Is Carlos Delgado an NL MVP Candidate

During the first 3 months of the season, Carlos Delgado was awful. He was batting .228 with 11 homeruns and 36 RBIs on June 27th and he looked like his career, or at least his days of being a productive power hitter, were over. He was disappointing and his Mets' were too as this 100 million dollar payroll team was hovering around .500.

However, since the 27th, right around the time when Jerry Manuel took over for Willie Randolph, the Mets are 40-21, good for best in the majors over that stretch and Carlos Delgado has been a big part of the reason why. Over that 10 week span, Delgado has 20 homeruns and 60 RBIs, both of which lead in the NL over that span and he has brought his average back up to a respectable .260. Delgado has hit 30+ homeruns again this season for the 11th time in his career and is approaching the magical 500 homerun mark for his career, currently sitting at 462. He had a horrible first half of the season and he is 36 years old, but considering he is historically a great September hitter and the fact that the NL doesn't have a clear cut MVP favorite, is Delgado at least an MVP candidate?

I definitely think Delgado should be considered for the MVP especially if the Mets make the playoffs. He will be a huge part of the reason why considering his turnaround coincides with his team's. David Wright will probably get a lot of votes as a Met player, which will hurt Delgado. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley of the Philles have to be considered as well. Lance Berkman is going to be in the running and CC Sabathia may be too. However, I still think Albert Pujols is the NL MVP right now. He has a great chance to accomplish a rare feat by winning both the batting title and the gold glove. He also is 7th in the NL in homeruns with 30, 9 off of the lead held by Ryan Howard. His presence in the lineup and getting on base, first in the majors in on base percentage at .468, has been a huge part of why the Cardinals, at least up until a few weeks ago, were one of the biggest overachievers in the NL.