Opinion: The Carlos Beltran Situation
Here is what we learned in the conference call with John Ricco…
Carlos Beltran was doing fine in his off-season rehab through November. In early December, when he started to ‘ramp up his workouts,’ he began to feel pain. He met with team physician Dr. Altchek in New York, who gave him an MRI, and told Beltran to slow down and rest.
In the last few days, he made a request to the team to meet with Dr. Steadman in Colorado, who Beltran met with last summer as well. The team said OK. Steadman told Beltran he needed surgery to alleviate the pain in his knee. The Mets told Beltran to hold off, and to give them time to review Steadman’s diagnosis, and to allow them to get a third opinion. Instead, Beltran chose to have the surgery, unbeknownst to the Mets.
So, the question is: Why did Beltran ignore the team’s request?
The answer to this question might reveal what the Mets big problem is with their medical staff, assuming they have one.
Here’s the other thing, Beltran is wrong to defy the team, yet I am not sure I blame him.
I assume Steadman said, ‘You will need surgery, eventually,’ and Beltran, who clearly trusts this doctor, had 100 percent confidence in his diagnosis. Yet, again, the Mets told Beltran to wait. So, there’s Beltran, thinking, if I do this now, right now, today, I can hopefully be back in the lineup in mid-May. However, if he waits for the Mets to ‘look this over,’ then waits to have a third opinion, then waits to have the surgery, he might not be back until after the All Star break, missing half the season, all while knowing 2011 is his walk-year, after which he will be looking for a new contract.
In that scenario, what would you do?
