Beltran blowing a kiss to the haters this season with an absolutely unreal start to the year. He finally looks completely healthy (not that he didn't last year) and is simply ripping the cover off the ball. He entered the day hitting .351 with 2 HR 5 RBI 10 R and 2 SBs with another HR tonight. If the Cards are to replace Pujols, Beltran will need to continue this and will likely be the reason they make the playoffs again.

He's batting .333 now with 5 HR and 3 SB.

Cards have 4 players above 1.000 OPS, 2 over .900 OPS, then Descalso and Holliday.

Couple that with 3 players under 1.50 ERA and you have a good start in the making...

And you just know Hollliday is going to come around at some point with solid numbers as well.

I miss him. A lot.

Not to rain on this parade, but he's 3 for his last 30 with 11 Ks. Thats very un-Beltran like.

Yeah he's really cooled off. However, he was never a true .300+ hitter.

Amazing what one hell-acious game can do...

.279 .398 .535 .933
7 homers/18 rbis
156 OPS+

Through 4 innings tonight he's got 2 homers and 6 RBIs.....

It's so great to see Carlos staying healthy and hitting. I hope he keeps it up (except versus the Mets). It won't happen but I'd love to see him in the Hall of Fame one day.

He doesn't have the counting stats but he has undoubtedly been one of the top players in the game since he broke in. Maybe he'll get the Dawson treatment and sneak in at the tail end of his eligibility. Maybe he'll end up having more longevity than we would have guessed. A man can dream, no?

We had a contentious debate about this a few years back. I think the point I made then still stands: he can make the Hall of Fame as a compiler. Since then, Beltran has missed time due to injuries, and who knows how long that knee will keep up, but it is interesting how one point I made - that some players have managed to improve their OPS+ after 30 - has at least so far turned out to be the case with Beltran.

1998-2007: 117 OPS+
2008-present: 141 OPS+

I think that a more Sabermetric-based assessment would also help him (as it did Andre Dawson), as Carlos has a 60.6 WAR according to B-R and a 64 according to Fangraphs. If he can get another 10+ WAR over the next four years, reach 400 HR, 500 2B, 1500 R/RBI (essentially average 25 HR, 25 2B, 80 R/RBI for four years), he might have a shot. Then again, he could have another knee injury tomorrow and be done.

If he does go into the Hall, though, it'll be as a Met