4. Center Field - Carlos Beltran

2007 Stats: GP: 144, Hits 153, Runs: 93, HR: 33, RBI: 112, OBP: .353, AVG: .276, SB: 23

After mild rumblings of MVP in 2006 for the NY Mets Center Fielder, Beltran followed up in 2007 with a solid campaign. Carlos Beltran is turning into the prototypical power hitter the Mets have needed since Mike Piazza’s decline at the 4 spot in the lineup. The Mets are looking for another season of the same, and hopefully something a little closer to his 2006 stat line. While every team doesn’t have the luxury of having Beltran bat 4th, plenty of teams have guys who can hit 30 home runs and bat .276. What separates the good from the great is being able to produce in all 5 categories; power, average, speed, throwing arm, and fielding.

For the second year in a row Beltran proved himself to be the best of the best in the field. The Mets center fielder was again voted for the NL gold glove, and tied for the honors of best Center Fielder in the National League. Beltran’s ability to play stellar defense has given the New York Mets pitching staff extra security to pitch up in the zone and allow hitters to air out difficult fly balls. Carlos’ defensive abilities will also slow down extra base hits and possibly hold up would-be runs from attempting to take the extra base or try to score from first or second.
Again I was disappointed in 2007 that the New York Mets kept the shackles on him and did not allow him to steal more bases. I was mildly surprised to find that he did in fact end up with 23 steals, but he’s still quite a ways away from his former 30-30 campaigns back in Kansas City. I’m also confident that part of the reason he has been asked to stay put on the base paths is because of the power hitting RBI machines that bat behind him in the Mets lineup.

5. First Base – Carlos Delgado

2007 Stats: GP: 139, Hits 139, Runs: 71, HR: 24, RBI: 87, OBP: .333, AVG: .258

This aging star will turn 36 in June of the 2008 season, and the signs of his declining athletic abilities are starting to become so obvious it can no longer be ignored. Delgado has always been a go to guy for home runs and RBI, but last season he floundered and was unable to produce as expected. Often times his lack of production forced the Mets’ Willie Randolph to push Delgado down in the lineup and allow Shawn Green, Moises Alou, or someone else to bat 5th.
Delgado was obtained for one thing, to drive runs in. Averaging around 35 home runs a year for his career, Delgado’s 24 in 2007 was very sub-par. Managing 87 RBI was a decent start, but the Mets got him to drive in 100 runs a year, and right now he’s not getting it done. It’s rather odd that he performed out of his gourd one season, and then much more human in the others. I’ve had the thought that he could have possibly been juicing during his monster season in 2000, but that has not been verified by an independent source.

Unfortunately, the New York Mets are not the only team that is aware of Delgado’s depleting abilities. Because everyone else can see how terrible he’s become, his trade value has to be drastically reduced. Trading Delgado to a team in search of some veteran leadership could open up a roster spot for Fernando Martinez, and could also help secure some young talent to bolster the Mets bullpen.

The major problem Delgado had last year was his head in the ass terrible start to the season he had. He looked like a fat Lenny Harris out there and couldn’t hit the ball to save his life. After the first 6 weeks of the season hitting around .175, he spent the rest of the campaign trying to make up for it. Another terrible start like that should send off all sorts of flares and force the Mets to reconsider the first base situation. Can we teach Fernando Martinez to play first? Please?