Ten men needed to click down stretch

Billy Wagner was the most important player the Mets had, and now they don't have him. And while the logical conclusion would be that the Mets now can't win, we're going to go against all logic and say they still can.

How?

Simple. They've got to score so many runs that they make the closer irrelevant.

Tony La Russa, the only manager on the list, plays a huge role in the Cards' success in September. (Getty Images)

As Carlos Delgado told reporters after the Mets' 7-3 win over the Braves Tuesday: "Ideally, it would be nice to go into the ninth inning with a five- or six-run lead. We're going to try to score as many as we can."

Agreed. And that's why Delgado tops our (hopefully logical) list of the most important players for the final 5½ weeks of the season.

You might notice there are no Angels on the list. That's because this is about getting to the playoffs, and we're pretty sure the Angels will be there.

We also left off the Yankees, the Tigers and yes, even the Astros. Sorry, Drayton, but this list is only for teams with a chance.

So here goes, the 10 individuals who could have the biggest impact in September (and in the few remaining days of August):

1. Delgado, Mets: The bullpen has been the Mets' biggest problem, but did you know that before Delgado's two-run double Tuesday night, the Mets had three hits in their last 42 at-bats with the bases loaded? Did you know that the Mets have scored the exact same number of runs after the seventh inning as the Nationals?

If the Mets are going to win, they're going to have to get better clutch hitting. They can get it from anywhere, but we'll stick with Delgado, who despite his 81 RBI has just a .229 average with runners in scoring position.

2. Troy Percival, Rays: OK, so we told you that the Mets can hit enough to make their injured closer irrelevant. Now we're telling you that Tampa Bay needs Percival to return even more than it needs Carl Crawford or Evan Longoria, and more than it needs B.J. Upton to keep his head in the game.

That's right. That's exactly what we're doing, and we mean no disrespect to Crawford or Longoria, or even to Dan Wheeler, who has three saves in the last three days.

But the Rays have never been in a pennant race before, and Percival has. As one scout said last week: "He's the toughness that team is going to need."

Exactly.

3. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies: It's time for Rollins to declare that the Phils are the team to beat. No, actually, it's time for him to start hitting like he can, because then they would be the team to beat.

4. Ben Sheets, Brewers: Has anyone else noticed that Sheets has just one win in eight starts since Milwaukee traded for CC Sabathia? And that win was against the Nationals, so it hardly counts. If Sheets keeps following Sabathia wins with losses, CC might get an early start on househunting for 2009.

5. Justin Morneau, Twins: He hit .342 after the All-Star break in 2006, when the Twins rallied to pass the Tigers and win the division title on the last day of the season. And that was when the Twins still had Torii Hunter and Johan Santana. Now more than ever, they need a big finish from their big first baseman.

6. Octavio Dotel, White Sox: Scott Linebrink is out with shoulder trouble, and the White Sox really have no idea when he'll return. Someone is going to have to step up, and it may as well be Dotel, who makes $5 million.

7. Takashi Saito, Dodgers: Saito told the Los Angeles Times this week that he's somewhat more optimistic about returning this season. The Dodgers could use him. While Jonathan Broxton is 9-for-10 in save situations since Saito went on the disabled list with elbow trouble, Broxton has allowed five runs on seven hits in his last five innings.

8. Adam Dunn, Diamondbacks: Arizona has just 33 home runs since the All-Star break. Even the Padres have more. The Diamondbacks added Dunn to give their offense a boost. Now it's up to him to do it.

9. Josh Beckett, Red Sox: Can Boston make the playoffs without him? Sure they could, and that's the only reason he's so low on this list. But when Beckett says his pitching hand feels numb, as he did this week, it's a huge cause for concern. Whether or not the Sox need him to win, he's still their key player to watch down the stretch.

10. Tony La Russa, Cardinals: The manager? Yes, the manager, because if it weren't for what La Russa has already done, the Cardinals would have been way out of the race already. As one scout said Wednesday: "I don't like the guy, but it's the best managing job ever. He's cobbled that thing together, with a bunch of role players who play hard." Can the Cardinals catch the Brewers and win the wild card? They shouldn't be able to