Don't Sign K-Rod!

"The fact is, Rodriguez's performance this season has not been special for any closer, and it's been below average for 50-save closers. Even among his peers in 2008, Rodriguez's run prevention has been ordinary; Rivera, Soria, and Joe Nathan have lower ERAs, RAs and higher VORP scores. K-Rod is chasing the record not because he's having a season like Eckersley's '90 or Gagne's '03, one that raises the bar for short relievers, but because his teammates have given him more chances to save a game than all but one pitcher in MLB history has had. If the Angels had Nathan, Soria or Rivera, those pitchers would have a higher save percentage than Rodriguez has posted -- and would perhaps have already set the record for saves in a season -- and the Angels would have more wins. Quite frankly, earlier versions of Rodriguez would have been more productive as well; this is one of the lesser seasons in his six-year career."- by Joe Sheehan on Sports Illustrated.com

I want to use this excerpt from Sports Illustrated to show why I believe the Mets should not sign Francisco Rodriguez during this upcoming season. Also, Billy Wagner's injury is not covered by insurance which means the Mets will be on the hook for his 2009 salary which could and should be a deterrent from them signing K-Rod. I think the Mets would be making a mistake to sign K-Rod because his proabably record breaking year will make him overrated coming into the offseason. I feel the Mets should sign somone like Fuentes or Wood to a 2 or 3 year deal until someone like Kunz, Burgos, or Parnell (if they switch him back to a RP) is ready. Fuentes and Wood have both had similar years to K-Rod in terms of ERA and WHIP. (Although Wood has struggled a bit lately). They are cheaper options who could do just as good of a job.

Delgado for MVP

I was going to wait to write this post but someone basically pushed me to do it. I believe at this point in the season Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets should be the National League MVP. Delgado got off to a terrible start this year batting only .229 with 11 HRs and 35 RBIs through the first 77 games this season. His current stats are .264 BA, .868 OPS, 36 HRs, 104 RBIs, and 84 Runs. That means in his last 68 games he has 69 RBIs and 25 HRS while batting around .300. For a whole season that puts his numbers on pace for .300 BA, 60HRs, and 164 RBIs. Wow. The Mets record after the 77th game of the season was 38-39 (.494 winning %). Since then the Mets record is 42-24(647 winning %). Delgado has also come up big in clutch situations as shown but the last game against the Phillies and the first game against Nationals in this series. Delgado has carried the Mets and when he got hot the Mets got hot. I believe the reason Delgado was doing so poorly in the beginning of the year was because he was still recovering from wrist surgery. Last year was a disappointment but he was also injured most of the year and I did say he would have a bounce back year this year. Delgado has also set/tied 2 Mets records this year. The first being most RBIs in a game with 9 against the Yankees on June 27th (the day he got hot). The second record being multi-HR games in a season with 7 (tied with Dave Kingman). Carlos Delgado has been more valuabe to the Mets arguably than any other player has been to their team this year.


While I believe Delgado should win MVP at this point in the season, I feel he probably will not. The Mets already have 2 other players who will garner some MVP votes in David Wright and Jose Reyes. Carlos Beltran also deserves alot more credit than he recieves. Also it is hard to ignore the phenomenal year Albert Pujols is having. Ryan Ludwick came out of no where to be in the running for MVP as well. Playing for a team who will not make the playoffs definitely hurts their chances (same goes for Delgado if the Mets do not make the playoffs). Howard and Utley will get votes although a .230 average hurts Howard and Utley has cooled down since the first few months of the season. Aramis Ramirez may receive some votes but I have heard very few people discuss him as the MVP. Lance Berkman is also in the running although he has slowed down as well and does not play for a contender. Ryan Braun also deserves some consideration for being the big bat in that line-up when Fielder is in a quite disappointing season. I feel that there is no one in the NL West who has a real good shot at winning the award.


Delgado may not be the best player in the league. He may not even be the best on the Mets, but he is their MVP and the MVP of the league.

Lucky Charms 9/10/08

I am going to call this section Lucky Charms. It will be where I do not feel like writing a whole article and just want to have a few quick posts.

• Ambiorix Wayne Burgos was arrested yesterday for beating his wife. Wow. This truly disappoints me because I liked this guy. I thought and still think that he has a chance to be a good major league relief pitcher. I was hoping it was going to be with the Mets but now I have changed my mind and he is now on my shit list. I do not like guys on my team with bad character. I never supported the Mets trading for Sheffield because of his personality. I even try to avoid picking guys I do not like for my fantasy team (assholes, hot heads, wife beaters, Braves, etc.). Hopefully Burgos will raise his value within the next year and the Mets can trade him.
• Being in Boston I do not get to watch Mets games so I've been watchin Red Sox games with my roommate who is a Red Sox fan. Sunday and Monday night we questioned Francona bringing in Papelbon with a 6 run lead on Sunday (and the Rays coming to town the next day) and bringing him in in the 8th on Monday. As the post-season draws closer we figured you would want him to be rested not overused. Sure enough Tuesday night Papelbon blows the game against the Rays with a chance to take first place in the division. We knew it was a bad idea and hate when managers make odd moves like that.
• Mets should not sign K-Rod next year. (I'll do a full article on that later)
• My current picks for the awards. AL MVP: Pedroia BOS, NL MVP: Delgado NYM, AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee CLE, NL Cy Young: Lincecum, NL ROY: Soto CHC, AL ROY: Longoria TBR (I'll also do a full article on awards later on)
• Why hasn't Jerry Manuel used Al Reyes? Why didn't Omar call up Nixon? I feel both could be solid contributors on the field and off the field (Nixon).
• What happened to Aaron Heilman? He is either very good or very very bad this year. I honestly really like him and his talent. The Mets would be making a mistake to cut him so people should stop calling for that.
• I hate when fans boo members of their own team.
• Stop the wave at baseball games.
• Any ideas for the favorite/hate teams on the side of the page are welcome.
  
• Also, Thanks J-Money for the Blog title. It sounds better than Leprechaun Baseball.
  

That's all for now,
The Red King

Welcome

Hello readers,

I have decided to make a blog about baseball because of my love for the sport. The blog will mainly be focused around the New York Mets. There will also be posts about other teams and sometimes things that have nothing to with baseball at all. The title of Red King of the Diamond comes from my first name which means "the Red King." The diamond part is pretty obvious. I'll try to post as frequently as possible. Feedback about what you would like to see on the site or if you would like to write for the site would be nice also.

Thanks,
The Red King