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In early October, Carlos Beltran had both of his knees ‘scoped’ to repair damage to his patella tendon, which plagued him through much of last season.
Beltran, as quoted by John Delcos in the Journal 
News…
“I don’t feel 100 percent, but I hope to be by the start of the season. I couldn’t play anymore like that. I didn’t feel pain as much as I did weakness…I just want to be 100 percent and to be able to do a lot more.”
…instead of a jersey number, beltran should just wear the number that matches his health percentage…so, when we see him running down a ball in the outfield with 89 on his back, we know he’s 89 percent healthy…etc…
…last season, i wrote the following…a lot…
…to me, two things are clear, a) beltran can be a great player, but b) when hurt his results will suffer…the problem is that he appears fragile, and i don’t know that these injuries will ever truly go away…he seems like the type of guy who’ll always have some sort of minor agitation…he won’t be on and off the disabled list because i believe he plays through the pain, but there will always be some sort of tweak or tear giving him a headache…he’ll be healthy, locked in, he’ll get hot, and we’ll love him, but then he’ll slump, or get a nagging pain, and he’ll struggle, and we’ll want to boo…and i think this will be the script, over and over again, as long as he’s on the team…
…beltran is too valuable to this team to ever consider trading…he’s a tremendous talent…the thing is, it’s not 2001…i just don’t believe, at age 31, that he’s going to hit .300 and steal 35 bases…the thing is, he’s not going to hit just 25 HR, either…he’s more powerful than that now…and while he is still a very wise base runner, instead, to me, he is this team’s clean-up hitter…or, this team’s very athletic clean-up hitter, who may steal 15 bases, but who is unlikely to hit over .280…it’s all about expectations with beltran…i stopped expecting 2001 from him, and now i seem to appreciate his ability to be a clean-up hitter more…
By the way, in the report by Delcos, Beltran also explains why Johan Santana is such an effective starting pitcher.
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2 things are certain to happen regularly in this era of Mets history:
Beltran’s health will be an ongoing daily saga.
Willie will be 2 steps behind.
Jersey numbers based on health…gotta love Matt…
Beltran’s knee problems won’t go away – that much is clear. Let’s just hope he doesn’t tear anything…
He needs to bat 4th in the lineup. Wright is our 3 hitter.
I’d bat Delgado 6th behind Alou actually until he proves he’s not a black hole double play magnet who hits .230.
This is why I hate posts like this. It gives all the chicken littles something to complain about.
Seriously, Beltran is one of the most productive players in the game and he really doesn’t miss that many games.
Beltran is our Donovan McNabb. For some mysterious reason, no one in Philly likes this guy. But both fan bases will miss each player when they’re gone.
I’ve been saying the same thing for years — he’s a warrior for playing through pain, but it seems either he gets hurt more than others, or that he has a harder time performing with nagging injuries. He had 40 HRs by Sept 1 then got a nagging injury which slowed him down to a crawl a couple years back, and it seems to happen every year.
He’s a stud player, that’s obvious. The question this brings up is not should we be complaining or bashing him for it as you suggest, but whether or not Willie needs to step in (when he is not 2 steps behind as the smart post above you mentioned) and see that his performance is weakened for 3-4 weeks, when a week on the bench could be better for everyone.
Also, no reason to hate a post that doesn’t wax poetic about a great player who has one obvious weakness, especially when he comes out and makes news by once again bringing up his health percentage. To me that’s the story — that twice in the same answer he mentioned that he was not 100% and he constantly provides us with % updates.
this i cannot stand, its like to you, he went up to a reporter and said, “hey, guess what, i’m not 100%”, when in fact Delcos most certainly approached Beltran and asked him about his health. Beltran is being honest, always has, but people hate on him for that. Yet when players lie about injuries (see Victor Zambrano, others) they get blasted. What gives?
I LIKE Beltran, did not say otherwise. I thought the way he came back so quickly after the collision with Cameron was pretty heroic/.
