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Yesterday, Mets 1B Carlos Delgado spoke with reporters on a conference call to talk about last season, next season and his charity Extra Bases.
Delgado had the following to say about…
…whether his team needs a player like Johan Santana…
“I never use the word ‘need’ just because we really don’t need anything but oxygen, but it would be nice to have a guy like Johan Santana. I’m not going to lie to you. When you bring a guy of that caliber, obviously its going to make a team better. But what is he going to cost you would be the next question….We have a great team. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t like to have him, but if it doesn’t work out, we have to go out and play with what we got. And I believe that we have enough with what we’ve got…If we can get him for the right price, in the right trade, I’m not Omar here, I think it would be great.”
…on his previous comments about the team being bored, turning the page and looking towards next season…
“We need to be able to stay focused for 162 games. I know it sounds like a cliché, but I think that’s what happened…
“We played good baseball from the get-go, we were doing good, we knew we had a good team, we had a good lead, and it got to a point where we didn’t stay focused enough to continue to compete the way we were competing - and I think that’s going to be the biggest lesson for 2008 - nobody is going to hand you anything on a silver platter, you have to go out and get it…
“I know that you learn from the past and learn from your mistakes, but it gets to a point where you have to say, “You know what, enough reflection.” This is a new season and we’ve got to get it going. We’ve got to get 2007 over with, turn the page and start focusing on 2008…it doesn’t make any sense to cry over spilled milk…I think everybody was disappointed, but by the same token, we’re very hungry to get back to where we were.
“It was very disappointing because we know we had the best team. I believe that we still have a great team. The nucleus of our ballclub remains pretty much the same, we’ve done it before, we just have to go out and do it again, but we have to play six months. Actually we’d like to play seven months.”
…more on what he means by a lack of focus…
“I don’t want to say we took it for granted because we don’t really take anything for granted. But we kind of assumed - for lack of a better team - that we were going to win…We kind of didn’t play it out the last three weeks. This is my best guess, because if I knew exactly what had happened, I would have said or done something to not allow it to happen. If I look back, that’s the only thing I can think of. If I see it next year, we’re definitely going to be more aware of it…
“I don’t think it had anything to do with things away from the ballpark. I don’t think it had anything to do with extracurricular activities. You get to a point, and when you’re an athlete at this level, you just got to narrow your mind and go out and do what you’ve got to do. Don’t have any other stuff in your mind. To win that game, instead of thinking, when we get to the playoffs, we might play this or that…We can only control what we can control, which is go out and play good baseball and forget about what other people do…
“Like I said, it doesn’t end on Aug. 30 or Sept. 15. We have to go all the way into October and that’s what we’re going to do in 2008…We can talk about 2007 all we want and try to figure out exactly what happened. But you know what? It doesn’t really change anything. I’m not saying that to minimize it, but if we continue to talk about 2007 in 2008 chances are we’re going to be thinking about something we shouldn’t be thinking about, which is going out and playing good baseball and trying to win as many games as we can…Essentially that’s the message for our team, that’s the message for our fans…We’re going to make it better in 2008 and that’s the bottom line.”
…on whether he is a leader on this team…
“Every time I talk about leadership, it’s a very sensitive issue because being vocal when you don’t need to be vocal, it doesn’t make things great either. We have to deal with each situation as it presents itself. From spring training, we’ve got to get our common goal, which is to win and try to get everybody on the same page and try to get everybody to buy into that. If something needs to be said from that point, obviously I’m not afraid to say it…I feel confident enough if I have to go up to somebody and tell them whatever, I feel confident enough in saying that…If I see something, I will definitely point it out. Unfortunately for you guys, you’ll never hear it from me, but it will be done.”
…his poor performance…
“I had a horrible year, and I don’t think I have an excuse…I did not make the adjustments when I needed to make the adjustments. It got to a point where I was thinking too much about what I was doing wrong instead of just going out and playing the game.”
Delgado fractured his hand after being hit by a pitch during the season’s final game.
He said the hand is doing well and he expects to be at full strength when he reports to Port St. Lucie next month, adding, “I’m back to where I want to be, where I was before the injury.”
For more on Delgado, read the Star-Ledger, the Daily News, the Associated Press, Newsday, and New York Times.
I kinda wish he said his wrist was bothering him and feeling better toward the end when he got hot… saying his timing was off is scarier to me
Why? When you have injuries, especially to you hands/wrists, you swing gets a little distorted. It takes some time to get your timing back. I think it’s normal.
You answered your own question. I wish he based it more on his injuries rather than his mental approach, which is more a sign of age than injury.
or its a combo…and it may have to do that he was dealing with a new child, which he’d never had…
I’m not saying its right..but …that could be what put him off…
I don’t think his mental approach is a sign of age…I think the injuries are more a sign of age..but not when they are from a broken wrist or whatever
I would agree with the mental approach being a sign of age if he was like 98 years old and bordering on senility.
I would think that the problems with his approach were due to adjustments his body had to make to compensate for his injury, which if you all recall, was a concern coming into the season.
I think Delgado is hungry and ready to have a huge season. Bat him 5th and Alou 6th. Now we just need a 2, 7, and 8 hitter.
I would argue that we have a 2 hitter already. Castillo fits that mold quite well. I think that Church and Schneider will surprise us.. at least I hope that they will. Church had 43 doubles last year with 15hr’s in RFK. That should translate to some where around 35 doubles and 20 hr’s in shea. Wright had 40 doubles and 30 hrs. Not too bad. Schneider had a better OBP than Lo duca.. yeah that is all I can say about his offense.
