Don't Forget How Bad Beltre's Been

With so much suckage to go around -- Sexson, Johjima, every Mariner pitcher except for Bedard and Hernandez -- in this royally sucky Mariner season, it's easy to forget that Adrian Beltre has sucked too. Beltre, who went 0-3 in a 9-2 loss that capped a Tiger sweep to put the M's at 18-30 (10 games back of the Angels), usually gets a critical pass because he's a highly likable dude and a killer defensive third baseman; and because Sexson, the other high-dollar free agent the M's signed at that time, has been such colossal flop. But .246 with so-so power numbers is unacceptable for a third-sacker who's commanding $13 million per year.

This isn't the first time the Beater called Beltre to the stand. Toward the end of last year, his finest as a Mariner, we reminisced about the freakiness Beltre's '04 campaign. That year, Beltre hit .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBIs, and was the toughest out in the National League. That also happened to be a contract year, and that also happened to be a year that fell right in the sweet spot of the pre-crackdown steroid era. And Beltre has never come anywhere close to matching those numbers at any other point in his career. Frankly, when the Mitchell Report came out and Beltre's name wasn't on the list, we were shocked. But enough already with nefarious suspicion -- let's get down to brass tacks: Beltre's tenure to date at the plate with the M's hasn't nearly been worth the money we're paying him. He needs to step it up, just like Big Sexy and the rest of the whipping boys.