NEW YORK ? Carlos Delgado is trying to remain positive. But there's a strong possibility the veteran first baseman will wind up on the disabled list because of his injured right hip, perhaps as soon as Friday.
"It feels OK, not great but a little better than yesterday," Delgado said after missing his third straight game Wednesday as the Mets lost to the Braves, 8-7, in 12 innings at Citi Field. "I haven't really done anything Baseball-wise so I couldn't really tell you." The Mets start a four-game series in San Francisco tonight and Mets manager Jerry Manuel said a decision on which direction to take with Delgado would be made on the West Coast, a plan endorsed by Delgado.
"We're sticking with the original plan and giving it a couple of days before we make a decision," Delgado said.
Manuel said the Mets would need another position player ? preferably a left-handed bat ? if Delgado was put on the DL. But Manuel also said he was more than comfortable with Fernando Tatis filling in for Delgado at first base.
Tatis went 3-for-5 Wednesday and his fourth-inning grand slam ? the seventh of his career and his first since 2002 ? gave the Mets a short-lived 6-4 lead. Tatis, 34, is batting .358 (19-for-53) with two home runs and eight RBI in 19 games this season.
But Tatis had played only 20 games at first base before this season since breaking into the majors as a third baseman with the Texas Rangers in 1997, and the reigning comeback player of the year was in the outfield for 71 of his 92 games with the Mets last season. He has yet to make an error in eight starts at first this season.
"I believe Fernando can get the job done," Manuel said. "He played extended periods for us last year and was productive, so I have all the confidence in the world he can fill in and do a good job. What we do miss is that Delgado bat in the middle of our lineup, even though Fernando sent one out today."
The 36-year-old Delgado is batting .298 with four home runs and 23 RBI in 26 games this season. He first hurt his hip April 26 as he slid after hitting a triple against the Nationals, and initially missed seven games before returning to the lineup.
Manuel said he's concerned ? because of this reoccurrence of the injury ? Delgado's health could be a long-term concern. Delgado is not ready to believe that is the case.
"I hope it's not," Delgado said. "Every athlete will tell you when they have an injury and they're not able to play for a few days that there's obviously some concerns. But I want to stay on the positive side and not get ahead of myself."
Still, Delgado said he doesn't foresee taking another cortisone shot to manage the pain.
"We're not talking about vitamins here," Delgado said. "It's not like one-a-days."
E-mail: grossa@northjersey.com
