Predictions for Second Half

As promised yesterday, here are some predictions for the rest of the season:

— The Mets will indeed trade Carlos Beltran without having to pick up any salary for the rest of the season.
— Jose Reyes will be back, and while he won’t be as torrid as he was in the first half, he’ll still lead the league in batting at .335 and hits with 210.
— If Ike Davis is able to come back — a big “if” — he will play very well.
— David Wright will come back , struggle initially, then have a strong September.
— Johan Santana will be back in mid-August — his velocity will be down but he’ll tough it out and go 6-2 with a 3.50 ERA.
— Jason Bay, with six homers now, will finish the season with 12 — his power may be gone forever.
— Chris Capuano will get hurt.
— Despite recent struggles in Double-A, Matt Harvey will get a September call-up and will be lights-out.
— Bobby Parnell, looking so much better lately, will be an effective closer.
— Dillon Gee and Jonathon Niese will pitch well — Mike Pelfrey will not.

As far as the team record, I will stick with my pre-season prediction — 81-81, third place in the NL East.