Every time David Wright does something spectacular at Shea Stadium which is often, the chants of MVP come raining down from the stands. But there is another player on the Mets who could easily be cheered on similarly as well, Carlos Beltran. After last night’s game, Beltran (or should I say Bel-tron the way Jon Miller pronounces it) has 27 home runs, 78 RBI, has scored 71 runs, a total of 84 hits, 20 doubles, and is batting .279. His slugging percentage is a fat .615 and he has an on base percentage of .388. He has walked 54 times. And don’t forget that Beltran missed 9 games in April with a slight ham string pull.

The fans at Shea no longer boo him. Beltran is cheered when he comes up to the plate. He has turned the Shea faithful 180 degrees when compared to last season. Apparently the nagging leg injury and perhaps trying to do too much really did affect his performance. Beltran hit a total of 16 home runs last year. He already has nine more this season with 69 games left to play. Most impressive is his ability to get big hits in the clutch such as last night when after the Reds  came back to within one run, Beltran crushed one hitting right handed into the second level in left field at the Great American Ballpark. That hit was Beltran’s second grand slam in as many games and it put the game away for the Mets.

Beltran’s best season overall was back in 2002 while with Kansas City. That season, he hit 29 home runs and drove in 105. He is on pace to break those marks this season. What Beltran seems to enjoy this season more than lasts is not being the center of attention. Last season, after signing the $119 million dollar contract, he was the focus of the offensive attention. Beltran was supposed to be to the Mets what Delgado was to be this year. And speaking of Delgado, while he has slumped, he still has provided the protection for Beltran. Carlos sees better pitches because of Delgado behind him. It’s no picnic for opposing pitchers when the middle of the lineup comes up starting with Beltran especially when you consider that Wright and now the resurging Floyd follows Delgado. Also players like Wright, Reyes, and Delgado have taken the locker room attention away from Beltran. Beltran can focus on his game and not worry about being the team cheer leader, something he obviously is not comfortable doing and that’s fine.

Comparing Beltran’s stats to the rest of the team, Beltran has the most home runs on the team, Carlos Delgado has 22 and David Wright has 21. Beltran now has one more RBI (78) than David Wright. Beltran is second to Jose Reyes in runs scored with 71, Reyes has 77 and Wright has 62. Beltran has 20 doubles and is third on the team behind Wright who has 23 and surprisingly Paul Lo Duca who has 22. Beltran has not one triple this year which I would not have guessed. He has 185 total bases which is second to Wright’s 204. Beltran’s 54 walks lead the team. Beltran is second in stolen bases with 12 and no way is he catching Reyes (nor is anyone else on the team for that matter). Beltran’s slugging percentage of .615 again leads all Mets hitters ahead of David Wright’s .578 average.

So take your pick. There certainly are a number of Mets players who could be the team (or even the league) MVP. For sure, and when you consider that he missed a bunch of games early on, Carlos Beltran has got to be considered one of them. I think Mets fans at least owe him an MVP chant, especially the way he was treated on opening day.

Extra Innings: Pelfrey looked much better last night in his second start. What impresses me most about him is that he is not afraid to challenge the hitters, even Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. He doesn’t come unraveled when he gets in a jam. There is no question this kid has the right composure to be a big league pitcher. Also he has great stuff and his command will get better with experience. Hold on Omar, don’t sell the farm, the power pitcher you’re looking for is right here in the Mets dugout.

The Mets remain 11.5 games ahead of the Braves who won last night pummeling the Cardinals again. Well, hopefully the Braves will get all this run scoring out of their system now before the Mets have to face them in Atlanta next week.

Xavier Nady gets my tough player of the week award. He clobbered a solo shot to left center that had to hurt. He is playing with a broken hand, and they say baseball isn’t as tough as football. Give me a break.