Reyes does not need time in AAA.  He is not going to get more used to seeing MLB pitching by facing a lot of has-beens and never-will-bes.  When he is on, like last night, he is an absolute terror.  Opponents must respect his speed and that throws them off their game.  Even when they respect his speed, he will usually beat them.  With regards to Wright batting 7th, I am not as against it as other Mets fans.  Wright has shown better plate discipline this year, but he is not doing the job with runners in scoring position.  Until he gets better in that regard, I cannot see him batting 3rd-6th in the order.  I would not complain if the Mets chose to bat him 2nd with Beltran-Floyd-Cameron-Piazza behind him (in that order), but unless Willie is willing to do that, 7th is where he belongs.  Willie is a rookie manager, and as such is making rookie mistakes, but I like the fact that the team has shown flashes of heart and intensity even during slumps, something that was noticeably absent when Art Howe managed the Mets.  About promotions, I would definitely move Bannister up to AAA.  Petit and Milledge need a bit more time at AA and A respectively.  Around September I would promote Evan MacLane to AA.  Dante Brinkley, Grant Psomas, Brett Harper, and Mike Jacobs deserve promotions right now IMHO.  I was a bit disappointed that they did not let Lambin show more at AAA before demoting him to AA in favor of Anderson Hernandez, but the Mets have a glut of MIs in the high minors.  Finally, with regard to being buyers or sellers, I think a little of both.  I would try moving guys like Piazza and Glavine for some prospects.  I would then consider moving some mid-level prospects like Brian Bannister, Jae Seo, and Kevin Deaton for a 1B like Lyle Overbay.  Our top prospects should be off limits this year

Wright is batting .277 with RISP - not great, but pretty good considering he's been batting with Dougie, Kaz or the backup catcher in the on-deck circle.  He is also first or second in every offensive category on the team - why do you say your best hitter belongs in the 7th spot?

By way of comparison, Piazza's avg with RISP is .219.  It is time for Mike to slide down to 6th or 7th - he isn't a .300 hitter anymore.  Beltran is at .299, Floyd is at .276 and Minky is at .182 with RISP.

I want to stab myself with a fork every time I see Wright in the 7th spot. Marlon Anderson in front of Wright?!?!?

Beltran, Floyd and Wright are by far their best hitters and should be bunched together.

My lineup:

1.Cameron
2.Wright
3.Beltran
4.Floyd
5.Piazza
6.Anderson
7.Reyes
8.Mienkievijgaregngzzz or Diaz

How many more at-bats will Wright get in the 2nd spot over the 7th? ~90 over the course of a year.

Then I would fix the rotation, giving Heilman and Seo starting jobs. Pedro, Benson, Heilman, Seo and Zambrano (with Ishii as a loogy/longman)

I'd promote Bannister and Petit to AAA, because I want to see if they will be ready for 2006 (Petit especially).

As for buying and selling, Petit is untouchable, but I would consider trading everyone else. The Mets don't need to make any impulse trades, and the only person on the market that they should want is Overbay. Otherwise, just wait till the end of the year to get a first baseman. This team is ready to compete for the next 3-4 years, so no need to panic. On the other hand, this division looks very winnable, even for the Mets.

I would also consider trading Cameron for prospects if the Mets fall out of contention. His value is high right now, and a couple teams are looking for a CF.

But most importantly, I would bat Wright higher. Please, I beg you Willie.

I think you wait until the trade deadline to see where you are and to get a little more time to evaluate what you've got.  I would be playing Daubach regularly to see whether, if you can't get a 1B, you are gonna trust him in August and September.  It still won't be enough time to actually know about Daubach to be honest -- he should have been called up earlier -- but it's the best you can do.  You also want to know whether Heilman regresses, whether Graves is worth anything, what Trachsel's condition is, etc.

I suspect that when you hit the deadline, you're going to be sellers.  In that case, I think you're trying to cash in Cameron for one of the team's needs down the line, i.e. a future C, 1B, or 2B.  Which one largely depends on who the teams who want Cammy happen to have, since I don't expect there to be a large number of such teams.  (Adrian Gonzalez?  Kotteras?  Kotchman?)  Glavine can also go if anyone wants him, and being a lefty with a long and impressive postseason record, someone might.  I think you keep Piazza and Looper, unless you really can get something for them that's worth more than the draft pick (more likely in the latter case.)  And I keep Floyd, because otherwise you're locked into having to find a lefty hitter at LF or 1B, and that could deprive you of some attractive offseason options.

