"Carlos Play When Carlos Ready"



By Jonathan Wachs

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

This spring the Mets invited Ricky Henderson to the camp to tutor leadoff
hitter
Jose Reyes, rookie Anderson Hernandez, and stud prospect Lastings Milledge
on
the nuances of base stealing and increasing on-base percentage. From the
looks of it, Ricky may have been lecturing Carlos Beltran on another one of
his areas of expertise-nursing a hamstring injury.

Coming off a record setting postseason in 2004 where he hit 8 home runs,
Beltran was rewarded by the Mets with the highest contract in franchise
history-7 years for $119 million. For this tidy sum, Beltran turned in the
most dismal season of his career with statistical lows in home runs (16),
RBIs (78), runs scored (83), and stolen bases (17).

In fairness to Beltran, he started out playing very well in April 2005 until
he injured his thigh. A gamer, Beltran tried to fight through the injury and
played despite his speed game being nonexistent and much of his power
sapped. And who can forget the horrifying collision Beltran had with Mike
Cameron last August in San Diego? Beltran shocked most observers by coming
back just five days later despite suffering from vertigo.

A quiet man by nature, Beltran was ill equipped to be a vocal clubhouse
leader, but he is one who likes to lead by example. Despite playing through
pain, Beltran picked up many doubters this off-season. His name, which
previously topped many fantasy draft boards, was dropped down
severalrankings. Local newspapers placed him on top of the "most overrated"
lists.While it is obvious Beltran is not the player the nation saw in the
2004
postseason, he is a solid player who can contribute in many ways.  His
talents are most appreciated by watching him on a daily basis, where his
defense and solid fundamentals are on display.

On opening day this year, New York fans shockingly booed Beltran after he
stranded runners early in the game. Beltran, who really took one for the
team playing injured last year, was noticeably stung by the fan's venom. In
fact, a few days later when he hit a game-turning home run, he refused to go
out for a curtain call to acknowledge the now adoring crowd. It wasn't until
veteran Julio Franco coaxed him (more than once) that Beltran gave a
lukewarm wave. Franco understood it is not a good idea to get on the bad
side with of the fans. Clearly it is a war a player can't win, particularly
in New York.

This year Beltran has again injured himself, suffering a hamstring pull
early in the season. While the MRI seems to indicate the injury was far from
severe, Beltran took his sweet time getting back on the field. He is no
longer going to risk his reputation and health for the good of the team
since it went clearly unappreciated last year.

Rest assured, Beltran will  most likely produce solid numbers as he regains
his health, but as he probably learned from Ricky Henderson, from now
on"Carlos play when Carlos ready."



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