Beltran is Making Guarantees?

The man who is never "100%" stepped out and called the Mets the "team to beat" in the NL East this year.

What is in the drinking water in Port St. Lucie? Has everyone gone mad?

Beltran who is for the most part a very quiet and laid back guy made this extremely abnormal comment on Friday. I guess Santana is lighting a fire in his teammates just as us Mets Lifers. Think about it for a second. All of Mets fandom was psyched about the potential of getting Santana, and then elated when we finally signed him.

Why shouldn't the Mets players feel the same way?

I guess it's only natural, but I do hate guarantees in sports. It just sets yourself up for a major disappointment. Even if you do come through on your guarantee nobody remembers it because you're suppose to win. Now if the Royals came out and said they were the team to beat and then they won the American League pennant, that would be remembered.

The Mets need to win the NL East. They need to win in the playoffs as well. Anything less is pretty much unacceptable. So it really makes Beltran's guarantee seem that much more insignificant.

We expect to win. We have to win.

Beltran Whining Again

There are certain things in sports that you can you predict based on the time of year. If it's NFL training camp, you can expect Michael Strahan not to show up. If it's preseason basketball, we can expect Allen Iverson not to show up for practice.

And of course if it's spring training, we know that Carlos Beltran is going to talk about how he's not 100%. Here's Beltran's quote in this morning's Journal News:

“I don’t feel 100 percent, but I hope to be by the start of the season. I couldn’t play anymore like that. I didn’t feel pain as much as I did weakness…I just want to be 100 percent and to be able to do a lot more.”

Ok. I really like Beltran. I think he has tremendous talent and does a lot of things really well that the Mets need from a centerfielder. But come on Beltran, you're a major leaguer. Suck it up and play. How many times did we hear Piazza or Carter or Dykstra complain about not being 100%. None. They all had injuries that plagued them but they're professionals and they know that there's no excuse for not going out there and giving your all on the field.

The Mets need Beltran both at the plate and in the field to be GIVING 100% whether or not he feels 100%. That's all I ask and for the amount of money he's getting that the least we should expect from him.

Time To Heal, Literally

Looks like Carlos Beltran's knees, John Maine's hip and Jason Vargas' elbow are all being tended to in this report from the New York Times.

All are expected to recover before spring training. Whew, what would we do if Jason Vargas wasn't at 100%.

Rant on Carlos Beltran's Mole

I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes because I was laughing so hard when I visited fellow Mets blog, Yes Joe, It's Toasted and came across his list of Carlos Beltran's mole facts.

You have to read them for yourself by visiting Yes Joe, It's Toasted. Just look for the list of Carlos Beltran's mole facts on the right side bar.

What's Next For This Team?

Another Phillies sweep. So does this mean the Mets will win their next 6 in a row?

I don't think there's any way you can predict any thing with this team. Scratch that. The only thing that you can predict is that Willie Randolph will continue to bring in Guillermo Mota. Why? Because he's on crack. Actually, I'm not sure.

Beltran came through in a big spot on Sunday with the 3-run home run to tie the game right after David Wright flied out to deep left. I was glad to see Beltran get a clutch hit. Beltran tends to avoid the spotlight, but I think the more he's thrust into it the more he'll be able to peform in it.

The only other highlight was David Wright becoming the third Met to join the 30-30 club. Hats off to Wright for a phenomenal season. It's only too bad it had to come amidst this debauchery.

Six Errors. 11 Walks. 6 runners left on base. It's no wonder we lost.

Get the Phillies out of our sites and head to D.C.

Stats of the Day

With the Mets welcoming the Braves to Shea tonight and Perez & Hudson facing off, I found two interesting stats that should come into play into tonight's ball game.

Stat #1
Larry (Chipper) Jones is 7-for-18 (.389) with a home run in his career versus Perez.

The only answer to this is to hit Chipper in the head every time he comes to the plate. Problem solved.

Stat #2
Carlos Beltran is batting .354 (17-for-48) with three home runs in his career against Hudson.

If Reyes, Castillo and Wright can get on base early, I fully expect Beltran to have a big game. I'd really like to see Reyes break out of his slump against the Braves. We need him on base to succeed in the long run. Even though we've been winning during this slump, we all know it can't continue if Reyes is not the catalyst the Mets need him to be.

The Youthful Outfield

While we are celebrating the recent winning streak, Bleed Orange & Blue looks a little farther into the future as what could be next year, specifically when it comes to the Mets outfield.

The potential starting outfield for the Mets next year could be Gomez, Beltran and Milledge which might be the fastest outfield in the majors. With Milledge and Gomez both getting significant playing time this year it opens up the doors for a potentially great year next year.

I personally love Gomez and just thinking of he and Reyes at the top of the lineup makes me salivate. It's reminiscent of Vince Coleman and Willie McGee at the top of that old Cardinals lineup in the late 80's.

