Mets 4 Cardinals 2

Back to the Flushing .500.

At a time of year when baseball’s contenders add pieces for a title run, the Mets added the league’s batting leader by activating Jose Reyes today. Disabled since July 3rd with a hamstring strain the Met shortstop is leading the league with a .354 Batting Average and 15 triples. He will be in the leadoff spot tonight. To make room for Reyes the Mets optioned Rueben Tejada back to Buffalo.

Peter Gammons appeared on today’s Mike Francesa show and predicted at “least one good prospect” coming back to the Mets in exchange for Carlos Beltran. Stay tuned!

Here is the lineup the Mets will send to bat against St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse:

Jose Reyes – SS
Justin Turner – 2B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Dan Murphy – 3B
Angel Pagan – CF
Jason Bay – LF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Ronny Paulino – C
Dillon Gee – RHP

Hey, look who’s leading off! Also great to see Carlos Beltran back in the cleanup spot. In case you were wondering, in 46 career plate appearances against Lohse, Beltran is hitting .541 with 4 HR, 12 RBI, and a 1.590 OPS. Also of note – Paulino behind the plate against the righthander. Paulino is 3-for-7 (.429) lifetime against Lohse.

Fox Sports is reporting that the Cincinnati Reds are looking for middle relief pitching and have considered Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen in trade talks.

Reds have had internal discussions about a number of middle and setup relievers. The list includes Jim Johnson and Koji Uehara of the Orioles; Jason Isringhausen of the Mets; Jason Frasor of the Blue Jays; and Todd Coffey of the Nationals.

Cincinnati general manager Walt Jocketty is familiar with Isringhausen from their time together in St. Louis, and Isringhausen pitched in the Cincinnati system last year.

Before deciding on joining the Mets this year, the Reds offered Isringhausen  a spot in their spring training camp.

David Wright played all 9 innings yesterday in Class A St. Lucie, according to Anthony DiComo at MLB.com, finishing 3 for 6.  He is scheduled to play three more consecutive games before he rejoins the team, possibly on Friday.

Manager Terry Collins told reporters yesterday concerning David’s return

We have nothing etched in stone, but we are looking toward the weekend.

Through 4 rehab games, Wright has 2 doubles and 4 singles, seeing the ball well and reporting less soreness after each game.

Soon Johan will be back too, and the 2011 season will be … over.

MetsToday loyal reader, commenter, and photographer Gary Sparber caught a great shot of the “out” call on Emilio Bonifacio in the fifth inning of last night’s game:

Hmm … if I’m Bonifacio, I want a “do over”. Well done, Gary!

NOTE: this is a post by Corey Gorey. Please direct your comments to him.

How many days in a row will I wake up, check out the blogosphere, scan the standings, and wish this 162 game baseball season would end? Sure, it’s only July, but Bud Selig is not the boss of me. If I followed my own advice and remembered to forget about the legitimate end date to the 2011 schedule, I would be much happier right now. At many points during the past few months lying to myself would have been a viable alternative to—what do they call it? Reality? Considering how many pundits were certain the Mets would find themselves in the NL East basement from the get-go, I’m nearly satisfied with mediocre. If the season ended today we wouldn’t have won anything—no multi-pronged trophies to encase, flags to hoist, or ostentatious rings to flaunt—but I sure as hell wouldn’t feel like I was squandering any more time or emotion, either. And when it comes right down to it, isn’t the MLB all about me, the fan?

In order to preserve my sanity and the club’s dignity, here are some proposed dates for when this season should have ended:

NOTE: This is a post by Kyle Schnitzer. Please direct your comments to him.

“El Esta Aqui, El Esta Aquiii” the little jingle that gets stuck in every Mets fans head after every game. Who knew such a playful tune could have such a powerful meaning. “He is here.”

There is a saying (and a song by Joni Mitchell) that goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. And so it is with Carlos Beltran, one of the most unappreciated players in Mets history.