Catching up: K-Rod, Beltran, and Interleague Play

I find it fairly interesting that being unemployed has given me fewer opportunities to post over the past week or so. I guess there was something about being forced to sit at a computer all day long that enabled me to write more. Anyway, a few interesting scenarios have presented themselves concerning the Mets. Let's jump right in.

First, my dad wants the Mets to cut K-Rod (along with Jerry and Dan Warthen). His logic behind this is that he is tired of the attitude surrounding him and the bullpen by association. Dad used the weekend Yankees series to justify his point of view: up 4-0 on Friday night, the Mets started the ninth inning with Raul Valdes. I guess I understand trying to get K-Rod a day off if at all possible since he throws a ton of pitches every outing... but isn't it more important to secure the win in the first game of the series at Yankee Stadium? Then on Sunday, with the Yankees leading 4-0, was there ever even a question about who was pitching the 9th? The Yankees just want to close out the game, and that was my dad's point. Sadly, I could not really come up with a coherent argument - other than that Mariano is a robot and so it's unfair to compare other closers to him.

Next, we've actually got some positive news on the Carlos Beltran front. With Beltran set to start a rehab assignment, we're looking at having him back just after the All-Star Break. The thing I'm having the most trouble understanding is why this automatically means Angel Pagan will be relegated to a bench player. First of all, we have no idea if Beltran is even physically capable of playing center field at Citi on a regular basis. Secondly, has anyone been watching the games this season? I like Jeff Francouer and I respect/appreciate that his arm in right field has an effect on runners trying to tag up - but Pagan is absolutely blowing him away in terms of offensive numbers AND he plays solid defense. Jose Reyes and Pagan have been SO successful at the top of the order, I just can't wrap my head around breaking them up. This will definitely lead to some interesting debates in the upcoming weeks, and I never thought I'd say this, but I'm pulling for Pagan to remain in the lineup.

Finally, I am so tired of listening to people talk about how the American league is "superior" to the National League. Why can't we accept the fact that they are different, with teams constructed differently out of necessity - and that this does not necessarily make one league better than the other. And somehow, the fact that the AL has more completely inept teams than the NL always gets lost in these arguments. I'll admit to a bias here because I (obviously) follow the NL and I despise interleague play - I think it's an outdated post-strike fix - but the comparisons are just ridiculous. So far in interleague, the Mets have split the season series with the Yankees, swept the Orioles and Indians, and taken the first game of their series with the Tigers. I'm not seeing this superiority everyone keeps talking about.