Carlos Beltran is able to beat the crap out of me (and probably even my entire skeleton), but thankfully, I am safely far, far away from him, and can hide behind the relative anonymity of the Internet to say the following:
Beltran is an idiot. A selfish, ignorant, unrepentant fool who thinks he is smarter than the manager. In the case of Willie Randolph, he may be right, but that's besides the point (and for another post).
According to an article in NY Newsday, Beltran once again sacrifice-bunted in a hugely inappropriate situation. Two on, nobody out, first inning, and Beltran, supposedly a power-hitting #3 hitter,
lays down a bunt on the first pitch. Randolph didn't signal for a bunt, either -- Beltran did it on his own.
The only time that is a sound strategy is when you are facing a Hall of Fame pitcher like Roger Clemens, John Smoltz, or Dontrelle Willis. Historically, you must score early against pitchers of that calibre, because they get tougher as the game progresses.
Otherwise, it's generally considered bad baseball strategy to resort to such conservative baseball so early in a game. With the heart of the order, generally loaded with three guys who are your best at driving in runs, you give them the green light to hit. That's fundamental statistics, called "playing the percentages."
When questioned about that after the game, Beltran replied as he always does: "That's how I play the game."
Considering his lifetime statistics, Beltran isn't anywhere near good enough to say such a thing. He isn't a lifetime .300 hitter; he isn't a lifetime 30-homer guy; he isn't anything close to being a team leader by example, charisma, or interviewing skills. He's a good player, but he ain't no superstar, and he hasn't shown any aptitude for managing, strategy, or even of good judgement.
I point to his insistance on staying in the lineup with a torn leg muscle last year, so instead of taking two weeks to heal and play at 100%, he played three months at 50%, hurting the team far worse than he would have had he taken the two weeks off. Bad judgement. As bad as Mike Cameron doing the same macho nonsense the year before.
Now, if I were managing the Mets (I may as well wish for ten million dollars while I'm at it, sigh), I would fine Beltran a thousand bucks each time he bunts in even a marginally questionable situation, unless I specifically told him to lay down a sacrifice.
Why? Because I'm the goddamn manager, and by goddamn, the players better do what I tell them to. It's my job, not the player's, to make strategic decisions. I'm paid to know better and know more than my players, and to think and plan ahead for an entire nine innings at a time.
As the manager, my team must play my kind of baseball. If Beltran refuses, he can just gather splinters on the bench, because a player who ignores orders will hurt the team. Period.
Okay Carlos, I'm waiting for you to come and rip my skeleton out of my body with one hand. I'd still be right, though. You ain't the manager, and you shouldn't even hint that you think you are.
