Carlos Beltran: The Paragon of Self-Righteousness


     Well my friends, I’m really crestfallen at the moment. I thought once the calendars read 2010, all the rotten luck and all of the Mets missing significant amounts of time would simply go away. I have to admit that I was wrong. Very wrong. And at the present, I’m taking the latest tragedy out of Metland very hard.

     In the event you have not heard, Carlos Beltran out of the clear blue sky underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last night in Colorado, and will not be ready for the start of the major league season. In fact, he will only be able to engage in "baseball activities" after 8-12 weeks. This means his spring training – AKA the time to shake off all the rust you’ve accumulated over the winter – will only begin sometime in April. So if I had to take a wild guess, I’ll say Beltran won’t return to the big club until sometime in May, and that’s if we’re lucky. A conference call with John Ricco today revealed that the team really doesn’t know when he’ll be able to play again. So much for having an injury-free season with all the horses in the lineup all year long! And so much for getting off to a quick start. Beltran’s 2009 injury was an enormous reason as to why the Mets campaign last year was an epic fail. Poor Jerry Manuel, a slow start may cost him his job, and it won’t even be his fault!

     Aside from the fact Beltran’s going to be missing a good chunk of playing time, this whole surgical procedure he underwent was NOT authorized by the team. The Mets felt this surgery was not necessary, that he would be just fine without it. Beltran’s agent Scott Boras on the other hand, stated that this wasn’t a surgery that could not happen, it was absolutely necessary. Beltran’s neglect of the Mets medical staffs recommendations now form a very sticky situation, especially considering the fact that the Mets are debating whether to threaten legal action against Beltran. Ouch. You’ve got to figure now that tension will be dished out all over the place.

     The Mets possibly won’t want to deal with vocal agent Boras or vice versa even. That is not good for obvious reasons, one day the Mets may desire a free agent of Scott’s, and due to all this unpleasantness, maybe he won’t steer them towards the Mets. The Mets and Carlos Beltran may now be at odds, which may result in some indifferent play at Citi Field once he returns in an attempt to get out of town. The whole Mets medical staff now looks like a bunch of untrustworthy idiots, having had one of the biggest names on the roster shun their requests for rest and rehab for a surgery they never authorized. Hope to the baseball heavens that there won’t be any “monkey sees, monkey do” from any of the other Mets in the event of another injury.

     But when all is said and done one has to wonder: Why would Carlos Beltran ignore the Mets – AKA his employers, you know, the people who put the food on his table – and go all rebellious like this? I for one would be aggravated at such behavior if I worked in upper management, how selfish is this guy? How can we trust any of those typical athlete lines "I want to do whatever is to win a championship." from Beltran after a move like this? How can we trust that his heart still craves a title with the Mets when he just removed himself from at least 40 games in 2010? He’s officially crippled at least 25% of the 2010 season, and may have cost a man – Manuel – his job. I really have to admit that this is one of the most self-righteous moves I have ever seen, I guess Beltran and Boras know everything about everything, them and their invisible medical licenses. Unbelievable.

     Where is the communication with this club? When it comes to public speaking and communiqué, this team honest to God is the worst of the worst. And thanks to that fact, the Mets have once again been put into the humiliation-shaded spotlight. Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s always the Mets that have these types of problems? It’s never any other team, but always the Mets doing silly things like having a manager travel from the east coast to the west coast, win a ballgame, and then firing him at 3 in the morning after the victory, calling out beat writers and accusing them of propaganda, removing their shirts and challenging minor leaguers to a melee. Now, unauthorized surgeries can be added to that list. Nice. Only in New York…but more specifically, only with the New York Mets. 

     What do you guys think of all this? Are Beltran and Boras in the wrong here, or do you feel like this procedure had to happen? Does this have the potential to cause issues between Boras/Beltran and the Mets? This situation is bad my friends. I don’t see any good coming out of this, only a lot of tension, uneasiness, and hostility down the line. Thanks for reading guys, but a bigger thanks to you Carlos Beltran. Thanks a million.