Palladino: Yankees Need Contagious Beltran To Keep Producing
By Ernie Palladino
» More Ernie Palladino Columns
Joe Girardi will get another look at where his Yankees are going over these next 10 road games. But before that, he should give Carlos Beltran a hearty handshake, and maybe a little hug.
If it wasn't for him, that old, creaky squad might not have had the six-game winning streak that put them at .500 before the last two losses to the Blue Jays pushed them under again.
In the last five of those games, Beltran went 10-for-21 (.476) with five doubles, two homers, and 10 RBI, all from a DH spot where he was admittedly uncomfortable. But that's what was needed. And Beltran, a team guy from way back, filled the role beautifully as the Yanks waited out Alex Rodriguez' hamstring injury.
The fact that Beltran went back to right field in Thursday's 3-1 loss may have come as a relief to him, especially now that A-Rod has returned from his rehab assignment at Double-A Trenton. The homer Rodriguez struck Wednesday in his final at-bat for the Thunder indicated a renewed power potential that was only sporadic in a .194, five-homer start. And that certainly will come in handy against the Rays, given the fact that Mark Teixeira is out for the next couple of games at least because of his recurring neck spasms.
But Beltran was the spark. And if the Yanks are lucky, this 39-year-old, 19-year veteran will continue to be one as they attempt to improve a less-than-breathtaking 9-12 road mark. He's already their most consistent hitter away from Yankee Stadium, hitting .297 with two homers and 13 RBI in 21 games.
Thursday's 0-for-4 with four strikeouts aside, Beltran is the one guy right now capable of re-igniting an offense that has gone into another slumber the past two games.
Not that any of this comes as a surprise. A borderline Hall of Famer at this point, Beltran has been pivotal to various teams throughout his career.
Take 2004 for instance. Sent to the Astros from the Royals in a midseason, three-team trade, Beltran played a pivotal role over the last 90 games in getting Houston to the playoffs. And then he smacked eight homers in the postseason.
The Astros lost in the NLCS, but the big free-agent payday he sought landed him with the Mets.
A year later, Beltran helped push them into the postseason with a 41-homer season that placed him fourth in the MVP voting.
Any Mets fan with even a vague recollection of 2006 knows how that ended -- Beltran standing at the plate frozen as St. Louis' Adam Wainwright's two-out, bases-loaded curve broke past him to end Game 7 of the NLCS.
With New York being New York, virtually no one let him forget that, even as he tried in vain to carry his team with solid Septembers the next two seasons. Preventing those late-season collapses proved more than a one-man job, however.
Last year, he struck what might have been considered the Yanks' most pivotal homer in their run to the second wildcard. His three-run, pinch-hit homer Aug. 14 against Toronto put the Yanks in the AL East lead by half a game.
The Yanks would eventually sink to second, but that was hardly Beltran's fault. After coming back from a July injury, he hit .320 as the Yanks' most consistent hitter over the final two months.
As he headed back to right field with the reappearance of A-Rod, the hope in the manager's office is that Beltran continues his steady contribution.
They'll need it. Who knows what A-Rod will produce after Thursday's inauspicious 0-for-4 return to DH. Or, given the possibility of Girardi giving him more days of rest, how often will he even be in a position to help out?
Who knows if the rest of a lineup that mustered just four hits on getaway day will again sink into the doldrums that marked the season before the streak?
The heat is on Beltran to remain the contagious influence on the rest of the lineup.
That might be asking a lot for a 39-year-old. But then, Beltran has done it before.
Now he needs to do it again.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
