He teases us with his speed, dazzles us with his defense, and sometimes astounds us with his power this season. And he hasn’t even gotten warmed up yet.
Carlos Beltran’s recovery from off-season knee surgery hasn’t gone as quickly as all of us have hoped, but signs of his return to form are suddenly evident. The Mets anxiously await the arrival of the one player on their roster who can virtually carry this team much like he did in 2006. The Mets need their go-to guy to take charge.
At the start of spring training, Carlos Beltran, one of the quieter Mets, said he believed his team was the team to beat in the National League East. He didn’t back down from what he said and his feelings about the team shortly after the team meeting before the Subway Series…
"I still think we have a great team, but we really need to play better. There are ups and downs every season, and we’re going through a tough time right now. When a team goes through what we’re going through now it either pulls together or falls apart. I don’t feel we will fall apart."
"People are talking about the need to have a leader on this team, but everybody can be a leader. It¹s not just about what you do on the field, but what kind of teammate you are. If you do your job and people can depend on you, that’s being a leader too. It doesn’t matter who you are."
Beltran may not get to 40 homeruns this season, but since hitting either Alou or Church behind him, he has been seeing better pitches and is hitting over .300. He has already amassed 28 walks mostly due to when Delgado was hitting behind him. As this team begins to gel, I fully expect Carlos Beltran to perform like he did in 2006.
A season that looks like the following still isn’t out of the question…
.281 – 28 HR – 115 RBI – 110 RS – 20 SB – .360 OBP and Gold Glove defense.
There’s not too many center fielders that can do that!
