subject: Fresh charge on Carlos Beltran's battery [print this page] Fresh charge on Carlos Beltran's battery Fresh charge on Carlos Beltran's battery
The timing seemed just right. One inning into the Mets' 7-4 win over the Tigers, Angel Pagan was pulled when he felt tightness in his lower back. And at the same time in Port St. Lucie, Carlos Beltran was stepping into the batter's box in a minor-league game, starting his comeback from knee problems. compaq laptop battery
Pagan insisted he is fine, just a precautionary measure after his back tightened on the nearly three-hour bus ride across the state. Precautions are far more prevalent for Beltran.
Beltran's return came against low-level Washington Nationals' minor-leaguers, and he was restricted to serving as designated hitter. When he managed a hit, he jogged lightly and immediately was lifted for a pinch-runner. If this was step one of his return to the lineup, it seems like a long staircase ahead of him if opening day is his goal.
"I didn't run hard, but at the same time it was my first day basically on the field after getting the [cortisone] shot," Beltran told reporters in Port St. Lucie. "Everything today went well. Tomorrow I will feel a little more comfortable, and if I continue to play, the comfort level will come.
"[Monday] I did some work in the outfield, going to the line and going back and forth, and I didn't feel anything. But you have to go through a full day. That's different. But at the same time, I have to be smart. It just doesn't work that way. Because I feel great doesn't mean I'm healed 100 percent." Toshiba satellite battery
Still, the Mets were encouraged to see a step taken. He was 2-for-8 with a double and a home run Tuesday the homer coming from the left side. Beltran has played in only one Grapefruit League game, serving as designated hitter March 6 when he got three at-bats and promptly shut down his comeback when his left knee the better of the two developed tendinitis. It required oral anti-inflammatories and the cortisone injection.
"I'm very encouraged," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "The fact that he got out of there and felt good at the end; I'm not concerned about what he does offensively, just the fact that each and every day he feels as good as he does at the end of the day to where tomorrow we can take another step forward."
While the Mets have a plan, they aren't revealing it publicly. One team official said a schedule was set to give Beltran three Grapefruit League starts with rest in between, but with eight games left, he would have to take a drastic step forward soon.
At least the Mets were relieved not to find Pagan's problem serious. Having shifted Pagan to center and Beltran to right this spring, the team said even if Pagan were lost for a period, they would not move Beltran back to his natural spot. While that might seem rash, considering he hasn't even made the move to right, his inability to stay on the field makes center field seem beyond his health capabilities. HP laptop battery
"We're just trying to be cautious," Pagan said of his tightness. "It's only 10 days before the season starts. You don't want to get worse. Terry told me to call it a day and I did. During the season I could have played with it, but there's no reason to get something bad out of it and maybe get hurt."
When Pagan was shut down Tuesday, the Mets shifted Jason Bay from left to center.
Bay hasn't played there in a regular-season game since 2005, when he started 29 games in center for the Pirates. Bay said he started a handful of games for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, but laughed at the thought of doing it on a long-term basis.
"[Tuesday] I said, Let's do it. Why not?' " Bay said. "Not a good reaction, even the thought that it would be in a big-league game. But in a pinch, get some at-bats and 2-for-2 on fly balls out there it's old hat. Don't pencil me in on opening day. I can do it in a pinch."
