Mets' Beltran Practices For 2nd Straight Day
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran participated in baseball activities for a second straight day Thursday, but his batting practice again was limited to the right side because of tendinitis in his left knee.
Beltran had been shut down for more than a week because of the knee, appearing in one exhibition game as a designated hitter March 6 before the setback. The Mets have no target date for his return to the field.
After his morning rehab and weightlifting, Beltran played long-toss and hit in the cage. He also worked on tracking pitches and planned to finish the day with conditioning in the pool.
The switch-hitter said he would do a "little bit more'' Friday, but did not expect to start hitting from the left side.
"I'm getting better so they don't want me to aggravate it,'' Beltran said. "So, that's where we stand.''
Beltran is eager to pick up the pace, but doesn't want to test the knee too quickly. He estimated Tuesday the knee was 50 percent less painful compared to a week ago.
"I will let them know when I'm ready to go,'' Beltran said. "But at the same time if they let me choose I would try to run and do other things out there, but that's not the smartest thing for me to do right now. I have to listen to what I feel. Like I say, it's better. Right now I am following the plan and I will continue following the plan.''
The 33-year-old outfielder has tendinitis in his left knee because he's been compensating for the right knee he had surgery on in January 2010. He was limited to 64 games last season and played 81 games in 2009.
Beltran is not worried about getting a certain number of at-bats before the season because of the hitting he did this winter. He also said the limited activity hasn't affected his conditioning.
"Every time you do bike, you do elliptical and you do pool, you are doing conditioning,'' Beltran said. "It's just the impact is not as hard as running outside. I feel like I'm in good condition. I just need to go outside and run and test it, and hopefully it feels better and I can play games.''
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