I’m so on the fence about Castillo though. Just the thought of having a guy in the 2-hole that poses no threat to hit a home run. I mean, zero threat. I aaaaalmost would have rather had Eckstein. I say aaaalmost because I don’t know if I would have made it through the season or jumped from the Mezzanine onto the field because the way he winds up and throws the ball with all his weight behind it, barely reaching first base is really annoying. Now imagine watching him do that from 2B.
So players only get injured or play until they are 98? Players don’t lose their timing without injury in their mid-30’s ever? Sorry dannyb, but that is a dumb comment. Timing being off and being unable to adjust mentally all season is a sign of age.
i agree it is probably due to injury, and if so he’ll be fine, but I just wish he made a mention of it causing him to have to adjust instead of us all assuming it was.
letsgetmetsmerized…
i wouldn’t be so quick to call his comment “dumb”…
he was stating that typically you don’t lose your mental ability at 35-36 years old…seriously…i’m only 27 but if you lost your mental capabilities at 35…the world would be a much differnet place…how many CEO’s and high ranking officials do you see in their 20’s??
And as I mentioned in my post..lets remember that maybe his mental ability wasn’t there because of problems in his personal life that he didn’t wanna say…
Your a bit quick to call someone else “dumb” …. re read your own statements, people can find just as many holes in your argument as his
mrose,
That’s exactly what I meant. I think players break down at the age of 36-38 because their physical gifts diminish, not because they are mentally too old.
Don’t believe me?
Exhibit A: Barry Bonds
Exhibit B: Roger Clemens
Did these guys use PED’s because they were broken down mentally? Well, Roger didn’t actually use. It was really B-12.
not to disagree mrose, but mental acuity is probably at its sharpest while you’re young. of course, i’m not saying that 35 is old, but the ceo is a bad example b/c they’re more in place in an experienced/representative role. YOUNG people are the motors of any company. The greatest works are often accomplished by young males.
but in this case, it makes no difference. delgado is fine. maybe he has no zeal for the game.
Are you insinuating that he may be bored?
lol
anyway..points guy, good point and your right..probably not a great example..
it may be that I sit near the CEO of my company….
and i sit on this site all day …lol
So maybe he is senile? Wow, I was wrong. My bad Metsmerized.
*talking to self like an almost captured superhero* Hmmmm, must think of something else to disagree with you about. Can’t not have last word. Nice name.
Letsgetmetsmerized……yea, nice name.
I fully expect Delgado to have a respectable bounce back season next year. Something like .275, 30, 100. It is a walk year. Some people on here want to preach that he is done but never look at his stats. From July to the end of the season last year he hit .297 with very respectable OBP and OPS numbers. He will continue to be a streaky hitter, he got hot at the right time last year but the pitching staff went ice cold. He can not carry a team an entire season but he can carry them for a week at a time, that’s fine with me considering the lack of options right now.
I agree.. He is going to have a good year, partly because of it being his walk year but he is going to be healthy (at least at the beginning) this year. I can see 275 30 and 100. Hopefully he can make it more like 280 35 115.. Either way I will take it. Then it is off to DH land in the AL. He is very streaky, but we can always move him between fifth and sixth in the order.
You mean bat him 5th and a half?
But we kind of assumed - for lack of a better team -
Strategically placed typo?
Can’t really say I know which Delgado is going to show up next year…I really wish the dude could adjust his swing somehow to go the other way, that groundball to the second baseman standing in rightfield is so tiresome to watch…
Here is your remedy for the overshift….bunt. If he could put a bunt down the 3rd base line and be successful 3 out of 4 times or even 2 out of 4 times, teams wouldn’t do it anymore. Baseball is, and has always been a game of OBP and AVG. Just get on base Carlos.
I saw him do that in early April against Philly, and it was beautiful. Sadly, he never tried it again the rest of the season.
I remember that. It was in the opening series at Shea, right? Possibly even the home opener?
I understand that he was the cleanup hitter at the time and you don’t want your cleanup hitter doing that, etc. But if they want to shift, you bunt. Just like, if they want to bunt, throw the pitch high and tight. If they want to run the ball, stack the box. If they pull the goalie, you shoot at the open net.
It’s a free single.
Yeah, it was last year’s Home opener.
Somebody needs to explain that free single concept to Carlos, if they did, he might hit .400.
Hopefully the person explaining it to him isn’t the same one that explained it to Giambi (as my Yankee fan friends used to go nuts when he didn’t try to beat the shift as well).
Giambi could care less about beating the shift…he was too busy doing “that stuff” ….
“the cream” or “the clear”?
For all the abuse Giambi has taken, I have more respect for him than any other alleged user. He came clean about it and did the right thing. Clemens is still denying it. Who has got the better character and makeup now?
Giambi seems like a swell guy, he didn’t use the fashionable “I thought it was a B-12 shot” excuse LOL
“Giambi seems like a swell guy”
Not anymore. His hat size has shrunk by 1/2 size.
“The team asked that I refrain from posting quotes until today”
Well this (”SNY will have no editorial control - nor will they be able to directly alter how the site looks and feels. “) lasted about a month.
Bravo Matt!
umm
wow…
idiot… lets see, he still is posting news he gets from espn, or other sites or just digs from reporters…but he gets the opportunity to BE on conference calls (which he didn’t really get prior to this deal) and hes asked to refrain…and now SNY has control??
Yes, you understood that perfectly.
They let him inside the tent, but made it conditional on control the content (maybe not the words exactly, but what he was allowed to print, and who knows, maybe the content too). Once matt accepted, SNY was controlling the content of the site.
wait, i’m actually not sure if your being sarcastic and agreeing with me, or if your agreeing with that person…
Stickguy, newsflash. People in the media deal with embargos all the time. This in no way reflects a lack or loss of independence. Get a clue.
I have plenty of clues. You actually just agreed with me. Writers deal with conditions all the time, and willingly cede some control over to the team in order to be included in th