New York Mets

How much playing time will Angel Pagan get now that Beltran is back?

Should Beltran play in right field leaving Jeff Francoeur the odd man out?

Jason Bay isn’t hitting for power, so should he become the fourth outfielder?

Shouldn’t the Mets trade one of their outfielders for a starting pitcher?

Whoa people. Slow down a bit.

The news that Carlos Beltran will start his rehab assignment on Thursday has kicked off a great deal of speculation about playing time in the Mets’ outfield.

After an offensive outburst last night—their biggest since 2008, scoring 14 runs—the Mets will hand the ball to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey tonight. The Mets are 10-3 so far in interleague play and will go for the series win against Jeremy Bonderman and the Detroit Tigers.

You know by now that there are two pretty appetizing starting pitching options on the Mets' radar right now. 

Those two, obviously, are Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.  Both are outstanding pitchers on underachieving teams that are trying to dump them in order to clear payroll or to acquire young talent. 

But which one is better for the Mets, both for now and down the road?

NEW YORK— It was muggy, there was a huge thunderstorm, but none of that slowed the Mets down on Tuesday night. Facing Detroit Tigers' ace Justin Verlander, after not scoring in 15 straight innings against the Yankees, the Mets' bats exploded.

They put up two quick runs in the first after the first two batters. Jose Reyes dribbled one to third and beat out a hit, Angel Pagan drove him in with a long triple to center. He then scored on a David Wright sacrifice fly, making it 2-0, but the Mets were just getting started.

Lady Gaga, please stay away from baseball games and don’t come back to Yankee Stadium or Citi-Field again.

The New York Mets' Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey told the New York Daily News on Tuesday that they would in so many words welcome Seattle pitcher Cliff Lee with open arms.

It has been reported that Carlos Beltran worked out in front of Omar Minaya and the New York Mets training staff on Sunday.

Beltran showed his hitting and base-running ability. Beltran impressed Minaya and the medical staff. They believe that he is ready to move on to the next step of his rehabilitation. Exactly what rehab is needed and when it will start is uncertain. It is possible that the next step is a minor league rehab assignment.

Minaya and Beltran are supposed to talk to the Mets' head doctor later this week to come up with a plan of action.

The marquee pitching names of the 2010 trade deadline seem to be all of the talk. The final destinations of starters Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt have been under the microscope for weeks now. The Mets seem to be in line to make a move on a starter to help solidify their rotation.

There is the criticism over a deal for Lee or Oswalt that the Mets would be dealing far too many prospects that have a future with club.

On this day 23 years ago, one of the greatest players in baseball history hung up his cleats one final time, announcing to the world that he had no more competitive pitches left in his arm.

Despite being a near unanimous first-choice Hall of Fame inductee and one of the all-time greats, Tom Seaver does not get the recognition he deserves.

His 311 wins only barely gets him a spot in the top 20 list of career victories and his total of 3,640 strikeouts is topped by five other pitchers, including one who has 2,000 more Ks to his name.

NEW YORK –  It's getting awfully hot out there and the Mets will open up a six-game home stand starting tonight against the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander's blazing fastball.

For the Mets, this home stand against the top two teams in the A.L. Central, the Tigers and Twins, will be a proving ground for who they are.