Beltran to play rightfield Saturday

JUPITER, Fla. -- Carlos Beltran told manager Terry Collins way back on Feb. 28 that he was willing to play rightfield. Now he's actually ready to do it. One week from Opening Night in Miami, Beltran said Friday that he is prepared to try his new position during a minor-league game Saturday at the Mets' complex, with the expectation of facing the Marlins on April 1.

"Honestly, I'm taking this day by day," Beltran said. "In my mind, since I've been out on the field, doing my rehab, I've been confident that I wanted to be in the [Opening Day] starting lineup. Based on what I did [Thursday] in the field -- running the bases and going full speed, 100 percent -- if I don't feel anything then, I'm more confident now."

So are the Mets. After Friday's 6-5 loss to the Marlins, Collins said Beltran will play five innings Saturday -- batting leadoff in each one -- and play rightfield. If that proceeds as planned, Beltran is likely to take Sunday off before joining his teammates for Grapefruit games during the final week of spring training.

That's a pivotal decision, considering it would eliminate the chance to backdate Beltran if a problem arises. That's why Saturday's game is such an important threshold to cross.

"It is for me," Collins said. "Even though he's feeling good, it would be a big step forward for us to get him out there playing. We're going to watch it."

Thursday's simulated game, which scaled back the limitations on Beltran, was as significant a mental hurdle as it was physical. By forcing his knees through a number of start-and-stop motions, Beltran proved to himself that his arthritic joints would hold up under duress.

That's why Beltran opted for an easier workout Friday, when he piled up a number of at-bats during a minor-league intrasquad game organized specifically for him, Chris Young and Jason Isringhausen. Beltran went 5-for-10, including two hits against Young -- a single and double. He also smoked a line drive that was headed toward left before the shortstop leaped to rob him.

"I don't like facing him," Beltran said of the Mets' No. 4 starter. "He's a little too big on the mound . . . It's hard to pick up the ball, man."

For the most part, Beltran didn't seem to have that much trouble seeing the ball Friday morning. The one time he did take a called third strike, Beltran glared at the umpire during his short walk back to the on-deck circle.

The Mets don't want to have Beltran for Opening Day as purely a symbolic move; they need him to be productive at the plate. That part doesn't seem to concern him. If his knees are stable, he's not too worried about making his presence felt in the lineup.

Beltran's most difficult test in rightfield occurred Thursday, when Mookie Wilson moved him around with varying fly balls, including one that Beltran was forced to chase beyond the foul line. He looked fine during the simulation, but Beltran did feel some of the lingering effects of the exercise Friday.

"I feel sore, but it's a good sore," he said. "There's nothing in my knee, my quad, my hamstrings, being able to go 100 percent. Sometimes you train hard in the weight room and you do a lot of cardio. But when you run in the field, it's a different story. So you can never prepare yourself off the field for what you do in the field."