For months, outfielder Carlos Beltran has pegged his comeback from off-season knee surgery to the Mets' series against the Florida Marlins in Puerto Rico. His goal all along has been to rejoin his baseball family in time to play in front of his parents in the three-game series in San Juan starting Monday. But after his third game with the Mets' Class A affiliate here, Beltran acknowledged that his timing was off. Not with his swing -- he went 3 for 4 against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday -- but with his return date. 'That was something I thought about before the season started, to try to get ready for that series,' Beltran said after the game. 'It didn't work out quite that way.' He added: 'In my heart I want to say, 'I'm ready now; I'm ready to go out there and play.' But this has only been my third game in the minors. It's just hard for me to say. I just want to have some days of being consistent at the plate, of being able to feel good out there in the outfield.' Beltran is not expected back until after the July 13 All-Star game, but Manager Jerry Manuel said that if the series in Puerto Rico were starting Saturday instead of Monday, Beltran might have played. 'I'm a little different than what everybody else is saying,' he said. 'I just like to see a guy as quick as possible.' Beltran is wearing a brace on his surgically repaired right knee, but on Saturday it did not appear to be impeding his movement. There was only a hint of a limp in his step. 'When I'm playing out there, I'm just playing the game the way it's supposed to be played,' Beltran said. 'I'm not caring about my knee. I'm not thinking about protecting my knee. I'm just reacting to the play.' 