Wizblog

"It Ain't Special"

All the smart money has had Carlos Beltran in pinstripes for 2005 and beyond. And he sure has earned them if he wants them. Page 2's Eric Neel no doubt speaks for legions of us who would love to see Beltran say no to George. Neel claims to have purer motives than say, for example, mine might be:

The phone won't stop ringing now, you know. The big boys are about to come calling, and they're bringing their checkbooks with them. You've got five tools and a long line of zeroes laid out in front of you. It's your world, Carlos. The rest of us are just visiting.

And you know who the first visitor will be, don't you? That's right, The Shipbuilder. He's going to tell you Bernie, god love him, is on his way out. He's going to wax poetic about Joe D and Mickey, talk to you about a legacy and a lineage, about your spot in the history books. He's going to bring a pinstriped jersey and a mountain of cash to your door.

And all the while, Scottie B's going to be rubbing your shoulders the way Angelo rubbed Ali, giving you the full Jesus Shuttleworth treatment, saying, "You're beautiful Baby, you're beautiful."

And he'll be right. And you'll deserve everything they throw at you. And you should swoop on this chance like a gull going for a toddler's lunch at the beach. You've earned this. Fate and your talent have conspired to bring you fortune. Congrats.

Except -- and we know we have no right to ask this -- we want you take a pass on the Yanks.

It's not a hater thing, it really isn't.

Having read it all, I think it's a little bit of a hater thing. But good.