Carlos Beltran

By the time the New York Mets get through with Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals this weekend they will be exactly half way through their 162-game regular season schedule.

As we near the mid point of the season, let's revisit five questions the Mets had coming into the season.

So far this season, the Mets have played 75 games. They are currently .5 games out of first place. The Mets have been able be competitive despite that fact that they have had Carlos Beltran, a perennial All-Star, play exactly 0 games for them.

When Beltran does return to the Mets, he will be a major asset. There is no way to deny that. Despite playing only half a season last year, Beltran was able to bat .325 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI. That production would be very helpful for the Mets.

Earlier this week, I wrote an article talking about the Mets outfield dilemma now that Carlos Beltran is playing rehab games for the St. Lucie Mets.  I concluded that the best-case scenario would be for the four outfielders to platoon.  I also joked that maybe Angel Pagan should take ground balls at second base, giving Jerry Manuel the ability to play all four outfielders at once.

Carlos Beltran played his first minor league rehab game for Class A Port St. Lucie today.

Beltran was able to play five innings in center field; he went 0-for-2 with a walk.

While this is certainly not the performance that the Mets front office was hoping for, it is a good sign.

Beltran appears to feel comfortable playing in a baseball game again.

Tomorrow will be an important day for Beltran. Playing back-to-back games is a big step for him.

Hopefully, he will be able to play at least seven innings this time.

The New York Mets will be adding a bat sometime within the next three weeks to four weeks. The team announced that center fielder Carlos Beltran will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow (Thursday) with Class-A St. Lucie.

Assuming there are no setbacks, Beltran would return to the Mets no later than July 15, the first game after the All-Star break.

How much playing time will Angel Pagan get now that Beltran is back?

Should Beltran play in right field leaving Jeff Francoeur the odd man out?

Jason Bay isn’t hitting for power, so should he become the fourth outfielder?

Shouldn’t the Mets trade one of their outfielders for a starting pitcher?

Whoa people. Slow down a bit.

The news that Carlos Beltran will start his rehab assignment on Thursday has kicked off a great deal of speculation about playing time in the Mets’ outfield.

It has been reported that Carlos Beltran worked out in front of Omar Minaya and the New York Mets training staff on Sunday.

Beltran showed his hitting and base-running ability. Beltran impressed Minaya and the medical staff. They believe that he is ready to move on to the next step of his rehabilitation. Exactly what rehab is needed and when it will start is uncertain. It is possible that the next step is a minor league rehab assignment.

Minaya and Beltran are supposed to talk to the Mets' head doctor later this week to come up with a plan of action.

The last time an update was available on Carlos Beltran's status, it was good news. Carlos had been able to play five innings of an extended spring training game and got six at-bats.

However, this last piece of news out of Port St. Lucie is not as good. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has reported that Carlos Beltran is still running with a limp. There are also reports that Beltran is not yet explosive when running.

The city of Chicago has seen its share of hard times. In 1871 they had a massive fire that lasted for days. It destroyed everything in it's wake. The city rebuilt though and once again became a prominent destination in the United States, both economically and competitively.

They have had sports teams struggle in mediocrity and succeed to the heights of their profession. Among their teams are the Bears, who have such a storied history in the NFL that it speaks for itself and the Bulls, who have won many NBA championships and were the sports dynasty of the 90's.

Carlos Beltran was able to play five innings in an extended spring training game today. This is another big step in his rehab. He got six plate appearances and played center field.

It appears Beltran is getting closer to starting a minor league rehab assignment. Once he is cleared by doctors, he can be in the minors for up to 20 days before he needs to be called up.

Jerry Manuel wanted to have Beltran back to DH against the Yankees this weekend, but that does not appear to be a possibility.