That said, he seems to be a bit of a crybaby/excuse maker/attention hound a la A-Rod. It is getting tiresome.
He’s not making excuses, he just is too honest.
Uhmmm, no he isn’t an attention hound. He shys away from the media every chance he gets. And Beltran at 90% is still the best CF in the NL. I sometimes think Mets fans bring everything they get on themselves with bad karma. Most teams would kill to have that defensive presence in CF and at least 30 HRs a year at the plate, yet here we are complaining about a bright spot on our line up and comparing him to A-rod.
Mets fans on the other side of the fence wont know what they have until he is gone…..sorry to say it but it is true
I forgot to say, he cant be A-Rod, because Beltran actually HITS the ball in the playoffs…… He showed up in the NLCS and straight raked the baseball, but all the stupid fans that cant tell Mr. Met from the Philly Fanatic remember just one at bat……I love Beltran, he does a great job. When he is gone it will probably be a 45 year old Shawn Green in center, so lets not complain……….
This reminds me of watching MTV with the girlfriend. 16 year old girls on tv crying their eyes out because they got a BMW and not a Mercedes. Quit crying!
Ignorant nonsense. I hope in his contract year he gets a ring and takes off to Kansas City, Tampa Bay, or Atlanta. He deserves it after putting up with this. I hope he washes away his worries with his silver sluggers and gold gloves. He is one very good Met, start treating him like one
I think we miss the point with Beltran all the time. He does not miss much time with injuries. Athletes get injured, a lot of nagging injuries especially. Most of them, however, never mention it. Beltran’s only fault is that he is honest and tries to let the public know too much. If he said, I am just not as healthy as I would like but you know, I am going to keep fighting through it and help the team as much as I can” Is that really any different than saying “I am 85% today but I am still going to go play”? It’s all about how you look at it. How many 30 year olds play day to day without pain?
Beltran is a stud and a warrior, no more comments about him being fragile. Fragile means he can’t play and has to go to the DL. Alou right now is fragile. Jose Valentin and Elduque and even Pedro are fragile, Beltran is not.
Not that he is fragile, but that the little nicks and bruises tend to shut down his production to a relative halt. If other players get a lot of nagging injuries too it sure doesn’t show in their splits like it does for Beltran — you can pinpoint where he gets injured on a production chart with accuracy, whereas others play through it and the performance is not quite as noticeable. He CAN play through the nagging stuff, he just does not do it as well as others, relatively.
how do you know their nicks and bruises? He just had his knee scoped to repair his petalla tendon, and injury he’s probably been playing with for 2 years. How is that a “nick” and a “bruise”? But still, look at the numbers and games played.
Your killing me Matt,were posting the same stories at the same time.I’m writting on MSGnetwork,I’m not trying to compete with you because I can’t,I guess I should just wait for you to go first,anyway I come to your site first and think it’s the best in the bussiness.
Off topic but I just got Direct TV so I can watch SNY. I live in the Lehigh Valley in Pa. Last night the classic game was blacked out. Does anyone know why this would be?
because directv likes to black things out. I get the Extra innings package and you can only count on about getting 85% of the games due to black outs. Unfortunatly, most of those lost are on the weekends. It seems theres always some place some where that has the rights and directv doesn’t pay for them or fight for them.
Im in Denver and ordered SNY only on opening day at Shea and watched the whole opening ceremony until the game blacked out at first pitch. I then complained to a rep and was told that ALL out of market games are blacked out. They do it to essentially make you pay the $160 for the extra innings package, which, as the poster above me pointed out, doesn’t offer most Saturday games (which is criminal) and is sorely over-priced. To make matters worse, I want to get HD cable now, and i was going to witch providers fro DirecTV to Dish to get two free HD receivers but then found out that the baseball package is ONLY available from DirecTV….Apparently they have been in and out court because its shady and unfair….Bud and the MLB have no clue how to sustain a sport….
So does this mean all games will be blacked out on SNY? The reason I got the dish was because no local cable carried SNY but the Dish did. I was trying to avoid the MLB extra innings.
