New York Mets

Last week, Roy Oswalt spoke publicly about wanting to be traded. He did not want to waste his final years playing for a terrible Astros team.

He wanted a shot to win a championship.

In New York, we get excited when a team ponders about trading a star player or when a player demands to be traded. We assume the Yankees and the Mets will get involved.

The New York Mets have long been without a presence of leadership and consistent confidence. You have to look back into Mets lore to find several players who exuded those attributes.

One of them is Edgardo Alfonzo. While with the Mets , he became a leader and an example. He was what is called "clutch."

After the Mets dominated the Phillies in the first two games of a three-game series, every team in the NL East is above .500, and separated by only three games. So, with the recent resurgence of New York, the silent emergence of the Nationals (sans Stephen Strasburg), and the struggling Phillies, the question is worth asking: Is the NL East that good, or that bad?

Let’s break it down.

The Good

It's almost Memorial Day, and a lot of Mets fans are getting really excited about the potential chance at a playoff run.

There is reason for that excitement as the Mets have put together a good home stand and have shut the Phillies out two straight games.

At the same time, there are a lot of things that the Mets will have to do well from now through the Trading Deadline to stay in the race.

The Mets have some starting pitching concerns and may have some issues in their lineup, concerning the oufield.

 It looking more and more like John Maine's and Ollie Perez days as Mets are numbered. With Hisanori Takahashi making batters look like fools with his double-pump leg-kick motion and deceptive change-up, and R.A. Dickey's ability to throw a knuckleball harder than Tim Wakefield, a new class of Mets pitchers are emerging and taking the reigns.

The Mets have shutout the Phillies in back-to-back games this week thanks to unexpected, but amazing performances by R.A. Dickey, and Hisanori Takahashi.

Takahashi

Takahshi has been especially impressive since joining the Mets rotation. In two starts against the Yankees and Phillies, he has pitched 12 shutout innings, struck out 11, and walked just one.

Opponents have a .540 OPS against him.

I think his rotation spot is safe for the time being.

Jose Reyes

The last time Edgardo Alfonzo was with the Mets organization was in 2006. That year he struggled in the minor leagues.

When it was clear he wasn’t going to have a chance to make it to Flushing, he departed for a brief stint with the Angels and then with the Blue Jays.

He lasted no more than 18 games with either team, and his combined OPS+ was minus-seven.

Back in February, when the Mets signed Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league contract, barely anyone noticed.

Now, almost two months into the season, Mets fans are enamored by his talents.

How unpredictable is the NL East right now? So much that every team has a winning record. The Mets, along with the Marlins and Nationals, are 24-23, good for a three-way tie for third place in the division.

The Braves are sandwiched in between those three teams and the first-place Phillies, whom the Mets will try and sweep tonight.

The Mets have been as shocking as it gets all season long. What they have done in the first two games of this series with the Phillies is bordering on impossible.

NEW YORK— For the second consecutive game, the Mets shutout the two-time defending National League champion Phillies. For the second consecutive start, Hisanori Takahashi shined for the Mets.