As has become the endless game of cat and mouse we Met fans have become accustomed to, it has also become fairly obvious that this organization just cannot let go. The organization views their high-priced talent with everlasting hopes and dreams of rejuvenation but sometimes you have to just move on. As the late Fred Gwynne once said "Sometimes, dead is better". That is the case here with the Mets.
The club was able to move on from Carlos Delgado and his "100 RBIs or 100 Games Played" career which was of course riddled with injuries down the stretch. Okay, his stint with the Mets wasn't that bad, but the team knew when the ship had left the harbor and yet somehow they don't see that Beltran's career with the Mets is absolutely over. Maybe it's the fact that he's got such an expensive contract, they pretty much can't cut him loose. But if his injuries are that serious and he cannot play 2 back to back games at DH, how do we expect him to be prepared to play 100+ games shagging fly balls in Right Field?
The case is the same with Oliver Perez. Instead of just buying him out and cutting him loose, it's a little cat and mouse game. Maybe he'll start, maybe he'll be in the bullpen. Perhaps we won't pitch him at all for most of the season, catch a glimpse of him play pathetically in Winter Ball, watch him throw 82 mph fastballs in a Spring Training start and of course, ya gotta love this part – give him another outing in Spring Training. Why is he competing for a bullpen position when he couldn't crack the bullpen on a regular basis last summer when the season was already out of reach? Today Terry Collins will waste his time traveling two hours to watch Perez pitch when the more important players such as Chris Capuano stay at Port St. Lucie. Even our Pitching Coach Dan Warthen will be in St. Lucie instead of with Perez. You'd think he'd be an important viewer of Perez's performance if he had a legitimate chance of making the roster. So why screw around with us?
At this point, it is clearly time to move on and accept these two players along with Luis Castillo as lost hope. They provide nothing to the ballclub except for negative publicity and blocking a roster space from players, both veterans and minor leaguers, from getting a legitimate opportunity to prove something and be on the Opening Day roster. I haven't watched much Spring Training this Month, I have no idea how Nick Evans and Lucas Duda have looked at the plate — but I do know this: I would rather see them play in RF during Spring Training and start at RF on Opening Day than Carlos Beltran. Let him work off the bench until he can prove he can play the field on a daily basis.
P.S. No I do not want to see Fernando Martinez in Right Field on opening day. I'd prefer to see him finish at least 2 full months of HEALTHY AAA baseball before giving him playing time.
