"Much like the girlfriend who broke up with you because you took her for granted, Carlos Beltran will be more appreciated after his inevitable trade this week. Sometimes you don't realize what you have until you don't have it anymore.

When healthy, Beltran has been one of the most productive position players in Mets history. The image of being frozen by Adam Wainwright's nasty curveball has tainted the legacy of Beltran in much the same way that Bill Buckner's wonderful career was overshadowed by one ground ball.

Conventional wisdom has Lucas Duda taking over in right field for Beltran. This leaves the Mets with one of the worst outfields in all of baseball.

Jason Bay has been completely unproductive since he joined the Mets and there are no signs that he will get himself going. Ironically, the concern, when Bay joined the Mets, was his fielding. Bay's fielding has been stellar and he is also one of the best base runners on the team. But he is paid to produce runs and he has failed miserably in that regard.

Angel Pagan has trouble staying healthy. When he is healthy, Pagan is an average ballplayer at best. He has poor defensive instincts, fortunately his speed helps to cover that up. Offensively, he offers little more than stolen bases. If Pagan was your fourth outfielder, you would be thrilled with what he brings to the table. However, his warts are exposed when he plays everyday.

We don't really know what Lucas Duda will be in the future. For most of this year, he has been overmatched at the plate. Recently, Duda has hit much better but he still seems to be an easy out for good pitchers. Duda was intimidated by his surroundings earlier in the year, but his recent improvement at the plate suggests that he may finally view himself as a big-leaguer.

So the Mets outfield will sport a grossly underachieving star, an oft injured enigma and a youngster whose knees knock at the thought of playing in the major leagues. In addition to the three question marks in the outfield, second base and catcher are also offensive question marks and defensive liabilities.

Of course, all these question marks will keep the Daniel Murphy merry-go-round spinning as the Mets desperately try to keep his bat in the lineup even though he is a horrific fielder."