Carlos, Carlos, Carlos

Any Mets fan who bood Carlos Beltran this year should be ashamed of themselves. Carlos is a true five-tool player who has played selflessly ALL year. Coming back to play last night with a broken bone in his face is just the latest example of how he puts his team ahead of regard for his health and his statistics.

While we're on the subject, as a former Mets season ticket holder I think I am qualified to say that Mets fans do more to hurt their team's winning percentage than any fans in baseball. It is almost as if, when gathered at the stadium, they become a mob and lose all baseball intelligence. How else can you explain the wild swings from boos to cheers and back again (even in the same game) for virtually every Mets player that has played at Shea in the past ten years? It wasn't always that way.

Sometimes, Mets fans, when a guy grounds out to second, he's doing his job. Cardinals fans understand that and will cheer that player when he moves a runner over to third with less than two outs. It's one of the reasons that the Cardinals attract solid players to play in St. Louis for less money than teams on the coasts are willing to pay.

When Edgardo Alfonzo played for the Mets, he would do all of the little things to help the team win (like hit behind the runners) even when it hurt his statistics. Yet, few Mets fans cared when he was allowed to leave as a free agent; least of all the Wilpons. Now, in Carlos Beltran, they again have a player like Alfonzo. Will Mets fans give him the recognition he deserves?