Quote: I think We think We’re the Team to Beat
In yesterday’s Game 1 loss to the Phillies, Carlos Delgado was hitless in four at bats.
However, during a win in Game 2, Delgado hit two home runs, along with a two-RBI single, accounting for four of the team’s six runs.
Delgado, regarding last night’s win, had the following to say when talking to reporters:
“This was a great game for us. It was very important for us, especially after we lost the first two in the series and I was able to come up in some key situations and with some big hits…I feel good…It is nice to contribute, but it’s been a great team effort. We’ve been able to play some great baseball and overcome some injuries and we’ve been resilient – and that pumps you up…
“We think we’re as good as anybody. I think we think we’re the team to beat. We think that what happened last year is not going to happen again, and we’re very confident we can get this done. It’s definitely a different atmosphere here, different feeling than what it was last year.”
Following his second home run yesterday, the fans at Shea Stadium cheered for a curtain call, which Delgado accepted.
For more on Delgado, or, ‘Mr. Curtain Call,’ as he writes, check out Kevin Kernan’s column in the New York Post, as well as Brendan Kuty’s column for SNY.
Later in the game, the crowd began cheering, ‘MVP, MVP,’ which Delgado told reporters was, ‘Very cool, I’m not going to lie.’
Delgado hit .248 in the first half of the season while averaging one home run every 20 at bats. However, so far in the second half, he is batting .288 while averaging one home run every 11 at bats.
Johan Santana, regarding Delgado, while speaking to reporters following last night’s game:
“He’s been great, man. He’s doing a great job. He has stepped it up big time for us, and he’s one of the reasons we are where we are right now.”
It really has been a tale of two seasons for Delgado.
So much so that, according to Peter Gammons during last night’s broadcast on ESPN, the Mets had serious talks in June about whether to cut Delgado following the All-Star break.
From what I can gather, had Delgado been released, his replacement could have been a player like Richie Sexson and Scott Hatteberg, among others, all of whom were free agents at the time.