It means exactly that. If you live outside of NY and some select areas the only way to watch SNY games is the MLB package. Its a good package, don;t get me wrong, but its shady how you are forced into it.
I like Beltran’s mole. He’s a great player and I hope D-Wright can have a career like his. I expect a A-Rod like season from the Mole, minus the October disappearance.
beltran is a stud. his injuries are a concern but hes one of the best players in the league. hopefully he can continue the transition of 20-30HR 20-30 SB to a 45HR 10SB guy that players of his similar build have (but obviously without the roids).
hes also still playing some pretty nasty defense in center field as well.
I live in Puerto Rico and just yesterday Beltran came by where I work to drop off a car he was shipping to the U.S. He looks to be in great shape and seems to be moving around just fine. I went over to say hello and wish him a good year and he received me with a smile and a firm hand shake. It’s good to know there are still “super stars” who remain humble. He smiled cause I told him of all the abuse my Yankee fan co-workers put me through….jejeje
That’s cool. Did you ask him if he posts on metsblog? Did you have him do some sprints and squats to see if he is in great shape? What kind of car was it?
I’m for one am getting sick of this little be-yotch…it’s time for him to man-up and earn that fat salary of his. Despite his unconscious hitting streaks, my standout memory of him is striking out against Wainright with a chance to win the game 7…mental toughness – I think that’s what’s missing with this dude…
He needs to man up and earn his salary? Other than year one of that contract I think he has done a great job in New York. His numbers have been great. You can’t blame him for the game seven loss or even striking looking on a wicked curveball. Any lefty would be bound to leave that pitch out, but then again. To blame Beltran year in and year out is about as dumb as saying Bonds never touched the juice………..
You mean the curve that broke 20 feet outside of the strike zone that no sane player would have swung at? The real issue is how poor the umpiring was in that series. Wainwright threw that junk 4 or 5 times and got called strikes…it was baffling.
My take on Beltran is that, Beltran when healthy, will go on hot streaks or remain consistent on the field and with the bat. When he’s not, he’ll be ice cold swinging the bat and a step slow on the field. As he gets older, I worry that these injuries will worsen.
However, that does not take away from him not wanting to go on the DL and playing through pain whenever he can. He is still the best center fielder in the game fielding wise and he is not bad with the bat either.
Beltran gets to a lot of baseballs many other Center fielders would have a tough time getting to and has a strong arm. I’ll take and accept the fact he may never be healthy again and what could hurt most is that the other productive bats (Alou and Delgado) are also either injured or trying to have a better year, which is pretty much the middle of the Mets batting order.
I’ll never and have never boo’ed Beltran, just like when Santana has his bad game sometime down the road, I wouldn’t boo him either. Maybe groan but not boo. we need Beltran to be as successful as he can be.
He has a laser arm…remember the heat guided missile he threw from center all the way to Duca’s glove for the out at the plate during the opening set against the Cards last year?
I propose a new idea. Take Beltran’s health percentage, and only pay him that much of his annual salary. So if he’s 80% healthy most of the season, he only makes $14.8M (80% of $18.5). If you’re not getting 100% out of this clown, then he doesn’t deserve 100% of his paycheck.
I like it…
Stupid concept.
Then again I ma not surprised by some of the comments coming from Mets fans on the internet regarding Beltran.
The guy plays when he is hurt. Period.
What more do you want from the guy?
It is one thing if he sat down every time there is a nagging injury, but he mans up which is probably more than any of our fat asses can say while we are sitting behind our computers.
The animosity towards Beltran from Mets fans is unbelievable. He is without a doubt the best CF this franchise has EVER had, yet the constant sniping makes it seem as if he were Jay Payton.
Gawd help us all on here the first game Santana pitches like crap. Makes you wonder if a segment of Mets fans even deserve a pitcher like Santana to watch.
It’s like friggin’ kindergarten….
well said……exactly……….
The second Santana loses a game or gives up a long ball this site will shut down.
