
After all the wrong diagnoses and misrepresentations and errant treatments, Carlos Beltran has seen enough bad medicine to let him seek a second opinion with an outside doctor.
According to Jon Heyman, Beltran may get second opinion from and outside doctor for his ailing knee.
Beltran who was placed on the 15-day DL, could be out a while according ton his source.
The Mets gave their standard issue reply and as was the case with Jose Reyes and countless others in the last three seasons, they issued a statement:
“We are placing him on the DL so that he can get some rest and we fully expect him to be back when he is eligible to come off the disabled list”
When Carlos Delgado and J.J. Putz complained of soreness, the Mets answer was just give them a cortisone shot and get them back in the field in two days. No MRI’s, no doctor’s exam, no explanation as to what the source of the pain was. Just cover up the pain and get them back out their. Weeks later both Delgado and Putz underwent surgery to correct two bones spurs, a torn labrum, a hip impingement and removing fragmented bone.
After complaining of a sore hamstring, Reyes was also treated with a cortisone shot and some rest. Five days later he was on the field and while running to first base, the sore hamstring became a torn hamstring. Two weeks later the Mets had him play in his first rehab game. The result… a second injury which they immediately jumped up and down and screamed it was new. New yes, but no doubt caused because Jose was favoring his previously injured leg.
There’s a long list of players who were classified as day to day that never even came back from their day to day injuries. Those players include Matt Wise who was acquired prior to the 2008 season, pitched one game, was classified as day to day, and we never saw him again. But there were plenty of others including big names like Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez.
Can anyone blame Carlos Beltran after he witnessed all these missteps on the part of the Mets trainers and medical team?
And what if he is diagnosed with something other than a minor bone bruise as the Mets have called it. Should Beltran let the Mets medical team that misdiagnosed him, treat him after he paid his own money to seek an second opinion that led to a more serious and accurate diagnosis?
You would think that the Mets would change their bad habits, but instead they keep doing the same thing. Just before the Pirates series in Pittsburgh, the Mets were going to send Gary Sheffield for an exam for his knee and leg pain. He had told Jerry Manuel that he was having significant pain a day earlier. Two days later he was back on the field as the Mets headed to Washington to play the Nationals.
After continuing to play in pain, Manuel announced that Sheffield will only play four times a week from hereon out and receive the bulk of designated hitter duties in inter league play as the took on the Phillies at Citi Field. After missing a couple of more games, Sheffield played DH against the Yankees and homered in the first game, but the news after the game was that Sheffield would have an MRI after the Yankees series.
Two days later the Mets head to Baltimore and the MRI was canceled. After an exam by team doctors that Monday, Sheffield’s knee was deemed structurally sound.
Six days ago, Sheffield played in his last game and hasn’t been in the lineup since.
Yesterday, a full month later since he first complained of pain, Sheffield finally got the MRI which revealed swelling and inflammation. He was given a cortisone shot and there’s still a chance he may go on the DL according to a report in the NY Post.
After several Mets exams, a canceled MRI appointment, and a month of pain, Sheffield finally gets some treatment, but is it the correct treatment?
Only time will tell.








What an indictment of this medical(?) staff! Kudos to Carlos for using his head and taking control of his own situation. I hope this works out for him. The Mets are all too quick to let players compete without understanding the nature of their conditions.
How is it that the D-Backs give Brandon Webb an MRI every week, but we’re so stingy with them for Beltran, Sheff, Reyes, etc.? Find the problem sooner, and we fix it sooner.
I agree.If Freddy and the Dreamers medical staff could use blood letting to and get away with it, they would use that remedy too. But they are less than stellar, to put it nicely. On the other hand, most Pro sports teams lie to us and probably to the players too about the conditions of players, so it is no surprise. If I were a pro athlete, with the $$ I get paid or can get paid, I too would always seek second opinions from medical people without an agenda, other than getting the facts right.
While I believe most teams don’t tell the truth to the media and fans right away, good teams don’t lie to their players and tell them that the injury isn’t as serious as it is. The Mets are really being cheap these days if they don’t get their players good doctors.
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
GREG, IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN, I BELIEVE A DIRTH OF SIMILAR MISDIAGNOSIS HAMPERED THE METS DURING OMAR’S FIRST YEAR PROMPTING HIM TO DISMISS THE EBTIRE MEDICAL STAFF AND RATHER THAN HIRING SPECIFIC TEAM PHYSICIANS(USUALLY RETIREES LOOKING TO MAKE $$ DURING A “WORKING RETIREMENT” OMAR & THE METS CONTRACTED WITH THE ENTIRE HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGEY TO PROVIDE THE TEAM WITH MEDICAL NEEDS. THE 2 PLACES WHERE TOP-NOTCH MEDICAL PROVIDERS ARE HISTORICALLY HARD TO FIND ARE SPORTS TEAMS OF THE TWNTIETH & TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES AND THE BRITISH NAVE OF THE 18th & 19th CENTURIES.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE HOSP FOR SPEC SURGURY IS ONE OF THE BEST ORTHOPEDIC MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. HOW IT FIGURES IN HANDLING NON-ORTHO (CONCUSSIONS) CASES IS BEYOND ME
CERTAINLY ONE WOULD THYINK HAVING SUCH A SPECIALIZED & PRESTIGEOUS HOSPITAL “ON-CALL” SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT. OBVIOUSLY THERE’S BEEN MISTAKES. BLAME? DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO PLACE IT; BUT IMPERATIVE FOR OMAR TO FIND OUT. FUNNY, I THOUGT THIS IS WHERE TRUE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING WOULD COME IN HANDY. ONE HINDRANCE IS CURRENT HIPAA LAWS.
Oh man. That picture of Dr. Nick really says it all. “The leg bone’s connected to the… something.” Personal favorite of mine, “Don’t worry, it’s INflamable.”
Be careful sir! You’re going to suffer from skin failure!
Where does the MLB Players Union stand on this issue? Doesn’t every MLB player have the opinion to get a 2nd opinion from an “outside” medical professional? I don’t think it’s all that unusal for a player to seek another opinion.
I just want to know what the exact injury is and where do we go from here?
When Billy Wagner’s contract comes off the books next year, the Mets should use that extra money to hire a more capable medical staff! This is the Theatre of the Absurd indeed!
Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.
http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-boy.html
Hey, why didn’t you tell me you had a Mets blog? I just added you to our blog roll. Nice site. Lets Go Mets!
i figured the linked screenname was a clue. anyway, check out some of the other humorous posts.
It’s a great site and I’ll refer to it in the future now that you’re on my google reader. Next year join our battle of the Mets blog fantasy league, I made a note to invite you. Keep on Mets blogging!
I think I was invited this year for the fantasy league (or someone’s fantasy league)…and turned it down. I got out of that game about 10 years ago. But thanks anyway.
let me do this without the invective..what a jaundiced eye you perceive with…its as if you write in reverse assuming the conclusion and justifying it as you manuever the facts conveniently to fit your premise…medical diagnosis is both objective and subjective….the patient inputs are easily as important as the clinical findings…most non-invasive analyses have a significant margin of error or inconclusiveness inherently…The Mets medical and training staff are a lot more informed than you,have years of hands-on experience and have multiple advanced training and degrees…they perform delicate surgery successfuly, that you or I cant even relate to as outsiders…you would be fortunate to be in their capable hands if you were ever injured..G-d forbid…why dont you stop grinding this axe and adhering to the least inventive concepts
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It blows my mind, that we have the second highest payroll in baseball, but we have a second rate medical staff. It is embarassing! They have no clue of what is going on.