Carlos Beltran doesn’t know when he’ll start playing games, but said he’s been hitting and isn’t worried about falling too far behind.
Beltran said the problem is his knees – especially his left knee – isn’t strong enough. That’s his push-off leg when hitting from the right side.
“It’s mostly strength,’’ he said, “but there’s some discomfort too after I work real hard.’’
Beltran wouldn’t even guess about when he’ll play.
36 Comments
One thing about the Mets. They should make Alfred E Newman the mascot because from top to bottom, nobody is ever worried about anything. Maybe that’s why they didn’t close the deal in 2006 or 2007.
Well Pagan is no Beltran or Endy.
When did Beltran have the surgery?
Willie just was interviewed on ESPN.. Good vompany man. Willie said he doesn’t worry!!!!!!! At least they’re all consistent.
I don’t doubt that this dude is in pain and I agree that it’s better that he rest and not take chances with worsening anything if he’s not ready…especially since the games are meaningless right now.
Still, that said, I can’t help but be annoyed by how much a wuss this guy can be. It often as if he needs to be 100% or almost there before he can step on the field.
Beltran can be a “wuss” every day of the year for all I care. The bottom line is that he’s healthy enough to play in most games (144 last year), provide gold glove defense, and 100+ RBIs almost every year.
He plays the most physically demanding position on the field. To expect anything more than what he’s typically given during his time in NY is unrealistic.
Bottom line on Beltran: 3yrs as a Met; 2 gold gloves; 2 silver sluggers; 06 was candidate for MVP.
I’d rather he build up his leg strength so he is ready for 150 games.
JREY says: “I can’t help but be annoyed by how much a wuss this guy can be. ”
Well, I’m sure he’s upset that you think he can’t handle pain to your satisfaction. Lets see a guy gets his face ripped open and doesn’t even go on disabled list and an entity such as yourself quetions his pain threshold!!! I bet you never used a sick day when you had a sniffle….
JK: Do you really want people to believe that centerfield is the most physically demanding position on the field? Ha You run on grassd and crash into people once in a career. You think that’s more physically demanding than middle infield where you dive all the time, try to avert spikes coming at youy legs several times a game, pound between dirt and grass and that’s easier than centerfield?? And I guess catcher is a piece of cake getting pounded every inning and going on your knees hundreds of times a day. You sure know your stuff no matter the subject.
Yes. You run on grass with virtually every ball hit near your position.
Definitely. While those positions may be just as risky or more in terms of incurring injuries (due to contact with other players), they are not as physically demanding as playing CF. There’s a difference.
Definitely not. And no one said it is. It puts stress on the legs in a different way. But I still believe CF is overall the most physically demanding position to play.
Of course, that’s assuming you play it to the high level that Beltran does and don’t loaf in the OF.
Thank you. That’s very kind of you. ; )
As one who played centerfield and tried the infield there is no way that centerfield is even close to the physical demands of the infield. The one thing that has made Beltran’s job a little harder than most CF jobs is that he has to cover more ground with the slow partners he has been matched up with, Alou, Green, Church…. He probably celebrates when Endy plays a corner.
Catcher is obviously the most physically demanding, so that automatically comes out of the equation.
With that said, I can’t see how CF is more physically demanding than middle infield, for the simple fact that there is more contact when turning the DP.
Holy pete… we agree on something….!!!!!!!!!!
Haha, I would venture a guess we agree on a lot more.
Ok, this is going to sound ridiculous coming from me, but pretend Mike C. is writing this.
As I’ve stated, I actually liked Lastings and believe he will become a very good ball player. Perhaps not the perennial all star some believe he’ll be, but a very good ball player, especially as a CF.
Anyway, I obviously think more of Church (and the prospect of having a defensive minded catcher) more than many around here do, however, my main concern regarding this trade was how it affects the Mets down the line.
Again, as I’ve stated numerous times, I felt the Mets dealt Milledge’s potential and future production for more of a sure thing this season, while also locking up 2 positions. I was able to live with this because I figured Milledge would be playing RF for the foreseeable future with Beltran in CF, and the production I foresee from Milledge is somewhat easy to find for RF.
But with Beltran having surgery on both knees, and Minaya presumably having knowledge of this, how smart was it trading both Milledge and Gomez? It doesn’t seem that FMart is going to be a CF, and if Beltran has to move to RF or LF, who would play CF?
Now, you can’t really fault them dealing Gomez since he netted Johan. So the focus will be on the Milledge trade.
