Carlos Beltran took batting practice, he shagged balls in the outfield and ran the bases, then told manager Willie Randolph he is ready to play tonight against the Braves.
This is a bad move. Instead, he should be playing in a rehab game for Class AAA Norfolk. Beltran might very well turn out to be fine and I hope he is, but for my money this wasn’t handled very well.
Many teams handle hamstring injuries by waiting for the player to say he’s ready, and then rest him for a few more days. That’s because you never know when they are really healed.
By definition, gametime decisions suggest doubt, and even Beltran admitted to not being 100 percent.
“I was timed from first to home at 4.4 (seconds),’’ Beltran said. “I would normally be timed at 4.0 or 4.1 if I were 100 percent. … I have to work on the mental point. It’s in the back of my mind. Maybe, in three or four days it won’t be.’’
Maybe in three or four days Beltran will be back on the disabled list.
Beltran was injured April 15, and tried to play April 20 and 21 at San Diego. Had he gone on the disabled list immediately he would be eligible to come off on Monday.
Now, if he gets hurt and has to go on the DL, it would be another two weeks. If he’s hurt tonight and goes on the DL, he would have played in the parts of just three games over a month instead of the original two weeks.
The prudent thing would be to shut him down for a few more days so a gametime decision doesn’t have to be made.
It’s April, the Mets are playing well. The Mets say there’s no rush, but they sure are acting like there is one.
