MVP

Carlos Delgado

You know it's true. And, by the way, he's got 1o runs batted in, in the last 10 games. And 9runs, and 11 hits. And is batting in those games .297. This called "hot." Very hot.

But for Carlos to be the MVP, the Metsies have to make the playoffs, and they have to win in the playoffs. That's much easier said than done, as last year demonstrated too thoroughly. They are, after the 9/9/08 game with the Natcionalistas, 2.5 games ahead of the Philately Philanthropists.

To win the division and make the playoffs (there's no other way to do that because Milwaukee leads the wild card race by a significant amount), the bullpen and the starting pitchers need to do what they didn't do tonight: turn off the other team's batting. Why is every call to the bullpen with this team a call to warm up the defibrillator? Goodness, the Metsies' pitching allowed the Nacionalistas, a team that has been mathematically eliminated from the pennant race, to score 8 runs on 12 hits tonight. They have to do much, much better in the remaining 18 regular season games, which, of course, include the final games at Shea Stadium.

Delgado Does It Again

Carlos Delgado, My Hero

This from the Mets:

For most of this season, Carlos Delgado was mired in a slump, with no reason to believe he could resurrect his past productivity at the plate.

Now, he's about as hot as a baseball player can be. And the Mets are cashing in.

Delgado hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning Thursday, leading the Mets to a 3-1 victory and a series win over the Phillies.

After pinch-hitter Robinson Cancel singled to lead off the eighth and Phillies reliever J.C. Romero intentionally walked David Wright, Delgado laced a pitch into the left field corner to plate both runners. Billy Wagner recorded the final three outs for the save.

Great. And if Carlos would only hustle in the field just a little bit, if he would run just a little bit harder on defense, if he would try just a little bit harder, I would be even more ecstatic. And the Mets might even look like a contender, rather than a bunch of superannuated, overpaid former stars.

An Apology To The Metserati

The Aging Clean Head Himself

For some strange reason, after I wrote the Mets off and said their season was over and that I'd never write about them again until 2009, they woke up. They have now won 8 in a row and are suddenly 6 games over .500. They are in second place exactly .5 game behind the overachieving Philadelphia Philatelists. Tomorrow is the last game before the All Star break. Can the Metropolitans make it 9 in a row? Who knows? Can the Philadlephia Philanthropists not give away first place? Stay tuned.

And Carlos Delgado, my aging hero, the clean headed bellweather of this team? Since July 2, he's batting .325 with 2 honrons and 5 RBI. Much better. Much, much better. And his season average now stands at an almost but not really respectable .246. Things are improving. Maybe some time in the next month Carlos will get his jersey dirty. Then the playoffs are certain to be a lock.

And so, in fairness, I apologize to the Metseratti and the Mets themselves. I apologize particularly to Carlos Delgado. Lo siento. Mi culpa. I'm sorry. It was my fault. I was wrong about you.

I hope the team continues to play well and that it ends up in the World Series. In the possible and maybe even probable event that they don't, I'll retract my apology and write about how they stunk continually with a possible exception for their string in early July and that it was all somehow, though I love him, Carlos Delgado's fault. I wouldn't be a Mets fan if I couldn't do that.

The Mets: Just Mediocre

Nothing To Celebrate

Like other fans of the Metropolitanitos, I thought 2008 might just be The Year. I thought they were old, yes, but talented. I thought they would make up for last year's terrible fade. I thought they'd be a playoff team at the least and maybe, just maybe, win it all. I thought they'd play hard and be exciting. Wrong. This team is mediocre, and if it keeps going the way it is now, it'll continue to play sub .500 ball through the All Star Break, through the entire regular season, until that ignominious day in September when they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I seriously doubt this team will make the playoffs. They're just not playing. They're below average.

There are so many things wrong it's not worth listing them. Just a highlight? How can a team score 15 runs in a day game and then play the same team at home and score 0? Don't ask. No. Let's forget the anecdotes, that will just get me disgusted. The Mets fired Willie. That was supposed to make a dramatic change. Did it? Not yet. The Mets are still 2 games below .500 at 39 wins and 41 losses. They play the Yanquis again today. More runs have been scored against them (378) than they have scored (375). They've lost 2 in a row. They are 5-5 in the their past 10. Did I say they were playing below .500? I'm afraid that this is how it goes until the end of the season. Why would it change? Why would they start playing? Nobody can imagine how that could happen.

By the way, there are 10 National League teams, including the Mets, playing less than .500 ball, and the National League East this year is terrible, so the Mets are still only 4 games behind the lackluster Phillies and the Fish and tied with the Braves. This could give fans hope, if they believe that somehow a team that is 6 or fewer games over .500 will win the division, or that the three rivals are going to continue to falter for the rest of the season. The Mets could, diehard fans might think, win the division if they turn it around soon. But, folks, that's just not going to happen. See, paragraph 1.

And my hero, the aging first baseman, former star Carlos Delgado? He of the career .278 batting average. He who hit .301 for the Fish in 2005. He who hit 38 homers in 2006 for the Mets. He had 9 RBIs in the day game on Saturday. A career day. Wonderful. But other than that game, he's been hitless since June 21, in 6 of the last 7 games, going 0 for 20. And his BA is now .230. I cannot blame the Mets' mediocrity on Carlos, but he sure is not helping things.