So if you want to take a look into the bright future, click here to read the full post on Bleed Orange & Blue.

Mets Not as Good as Last Year's Team

The reason why the Mets are not as good as they were last year is very simple. The big guns are just not producing the same way. "Rip City" where are you?

Jose Reyes
2006 (thru June 27)
.297, 8 homers, 10 triples, 19 doubles, 34 stolen bases, 36 RBI, 67 runs

2007
.317, 3 homers, 8 triples, 16 doubles, 38 stolen bases, 36 RBI, 53 runs

Carlos Beltran
2006 (thru June 27)
.291, 21 homers, 60 RBI, 57 runs

2007
.271, 10 homers, 44 RBI, 40 runs

David Wright
2006 (thru June 27, 2007)
332, 18 homers, 64 RBI, 19 doubles, 50 runs

2007
.285, 13 homers, 42 RBI, 18 doubles, 42 runs, 16SBs

Carlos Delgado
2006 (thru June 27)
.262, 21 homers, 54 RBI, 46 runs

2007
.225, 11 homers, 42 RBI, 35 runs

Around the Horn: Willie Not Happy with Beltran's Chatter

Seems fans are not the only ones disappointed with Carlos Beltran. According to multiple reports, Willie Randolph, not happy with his star centerfielder for continually opening his mouth up about his 'sore quad' pulled Beltran aside during batting practice to talk to him about it.

David Lennon of Newsday writes: Randolph was mystified yesterday by another round of questioning about Beltran's quad and further annoyed by media accounts indicating he didn't know of his status. Quote from Willie "I don't see it as an issue," Randolph said. "Somebody suggested that we're not on the same page. Maybe a little bit at times, but so what? What about [Jose] Valentin? He looks restricted. He has a big brace on his knee ... From what I know, [Beltran] has been feeling the soreness in his leg since spring training."

In the Daily News, Vic Ziegel pens his own piece on the subject, quoting Willie saying, "I don't see where it's an issue." The manager will admit it's sore but that's as far as he goes.

In other words, Willie 'stelling him to shut up and play.

Mets 8 Twins 1

Finally some runs! After smacking 15 hits for 8 runs, the Mets get a "W". Carlos Delgado busted out with a home run, Carlos Beltran hit the ball real hard and had a rope double, Reyes had 3 hits. The big key tonight were the 2 out, RBI hits that were virtually non-exisistant over the last two weeks. Those 2-out hits were the signature of the team last year and it was nice to see them back to form tonight.

John Maine, now 7-4, was impressive once again, throwing 7 shut out innings to lower his ERA to 2.90. Both Maine and Perez should be considered for the All-Star game as they can easily have 10 victories a piece.

Quote of the Day

“I don’t feel frustrated, because I am doing my best.” By Carlos Beltran.

Really? You’re not frustrated? Interesting, because this mini, potentially season-changing collapse is pissing me off. My frustration was boiling over yesterday after watching you foul out feebly on the first pitch to end the game. Especially after seeing a 21 year old kid battle his way to a hit off the greatest closer of all-time. Especially watching the ultra-passionate, super-charged and team MVP Jose Reyes work a tough AB into a RBI hit. Then you step in the box; one pitch, game over. I’m really glad you don’t feel frustrated.

I’m not sure what aggravates me more: That he’s looking like the 2005 version of Carlo Beltran or that he openly admits to not being frustrated.

Look, I wanted Beltran here in the worst way when he was a free agent. I thought he was exactly what this team needed, a superstar centerfielder just entering his prime. I even wrote in to Metsblog when Matt Cerrone was putting a petition together to recruit him here. And so I can deal with the slumping, the thoughtless ABs, but it really steams me as a fan, a MetsLifer, when someone isn’t emotionally connected to the game. I really don’t want to hear ‘I don’t feel frustrated’ during these down times.

It makes me question why then, should I be so passionate about it? If he doesn’t care, why should I? Why go to the games, contribute to his salary if he’s indifferent about whether they win or lose. Maybe that’s why he was telling everybody he wasn’t affected by his infamous, season-ending strikeout last year against St. Louis. Maybe that’s why he’s loafing after balls in the outfield. Maybe that’s why he’s not on second base after a dropped pop up in the outfield – down by one run in the last inning. He just doesn’t care. Try asking Jose Reyes is he feels frustrated. You think he would respond the same? ‘Course not, and he’s playing well. Take a look at Willie Randolph’s face, think he’s not frustrated? Listen to talk radio, read the blogs. Think Mets fans aren’t frustrated?

Some might say I’m being too harsh but when a player makes a statement like that, he opens himself up to all kinds of criticism. How can we not question his desire? All we can expect as fans is that you play hard and that you want to win. If that expectation is compromised or in doubt, then so too should our financial contributions.