I don’t usually make predictions, but I’ll go on record projecting Carlos Beltran will skewer Mets pitching for the next three or four days, and I’m only hedging on how many because I figure Monday afternoon following a Sunday night he might be rested.
He’s already having a bang-up season for the Cardinals, a year after having a bang-up season while the Mets were preparing to send him away [1]. Never mind the mole on the ear. This guy’s gonna be playing with a chip on his shoulder all weekend. For anyone who ever doubted his desire to return from injury, for anyone who thought he didn’t show enough fire, for anyone who focused exclusively on the things he didn’t do as opposed to reveling in how much he accomplished as a Met for seven years…yeah, he’s gonna come out swinging.
I’ll enjoy it for the first home run, which I assume will come in the first plate appearance. I’ll appreciate it less and less as the series goes on, but I’ll accept it as the cost of doing business. Carlos Beltran will leave here bat scalding, and we can get back to the Wheeler watch [2]…which will be fine in the long run.
In the short run, though, it’s gonna be something else. Just a hunch.