Yes my fellow Mets fans, the rumor is true; Marty Noble of MLB.com reported that CF Carlos Beltran had an arthroscopic clean out of the arthritic area of his troublesome right knee because of “worsening osteoarthritis” as he progressed through his off-season conditioning.  So much for a new year and a clean slate for the organization.  The amount of time Beltran will be out of commission means that he won’t be allowed to begin baseball activities until after the Mets open up their 2010 campaign at Citi Field against the Florida Marlins on April 5th.

I don’t know what other Mets fans are thinking, but I am definitely growing tired of Beltran and how delicate he.  After his disappointing 2005 season, he indeed produced for New York from 2006 through 2008, but there always seems to be a problem with one of his knees.  He joined the rest of the organization on the Disabled List in 2009 on June 22nd with a bone bruise behind his right knee cap and didn’t return to action until September 8th.  Now, I’m sure that this injury had to be painful, but a bone bruise puts a professional athlete on the DL for 3 months?!?  Something just doesn’t add up here.  What is worse is that when Beltran made a public appearance in Manhattan on November 11th, he reported that nothing was wrong with his knee and he will be ready to roll come February.

However, he apparently underwent this surgery in Denver, CO yesterday without letting the Mets know about it first.  I have a huge problem with this because New York is now paying Beltran $18.5 million/year for the remainder of his contract, yet he doesn’t have the decency to run this by the Front Office first?  They have made a huge financial commitment to him for the next couple of years, therefore they should play a main role in what happens to Beltran.  Rumor has it that the Mets are filing a grievance against Beltran for his actions, and they should.  Regardless if he needed the surgery or not, you need to be responsible enough to let the proper people know what’s going on with your body.

I’ve already seen fans hit the panic button because the Mets don’t have their CF to start off 2010.  People think that the season is over before it even begins!  Yes, he is a significant part of New York’s plans for this season, but it is far from the end of the World.  Even though he made some stupid mistakes, Angel Pagan is still on the roster and he showed many flashes of brilliance while he stepped in for Beltran last season.  Hopefully he has grown a little bit and learned from the mistakes he made in 2009 so they won’t happen nearly as often in 2010.  Pagan plays hard and plays the game right, so I’m actually quite comfortable with him in CF on April 5th until whenever the delicate 18.5 million dollar man decides he’s ready to return to his teammates.