MVP Since the Trade Deadline

Yoenis Cespedes continued to be the locomotive pulling the Mets train on Wednesday night. His two-run home run (off Drew Storen) snapped a tie and gave the Mets the lead for the keeps as they capped a stunning three-game sweep in Washington. In each of the games, the Mets fell behind and then rallied to win. The three victories extended New York's division lead over the Nats to seven games, with just 23 to go.
Let's zoom in on Cespedes -- and the way he has energized the Mets offense since arriving in a deadline trade from Detroit.  He went 2-for-4 Wednesday night and 6-for-14 in the series  -- with two key home runs and seven RBIs. In the six weeks since he became a Met, the Cuban expat has hit 14 home runs, added 12 other extra base hits and driven in 36 runs... in 36 games!
The last couple of days, a hot topic on sports-talk radio is whether Cespedes deserves support for National League Most Valuable Player -- even though he joined the Mets on the 1st of August.
Production like his -- even if it's only for the final third of the season -- will draw attention in the MVP balloting. Especially since Cespedes' presence totally changed the way other teams view the Mets. Call it the Fear Factor, it's fair to say there isn't a pitcher in baseball eager to face the Cespedes right now.
These images are from the Mets/Dodgers game on July 25th when Cespedes homered (and then shared high-fives with teammate Kelly Johnson, whom he'd just driven in).


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