Carlos Beltran to Miss 3 Months Due to Surgery

To quote Al Pacino from "Godfather Part III", "Just when you thought you were out, they pull you right back in."

Nothing ever gets better in the land of the New York Mets.

Coming off one of the most bizarre season's in memory, when almost every starting player on the Mets roster missed time due to serious injury, the New Year brings more trouble.

According to ESPN, Carlos Beltran will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery to re-repair the knee that he injured last season. The Mets said that Beltran suffered "worsening of osteoarthritis" in his knee during the off-season,"according to the ESPN report.

Beltran will miss the next three months; he probably won't be ready for opening day on April 5 when the Mets play host to the Florida Marlins. Beltran will have to undergo a strict rehab regimen before he returns.

The report states that Beltran will miss only a few weeks in April, but last year the former All Star center fielder missed 81 games with the injury.

The Mets will miss Beltran early in the year, since he was expected to be the team's cleanup hitter in front of newly acquired Jason Bay.

Will the injury to Beltran mean that the Mets will pursue former Met Carlos Delgado more heavily to replace Beltran's bat in the lineup? Who knows, but right now the Mets will need all the help they can get.

Beltran hit .325 with 10 homers and 48 RBI before going down last season. When healthy, Beltran is the best hitting center fielder in the game.

The Mets are extremely upset at Bletran and his agent Scott Boras for having the surgery without their consent, however, Beltran said that he did speak to GM Omar Minaya about the surgery. Minaya was not available for the conference call, for he was in Arizona.