posted June 13, 2008 at 16:45 EST in MLB Betting Trends

Carlos Delgado – 1B New York Mets – Much has been made about the Mets poor start to their 2008 season. Three games under .500 at 30-33, Willie Randolph looks to be another losing streak away from getting axed. Sure, the pitching staff is currently ranked 17th with a 4.21 team ERA and the power numbers are down, but what the heck happened to Carlos Delgado in the off-season? The 15-year veteran just doesn’t look right. His current batting average of .246 is the lowest its been since he was a rookie, and his .411 slugging percentage is the lowest its ever been at this point of the season. The guys continue to get on in front of him, but his cold bat has left MLB bettors furious after failing to come through so many times. His poor execution at the plate and in the field has cost his team greatly throughout the first 63 games of the season, and the Mets organization might be better off just getting rid of this guy. His numbers have declined with every passing year since becoming a member of the team back in 2006, and his body continually breaks down. If another team offers them any kind of substance for him around the trade deadline, GM Omar Minaya should jump at the opportunity to cut bait.

Joe Blanton – SP Oakland A’s – I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Joe Blanton is the end all be all in terms of starting pitching, but the guy has been a moneymaker for MLB bettors and a solid member of the A’s starting rotation up until this season. Since his rookie year back in 2005, Blanton has won 12, 16, and 14 games the last three seasons. He currently sits 3-8 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. MLB Fantasy players that chose Blanton thinking he’d earn them double-digit victories on the year are kicking themselves now for drafting him. Most disturbing though is his record at home where he’s 1-6 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP allowing 75 hits and 32 runs with a K/BB ratio of 36/16 in 65+ total innings of work. The A’s have won just two of his 10 home starts, and four of his 14 starts overall. After allowing 16 and 17 home runs the last two seasons, Blanton has already served up nine gopher balls. That’s good for 1.5 per game, which is almost three times as many as he served up in each of his previous two seasons.

Torii Hunter – OF Los Angeles Angels – The former Minnesota Twins All Star got the payday he deserved this past off-season from the Angels brass, but he’s by no means lived up to the Benjamin’s that were thrown his way thus far. He’s managed to stay healthy for the most part, but Torii would even tell you he’s not playing at peak performance right now. In 2007, Hunter batted .287 with 28 home runs and 107 RBI’s while striking out 107 times and earning 40 walks. Not the greatest numbers but still decent. Through the first two-plus months of this season, He’s only batting .268, hit eight home runs, and knocked in 31 RBI’s. On top of that, he’s already fanned 44 times and his slugging percentage of .448 is the lowest its been since 1999. Making matters even worse is the fact that he’s hit for a .220 clip over the last month, and has an overall batting average of .216 away from Angels Stadium. LA thought it snagged the guy to get them over the hump this season, but it just hasn’t panned out that way thus far….

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