Carlos Del-Got-It!

Since June 27th, slightly one week after Willie Randolph was fired from the New York Mets, Carlos Delgado has been one of the best hitters, leading all the majors with 65 RBIs during that span. It looks like the tale of two Carlos'. Prior to the Willie firing, Delgado was hitting .229 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. Very dim numbers for a power hitting slugger like Delgado. The New York Mets, coincidentally were in fourth place and one game under .500 at the time. And then things changed. Jerry Manuel becomes the new Manager of the Mets, replacing Willie and the new Carlos Delgado becomes the slugger and spark plug the Mets needed replacing the old Carlos Delgado. No one has admitted or stated that the firing of Randolph was what got Delgado going, but having Jerry Manuel as a coach made things a little easier because there was no more discussions everyday of when Willie would be gone and the team could now focus on baseball and winning. Manuel is an honest guy, who tells it like it is and he has no problem calling out players on their mistakes and on their accomplishments. Manuel doesn't play contracts he plays the hot hand, so for instance when Delgado was struggling, Manuel moved him down in the batting order, ignoring his big contract, but knowing that would allow Delgado to adjust and get back to form. That is exactly what happened and when Delgado stayed hot, Manuel moved him back up in the order and neither of them have looked back since. These are the things that Coaches and Managers do to get the most out of their teams and its also being able to trust your abilities and your communication skills as a Manager that will spawn success. Delgado has flourished and as recent as last night (Sunday, September 7th), he has been the difference maker in big games, hitting home runs and lifting the team on his back and carrying them to a win. He has driven in runs when the Mets were down and he has made defensive plays at first base that some people were shocked to see, given his shaky fielding history. All of these positive things going on around Delgado are so much more important now, because the Mets have to make a decision on his contract at the end of the season. They can either buy him out for $4 million or they can pick up his option and pay him $12 million. This is an $8 million decision, but when you think about what he has done and if the Mets make the playoffs, it is more like a no brainer decision. There aren't many first baseman out in the market, other then Mark Texeira, that the Mets can afford to bring in. Delgado's numbers so far rival those of any first baseman out there currently and he ends up being cheap compared to that of a free agent like Texeira, who will be demanding a hefty amount of money. To be able to have a veteran leader like Carlos Delgado on your team is hard to come by. A lot of baseball teams are young and don't have a veteran leading them with his voice and his bat and glove simultaneously. The Mets will need Carlos next year, especially with the emergence of young players like Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, Mike Pelfrey, Jose Reyes and David Wright. When teams talk about their future and their young talent, they are talking about investments and they always hope they can surround them with veterans like Delgado to protect those investments.