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Delgado's big day a mere aberration

Ken Davidoff

June 28, 2008

Say this for Mets fans: They keep you humble.

Carlos Delgado strode to home plate in the bottom of the first inning Friday night, king of the world, drawing a standing ovation from the home crowd. He had earned it, after homering twice and setting a team record with nine RBIs in the Mets' 15-6 dismantling of the Yankees in the Yankee Stadium portion of the two-stadium doubleheader.

Seconds later, when Delgado offered a meek, inning-ending bouncer to first base to strand two runners, the Mets faithful reverted to its standard Delgado-booing.

We don't know for sure, but you've got to guess that the fans got this one right. That Game 1 will go down as a memorable aberration in this downward slope of Delgado's career bell curve, rather than serving as a springboard for the 36-year-old's revival; he went 0-for-2 with two walks in the Mets' 9-0 Game 2 loss to Sidney Ponson, of all people.

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That, come season's end, Delgado's statistics might look decent, the product of a few more binges. But that he'll leave the Mets, nonetheless, trailed by a cloud of disappointment.

Or, as Jerry Manuel said before Game 1, "I think he's been somewhat of an enigma for me."

You should know that after this amazing game - in which Delgado established not only the Mets' one-game mark but a personal best - Delgado turned down SNY broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt's request for an interview.

Is it because SNY's game broadcasters have been critical of Delgado? Perhaps. He has gotten hammered pretty much everywhere, but he spoke to the rest of us after Game 1. Enigmatic, indeed.

In the wake of that monster Game 1, Delgado entered Game 2 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs, putting him on pace for 27 homers and 91 RBIs.

"That was a good day for him," Manuel said.

Before the game, the Mets' interim manager said: "I'm hopeful that Carlos can get hot and be able to carry the team for a period of time ... There are times when he hits some quality, quality fastballs out of the park, and there are times when he misses. So with that being said, there is still hope that he can get it done and we can unlock what it is that he needs to do to stay consistent for a period of time."

Asked whether he can meet Manuel's wish of "carrying the team," Delgado responded: "I think we've got so many guys who can do that. When a guy gets hot, you can carry a team. We've got some guys who can carry a team. Beltran can carry a team. David Wright can carry a team. Myself. We need to get hot, but we need to get guys on base."

Delgado added, "I got lucky" in Game 1, and though that's not giving himself enough credit, you can't ignore that Delgado's record-breaking RBI tally came against Edwar Ramirez (two-run double in the fifth), Ross Ohlendorf (grand slam in the sixth) and LaTroy Hawkins (three-run homer in the eighth).

Ohlendorf was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre immediately after the game, Hawkins figures to be traded or released soon and Ramirez certainly is going to blow no one away with his fastball.

Mets fans have taken on Delgado this year as much for his body language as his stats. The way he barely seems to move on balls hit in his vicinity. The way his shoulders slump after a strikeout. He seems to be a different guy from the freethinking, note-taking, ball-raking leader who first came here in 2006.

Wright, always the optimist, praised his teammate. Said Wright: "He's a guy that, when he gets hot, he gets stupid hot. He can be one of the best run-producers in the league."

Maybe. Probably not. But for one glorious afternoon in the Bronx, at least, Delgado entered his personal time tunnel, padded his impressive resume and won the Mets a ballgame.

All it took was a trip over the Triborough Bridge, however, for normalcy to return.