After starting the season at a disappointing 4-8, the New York Mets finally woke up and have gone 9-1 during their 10-game home stand.  They are currently on a 7-game winning streak and the Mets pitching staff deserves most of the credit.  During their current 7-game win streak, they have been giving up less than 2 runs per game and have 3 shutouts.  Mike Pelfrey has been the Mets best pitcher so far this season, with 0.69 ERA and a 4-0 record so far.  He has given up zero runs in his last four starts.  Johan Santana has also been pitching very well for the Mets this season, especially in his last three starts where he has given up just 1 earned run and has struck out 20 batters in 19.1 innings pitched.  Francisco Rodriguez has been doing a great job as their closer, with 3 saves and a 0.93 ERA.  Although the pitching has been doing most of the work for the Mets, the bats have start to come alive.  Jason Bay, who was a great acquisition for the Mets this year, is hitting .400 with 5 RBIs during his current six-game hitting streak.  Jeff Francoeur has been the Mets best hitter so far this season with a .278 BA, 3 HRs, and 12 RBIs.  If not for a small five-game slump against the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, he would be atop the league in average and RBIs.  David Wright also has a very hot bat right now, with 6 hits and 4 RBIs in his last three games.  The Mets are hitting their midseason stride already, and they are the best team in baseball right now.

The Angels’ bullpen could use a second lefty in it behind Darren Oliver and they have a couple of extra players (Juan Rivera, Reggie Willits) to get a minor trade done. A perfect fit would be with the Mets. They need outfielders due to massive injuries they have suffered there. The thinking here is that the Angels could get either Scott Schoeneweis or Pedro Feliciano for Rivera. The Angels would probably prefer Feliciano because they have already had Schoeneweis in the past and he did not pitch well for them. Both teams would be happy with this kind of trade as they would both be dealing for a need from a position that they have depth. Juan Rivera is struggling right now because he’s buried on the Angels’ Depth Chart but he came into this season with a career batting average of .291 with a .813 OPS. He would fit in nicely in the middle of the Mets lineup.