First Base

Carlos Delgado is back in camp. It appears as though his hip is fine and he should be good to go, at least at some point. The question is, what Carlos Delgado will we get this year?

A number of my friends think last year was a fluke. They say with injuries and becoming a new father, this type of year was bound to happen. To his credit, they say, he did not complain or look for excuses. This year they say he will come through big time.

That would be fun to see. If Delgado returns to his past form, the player who not only hits homeruns and not only hits for power but has a strong batting average and is a difficult out, it could be a lot of fun. That certainly adds potency to the lineup.

Unfortunately, I have my doubts. I hope my friends are right but I have concern that we are seeing a Mike Piazza deterioration. What I mean by that is, Piazza should only be praised by Met fans. He brought a lot to the table, to the game and to the Mets. He became the face of the franchise. Still, he stayed a little too long. I am not a ‘What have you done for me lately,” type fan. Piazza deserves a lot of credit and respect. Still, he hung on too long. Hopefully we are not seeing Delgado at the end of his career, at least the good years. I have concerns, however, that this is a possibility.

Then the question is, who plays first base for you? I don’t have a good answer. I know the Mets want to see if they can get Jose Valentin to learn the position. Still, this means he has to heal from injury, learn a new position and put up better numbers than Delgado.

I guess there is the possibility of moving David Wright to first base. Teach Ruben Gotay to play third and see how that works. This, too, is not a great idea as you have too many players out of position. Still, beyond these two ideas, I am not sure what the Mets consider.

Well, if Delgado is back to true form, it makes all of this speculation moot!