PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Beltran’s anger toward the Mets is gone. That, at least, was the message Beltran tried to convey yesterday upon reporting to Tradition Field for the continuation of rehab on his right knee.
Did Beltran have unauthorized surgery last month or were the Mets guilty of botching another medical issue? Whatever the answer to that question, Beltran isn’t interested in opening old wounds.
He referred yesterday to a statement he issued following the arthroscopic surgery performed by Dr. Richard Steadman on Jan. 13, in which Beltran said general manager Omar Minaya gave the green light for the procedure. The Mets have maintained they never implicitly approved the surgery.
Beltran felt as if his name was dragged through the mud. He said it took some time for him to calm down from the accusation he had acted improperly.
“It took me a while, because I’m a human being and I’m a person that has feelings,” Beltran said. “It took like a week for me to forget about everything and start focusing on what is important for me. What’s important for me right now is be happy with the team and ready and able to play.”
Beltran said he is on schedule to resume baseball activities in mid-April, putting him on course for a return to the Mets perhaps two or three weeks later, but has been offered no guarantee that the fragments removed from his knee will prevent him from incurring bone bruising. It was a bone bruise in the knee that kept Beltran sidelined for most of last season.
“After [Steadman] did the surgery, he wanted to do three or four MRIs to follow the progression and healing part of the knee,” Beltran said. “I didn’t get the first one yet, but when I get the first one we can talk about that.”
With Beltran sidelined, Gary Matthews Jr. and Angel Pagan will battle for the starting center-field job. Beltran completed phase one of his rehab at home in Puerto Rico and will spend the next several weeks with teammates trying to strengthen the muscles in his leg.
“Just him being here shows what a class act he is, and I’m just very happy with him being here,” Minaya said.
Beltran indicated the pain in his knee subsided immediately after the surgery. Why didn’t he have the surgery sooner? Beltran said he initially didn’t need the procedure, but his knee worsened during the winter.
“The doctor said to me when he went inside, he couldn’t believe how I was playing with so many little pieces floating around in the knee,” Beltran said. “But when he cleaned me out, he said, ‘You’re going to feel 100 percent the day after the surgery,’ and that’s how I felt.”
Manager Jerry Manuel doesn’t anticipate that any of the bitterness Beltran might have held toward the organization for the apparent miscommunication on the surgery will affect how the player performs this season.
Manuel said he was expecting a career year from Beltran in 2009, and losing so many potential RBIs crippled the lineup.
“Switch hitter, middle of the order, power, speed, center fielder,” Manuel said. “When you have it, you kind of take it for granted, but when you lose it, it’s tough to lose.”
Beltran just wants to forget about the past several weeks.
“Everything that was said about me, I can’t control that,” Beltran said. “What I can control right now is the effort I put into the rehab and the effort I put into getting on the field as fast as I can.”