Could Four Games In July Change The Mets Season?

It's been really easy to bash the Mets this season. Between all the injuries, the Luis Castillo dropped pop up, the lack of fundamental baseball, and all the chaos in the front office; the Mets have become an easy target for ridicule. And rightfully so.

But don't look now! Because here come the Mets!

Sort of.

After last night's 4-0 victory over the wild card leading Rockies, the Mets now sit 5.5 games out of the wild card in the National League. For a team that has experienced so much during the first 100 games of the season, being this close to a playoff spot is actually somewhat of an achievement.

However, keep in mind that there are still seven teams ahead of the Mets in the wild card chase. Even though 5.5 games is a very manageable total, having so many teams ahead of the Mets greatly decreases the odds of the Mets actually winning the wild card. But hey, anything can happen.

And it's with that spirit in mind that I type this piece. The Mets still have another two games left against the Rockies, who are now tied for the wild card card, can actually pull within 3.5 games of the wild card if everything falls in their favor. Now I'll admit that the odds of this happening are very small, but the idea that this can happen is absurd.

But let's take a step back for a moment. Let's say the Mets are 4.5-5.5 games out at the deadline; what should Omar Minaya (assuming he is the GM) do? Should the Mets at least explore the trade market? Is it worth it? Or should the Mets simply stick with what they got and hope to the baseball Gods that someone in the Beltran-Delgado-Reyes trio comes back healthy?

The biggest problem for the Mets is that even if they do acquire someone, will the player have a big enough impact to make the Mets relevant in 2009? And what exactly do the Mets have to give up?

Like always, the Mets seem bring about more questions than answers.

Thoughts?