Smoltz says Marlins are the team most likely to...

Posted March 30, 200519 yr

JUPITER, FLA. -- John Smoltz is a student of all things related to baseball, including off-season moves. And the Atlanta Braves' pitcher thinks the Florida Marlins' acquisition of Carlos Delgado has made them the team best positioned to end the Braves' run of 13 consecutive National League East Division titles.

All Marlins manager Jack McKeon knew as he watched Delgado take swings in the batting cage earlier in spring training was: "I feel better just seeing him standing there, knowing I have that left-handed bat in my lineup. He's a guy who strikes fear in the other team's pitcher."

The four-year, $52-million (U.S.) contract signed by Delgado may have raised eyebrows in baseball because of its length, but it made sense from the Marlins' point of view.

First, there is little doubt that the Marlins' owner, Jeffrey Loria, views urbane Delgado as an intriguing person -- no small matter when you are a wealthy art owner who can afford to treat baseball as something of a hobby. A high-ranking Marlins official says the two hit it off famously. Delgado's smoothness in English and his native Spanish will make him a face of the Marlins in South Florida at a time when the club is trying to get a new ballpark built, and it will also alleviate some of the pressure on young Venezuelan slugger Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera will hit third in the lineup. Delgado will clean up.

Most important, Delgado's bat gives the Marlins the closest thing the NL has to an American League lineup. They are deep and balanced, with speed at the top and sock in the middle and bottom.

"You want to walk him [Delgado] and pitch to Mike Lowell, fine," McKeon said. "You want to walk Cabrera and pitch to Delgado, fine."

Delgado made a change in his batting stance two years ago, standing more erect in the batter's box in order to give his bat a better path through the strike zone. A rib injury and nagging soreness in his knees threw his swing out of kilter early last season, but he finished on a tear.

Delgado missed 11 days this spring training with tendinitis in his elbow and he has not scalded the ball since returning to the lineup. "That's how I usually am in spring training, anyhow," he told reporters last week. "Horrible."

Delgado knows there will be a transition period. He's a downtown guy playing for a team whose ballpark sits unloved between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Not quite in the middle of a swamp, but close. Cycling to games, one of Delgado's preferred modes of transportation, will be an adventure.

But otherwise, this seems like a perfect fit on all sides.

"Having Carlos here takes a lot of pressure off Miguel," leadoff hitter Juan Pierre said. "He's so young, and he was thrown in the fire where he was our main guy last year to drive in runs. They were pitching around him, and sometimes I don't think he realized that because he's so aggressive."

1B Carlos Delgado

Born: June 25, 1972, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Career statistics: 1,423 games; 1,413 hits; 336 home runs; 1,058 runs batted in.

2004 statistics: 123 hits; 32 HRs; 99 RBIs.

2005 salary: $4-million (U.S.)

He'll win because: The Marlins' lineup, with Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo at the top, will be rich in offensive opportunities. The team will be in contention, which helps a player's MVP chances.

He won't win because: His body fails him in a league where there's no chance to be the designated hitter.

The contenders

Globe and Mail baseball writers Jeff Blair and Admin Millson have compiled a list of players who they believe have the best chance of winning the award for most valuable player this year. Today, Carlos Delgado of the Florida Marlins is profiled.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Art...orts/TopStories

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