http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7632897/ The Mets made two big moves in the free-agent market during the offseason. One, Pedro Martinez, has been one of the best deals anyone made. The other, Carlos Beltran, has turned out to be a disaster. Instead of paying $119 million over seven years, Omar Minaya should have picked up a cocker spaniel at the local Humane Society. He’d have got pretty much the same thing. Mets fans hailed the deal when it was made. Here, at last, was a big bat in the middle of the lineup, somebody who could carry the team to the top of the NL East. That was in January. Seven months later, the same fans are booing him with the sort of gusto once reserved for John Rocker.[/b] Beltran, who is just 28, came to the Mets with a pretty good resume. With the exception of 2000, when injuries limited him to 98 games, he has been good for 100-plus RBI and 100-plus runs every year since 1999, his first full season in the bigs. Then he signed the monster free-agent contract, and look at his numbers now. He’s on pace for maybe 75-80 RBI and even fewer runs. In the past four years, he’s stolen between 31 and 42 bases a season. This year he has seven. In the same period, his home run totals have climbed from 24 to 38. This year he has 12 and is going to have to pick up the pace just to reach 20. Mets fans are used to this. They’ve seen an unending stream of big-name free agents come through, from George Foster to Mo Vaughn, only to flop in Flushing. The surprise isn’t that Beltran is playing so badly, but that Martinez is playing so well. But the Mets are stuck, as Beltran has reminded them. After a particularly poor performance earlier this week, he said the fans could boo all they want, but he’s going to be around for seven years anyway. Some long-term deals work out for everybody, but there are too many like Beltran’s that never deliver what’s promised. You can start with Kevin Brown as Exhibit A on that list. And as long as you’re talking about the Yankees, you could add Jason Giambi. Despite his recent revival, he hasn’t been worth $18 million annually since coming to the Bronx.
yeah, i thought the little reminder from beltran that they're stuck with him for 7 years probably wasn't the smartest comment ever. not exactly endearing. suck on, mets!!! btw -- I demand an apology from TraderJorge regarding that no-trade clause!
What more can you say about this guy? Blame Boras all you want, as I will too... but Beltran's attitude is not one to look up to as well. This guy is just feeling sorry for himself or something. First, he tries to lie to himself and say that our booing doesn't bother him. He went on to try to buy the media saying that the T-shirts are great if they're for a good cause. He proceeded to struggle for 3 out of the 4 games in MMP. Now he's antagonizing the Mets fans with such a remark... unbelievable!
What do you think he should do? Say "yes, the booing really bothers me - I wish they'd stop!"? What athlete (or person in general) do you know that's not going to get defensive when attacked? I see him as going about his job. If people ask him about the booing, he responds. Big deal. Honestly, my guess is that 4 years from now (at the end of Pedro's contract), Beltran will be the one closer to being worth the money (if anyone is really worth $18M / yr), and Pedro will not.
your probably right. but given where guys like pujols and vlad are situated in pay scale...he'll never be "worth the money." he's not in that class of players.
I agree - it doesn't look like it, certainly. He had progressed pretty consistently over his first 5 or 6 years that if he could have continued and become a gold-glove 40/40 guy, I think he'd be worth Vlad/Pujols type money. But he doesn't seem on that path anymore. Yesterday, he misplayed a fly ball (seemingly laziness) that cost the Mets 2 or 3 runs in the 9th... that's just stuff he never did with us. It's very strange.
Agreed. Given his breakout performance in last year's playoffs, you could definitely make a case for Beltran's name in the same bucket as Pujols, Vlado, etc. The reality is that Carlos earned himself an extra $40-50 million dollars on last year's playoffs alone. Remember, he only hit .258 during his regular season stint with the Astros. I'd say his numbers so far this year are a pretty accurate reflection of what the Mets can expect for the next 6 years.
They have these "Come See The New Mets" signs all over New York, and there was this one near my office that says to the effect of "Come And See Beltran Hit a Passing Airplane With a Home Run!!!" It used to piss me off every morning. Now it makes me laugh.
Not exactly, but he could and should acknowledge that he cares about anything else but the money. In doing so, maybe show some compassion to the fans and expect more of himself. He could say that he expects more of himself and will work hard to do so. But instead, he just says that he'll be here 7 years no matter what. That sounds more like a, "I got the money either way and there's nothing you or anyone else could do about it; therefore, why should I bother trying harder?" I don't blame him for being defensive, nor do I blame him for taking more money; he just seems to have the worst way in going about it.
Exactly. We've all heard players who are slumping badly say things like, "yeah, I'm terrible out there" or other similar things. I just want to remind him that he'd have been a king here. Had he resigned, he'd be #2 with a bullet on the Houston Sports Legends list with a real opportunity to take over Dream's top spot if he helped us win a World Series. But, he took his "no-trade clause" (in the words of Novak...that is BULL****!) and extra money to play in a city that will boo at the first sign of not living up to the contract. I would also like to thank him for leaving.
It's also a great possibility that this leg injury is changing the way he plays. If it hurts, people tend to favor it and find ways around it. For a speedy center fielder, he might try to glide to the ball moreso than moving his legs as much. Also, playing in NY seems to generate a lot more criticism than elsewhere. From what I've gathered, he really doesn't seem to take criticism in strides. But in all seriousness, work is work; life is life. If he is to take that amount of money from NY, then he'll have to work hard. I get the feeling that he's his own worst critic; making it hard for him because he's trying to do too much. Maybe once he figure out that he can not go for a HR on every pitch, he'll be a better player and the "5-tool" player that he is labeled as. But meanwhile, don't expect my to cheer for him.
oh well, at least we got willy now. im quite content that beltran left. i think he will do better next season (bc if he doesnt, i think that will just be the end to beltran), but i am suuuuure enjoying his LONG slump.
He did say all of that. Look at the quotes from all the articles when he was in town. He said all of those things, about working hard, staying patient, staying focused, etc. He didn't <I>just</I> say that. That was one of many things he's said, but of course it's going to get printed more and separately because that's what sells.
But never once could I find him say anything about having to work harder. He never acknowledged that maybe it's him. He mentioned that he's not where he needs to be, but he doesn't sound like he's willing to change his everyday attitude towards his style of play or his fans. Sure, his style of play is what brought the Astros to where they were in the playoffs last year, but this is his recent regular season stats: 2003: BA: .303 OBP: .389 AB:521 Hits:160 Runs:102 HRs:26 RBIs:100 Walks:72 Ks:81 SBs:41 CS:4 2004(AL): BA:.278 OBP:.367 AB:266 Hits:74 Runs:51 HRs:15 RBIs:51 Walks:37 Ks:44 SBs:14 CS:3 2004(NL) BA:.258 OBP:.368 AB:333 Hits:86 Runs:70 HRs:23 RBIs:53 Walks:55 Ks57 SBs:28 CS:0 2005: BS:.264 OBP:.316 AB:397 Hits:105 Runs:50 HR13: RBIs:57 Walks:41 Ks69 SBs:7 CS:2 A slump is one thing, but his numbers are declining by a huge margin. and to keep it short.. just the BA for the months this year: April: .284 May:.304 June:.198 July:.290 August:200 He needs to put the blame solely on himself first. He lets the fans bother him, etc. If he can just stop putting this "Me vs. The World" attitude, maybe he can do something where at least his own fans can cheer for him. I don't hate him, I just love the Astros. Furthermore, his attitude is anything but pleasing to anyone outside of baseball. Regardless of how many times he tries to say the right thing, and believe me, most of it is somewhat scripted, he still needs to realize that his own fans are helping in paying that money. If they boo him, he should step up to his own failures, because he's leaving his own team with much to desire.
