The Carlos Beltran situation has become a whatthef@#$athon as perplexing as Lost, only featuring fewer hot people on the beach and somehow prompting more existential questions. I reserve the right to come back to it in some larger context at some point in the future, but I’m done for now, I think. The Jets are in the playoffs.

Speaking of: Mike Salfino points out an interesting tidbit. Many have suggested the Chargers will use motion to beat Darrelle Revis, but the Chargers have only used motion on pass plays five times all season.

James Kannengieser calls for an end to the constant bluster about Angel Pagan’s baseball IQ. I agree wholeheartedly, but I think it’s a losing battle until Pagan gets more playing time.

No. 11 Georgetown beat Seton Hall last night, avoiding a potential trap-door loss before an eight-day stretch in which they will face the nation’s No. 4, No. 5, and No. 15 teams on the road. The Big East is nuts.

Obviously the Internet has exploded with the Beltran news, and there’s a lot of information flying around about the details of how the surgery went down. Joel Sherman was among the first on the story, and I think his take is among the best.

Patrick Flood offers some optimism, or maybe pessimism veiled in optimism. Whatever it is, it’s worth a read for the headline alone.

Eric Simon provides a list of possible replacements.

And if you’re looking to take your mind off all the terrible news and think about one terrible movie, one of our SNY.tv editors, Adam Spunberg, has a well-penned retort to my (and others’) disdain for Titanic at AwardsPicks.com. Nothing about why DiCaprio sinks, though.

Got to give credit where it’s due. I love to point out that too many sportswriters go after crimes of the past and not enough try to expose what’s happening now, but John Harper calls for an HGH test today.

Bengie Molina apparently flinched a little bit in the longest, slowest game of chicken. But maybe Omar Minaya flinched too. I guess we’ll know soon.

Bassett passes along some excellent Jets-related imagery. The Revis one might become my new desktop background if it weren’t for Shaq with a panda.

Craig Calcaterra thinks Dan Shaughnessy might have gone all reductio ad Hitlerum on the Mark McGwire thing.

According to Ed Price, Carlos Delgado is not moving well at first base in Puerto Rico. I suppose it’ll take time for him to recover, but I can’t help but think he’d be better-suited to DHing at this point.

I disagree with Matt here. The Mets should retire Mike Piazza’s number regardless of which hat he wears on his Hall of Fame plaque, and I think they should do it soon. I like that the Mets are stingy with their retired numbers, but if anyone deserves the honor, it’s Piazza.

I find nothing more entertaining than the thought of professional athletes tortured by ghosts. It’s amazing how frequently this happens.

Who among us wasn’t wondering what Steve Trachsel was thinking when Mark McGwire admitted steroid use?

Patrick Flood posts a Jason Bay image that I plan on stealing and using over and over and over again. But I won’t do it yet, so go check it out. Also, RSS his blog. It’s good.

The pot calls the kettle black.

Walkoff Walk offers a nice solution for one of the hiccups with UZR.

I don’t know how I feel about the idea of the Marlins locking up Josh Johnson longterm. As a Mets fan, obviously I don’t want him pitching in the same division for the foreseeable future. But as a baseball fan, I like the idea of the Marlins being more financially competitive with their new stadium opening up, if that’s what that implies. They already have Hanley Ramirez under contract for a while.

I’m sick today and home from work, which means I’m watching the Price is Right, because that’s what you do when you’re home sick, even now in the age of TiVo when you don’t have to. Anyway, here are some items of note:

John Sickels provides his list of Top 20 Mets prospects. Sickels’ list seems as good as any I’ve seen, and I think he’s got a pretty good perspective about the Mets’ system in general. But — and forgive me if this sounds like homerism — I don’t think anybody touches Toby Hyde when it comes to knowledge of the Mets’ minors, so I’m eagerly awaiting his Top 41 for this year.

I will make no comment about this Gilbert Arenas affair other than to say that I really hope this leads to an Al Sharpton Twitter account.

UPDATE, 12:28 p.m.: Al Sharpton has a Twitter account. Obviously.

Joe Namath is appropriately surprised that everyone cares so much that Rex Ryan called his team the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Let he who doesn’t have a soft spot in his heart for the Expos step forward. The pinwheel hat will always be one of my all-time favorites.

Apparently Bud Selig is hoping for a Global World Series between U.S. and Japan after the regular World Series. Not sure exactly how that would play out — especially considering pitchers and innings — but it’s a cool idea, and I believe something Bobby Valentine’s been advocating for a while.

Shaun Ellis does not care for SNY’s Jets programming.

Mark Himmelstein does some fascinating research about Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Minor League groundball/flyball data.

Andre Dawson is Cooperstown-bound. I wish Tim Raines got more support, but I won’t begrudge the Hawk his ticket. The amount of Twitter anger over the whole affair was a bit ridiculous, I think.

Hat tip to Amazin’ Avenue for pointing out the awesome work Patrick Flood is doing at his relatively new blog. His weeklong look at David Wright’s weird year continues.

Earlier this week some highlights of an 1980s basketball game were on, and I told my wife that — if my hair would do anything like comply — I would totally try to bring back the hi-top fade. Good for Brandon Jennings.

Jay Mariotti volunteered to be kicked out of the BBWAA. I’ll take his spot if I get the “get-into-every-baseball-game-free” pass.

Apparently Aroldis Chapman is close to a deal somewhere. Doesn’t sound like it’s with the Mets or Yanks.

Minor rumors are swirling of a Luis Castillo for Mike Lowell deal. What I want to know is this: Better ESPN mustache — Jerry Crasnick or Jayson Stark in his heyday?

Aditi posts some pretty awesome off-field video at the Big East Sports Blog. The only problem with back handsprings is that I’m not sure they necessarily make you a good football player. I’m sure Vernon Gholston can do plenty of ’em.

Howard’s got a nice piece about the nature of Mets fandom, and the recent trend toward blanket negativity.

The Indians have signed Shelley Duncan, ruining my plan to have the Mets unite pitching coach Dave Duncan with the army of meatheaded sluggers he sired.

I didn’t sleep at all last night because I was so geared up about the Jets. Everything is wonderful and nothing hurts. The Jets are in the playoffs. Oh, happy day.

Jason Bay and I have something in common: We both stole wiffleball equipment from our colleges. Wiffleball and baseball require different skill sets, but I’ll go out on a limb and guess he’s a much better wiffleball player than me. They’re not completely different skill sets, after all.

The way I see it, Ben Sheets offers by far the most upside of the pitchers left on the market. The Mets need innings, too, but the more I think about it, the more I’d lean toward Sheets among Sheets, Joel Pineiro and Jon Garland, given their reported demands.

Danilo Gallinari’s dunk? Cool. Post-dunk pose got lost in translation, though.