Carlos Beltran, maybe you should shut the fuck up and start earning your money.
Over the last couple of hours, I've been "catching up" on everything baseball. From watching a fantastic 0-0 Angels-Tigers game go 12 innings with the Angels winning 1-0 on a bases loaded walk, to reading up on all of the Willie Randolph drama, to watching SportsCenter and seeing the Mets lose another game...
But after reading this.... my blood is boiling.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmreax0527,0,1939840.story
'Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran Tuesday said the Willie Randolph job security drama has been a distraction to the players and called on the club to clarify the manager's position for the rest of the season -- something general manager Omar Minaya did not do despite a nearly three-hour meeting with Randolph and Fred and Jeff Wilpon.
"I think they should say that and come out with something like that," Beltran said. "Because it is a distraction. The reality is people say, 'No, that doesn't affect the ballclub,' but it does. It does because you come to the ballpark wondering what's going to happen. It's natural as players, we all think like that.
"At one point, I was in that situation when they were talking every day about me being traded when I was in Kansas City. To me, it was thinking it might be today. Wednesday might be the day. It's not fun coming wondering like that every day to the ballpark."
Randolph was not fired Tuesday but was not given any guarantees that he won't be in the future. Minaya, though, said he does not feel the need to address Randolph's situation with the team. "You play here, you've got to be ready to deal with distractions," Minaya said.
Most key Mets players voiced support for Randolph. Carlos Delgado: "It's not the manager." Billy Wagner: "He's not the cause of any of our problems." David Wright: "I completely understand the front office or ownership wanting to shake things up to jump-start us. I'm not opposed to that. But we as players need to just step it up. To me, it's unfair for Willie to be taking the brunt of this when we're not going out there and getting the job done.""
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Carlos Beltran, YOU are the player who arguably cost the team the game against Florida tonight after making an ill-advised diving catch attempt at a line drive that you were nowhere near.
YOU are the cleanup hitter with 4 HRs to his name and a batting average befitting a #7-hitter in the lineup. YOU should thank Willie Randolph for having as much faith as he has in you, for not dropping you down in the batting order.
YOU are the man who had a shockingly-awful 2005 season. Yes, you made up for your Bonilla-like mess over the next two seasons and you won the Met fans back through your production, but your 2008 season so far reminds us all of the 2005 vile abortion you were at the plate.
YOU are the key to this team's offense, and over the course of the 2008 season, have FAILED to be the threat that all teams need. Do you remember when your name was kept in the same company as powerhouse franchise hitters like Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee, David Ortiz, and Vladimir Guerrero? That's no longer the case.
Carlos Beltran, we know you are a great player and you have all the potential in the world.
But fer fuck's sake, shut your fucking mouth and start playing like the person we know you can be, instead of whining about who the manager might or might not be next week.
The "distraction" has more to do with your surgically-repaired knees than it does the tenuous job status of Willie Randolph, and you know it.
Do what you have to do to carry this team to the very best of your ability, instead of whining about bullshit distractions in the front office.
Welcome to the big leagues Carlos, you've only been around them for the past decade. Perhaps you might wanna start acting like it.