Again, I do like Church, and after seeing his stroke in spring training, I think he could be a nice player for us. But what if Beltran’s knees force a move to a corner OF position? Would the Mets have been better off keeping Milledge? I would have to say they probably would have been.
Contact is a different issue than physically taxing activity. The risk of injury due to contact by catchers and middle infielders is no doubt high as I previously said. But that’s a different matter from those positions being physically taxing at that point.
From a purely physical standpoint, I can’t imagine Piazza or Lo Duca being able to even play a passable CF, no mater how much conditioning they did beforehand. OTOH, I can see Beltran doing a very decent job of catching (apart from the calling of pitches, of course). As for middle infielders, can you see Castillo playing CF? Reyes probably can, but what about Jeter?
If you think about it, not a single centerfielder over 35 logged more than 850 innings at that position last year. On the other hand, Posada, I-Rod, Vizquel, Kent and Durham each played over 1000 innings at their positions in 2007. And I bet you’ll see the same trend this year and in years prior to 2007 if you examine them. . So why is it that the career of centerfielders seems to be the shortest of any position on the field?
“If you think about it, not a single centerfielder over 35 logged more than 850 innings at that position last year.”
I don’t think this proves how physically taxing the position is, but that you need to be a good athlete to play CF. So when a guy like Griffey gets older, he can just slide to RF. You just don’t see many CFers over 35 since they can just slide to a corner OF position.
For IF and C, you have to learn a completely different position. Moving from behind the plate to another position is difficult. See Hundley and Piazza. The fact that Piazza couldn’t play CF has more to do with him not being that great of an athlete, and less to do with whether or not he could handle to rigors of CF. And I’m pretty sure Jeter could play CF, he’s still a very good athlete.
Lastly, you listed guys who are probably more the exception than the rule. Posada, I-Rod, Vizquel and Kent were perennial all stars and Durham is still a very good ball player.
JK: I’ll make this very very simple for you becuase your grey matter doesn’t digest things well except for your sad opinions. Old guys don’t play a lot of CF becasue centerfielders need to run fast. When you get older you get slower. Its nature’s way. I tried to use all little words for you. If you would have made a discussion of athleticism you could have made a case, but not the case you failed to make at all.
You really make no sense when you claim a guy who has bad legs could be a catcher. Maybe next time the DC dope comes on board I’ll be with him.
Why do you need to be a good athlete to play CF? Because it’s more physically demanding. They’re two sides of the same coin. You can’t divorce one from the other.
And Edmonds didn’t slide over to a corner OF position. His time there has just decreased over the last two years.
The fact that there are more exceptions to the rule for middle infielders and catchers but none for centerfielders is exactly my point. And as I said, if you look back at previous years, I think you’ll find the same trend.
Centerfield is more physically demanding. The fact that it thus demands the best athletes to fill that position doesn’t make it any less so.
Since you think JK that one example proves everything I will now prove to you that SS is muh harder than CF. Mickey Mantle, one of the greatest centerfileders of all time, cam up as a short stop, couldn’t hack it so was moved to the much easier and less physically exacting position of center field. And why did they pick center instead of left? Because the main criteria was running fast. Another one, Bobby Murcer, came up as a short stop, couldn’t hack it and without ever playing a game in centerfield was put there and did ok. All centerfield requires is speed. Your pitiful example is of a guy forced to play a position he was too old for because his club had no adequate replacement, that’s all it shows. Play the game, play one game behind the platye, even a softball game and come back with your poop. You don’t even know the difference between atheleticism and physical exertion. One more thing. Ever notice how olymoic sprinters are all young? How come ?? Oh maybe becasue you slow down as you age….
Find me one source that says Mantle was switched to CF because he couldn’t hack the physical rigors or SS. It seems like he was moved because he was a lousy fielder (ie, lacked the agility and/or the soft hands). Maybe he made a lot of errors. SS is also a position that requires a lot of concentration. Maybe he didn’t have enough of it. Here’s what his minor league manager, Harry Craft, said about Mantle: “He can run, steal bases, throw, hit for average, and hit with power like I’ve never seen. Just don’t put him at shortstop.” Doesn’t sound like a physical stamina/athletic issue but something else.
Same for Murcer. Find me one source that says he was moved because he couldn’t withstand the physical demands of the position.
CF requires speed, stamina, and agility of a certain kind. The CFer does more running during a game than any other position player.
Of course. What does that have to do with this?
Yeah, that’ll do it for you. 11 errors in 29 games. Apparently he had a lousy throwing arm. That’s why he was switched to CF. Not because he couldn’t hack the physical rigors of the position.
