Larry Brown Sports

Welcome back to the National League, Josh. Those of you who somehow missed all the stuff about pitchers pounding beers and hawking down fried chicken in Boston last year may not know this, but Josh Beckett isn’t exactly a model of fitness. Watching him swing a bat during interleague play when he was with the Red Sox was always entertaining. However, Beckett actually ripped a solid single to right field during the third inning of the Dodgers-Cardinals game Thursday night. His problem was getting down the line.

Carlos Beltran, who has a pretty strong arm, scooped the ball up in right and was able to gun Beckett out at first. Since Beckett is fat, we aren’t surprised. Since this type of thing rarely ever happens at the MLB level, it was still fun to watch. Perhaps Josh should just go back to leaving the bat on his shoulder.

Mets pitcher Jon Niese reported to spring training with a new look this week. Yup, Niese got a nose job and says he’s lost 10 pounds since getting it done because his breathing is now improved. But the reason he got it done is the best part.

Niese says former teammate Carlos Beltran teased him last season and offered to pay for the procedure if Neise got it done. The pitcher got the surgery in October, though he hasn’t spoken with Beltran about it yet.

“Carlos wanted me to do it, so I was like, ‘OK,’ ” Niese said. “I couldn’t say no. And then it turned into fixing it.”

Niese says he’ll remind Beltran to pay when he talks to him. There’s been no response from Beltran about removing the mole from the side of his face.

Any highly-paid player who does not bring a championship to a bitter fan base is at risk of becoming a scapegoat.  When the Mets signed Carlos Beltran to a seven-year, $119 million contract back in 2005, their fans immediately began thinking “World Series or bust.”  They were almost treated to a World Series trip in 2006, but they fell just short in the NLCS and remained — well — the Mets.  More than five years later, Beltran thinks it is time for Mets fans to get over that loss.

“I just want to have the opportunity to be in the playoffs,” Beltran told the NY Daily News after signing with the Cardinals, the team that defeated the Mets in that 2006 NLCS. “What happened in 2006, you have to turn the page. That’s over. We can’t bring 2006 back to 2012. It has been six years. If they want to continue to think about that moment, then that’s their problem. Like I said, I have turned the page. I have really moved on.”

Beltran, of course, struck out to end that series.  What he doesn’t realize is that New York fans don’t forget.  Even worse, Mets fans have not been given a reason to forget anything since 1986.  They are used to having high expectations each season and awaiting an inevitable meltdown.  This is a fan base that needs something to harp on.  Until Beltran makes his way into a disgruntled obituary, fans questioning his 2006 performance should be the least of his concerns.

Fist pound to Hardball Talk for the story

If we knew a player on an actual team who was willing to share inside information about trades, we would be at least a step ahead of everyone. While players like to be coy and say they have no idea who their team is looking to trade for or who they’re interested in on the free agent market, we all know they must have some clue.

Leave it to the man who rocked these awesome cleats at Tuesday night’s All-Star Game to share that inside information with the public.  After the game, John Shea reported on Twitter that Brian Wilson told him the following: “I guess we’re in talks with (the Mets) about (Carlos) Beltran. Just another perennial hitter. Could only help out a squad.”

Carlos Beltran could be a nice addition for the defending champs and based on the Mets’ owners comments it’s no secret New York is looking to deal the outfielder.  Wilson tried to backtrack when asked a follow-up question by saying it was just a rumor that he heard, but obviously he just realized he may have said to much.  For a man that does television interviews dressed like this, it should come as no surprise that he had a momentary lapse in judgment.

In any event, Wilson will have beaten Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal, and any other baseball insider to the news if the Giants do indeed work out a trade for Beltran.

via Hardball Talk

If you had a chance to read Mets owner Fred Wilpon’s comments about the current state of his team and players on Monday, you don’t need us to tell you the things he said were idiotic and ill-advised.  For starters, it probably isn’t a good idea to refer to your team as “sh***y” when you are the one who put it together and fans are paying huge money to attend games.  It also may have been best if Wilpon refrained from trashing his most highly-paid players, especially ones like Carlos Beltran who could shaft the team going forward.

Beltran is on the books for the Mets for one more season and owed $18.5 million.  The Mets have not gotten off to a good start (22-24) and thus far have looked like a team that would be sellers at the trade deadline.  Dealing Beltran would make the most sense considering he is in the final year of his deal and owed a ton of money, but the problem is Beltran has a full no-trade clause.

When asked about Wilpon’s comments, Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras, said that he wished things like this would be kept in-house but also reiterated the importance of the no-trade clause. “No doubt,” he said. “It was a primary point that he wanted to make sure he got to stay in one place with his family as long as he could.”

Check and mate.  As ESPN’s Adam Rubin pointed out, Beltran could make life very difficult for the Mets if and when they are looking to trade him.  He could refuse to go to certain teams that are offering the best deal simply because they are not playoff contenders.  He could also refuse to be traded to a team that has no interest in extending him.  Whether or not Beltran is interested in sticking it to New York after hearing Wilpon’s comments remains to be seen.  The only thing that matters is he can if he so chooses.