New Leader In NL East

For the first time since mid April the New York Mets are alone a top that NL East. Led by seven strong innings from starter Oliver Perez and a clutch two-run double in the 8th inning from Carlos Delgado the Mets pulled out the 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. This could be trouble for the Phillies who have coasted most of the way thus far. The Mets, winners of seven out of their last ten games are starting to catch fire at the right time.

With the trade deadline quickly approaching it will be interesting to see what these two teams will do to better themselves for the home stretch. The Phillies earlier this week acquired Joe Blanton from the A's but the price was steep as they had to part ways with the #2 and #4 prospects in their farm system according to the Baseball America rankings. There were rumors earlier in the week about a possible trade between the Phillies and Rockies that would have sent Brian Fuentes and Matt Holiday to Philly for a package of promising young players that would have included rising star Shane Victorino. Those talks however have since quited down.

The Mets certainly have a reputation for not being afraid to pay the price to go out and get what they need to win. With GM Omar Minaya at the helm, they are sure to explore all possibilities to adding what ever missing link they see fit. Given the recent strong performances from their starting rotation, their only real need may be another arm in the bullpen and perhaps a little more depth off the bench. That is assuming that the Pedro Martinez injury is not anything serious. Other than that have no glaring weakness at this time.

It will be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring us. This is sure to be a fun race to watch.