JK how long did you spend to write the post that proves the other guys’ points…. Must be another metsie day… your team is hopeless so you fight about junk…. how come the real new york team blogs talk baseball and you guys talk nonsense? cause your # 2 in your own sad city and jimmy rollins is gonna eat you for lunch just like he did last year….... are you guys all angry because the yankees are the # 1 team in new york????
Thank you JK for proving my point that its a lot harder to play SS than CF and if the DC dope is still lurking, JK deserves all you can bring, so show us your stuff dopehead, and did you go back far enough in ancient history to find out when DC won a World Series. and why is your team named after a little bug, and plaeas take JK to Dc and make him your mascot. Him and you would be excellent little bugs flying around your new little dive.
“Harder” wasn’t even the issue, and that term can mean any number of things. The issue is what is physically more demanding. A highly inaccurate arm has nothing to do with an inability to exert oneself physically.
The idea that Mantle and Murcer were moved to CF because of an inability to withstand the physical rigors of playing SS has proven to be ludicrous.
Look, I doubt there are many professional athletes who CAN’T withstand the rigors of CF. Truth be told, it’s not all that rigorous. Sure, you run around more, but I think SS is definitely more rigorous. Of the OF positions it is the most rigorous, simply because it gets the most action.
As a SS, I would assume you’re involved in more plays. And the nature of the position requires a lot of quick starting and stopping. In CF, if you’re good at reading the ball off the bat you can glide over to that ball. SS requires very quick and explosive reactions. Plus, the SS will often run out to the OF and get the cutoff.
Anyway, we’re really splitting hairs here, as I don’t believe ANY pro ball player has been moved because of the rigors of a position (other than catchers). When a player is moved off SS or CF it is likely due to age and their declining athleticism. The nature of those positions demand superior athletes.
What position did you play JK in HS or college or Legion ball? Since you didn’t play,(and its obvious by your assertions about the rigors of centerfield) and I played CF, and since I know what was toughest and you won’t believe anybody anyway so why bother but what the heck, the most rigorous thing in center field is not physical at all. Its mental, because you have to stay in the game for all the seeming eternities when nothing is really happening that affects you. Truth be known JK, there are NO physical rigors to playing centerfield. Any teenager can cover the ground and any twenty something and thirty something can cover the ground. The only requirements are God given, speed and the ability to get a quick jump on the ball. I know you won’t believe it because you have it on your own authority but that JK is the way it is….
Very nice post mel. Thanks for the perspective. Personally, I caught since I wasn’t a great athlete, but was pretty big with a strong arm. My bro, who is the athlete in the family, played CF.
Nice point on the mental aspect as well.
I wasn’t a great athlete either. All I could do was run. I tried to hit like Matty Alou, but I couldn’t master the art of getting those high choppers to beat out!
JK: You mix up athleticism and what you perceive to be physical exertion. Beltran couldn’t play catcher for a week because his legs couldn’t take the physical exertion they would take at catcher, while Piazza could play centerfield, he just couldn’t play it up to major league standards because he never had the athleticism to run fast.
OK, here goes. Lets assume both Piazza and Beltran while in their primes were given as much time as they needed to condition themselves to play the other’s position. Months if necessary. I don’t think Piazza could play a passable CF whereas I bet Beltran could be a passable catcher (apart from calling a game, a different skill entirely). This is from the physical standpoint of being able to handle the position well.
Speed is one of the skills of the game. So are crouching and receiving and throwing a ball back to a pitcher. So is throwing a ball from SS to first base accurately. Of all these skills, the one that demands the most physical exertion from the body is running with the speed necessary to play a good CF.
I can see where catching might be the most physically demanding only because the catcher is involved in every pitch. So he, unlike the other players on the field, is working all the time. But the amount a CF or SS or 2B has to work in a game depends on the type of pitcher on the mound. Assuming their involvement in plays is about equal, I still think CF is more physically demanding than SS or 2B.
So, I will amend my position. If not the most physically demanding position on the field, CF is the second most, after catching.
Speed is not a skill. You can’t teach speed. It’s just god given ability. Piazza couldn’t play a passable CF because he just wasn’t athletic enough.
what in god’s name are you people arguing about?
JK: You are truly a major league idiot.
Whatever you want to call it, speed or running fast is a basic baseball tool/skill. As is throwing accuracy. Using that tool as Beltran does often in CF requires more physical exertion than throwing a ball accurately to first base from the middle infield.
Don’t get hung up on semantics.
Haha nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
The road to recovery is tough. It winds up being a mental game, not to rush yourself and reinjure. It sounds like he is being realistic about hos prognosis.