I thought Delgado was the fourth-most valuable Met ...

Behind Reyes, Wright, and Santana.

Then, I read Bill Madden's article, and it reminded me that Carlos Beltran is more valuable than Delgado.

So, Delgado is the fifth-most valuable Met:

"Wednesday night was no exception, as Delgado's sac fly in the seventh inning broke a tie in what turned out to be an unseemly 13-10 win over the Nationals that, combined with the Phillies' loss to Florida, increased the Mets' NL East lead to 3-1/2 games."

Wednesday night, Delgado was 0-for-3 with a walk and a sac fly.

Delgado's sac fly was set up by singles by Wright and Beltran. Wright was 4-for-4 with a homerun, 3 rbis, and 4 runs scored. Beltran was 3-for-5 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.

Upon closer examination, Beltran has outperformed Delgado offensively for the entire season. Beltran has 100+ runs and 100+ rbis. Beltran, of course, also adds more value defensively and on the basepaths.

Also, Beltran is hitting .419 in September.

In the heat of a playoff race, fighting off the ghosts of the 2007 collapse, and all that jazz ...