Whew!

Funny what the passing of a trade deadline will do...without any fear of being removed from the game, the bats all of a sudden came alive in the late innings of their 9-4 season saving (for now) victory.

Carlos Beltran even got in on the fun, with three hits and a game tying RBI against his old team. From scaredy cat to ferocious beast.

In fact, everyone of the starting eight had at lease one hit, and lineup slots 3-8 had at least two hits. A lot of it was taking advantage of the underbelly of the Houston bullpen, but the Mets knocked Roy Oswalt around pretty good too. Frustrating how the Mets make Roy Oswalt look like Ezequiel Astacio...and vice versa, no?

***

Well, now that Manny Ramirez trade rumors no longer holds the Mets' collective psyche held at gunpoint (not to mention the emotions of Mets fans around the world), it's time to review the moves that the Mets made at the trading deadline...

Lastings Milledge? Check.

Yousmeiro Petit? Check.

Brian Bannister? Check.

Gaby Hernandez? Mike Cameron? Braden Looper?

Check, check, check.

Wil Cordero?

All right, it's not all good news.

Manny would have been great. Maybe not as great as advertised, but great nonetheless, and worth the effort. The good news, obviously, is that the farm is intact.

The bad news for me, is that the Braves and Marlins filled middle relief holes while the Mets did nothing...in effect, the Mets weren't thinking small enough. You don't think the Mets could have used Kyle Farnsworth or Ron Villone for their bullpen? In a way, it speaks to the weakness of the depth of the farm system. The Braves, with all of the rookies they have contributing, are able to spare a Ramon Colon and a Zach Miner to reel in Farnsworth. The Marlins can turn Yorman Bazardo and Mike Flannery into the 35 year old Villone without worry. The Mets farm meanwhile represents the shrinking middle class...top flight prospects, or retreads...no matches to acquire small pieces. It's just more evidence that the Mets should have thought about selling some this deadline time.

What Minaya is banking on (not that he had much choice), is that with the weight of the deadline gone, the players on the roster will right the ship themselves. Yeah, there could be a waiver trade coming, but for the most part, this is it. And these players have been a .500 team all season, so why would Omar expect that to change anytime soon?

***

Have you seen a worse series of umpiring than what you saw this four game series?

***

Let's see, Kyle Farnsworth teams up with Leo Mazzone..."Wonder twin powers, ACTIVATE!"

***

Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! Officer, he said mean things about me!

***

Great news that Majelique Lewis is OK. Metaphorical that he ran away from Yankee Stadium and showed up in Queens, no? Rumor has it he was found wearing a David Wright jersey.

Just goes to show you that people will go through extreme lengths to jump bandwagons these days.