Collins, Beltran still eye Opening Day

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Terry Collins filled out a lineup card for Opening Day a while ago, and he took it out of his desk a few days ago to show Carlos Beltran that he's still listed as the cleanup hitter.

That was Collins' way of offering Beltran some tangible evidence that the new Mets manager believes Beltran when he says he'll be ready for the season opener.

And Beltran still believes that, even though he's two weeks removed from his only Grapefruit League appearance.

Sunday, two days after receiving a cortisone shot in his left knee, the rightfielder went through what he described as his most encouraging workout since the Mets shut him down nearly two weeks ago.

But there's a catch. Beltran's work consisted only of a few rounds of batting practice, light jogging drills in the outfield and his typical daily round of cardio and lower-body exercises in the gym.

And therein lies the problem with Beltran and the Mets. With Opening Day less than two weeks away, the guy the Mets are expecting to be their cleanup hitter doesn't seem close to playing rightfield at Citi Field, even on one of the best days he's had in the last two weeks.

While wearing an ice pack on his left knee, Beltran sat in front of his locker Sunday morning after his workout and spoke optimistically about his rehab, saying he no longer feels any discomfort in his knees. That reinforces his confidence that he'll be ready by the opener.

"I feel strong," Beltran said. "I've feel like I've been doing the work that I need, so once I start playing every day, it's going to turn out good for me."

As for when he might get into an actual Grapefruit League game again, that's still a guessing game. In the only game he played, he went 1-for-3 as the designated hitter on March 6. A day later, his left knee tendinitis flared up, causing discomfort that led him to ask team doctors for a cortisone shot.

The injection appears to have had an immediate effect, as evidenced by Beltran's strong (and pain-free) batting-practice performance. He described his outlook as "positive" afterward, and clearly he's itching to take the next step.

"If they say it's time to move forward, then I want to move forward," Beltran said. "I want to play in games. I need some at-bats before Opening Day, before the season starts."

As early as Monday, Beltran hopes to start taking fly balls again in the outfield -- something he hasn't done since the first week of March -- and also hopes to track pitches in a minor-league game. "If that's what he wants to do, we'll make it possible," Collins said.

Collins added that he'd like to get Beltran into a few games so he can get "comfortable" playing rightfield, a position he has played on only three occasions in the majors. But Collins didn't put a specific number on it and neither did Beltran.

As long as his knees are pain-free, Beltran is confident all the hitting he's done in the cages will make up for his lack of at-bats. The least of his worries is whether he'll be up to speed from a baseball standpoint come Opening Day.

"What's going to happen? Nothing bad is going to happen," he said. "Going 0-for-4, 0-for-3, that happens even when you're healthy. I feel like I've done all the work in the offseason, I've been hitting ever since I got here and now I feel good."