I think the sentiment is that he shouldn’t be playing if he his hurt.
If he’s hurt for a month, what good is his .200 BA with a .576 OPS? It’s not good at all.
Unfortunately, if he’s benched/rested to get healthy, people will complain about that, too.
There is never a happy medium with Mets fans – and there never will be.
what’s up with people complaining about Beltran’s salaray? We got from people complaining about Wilpon not spending enough money, to complaining that he’s spending too much on a guy? What gives with people on this blog? We had to pay that much to get him, end of story, his salary should not determine what kind of player he is.
I’m going to guess that it goes back to the “we’ll take less to play for the Yankees thing” that his representation pulled during the negotiations. Just a guess, I can’t speak for the complainers as I’m not one of them.
I am glad you commit 100% of your effort into your work everyday too. Metsblog huh? Should we cut into everyones salary that doesn’t or CANT give a 100% because of injury or just lack of motivation? I know bunches of coworkers that would be flat broke……………
Maybe the Mets should have picked up Griffey if you really wanted to see someone that is banged up and useless for half a season at a time………
The guy will never be 100%. It sounds like it’s a mental issue as much as anything else.
I’m not hating on Beltran at all, but his constant griping about not being 100% gets old. It gives him an excuse if he is slumping or not playing well.
Even after saying that, I’m still fine with his .270 30 100 20
It’s about expectations. As a fan, if one expects him to hit .310 40 125 30, that fan is going to be disappointed because it’s probably not going to happen.
He is what he is and with the current market, he’s no longer overpaid, at least in comparison to his peers.
I have yet to figure out how an incision in his knee to perform surgery and repair his damaged petalla tendon is a “mental thing.” Are any of you people reading this? He had a damanged petalla tendon, I know none of you know what that is, but its pretty damn important, and the fact that he was running around out there making great plays for us, putting his body on the line in the oufield, I fail to see how this is a mental thing. Sure, he tells reporters, WHEN ASKED, his health status. If you haven’t noticed, reporters constantly ask him that question, and he always answers. Never backs away, just gives an honest answer, that’s all, and then he goes out there, gives it his best, and what do we get? ONe of the best all around CF’ers in the game. Quit complaining, because when he’s gone, you’ll realize what we had.
Again, this thread just brings to light why the Mets fans always have bad luck…the mere fact that with gimped knees Beltran is the BEST CF in the NL, arguable the majors shows
his issues arent mental…I can think of one or two plays where he screwed up in CF all season against 20 or 30 highlight reel catches….
Honestly, should we expect disdain for Santana if he doesnt win 25 games this year? Or if a reporter asks about his nagging injuries?
And another thing…by mid-season there isnt a single starter that isnt playing with some sort of injury, minor to major.
First of all there chief rocker, I’m not complaining about Beltran. You also misunderstand the mental diagnosis. It’s been brought up a bunch of times by other Mets fans that that Beltran seems a bit psyched out when he’s not “100%”. It’s understandable, of course.
Some players need to feel perfect in order to put out there best on the field. Some players can fight through injuries and produce at a high level. At times, more often than not, Beltran has not been able to produce at a very high level when he’s at 85.654%.
My preference would be that he gets healed up completely rather than exacerbate an injury if he’s not feeling right. I have no problem with that. I rather him feel good MENTALLY and physically when he’s on the field. He’s too important to the Mets.
So, your conclusion that I’m somehow complaining about him and being an ingrate is WRONG. Thanks for playing, though.
Yes! Now I am truly amped up for the season to start, as Beltran is giving health updates. I still think that having Beltran at 88%, Castillo at 92% and Delgado at 89% is enough to win the division, provided that Pedro is at 97%.
Thank god we have Wright, who gives us 110%.
Carlos says if his first step is with his right foot he feels he’s at 85% if he starts with his left foot he only feels like he’s at 78%. Delcrappo says he’s getting bored with all of Beltrans %. In other Met news, Willie wants to know what time Mota will be in camp and the Wilpons are working on ticket pricing for the new Stadium.