"Three-and-a-half hours before Wednesday night's game vs. the Dodgers, Carlos Delgado was out on the diamond in Citi Field fielding ground balls.

It was the next step in the Mets first baseman's rehab following May hip surgery and, like his recovery thus far, it went smoothly.

"I took about 25 to 30 ground balls right around me," Delgado said. "Not a whole lot of movement, but by design. And it was good, no pain."

Delgado has a schedule of steps to make before his targeted mid-August return. Fielding ground balls was on the agenda for Wednesday. Next is batting practice. He also expects to begin running outside next week, after running in the pool this week. But the schedule is adjusted based upon how he feels, and Delgado said he doesn't look ahead much farther than about a week.

"Its kind of like going week by week," Delgado said. "I think I'd be kind of unfair to myself because if things didn't go how I wanted, I'd be kind of frustrated. But everything's been very positive so far.""