Everyone is certainly aware of Delgado's struggles last year, to the tune of home run and RBI totals 14 and 33 below his career average, respectively.
Delgado didn't just drop off randomly; he was hurt. He denied it, and such speculation was generally dismissed by many people in the Mets organization, but his ongoing recovery from off-season hand surgery clearly hampered him, particularly when he tried to get around on high, inside fastballs. This was a visible problem all year. Delgado came through with a big hit now and then, and his numbers were fairly respectable for a Major League first baseman, but league average was a steep drop for Delgado from the dominant force he was at times in 2006, and he basically became a mistake hitter. I'm not sure I remember Delgado hitting any "pitcher's pitches" last year, and any smart reliever in the late innings knew that all he had to do was throw Delgado a belt-high fastball on the inside corner and Carlos was sure to choke. In short, even while finishing the year with 20 plus home runs and nearly 100 RBI, Delgado felt like a liability because he consistently failed to come through in the clutch and he was a shadow of his former self.
And every time he got into any sort of groove, it seemed like he got hurt again. Last September, he was heating up when the same hip injury that kept him out for the beginning of the spring sidelined him just as the Mets were beginning their tailspin into oblivion.
Delgado is well on his way to losing it as a hitter, primarily because his body is breaking down. He's always been streaky; he slumped miserably through parts of 2006 even as he hit 38 home runs and drove in 114. But right now it honestly feels like he's reached the point of no return.
Throughout the past few months Delgado and Willie Randolph continued to insist that last year was a total aberration for Carlos and had nothing to do with him being hurt. In one interview, Willie waxed poetic about how the majority of his struggles had to do with a lack of an ability to take control in the batter's box. Delgado was playing the pitcher's game, not his - always dangerous for any major league hitter. And Delgado, without addressing Willie's opinion, talked about how hard he's been working this off-season to come back strong in '08.
But a good deal of Delgado's inability to "take control in the batter's box" would seem to come back to his inability to get around on a high inside fastball. If a pitcher knows exactly what pitch is sure to get a given hitter out in absolutely every situation, that hitter is going to have a hard time "taking control in the batter's box" from at-bat to at-bat, game to game, series to series.
Delgado didn't finish an at-bat this spring without striking out until his four hitless at-bats today. By many accounts, Delgado '08 looked a lot like Delgado '07 through those first five at-bats, struggling with - you said it - the high, inside fastball.
The league is on notice. He's going to get even more of these pitches this year than he did last year. And whether he's hurt, or just old, or whatever, Carlos Delgado will continue to deteriorate as long as he keeps getting the high inside fastball and can't hit it. By all indications, it's going to be another long, frustrating year for Carlos, and for Mets fans watching him - especially if he continues to be hurt while maintaining that he's fully healthy.
Delgado looks to be in a state of irrevocable decline. The Mets would be wise to trade him if they could, but they're not going to find a taker, and they probably won't try to find one either. What might be more realistic, and would thus be especially prudent under the circumstances, would be for the Mets to find a credible reinforcement at first. Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley are nice utility players, but they probably won't be able to pick up the slack. Neither will Jose Valentin, if he makes the team. Omar Minaya's been good the past few years at finding the type of guy the Mets now need to back up first base; perhaps he'll be able to pull something off now.
2008 looks promising, but the Mets are in sort of a first base quandary. Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section for what you think Omar and Willie should do to manage a situation that looks like it might end up being a chronic problem.
(Picture courtesy nycsportsnews.com)
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