With the season at the unofficial halfway mark, ToTT takes a look back at the second quarter of the Mets season:

MVP - David Wright

After a slow start, Wright picked things up in June when he batted .365 and briefly led the NL in hitting.  July has not been as kind, as he is batting a meager .180 thru the first two weeks with very little power, but he still leads the team in RBIs, runs scored and stolen bases.

LVP - Dan Murphy

Yes, he is a rookie... and yes, he is playing out of position.  Yet, the Mets 1B batted .240 in June with 1HR and 7 RBIs, with a slight up to .258 in July... Not the numbers you want from a traditional power position.

Cy Young - Fernando Nieve

It is easy to choose Johan Santana, but the surprising Nieves kept the Mets afloat by delivering 3 of the Mets 9 wins in June.

Anthony Young - Tim Redding

1 win all season, and followed a sub-par June ERA of 4.99 with a 'what the f?' 12.80 ERA in July, not getting out of the third inning in his last three starts... and actually making easy the re-insertion of Oliver Perez into the rotation.

Biggest Surprise - Fernando Nieve: After not starting in the Majors in almost 3 years, helped save the Mets June by winning a third of their games.  Has lost his last three decisions, but has still kept the team in the game in those games.

Biggest Dissapointment: Basically every game...

Injuries, hitting, pitching, defense... With the second highest payroll in baseball, Mets have been dubbed the 'Worst Team Money Can Buy'... there are plenty of legitimate excuses, but the results are also extremely below par.

For the Q1 review, click here.

It was another Jekyll-and-Hyde week for the team from Citi Field, starting off 1-3 against the Dodgers and Reds, all three losses being by shutout, before closing out the weekend with two wins in which they scored 13 runs, bringing the tally to 2-4. 

The Mets now sit at 42-45, with a season low 4th place standing and 6-1/2 games out of first, as the no-longer-struggling, first place Phillies used their feel-good sweep against the Mets to go on a 9-1 tear.  As for the lowlights:

• I apologize to the AAA affiliate Buffalo Bisons for referring to the Mets as the AAA team, as that was a put down to their abilities.  Going forward, we will change the reference to 'Spring Training Split Squad' when referring to the NYM.
• Yes, they scored a lot over the weekend, but the Reds are as bad as the Mets
• Boy, does that K-Rod make the 9th inning interesting.

I want to get mad, but I can't... It's more dissapointment.  Yes, the team stinks as currently assembled and there are too many holes to fill with a single roster adjustments, but it is hard to get angry when they have been missing 3 of 4 starts, 2/5 of their rotation and their setup man for month's.  There is no team in baseball that would be doing any better under the circumstances.  Unfortunately, it does not look like help will be on the way any time soon, even though Reyes and Delgado are set to be progressing nicely, while Billy Wagner may be ready to return next month.

On that note, we are split on the Jeff Francoeur...

 for Ryan Church trade.  On the surface, trading a younger, slightly cheaper player with similar talents and much more upside sounds great.... had it been done back in February.  In the short term, it does not address any of the team's major needs, and it feels like one of those trades for the sake of change ones.  On the flip side, nothing was lost, it can't get any worse and any benefit will be icing on the cake... We wonder was happend to Francoeur, who just a couple of years ago was on the cover of SI labeled as 'The Natural', and was driving in 100 runs while playing every game of the season.  Yet last year everything went wrong, he was demoted to the minors for a while, and batted a career low .239.  This year he has been slightly less awful, batting .250 with a pathetic .282 OBP before the trade.  Hopefully, it will be one of those rare 'change of scene' trades that actually works.

The NYM will be off until Thursday, before they open up a 6 game stretch against two teams as bad and worse than them, the Braves and Nationals.

About a week ago, we stated that this past series of games was one in which the Mets, if all played out well, could make a move in the NL East divisional race... Of course, we neglected to say that, playing how they had been, it was also a great chance to sink into an even deeper hole... Guess which one happened?

 The team skidded to a 2-5 mark, the high low point of the week being the 3-game sweep at the hands of the first place Phillies, much like the week before ended with a 3-game spanking by the Yankees.  The Mets now find themselves with three games under .500 and 4 games back, tied for third with the Braves in the division.  They will have today off before facing off Tuesday against the Dodgers... who swept them back in May during their first meeting.

After a confidence building 19-9 month of May and some first place time, the team limped out of June with a 9-18 mark... ouch.

If there is a silver lining... well, more of a tin lining... is that the Phillies were a less than awe inspiring 10-15 in June, which has kept the Mets afloat although letting the Marlins and Braves catch up.

The All-Star Break can't come soon enough, as it is clear this AAA version of the Mets cannot compete and they need their injured stars to return ASAP.  Unfortunately, that does not appear to be any time soon.  Granted, Oliver Perez will come off the DL and pitch against the Dodgers Wednesday, but truth is he has a worst record than the pitcher he will replacing in the rotation (Tim Redding)...

Still, the truth also is the Mets are well in the thick of it even after the horrendous, injury riddled June.  If someway, somehow, they keep sticking around... maybe, just maybe, we might still have a pennant race to cheer for by the time July is over... Keep your fingers crossed!

Interestingly enough, the Mets had 4 players selected to the All Star game, Wright, Beltran, Santana and Rodriguez, the most from any NL team...

Just one day after our 'the roster is set' post, word on the street is that recently released Gary Sheffield is close to being singed by the Mets. 

Sheffield is coming off the worst year in his career in over a decade, having been injured and ending up hitting only .225 with 19 HR and 52 RBIs.  Rumors are swelling that the contract will be for the league minimum or around $400K... If this truly happens, say goodbye to Marlon Anderson...

On paper, it would sound like a good move, as the Mets bench is sorely short on power, especially from the right side of the plate, and statistically speaking, Carlos Beltran aside, the Mets had the most unproductive OF in the NL last year... Assuming last year was an aberration, even the '07 Sheffield (.265/25/75) would be a boost.  And at his alleged cost, an incredible steal.

The catch of course is the baggage, both the carry ons and everything that will be checked at the ticket counter, that comes with Sheffield, who has worn out his welcome basically everywhere he's been. And on a team who's psyche is already suspect, following three straight September / October gag jobs, a push in the wrong direction might be the nail in the coffin... Let's hope if it those happen, that a bench spot and min contract will provide enough of a humble pie for Mr. Sheffield.

(updated 3:21pm)

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman has reported that Sheffield has signed with the Mets... Detaisl to come...