Expectations of Eleven: Carlos Beltran

[batmagadanleadoff]

If you didn�t think the Angels were crazy enough

The Angels trading for Vernon Wells and his contract was a serious case of Bad Ideas Jeans. But even worse is that they turned down something way better. Joel Sherman at the Post reports: " The way I hear it the Mets and Angels did actually discuss Beltran. But the Angels ultimately saw Wells as the better choice despite the much larger financial investment. The Angels liked that there were no doubts about Wells� health as compared to Beltran, whose knees are a serious wonder. And despite the sense that Wells� defensive game has regressed some, the Angels believed that he was definitely capable of playing center field. They did not believe that about Beltran". (1) The Angels have a potential gold glove center fielder already and if he doesn�t hit enough to stick, they still have Torii Hunter who can pass in center, I�m sure; (2) If Carlos Beltran doesn�t out-produce Vernon Wells this year I�ll eat my hat. There. I said it. I don�t think the Angels understand that players are not just players. They are contracts and assets too, and unless the budget is unlimited � and the Angels are limited � a bad contract like Wells� hurts the team.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/02/if-you-didnt-think-the-angels-were-crazy-enough/

[Lefty Specialist]

He'll have decent but not great numbers and be traded at the deadline for some minor leaguers who don't look good on the surface but actually perform well down the road.

[Edgy MD]

Not to make too much of it, but Beltran enters the season with 5&10 protection, doesn't he?

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: Not to make too much of it, but Beltran enters the season with 5&10 protection, doesn't he?

Yes, plus his contract gave him full no-trade protection even before he reached the 10/5 threshold a year ago.

[Theoldmole]

Right field, 30 home runs.

[Guest attgig]

yeah, but we'll be out of the race, and he'll be getting traded to a club who needs/wants his services for a push to the playoffs. i'd say he accepts, unless it's a club with a longshot.

[Vic Sage]

Did i mention that, right before the trading deadline, he blows out his knee?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Thanks as always for the sunshine, Cassandra.

[Vic Sage]

even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Lefty Specialist]

Carlos may have a NTC, but I'm sure he'd waive it to be traded to a contender (assuming the Mets don't fit that definition).

[Frayed Knot]

He might.
The point is that it makes a deal harder and more complicated.

[Gwreck]

Adam Rubin expects Beltran to announce today that he will be playing right field.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Adam Rubin expects Beltran to announce today that he will be playing right field.

supposedly initiated and suggested by Beltran himself. how selfish of him.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Good for Carlos, good for Pagan -- and good for the Mets!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Sure ideal for the Mets, where right field has been a sinkhole pretty much since Strawberry left town.

[TransMonk]

Not for nothing, but I'll be a lot happier about our outfield situation when the words "Beltran" and "hobbled" stop appearing in articles together.

[metirish]

Fair fucks to him....

"I want to play right," Beltran said. "I think it�s best for the team. It�s going to be best for me also, best for my knee."

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: Not for nothing, but I'll be a lot happier about our outfield situation when the words "Beltran" and "hobbled" stop appearing in articles together.

That'd be nice. I don't expect it though. He might not actually _be_ hobbled, but the articles will still mention that everytime he flubs something,takes a day off, or plays DH in Interleague/World Series.

[TransMonk]

Ceetar wrote: He might not actually _be_ hobbled, but the articles will still mention that everytime he flubs something,takes a day off, or plays DH in Interleague/World Series.

I'm okay with that part...I'm worried about him not being able to play at all.

[Edgy MD]

TransMonk wrote: Not for nothing, but I'll be a lot happier about our outfield situation when the words "Beltran" and "hobbled" stop appearing in articles together.

Yeah, it's good that he's not going to waste time kidding himself that he's still the best centerfielder on the team. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's not kidding himself.

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: Ceetar wrote: He might not actually _be_ hobbled, but the articles will still mention that everytime he flubs something,takes a day off, or plays DH in Interleague/World Series. I'm okay with that part...I'm worried about him not being able to play at all.

Yeah. I don't like that he hasn't actually played the field or DHd yet. Not that I necessarily want him running around in mroe practice games than he needs either.

[batmagadanleadoff]

TransMonk wrote: Not for nothing, but I'll be a lot happier about our outfield situation when the words "Beltran" and "hobbled" stop appearing in articles together.

What would really be nice would be for F-Mart to finally start playing up to his potential and creating a logjam in the outfield. I can't remember the last time the Mets had a good problem.

