Coleman: Carlos Beltran Is Back

By Ed Coleman
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Carlos Beltran arrived in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday - but this time on a team bus wearing a St. Louis Cardinal uniform. Beltran met the media before manning right field in an exhibition game against his former team, and expressed what his time in New York meant to him.

Beltran finished out 2011 with San Francisco after the Zack Wheeler trade with the Giants, and then signed with the Cardinals after Albert Pujols fled to the Angels. He knows the Mets are going about it differently these days, and realized that St. Louis was a good spot for a veteran hitter like himself.

A big beneficiary of Beltran's tenure with the Mets was Lucas Duda. Beltran took Duda under his wing after the young slugger got off to a tough start, and dispensed advice that obviously had a positive effect. Beltran believes the sky's the limit for Duda.

Beltran roamed centerfield for most of his time in New York before switching to right last season. The new Met centerfielder - Andres Torres - is a friend and former teammate who had a down season last year. Beltran urged him to move back from the plate a bit and also to use a lighter bat to take advantage of his quickness.

Beltran is well aware of the Mets' financial woes and that the philosophy has changed partly because of that.

Finally what, if anything, has he missed about playing in New York?

It might just be happenstance irony but Adam Wainwright - coming off Tommy John surgery and the pitcher that tied Beltran up in knots back in 2006 - was the Cardinal pitcher facing the Mets on Tuesday. Omen - or not?

C U soon
Eddie C.