MIAMI – This is the Carlos Beltran – and the K-Rod – the Mets need.
This is the five-tool Beltran, the passionate player who was unstoppable for the Astros in the 2004 playoffs, now starring for Team Puerto Rico. There has been so much said about how the World Baseball Classic hurts major league teams. The way Beltran is playing for Puerto Rico will be a plus once he gets back to the Mets.
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He’s taking the extra base, hitting for power and playing magnificent defense. He has been the best player on the field the first two rounds. And he’s smiling all the time.
“I think this will really help me get ready for the season,” Beltran told me last night as Puerto Rico lost, 2-0 to Venezuela at Dolphin Stadium. Venezuela moves on to the Final Four in Los Angeles. Puerto Rico plays Team USA tonight, the loser going home, with Ted Lilly and Jonathan Sanchez starting.
Beltran is batting .500 in the tournament and was on base all four times last night. His new teammate, Frankie Rodriguez, came on to get his second four-out save for Venezuela in three days, this time coming on against Felipe Lopez with a 2-1 count and runners on first and second. K-Rod struck out Lopez. He threw only 20 pitches to get four outs.
Don’t freak out Mets fans; he knows what he is doing. “I’m not going to put my future at risk at all,” Rodriguez said. “I feel tremendous. If I feel like I can, I will. If I cannot do it I will not do it.”
Before Puerto Rico beat Team USA like a drum in their first meeting, Beltran, J.C. Romero and Geovany Soto got together as a musical combo, entertaining teammates in the clubhouse.
“We were playing the drums, we were having a good time,” Beltran explained. “This is what we do at Christmas time, we play drums, as a family here we are having a great time, things are going well for us and we are enjoying the moment. This has been a great experience for me.”
Beltran understands the big WBC picture.
“This is so important for me,” he said. “You don’t want to let Puerto Rico down. Your family, your friends, the fans, but at the same time, this is not all. We are also getting ready for the season. I’m giving it my all, but at the same time I’m being conscious of not getting hurt and not doing something crazy that might cost you a lot of games during the season.”
Beltran would love for Puerto Rico to win the WBC, and take it all back to the Mets. “I think this year we have a very special Mets team and that’s our goal to get ready for the Mets’ season,” he said.
He was not making a “We’re the team to beat” comment. When Beltran says “We have a very special Mets team” it is noteworthy because it is said with pride. There is depth to the comment.
Just as there is depth to Beltran’s game when he is clicking on all cylinders, when he is taking the extra base, hitting for power and playing outstanding defense.
Puerto Rico hitting coach Eduardo Perez sees the fire in Beltran.
“This is our World Series,” Perez said. “There is a lot of heart and a lot of pride. And I think it’s really going to help Beltran and [Carlos] Delgado with the Mets. These guys are usually slow starters, but this going to get them going. They’ll be ready to go when the season starts.
“We saw Beltran in the playoffs with Houston,” Perez noted, “I saw the way he was, and that’s how he is playing now.”
Along with K-Rod’s success, that’s the best news the Mets could get from the WBC.