[G-Fafif]

I expect he's our new right fielder -- 'cause he is.

Carlos Beltran approached Terry Collins early Monday morning upon arriving at the New York Mets' spring-training complex and told his manager: "I need to talk to you." Beltran then informed his manager he wanted to initiate the long-debated move from center field to right field. "I came today thinking in my heart, 'I still think I can play center field,' " Beltran said. "But, at the same time, this is not about Carlos. This is about team." At 8:20 a.m., Angel Pagan was summoned into the manager's office with Beltran and Collins for a five-minute meeting. Pagan, who capably played center field in Beltran's absence during the first half of last season as Beltran recovered from Jan. 13, 2010 arthroscopic knee surgery, then was informed he would be playing center field with Beltran in right field, rather than the opposite alignment. Beltran said the preemptive move avoids a last-minute switch on the eve of the season and prevents weeks of media discussion about the potential move in between. "In order for me to play center field, I need more time," Beltran said. "I want to be on the same page with everyone here. I want Terry to have his time and to come to the ballpark ready to play the lineup without thinking where he is going to play Pagan, where he's going to play me. At the same time I'm thinking about Pagan coming to the ballpark and preparing himself and focused to play baseball. I don't want to create any distractions here. Like I said, I want to play right. I think it's best for the team. I think it's going to be best for me also, best for my knee. It's going to be less active than playing center field."

If he feels he can't play it, then this is the right (no pun) move. But it saddens me nonetheless. Lion in winter and all that.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

FWiW, as per the qualifier-spouting Ted Berg and others, Senor Clubhouse Cancer is turning white almost-spheres into screaming white-and-red ovoids with meteor tails.

But about the batting practice: Beltran is crushing the ball. Again, I�m not a scout or a coach or any sort of professional talent evaluator, but I can count, and it wasn�t hard to see how many more home runs Beltran was hitting than the rest of the lot � a group that included Pagan, Jason Bay and Scott Hairston, and later Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans. I only saw Beltran batting right-handed today � I�m not sure if he hit lefty before I got there or took the day off from that side. At one point, Beltran hit four out of five pitches out of park in one turn. His homers battered the scoreboard here at Digital Domain Park multiple times. He looked great. Of course, it�s only batting practice in Spring Training, so it doesn�t count twice over. As for running the bases: Beltran didn�t look overwhelmingly Beltran-ish. He clearly was not going all-out, though, and there was no noticeable limp or anything. For the millionth time, I�m not really qualified to make these evaluations; he wasn�t running as fast as Hairston or Pagan, that I can promise.

[G-Fafif]

Doug Glanville on what new RF Carlos Beltran might expect.

So Beltran has to be careful. He will feel like a caged beast, now knowing that right field is his position, that this may not be a temporary New York Met state of mind while he gets healthy. He will feel like everything is too close to him, that he should overrule the misguided positioning of someone with less experience as the captain. I played a lot of corner outfield as I faded away from the game. I made a point to always be in position before the center fielder even thought to move me, sometimes helping young guns like Marlon Byrd with some tricks. No matter what you do, there will always come a day when you know that you have lost a step. You will deny it, you will fight it, but objective evaluators will know right away. As my mentor and legendary Phillies center fielder Garry Maddox told me: "I knew I was done when a ball was hit in the gap, and everything in my soul told me to do what I do best -- react, sprint to the landing spot, cut it off at the gap. The only problem was my body hadn't moved." Beltran isn't there yet, but he knows this is Step 1 of the 10-step program that pushes you out of the game, and like any good center fielder, he will not accept it lying down.

[Edgy MD]

Good article, but I feel like this is more like step five.

He could have a nice little second career on the corner like Andre Dawson, but it's been the better part of two years lost here, and he's relying on the success of a hit-and-miss procedure.

[ashie62]

Beltran will miss today due to soreness in knee per McCullough of Star Ledger.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Ashie62 wrote: Beltran will miss today due to soreness in knee per McCullough of Star Ledger.

Let the Lucas Duda Era begin.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Sore in a good way," as per David Lennon. Merely precautionary, he asserts.

So, yeah, should I get my Duda jerz in gray or white?

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: "Sore in a good way," as per David Lennon. Merely precautionary, he asserts. So, yeah, should I get my Duda jerz in gray or white?

Shouldn't you wait to see which team he's traded to first?