FORGET: My new feature, e-mail the site at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com. Yahoo Mail seems to suck for me so far - I sent myself some test e-mails this afternoon that have yet to arrive...but I'll try this out for now. Wednesday will be the regular mail day, where I'll post comments, questions, etc., but if we have some good responses to the trades, I'll try to post them on Saturday night.

OTHER TRADE NOTES: The Marlins got better in their trade with the Dodgers, acquiring catcher Paul LoDuca, and reliever Guillermo Mota, and re-acquiring outfielder Juan Encarnacion. Encarnacion was great for Florida last year, LoDuca is a huge upgrade for the Marlins, and Mota is a very good reliever. (Sparks may fly between the Mets and Marlins now - remember Mota and Piazza have a history...Mota threw at Piazza in spring training, and Piazza shook some sense into him.) The Marlins, though, did give up pitcher Brad Penny - a pretty high price, and Hee Seop Choi, not so high a price. I think they improved overall, though, with this deal.

The Phillies acquired reliever Felix Rodriguez from the Giants for Ricky Ledee and a minor leaguer. A good deal for them, but I'm not worried about them. I think the Phillies are just about done.