I never really weighed in on Fred Wilpon’s New Yorker interview yesterday, and I don’t really intend to go into it except to say I was most turned off by the owner mocking Carlos Beltran’s 2006 NLCS strikeout against Adam Wainwright. Wow… Et tu, Brute? It read like something Mike from Toms River would say calling into WFAN.
And if you think this boorish behavior from a team owner doesn’t bother a player, think again. “It surprised me,’’ Beltran said. “I have given all I can, but I won’t let this affect me.’’
Even the remark that Beltran was 65% of what he once was, cut Beltran like a knife. “I don’t feel 70 or 65,” he said. “I feel 100 percent. Unfortunately, the years that you’re hurt, you can’t produce the way that I know that I can produce when I’m healthy.”
This is the third time in 18 months that the organization has intentionally bashed Beltran in the press, and Beltran is well aware, “This is not my first rodeo,” he said.
Even Beltran’s agent Scott Boras, was taken back by Wilpon’s comments, “It’s not the Fred Wilpon I know,” Boras said. “I think that he’ll reflect back on this and certainly wish that those comments were made internally to his staff.”
The Mets have perpetuated many of the terrible rumors and untruths that continue to circulate about Beltran who is only guilty of being the best center fielder the Mets have ever had and always giving the team his all.
Ever since his collision with Mike Cameron in 2005, team insiders and anonymous sources leaked comments that began to feed the speculation that Beltran was soft, a tag he’s carried ever since despite playing injured for most of that 2005 season.
If they were going to treat him like this, why did they bother signing him in the first place?
Those snide remarks and well timed leaks only led to the creation of a large contingent of Mets fans who to this day, knock Beltran every chance they get.
The organization has always managed to cast their marquis player in a bad light throughout his tenure with the Mets.
In 2009, the Mets medical team continuously misdiagnosed the cause of severe pain in his right knee and twice treated him by sending him out on the field pumped up with cortisone to numb the pain.
It turned out that he had a serious knee condition that needed immediate treatment and surgery. But the Mets recommended rest instead and Beltran followed their advice though the offseason.
As the calendar turned to 2010, Beltran, who was still in pain, sought out a second opinion from the leading orthopedic surgeon in the country. They told him surgery was the only option. He informed his GM Omar Minaya, who actually wished Beltran good luck with the procedure. But the very next day the team ripped him in the press and said they were never told about the surgery. Making matters worse was that they even threatened legal action, until Boras informed them their own team doctor was well aware and faxed them his recommendation for surgery 24 hours prior.
After a long recovery, Beltran finally came back mid season, just in time for a voluntary trip to Walter Reed Hospital. Beltran, could not attend as he was already at another charity event that had been planned six months earlier. The Mets did not inform the team of the voluntary trip until two days prior.
The Mets who were still fuming over the surgery fiasco, launched a whisper campaign and leaked their disgust and anger over Beltran not honoring the troops. Morons like Andy Martino of the Daily News pounced on it and before you know it, the organization had everyone in New York calling Beltran unpatriotic and telling him to get out of the country.
The year before, Beltran did attend Walter Reed Hospital, but David Wright didn’t because he had to film a commercial for a vitamin water company. Nobody made any fuss.
You could write a book on how badly this team has treated Carlos Beltran over the years.
The ironic thing is that with all the talk that he is as good as gone and will be traded, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
The Mets will be looking to cash in on Beltran’s fine season thus far, a season that may have never occurred had Beltran followed the Mets front office advice and not have the surgery. Thankfully, real medical doctors made the right medical decisions and let Beltran have the much needed operation, rather than letting the Mets board of directors handle it their way.
I wouldn’t blame Carlos Beltran or Scott Boras one bit if they decided to to exact some of their own brand of justice.
Everyone forgets that trading Beltran will not be as easy as it seems. You see there is the small matter of a full no-trade clause that was neatly tucked away in his contract.
They could simply say no and reject any deal, play out the rest of his season, become a free agent, and net the Mets ZERO COMPENSATION PICKS. That’s right no draft picks. That was also neatly tucked into his contract.
I don’t know how this will eventually play out, but I’m pretty sure Scott Boras has Beltran’s ear right now, and after this latest fiasco by the Mets, who could blame them for imparting some revenge and a well timed parting shot for old time’s sake.
