-We could talk about another Mets win over the Cardinals last night- this time by a 10-8 count to make it six straight. That puts the NL’s best team at 29 games over .500 (77-48). There really isn’t much this team does wrong. They have a lethal lineup which has been well documented in this column before. When you have Carlos Beltran with 38 home runs and over 100 RBI’s, Carlos Delgado with 31 dingers and 86 RBI’s along with David Wright’s 22 HR and 90 RBI’s, you’re going to be pretty tough to pitch to. But as much as those three have been one of baseball’s best middle of the orders, you have to look at what leadoff man Jose Reyes is doing. Lately, the 23 year-old shortstop has been on a tear with three multi-hit games, four HR, 10 RBI’s and three steals in the last eight games. Alright. So if you actually broke it down, three big nights is largely responsible for it including that three homer game in a losing effort against the Phillies. But if you look at when the Mets are winning games, Reyes is usually the lightning rod for their offense. A year removed from only drawing 27 walks and a .300 on-base percentage, the talented Dominican already has 43 walks and lifted his OBP 50 points. Combine with that the power increase (15 HR, 65 RBI’s) along with a second consecutive season of 50-or-more stolen bases (52) and you have one of the most dangerous players in the game. There’s even been some MVP talk for New York’s other shortstop. And why not? How many leadoff men can hurt opponents so many different ways? We haven’t even mentioned the 23 doubles or league-leading 15 triples. Reyes also is hitting .294 which is 21 points better than last year. Look at the improvement the last three years:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7066/career;_ylt=AvcNH5RQpffo273R0Dpfdb2FCLcF 

There’s also his increased production in pressure situations this season which makes a solid case to be put in the MVP discussion with Beltran, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7066/situational;_ylt=AsT1kXEPfMpjkxn7uoVyp2eFCLcF 

So is he good enough to overcome the power of the other candidates? Well, if Derek Jeter can beat out Big Papi, anything’s possible.

-It’s amazing how things can change. A week ago, we were talking up the Dodgers as possibly the one Senior Circuit team who might be able to challenge the Mets. Now, they’ve lost three in a row and the Padres are just a game out. Oh. And did we mention the Giants have suddenly reeled off three straight to close within four? Only in the bizarre NL West can this actually be possible.

-Meanwhile, the Cards are clinging to a one game lead over the wild card-leading Reds. And the Padres are just a game out of the WC. Plus the Phils have been playing better ball and are two back. You could just flip a coin to figure out who’s going to come out on top in these wild and wacky races.

-Alfonso Soriano 40/40 Watch:  HR-41 SB-30 GR-35

-The Yankees remain 6.5 up on the Red Sox. I still wouldn’t write off Boston yet. Let’s see what happens when they get back Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon for the stretch drive. There’s still that big four-game series at the Stadium coming up. Of course, it doesn’t help the Sox that Manny Ramirez is acting weird by calling up scorekeepers about getting an extra hit after his team gets swept five. Plus he’s also leaving games early with weird injuries. Ah. It’s Manny being Manny. You can say what you want about the guy but he’s one of the greatest hitters of this generation. A Hall of Fame lock.

-Early return on Bobby Abreu: 23 GP, .393, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 19 BB, 7 SB, .505 OBP

The throw-in Cory Lidle hasn’t been bad either:  4 GS, 2-2, 2.82 ERA, .216 BAA

So far, WFAN’s Chris Russo and myself have been wrong on Lidle.

-The Yanks placed starter Mike Mussina on the DL Wednesday retroactive to Monday due to a strained right groin he suffered in last Sunday’s start against Boston. He was 13-5 with a 3.61 ERA. It’s precautionary more than anything. With a comfortable division lead, they can afford this luxury. Meanwhile, the Bronx Bombers finally came to their senses and released Sidney Ponson.

-If Jeter knocks in over 100 and the Yanks win the AL East, is that good enough to take MVP over Papi who will probably wind up with 55 home runs and 150 RBI’s?

-So Terrell Owens reinjured his left hamstring in practice and now might not be able to return to Dallas until their season opener on September 10 at Jacksonville. For a guy who usually is really fit, doesn’t it seem odd that he’s hardly been able to get on the field? What kind of training did he do coming into this camp?

-I really want Andre Agassi to go out with one last run at his final grand slam when the U.S. Open kicks off next Monday. But when you see that his potential second round opponent could be Marcos Baghdatis and a fourth round foe might be Andy Roddick or Lleyton Hewitt, there’s almost no chance for the aching two-time Open champ and eight-time slam winner to make such an improbable run.