Carlos Beltran

For this post, I'm going to share an e-mail I sent to Ted Berg regarding the departure of Carlos Beltran. This was sent the day after the all-star game and bears mentioning in the wake of the recent trade.

Hi Ted,

Something about last nights game really moved me. I think I came to grips with the fact that Carlos Beltran will be leaving the Mets soon. Say what you will about the All-Star Game, but I'm extremely glad I got to see his two plate appearances, rally-starting single, and coming across the plate as the tying run off of Price Fielder's home run. Somehow, that one inning put his entire career as a Met in perspective for me.

I realized last night how much I'm going to miss Carlos' understated-yet-graceful style of play, and how central he has been to these Mets we've come to know over recent years. Moreover, I began to fully comprehend the tragedy of having his whole career unfairly boiled down to one plate appearance, one pitch, and one backwards letter "K".

Carlos Beltran truly is awesome, and I hope he gets the chance to win a World Series on a legitimate contender. He is clearly past his prime physically, but continues to carry himself with dignity and has proven time and time again that he can still play.

I'm sure Carlos will do anything he can to help whatever team he's on, and will continue to do so quietly and without hesitation, unlike so many of his aging counterparts that we've heard about this year.

Beltran, playing in a largely meaningless game and in an unfamiliar setting, showed just what kind of a ball player he is last night. He made the absolute most out of his two plate appearances, and contributed to giving his team, and NL fans everywhere, the win. He did it for a team that he has never played for before, and never will again. Carlos Beltran is not selfish, he is a treasure of the game, and Mets fans are lucky to have witnessed his peak years. Hopefully we're also smart enough to realize this.

If there's any way you could pass this sentiment on to people closely associated with the team, I would appreciate it. Beltran might be one of the most under-appreciated players on the team. I'd like for him to know that the fans are going to miss him dearly, and that we wish him the best of luck in future baseball endeavors.

Yours,

Kevin Easton

Ted, a professional journalist for SNY, took the time to respond to me. He's a passionate Mets fan and a funny, clever guy. If you're not reading his blog, do yourself a favor and fix that.

Goodbye Carlos Beltran. We'll always miss you in flushing, but best of luck with the Giants!

All-Star Break

We sit now, finally, at the beginning of a new era in Queens. Sandy Alderson is at the head of a team that was crafted by someone else, and that is over-achieving to play .500 baseball. The first major trade of the season has occurred, with K-Rod going to the Brewers. Most of the one-year-deal players brought in during the spring seem to be readily available to any team willing to kick the tires, and Alderson seems poised to start running things his way this off-season. Nobody can really tell when the Mets will be serious contenders again, but hopefully a few seasons of competent and responsible player management will pave the way to sustained success.

Quick opinion on the season so far:

It's impossible to overstate the importance of having so few "automatic outs" on the roster as compared to previous seasons. This is reflected by the apparent "gritty/scrappy" offense of Turner, Murphy, et al. A team is far more likely to rally when they don't have a roster full of rally killers.

David Wright, Ike Davis and Jose Reyes are good, but may not be the kind of superstar talent necessary to compete with the modern iterations of the Phillies and Braves. The roster could use some bona-fide offensive players in the outfield. Something to look out for in the future.

Turner, Murphy, Thole, R. A. Dickey and Capuano are fun to watch and great players to root for, but may bring in more in an off-season trade than what they produce on the field. Unfortunately, at this point the team should be focused on getting better no matter what. I'm glad that Alderson has to make the hard choices and not me.

Lastly, I'm all for the K-Rod trade. It was the responsible thing to do. Frankie was always a bit more of a headache than he was worth anyway.