My thoughts on the trades:

(First off, Aaron Gleeman pretty much sees most of the same way, and says it better.)

After much thought, I've made my decision that I hate the Zambrano trade more than the Benson trade. The Benson trade seems stupid to me, but trading Kazmir has the potential to go down as a disaster.

Kazmir is one of the best prospects in baseball. He's 20 years old and pitching very well at AA (31 ip, 19 h, 12 bb, 37 so, 0 hr, 1.45 ERA). If for some reason the Mets had really soured on Kazmir despite his dominance of AA, it seems like we should have been able to get a lot more. Zambrano is about to turn 29 and has a 4.43 ERA while leading the league in walks. Peterson may be able to improve Zambrano, but he presumably would have had some positive effect on Kazmir, too.

As for the Benson deal: Peterson and Huber both seem like decent prospects, although not outstanding. Huber is hitting very well in AA, but supposedly his defense might necessitate a move from catcher, which would hurt his value a lot. I really don't like trading Ty Wiggz. Wigginton is a solid hitter who can play 3 infield positions and possibly learn to play corner outfield, as well. The Mets have had a lousy bench for years, and Wiggy could have finally been part of the solution to that, giving us a solid utility guy for the next few years.
I have nothing against Benson, my gripe is with the fact that he's a free agent at the end of the year. We could have signed him anyway. And then we would've given up a draft pick. I'd rather keep Wigginton, Huber, and Peterson, and lose the pick.

-I think the Nomar deal is horrible for obvious reasons.

-I think the Dodgers got the better of the Marlins, although I think the trade is better for the Dodgers than it is bad for the Marlins because of their different needs. Mota had a career year last year, and even though his ERA is low again this year, his K and BB numbers are less encouraging. Penny is a big addition for LA, which doesn't have a great rotation for the playoffs.
Choi is a huge pickup. He's fairly young, cheap, and a very good hitter. And the OF went from Bradley-Roberts-Encarnacion to Bradley-Finley-Green, which is a nice improvement. Encarnacion stinks.
Brent Mayne is no Lo Duca, but Lo Duca has been a terrible second half player. For his career, his 1st half OPS is .840 and his second half is .686.

-The more I think about, the dumber the White Sox seem. Contreras has upside, but it seems like a huge risk to take on his salary for the next 2 years.