Beltran Mess Gets Messier

Author: Greg Pomes

Yesterday John Ricco, the assistant general manager of the Mets held a conference call with reporters to talk about Carlos Beltran's injury and surgery.  Ricco said the following in the call:

When asked about Beltran not getting permission on the surgery Ricco said:

"There is an issue with the process in that we told the the agent that we wanted the ability to discuss the diagnosis and possibly get a thrid opinion. We were never afforded that opportunity, and that’s the only issue."

David Lennon of News Day asked: 

Is this an open wound from a legal standpoint?

Ricco Replied "We alerted his agent via letter that we were not afforded the opportunity that we asked for."  He went on to say:

"We are reserving our rights under the contract that we were not afforded the opportunity we asked for. That said we’re looking forward to getting him back as soon as possible."

Carlos Beltran released his own statement via his agent Scott Boras saying:

"I am totally surprised by the reaction to my recent knee surgery. I have done nothing but follow the directions of my doctors.

Any accusations that I ignored or defied the team’s wishes are simply false. I also spoke to Omar Minaya about the surgery on Tuesday.

He did not ask me to wait, or to get another doctor’s opinion. He just wished me well… I do not know what else I could have done.

No one from team raised any issue until Wednesday, after I was already in surgery.  I do not know what else I could have done. The most important thing here is that the surgery was a total success and I expect to be back on the field playing the game I love sooner rather than later"

This mess just got worse.  According to Beltran the General Manager not only knew about the surgery but gave Beltran his blessing and wished him well.  The Mets say that Beltran did not tell anyone until it was too late to stop him.  

This makes the Mets look even worse.  The Mets should have just said that they knew about the surgery and wish Carlos Beltran a speedy recovery.  It is fitting that the first thought that came to the mind of the Mets were to void Beltran's contract or to acquire some sought of financial restitution.  

This disconnect between Beltran and the Mets show that the players do not trust the Mets medical team and this could become a trend among Mets players who feel that the medical team last year waited too long to diagnose injuries and waited too long to decide on a treatment for the injuries.  

Obviously one side is not being 100% truthful, Carlos Beltran either told the Mets he was going to get surgery that would keep him out at least 3 months or he didn't.  I'm going to take the side of Beltran. This miscommunication is just typical of the Mets.  We saw last year how the Mets like to lie to the media or not be truthful and throws people in the organization under the bus.  How does Omar not tell the ball club that he talked with the Mets star player on Tuesday about getting surgery?  What exactly is Omar doing these days?  Certainly not his job.  Spring Training has yet to start and yet the Mets are already embarrassing us, 2010 is going to be another long year.