As if the high associated with being in first place in the second week of September isn't enough to keep their juices flowing with every pitch and every at-bat, there is also a sense of amazement among the Mets these days at how Carlos Delgado has thrust himself into the NL MVP conversation according to New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden. "It is amazing what he's done this last month and a half," said Jose Reyes. "I know he's my MVP. Every time he swings his bat, it seems he does something good for this team." Wednesday night was no exception, as Delgado's sac fly in the seventh inning broke a tie in what turned out to be an unseemly 13-10 win over the Nationals that, combined with the Phillies' loss to Florida, increased the Mets' NL East lead to 3½ games. It is hard to find a player who has had more impact on his team's winning than Delgado. Since June 27, he has had 13 of his 15 game-winning RBI for the season — the Brewers' Prince Fielder has the most with 18 — and he has had four game-winning homers and one that tied a game. The Phillies' Ryan Howard leads the league in homers and RBI, but is certain to break his own strikeout record of 199, set last year. And has Howard really been more valuable to the Phillies than their closer, Brad Lidge, who has been perfect in save situations? No doubt, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa would nominate his first baseman, Albert Pujols, for MVP. But Pujols, who is second in the league in batting (one point behind Chipper Jones) and leads the league in slugging and on-base percentages, is hurt by the fact that opposing managers recognize him as possibly the most dangerous hitter in the game and, like Barry Bonds, is pitched around at every opportunity. Which brings us to something else Manuel has to be thankful for. So far, opposing managers haven't seemed to be awed by Delgado's hot streak. "I have not noticed the opposition treating him like he's hot," Manuel said. "They still want to attack him and, to be honest, that's a good thing for us." There are 17 games left in the season — and who can forget that last year the Mets were up seven with 17 to play? - but assuming the National League plays out as it is, the MVP race figures to resemble 1988 when the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson won the award despite ordinary stats — .290, 25 homers and 76 RBI. Although he failed to lead the National League in any hitting category that year, Gibson, who also stole 31 out of 35 bases, was credited by his teammates for being the inspirational force behind the Dodgers winning the NL West by seven games over the Cincinnati Reds. By contrast, the Mets won the NL East by 15 games over the Pirates, which kind of minimized Darryl Strawberry's league-leading 39 homers and 101 RBI. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b.../2008-09-11_untitled__madden11s-1.html?page=1
