Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Carlos Delgado, right, leads the National League in HRs (14) and RBIs (44) in the second half.

A REMARKABLE REVERSAL

By Tim Kurkjian, ESPN The Magazine

The Carlos Delgado story is another reason I love baseball so much. Earlier in the year, a scout told me Delgado couldn't hit anything above his belt with any sort of velocity on it. And it appeared he was done as a big-time power hitter in the major leagues. But since June 27, he's had the most RBIs (61) in the National League. He has gone from a player who was in big trouble as far as his career goes to being at least on the periphery of the MVP voting. This can happen only in baseball.

I've said this a million times: You get really good and really bad awfully fast in baseball -- way faster than in any other sport. So many times, I ask players, "Why are you so good?" or "What happened to you?" And sometimes they don't even have a good reason.

All I know is the same scout who told me Delgado couldn't catch up to anything hard above his belt told me, "Now he can catch up to everything above his belt." How did that happen in a two-month period? That's another one of the great mysteries, the great beauties of baseball.

If I had to guess, I think he's just become a little more selective at the plate. I think he was swinging at some bad pitches. Anyone who's seen him over the years -- and I've seen a lot of him -- his power to left and left-center field, especially, is tremendous, and a bunch of his recent hits, including some home runs, have gone to left-center field.

"FRIDAY NIGHT BASEBALL"

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN

"SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL"

Phillies at Mets, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

So it appears that just a little more discipline in the strike zone and hitting the ball the opposite way a little more are the best explanations for the turnaround. All I know is that this was not supposed to happen, but it has, and the Mets are three games ahead in the division in great part because Delgado has gotten hot at the right time.

Another possible reason, although I think it's rather unlikely, is the Mets' managerial change. Personally, I'm not going to give Jerry Manuel that much credit or run Willie Randolph down because that just doesn't make sense to me in this particular case. But I have seen it before where a change in attitude in the clubhouse, which clearly has happened since the firing, can make a difference.

The Mets players no longer are walking around every day wondering whether the manager is going to get fired. They're playing in a much more relaxed way. Maybe that's helped Delgado, but I think it's more that he's fixed a few mechanical flaws. Ultimately, baseball just has a funny way of making you ask: How did that happen? And this is another example.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

By Mark Simon, ESPN

With less than a month remaining, the first weekend of September has huge implications as far as the NL East and NL West races are concerned. The Mets and Diamondbacks are looking to protect slim leads on the Phillies and Dodgers, respectively, as the top two teams in each division meet for the final time this season.

Best Series

Diamondbacks at Dodgers
The Dodgers, on the verge of being knocked out of the NL West race a week ago, can recapture first place with a strong weekend at home. Manny Ramirez has feasted on the Diamondbacks since his Dodgers stint began, though you'd figure Arizona could give him the Barry Bonds treatment and walk him frequently this weekend.

Manny Ramirez in NL, 2008 season
	Vs. D-backs	As a Dodger
BA	.696	.407
HR	4	10
RBI	7	29
Hits	16	46
Walks	4	21
OPS	2.132	1.235
Note: .182 BA, 0 RBIs in 3 games vs. Arizona with Red Sox in 2008

Diamondbacks-Dodgers: Head-to-Head in 2008
	Arizona	L.A. Dodgers
Wins	8	7
Home W-L	5-4	3-3
Runs	68	71
Key player	Stephen Drew: .424 BA, 9 RBI vs. LAD	Matt Kemp: .333 BA, 9 RBI vs. ARI

Best Pitching Matchup

Sunday: Phillies (Cole Hamels) at Mets (Johan Santana), 8 p.m. ET
Remember when the Mets lost six straight games started by Santana? Seems like a distant memory, considering that they've won his past six starts. He has looked like the great pitcher the Mets expected him to be, with three wins and a 2.14 ERA in that stretch. Hamels has been even better: 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his past four starts. He hasn't pitched against the Mets since April 18, when he was roughed up for five runs.

Johan Santana: 2008 season
	April-June	July-September
W-L	7-7	5-0
ERA	3.01	2.30
Opp BA	.246	.218
Opp SLG	.393	.352
Starts	17	12

Best of the Rest

Angels at White Sox
A potential playoff preview here, with larger implications for the White Sox, who, like the Twins, are happy to be home. The White Sox have been a significantly better team at home all season. They'll get 10 straight at home before a road trip that will feature the Yankees and Twins, so it's imperative that they maintain their slim divisional edge.

White Sox: 2008 season
	Home	Road
W-L	46-22	32-39
Runs per game	5.8	4.3
BA	.274	.257
SLG	.489	.418
ERA	3.58	4.32

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Sept. 3 | Sept. 2 | Sept. 1 | Aug. 31 | Aug. 28 | Aug. 27

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on Baseball Tonight and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

Click here to find out who hit the longest home run. For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

NAME	HR	OPP	PITCHER	SITUATION
C. Gomez, Pit	1	Cin	Fogg	Top 2: 3-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
J. Bruce, Cin	15	Pit	Gorzelanny	Bot 2: 2-2, 1 Outs. None on.
J. Votto, Cin	17	Pit	Davis	Bot 5: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on.
T. Hunter, LAA	20	Det	Robertson	Top 8: 3-1, 1 Outs. None on.
N. McLouth, Pit	24	Cin	Masset	Top 8: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Granderson, Det	17	LAA	Santana	Bot 8: 2-0, 1 Outs. None on.
D. Barton, Oak	9	KC	Bannister	Top 6: 2-0, 0 Outs. None on.
T. Snider, Tor	1	Min	Slowey	Bot 5: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on.
W. Aybar, TB	9	NYY	Aceves	Bot 4: 3-2, 2 Outs. None on.
V. Wells, Tor	16	Min	Crain	Bot 7: 2-2, 2 Outs. None on.
W. Venable, SD	1	Mil	Suppan	Top 6: 3-2, 0 Outs. None on.
J. Hardy, Mil	22	SD	Adams	Bot 7: 3-2, 1 Outs. None on.
D. Jeter, NYY	9	TB	Hammel	Top 9: 0-0, 2 Outs. 2 on.
A. Rodriguez, NYY	32	TB	Hammel	Top 9: 0-1, 2 Outs. None on.