Mt. Beltran Finally Blows
Carlos Beltran‘s stomach virus is gone and it left a monster in it’s wake. In yesterday’s game, his first since battling the virus, Beltran went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. But the real monster came out later, after the Mets lost 11-6 to complete the Pirates sweep of them.
Beltran actually said he was “embarrassed” by the way the Mets’ performed against the Pirates, who were in last place in the NL Central before the Mets visited. He went off on a rant when talking to reporters after the game. Here are some highlights:
- “After we lose the first game, which I thought we were going to win, it really changed the tempo of how we were playing the game. Basically, the opposing team gained confidence and they came back and basically outran us.” In other words we let them beat us.
- “I’m not pointing fingers at anybody. Offense, defense, pitching — we have to find a way to play better. The reality of this is, coming here to Pittsburgh and being swept — personally, I feel embarrassed.” So do the fans.
- “We have to play better. There’s no doubt we have to play better.”
- “We have to take this personal, because this can’t happen. It can’t happen for us to come here and lose three games just like that. It can’t happen.”
- “I know they’re a big league ballclub, but we’re better than them (the Pirates). We’re better than them. We know we’re better than them, but we have to do something about it.”
- “(Nate) McLouth wasn’t there and they still come out and score how many runs? Eleven? Eleven runs. So we have to play better.”
Sounds to me like someone has finally caught some fire and it’s about time. Beltran didn’t call out a single teammate with his comments. He called out the whole darn team! Compare Beltran’s words to David Wright‘s comments: “We need to put this series behind us and really move forward. It’s funny how this game works. We were playing such good baseball coming into the series, then fell kind of flat here in Pittsburgh. There’s nothing we can do about this. You move forward.”
True, you need to move forward. But there is definitely something you can do about it. You get angry. You show the fans that you take it as personally as they do.
Look, these guys are definitely trying. Some are taking extra batting practice, some are taking extra fielding practice, some are throwing extra bullpen sessions. But the game is more than just practicing what you do. It’s a frame of mind too. Wright’s comments showed the frame of mind of someone who has lost and needed to answer questions about it. Beltran’s comment showed the frame of mind of someone who has lost but hates losing and wants his teammates to hate it as much as he does. It’s nice to see some vocal leadership (Beltran) instead of just a spokesperson (Wright).
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