If you do hit the deadline and you're a potential buyer, that's most likely the point at which you try to trade in some of the pitching depth (Heilman, Seo, minor leaguers) for an impact player, who is very likely to be a 1B (I'd go for Overbay; Casey would be acceptable; not a fan of Sweeney.)

Of course, useless choads like Ishii and Matsui can be dealt at any time for any reason to anyone who will have them.

I don't think batting order is a big deal in general, but I think I'd want Beltran hitting 2nd just to see if it makes any difference.  Cammy, Beltran, Wright, Floyd, Piazza, Daubach, Reyes, 2B.  You can't send Reyes down now; the team would look ridiculous after making him the leadoff man and hyping him for the All-Star team... he could be very adversely effected psychologically... you don't have a better SS option to use instead... and honestly, the guy is not THAT bad by NL SS standards.

The Mets don't yet need to decide if they are buyers or sellers.  They can easliy monitor the trade market and see where they arre it in 3-4 weeks.  I would say, though, that they need to keep their eyes on the prize, and not empty the farm of their top prospects this year. I would trade only trade an elite prospect for an elite young MLBer (e.g., Dunn) - a guy who can help them for several years rather than just 2 months.  

TRADE: Piazza, Glavine and Looper should be shopped to contenders if the Mets are still at a .500 pace in late July.

PROSPECTS: Keep Milledge at High A for the season. Promote Bannister and Petit to AAA after the break. Get Humber to AA if he comes out firing in the second half. Keep Hernandez in Low A, but maybe reward him with a couple FSL starts. Don't worry about Pelfrey until instructional league.

Only move these A and B prospects in a deal for a big bat who could be around a few years, e.g. Adam Dunn.

REYES: If the Mets see him as a leadoff guy, he'll have to get the PAs there. However, he may be served by batting down in the order for a few weeks to get his head together.

RANDOLPH: It's frustrating to watch him bat utility guys, e.g. Anderson, Woodward, ahead of Wright. At times it seems Willie has gotten more out of this team than he should have, but right now it seems like he's getting less.

He's starting to get the bullpen out of it it's misshapen mess. Wouldn't Padilla make more sense than Koo? I mean, Ring has more of a future with this club than Koo. Both lefties are as likely to walk a lefty batter as to get him out.

The Mets have only one immediate need; 1B.
2B is not a need - they have a half dozen good internal options there for next year.  
CA will eventually be a need - I'd like to land a young guy like Kelly Shoppach, Russ Martin, Navarro, etc, for the future there, but I'd also consider offseason FA options like Kenji Johima or Roberto Hernandez.  However, Piazza is doing the job for now.  He's not throwing out runners, but he knows the hitters and handles the pitchers well, and provides some offense.  I'm not sure I wouldn't bring him back for at least one more season.

Alot of fans overestimate their own propects, and are underestimating what it would take to get a guy like Overbay.  I'd offer Bannister, Diaz, and Milledge.

I don't think it gets done for much less.  I had some thought that they might have some interest in Kaz Ishii, who isn't good, and wouldn't be a major part of a deal, but he could be an inexpensive piece over the next couple of years for a low budget team, and not a bad stopgap for a rebuilding team until a younger player is ready.     But now that they've added Thoma Ohka, and demoted Gary Glover, there's no way; that rotation is too good.  Neither Aaron Heilman or Tom Glavine would crack that rotation.

Their bullpen is pretty sound too; but they could add one or two more arms there - Jorge DeLaRossa has great potential but probably should be honing it in AAA.  And Wes Obermueller never was any good.  They should lose him.  Heilman would fit nice in that role, and I might part with him if it means I can keep Milledge.

I think I'd consider Heilman, Diaz, & Petit a decent offer.

Otherwise, I'd generally consider Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Floyd, Cameron, Pedro, Benson, & Zambrano core players who would generally be untouchable.  You don't need to do too much to build on that successfully, just upgrade the few major underperformers (1B & 2B), and solidify the back end of the rotation (Jae Seo is a better starting pitcher right now than Glavine, Heilman, or Ishii) and you can have a contending team there.

The bullpen is continuing to come together, and I think I'd keep trying to address that mainly with young arms from the farm.  But in the offseason, I might consider a run at an elite guy like B.J. Ryan.  It took them long enough, but at least they've finally cleaned most of the junk out of there (DeJEan?? Aybar??).