Thanks Clutch, I forgot about the Clemens situation. I got a friend in NYC whose a huge Mets fan and he got a huge kick out of those. Of course being a true Mets fan he hates the Yankees so was loving it about as much as me. I think his reaction would've been a little different if Clemens had been playing for the Mets and led them to a few World Series. As a side note he was against the Mets signing Beltran. He thought they were spending too much money for someone who only had one great postseason.
Huh? What courtesy did we give him? It was a negotiation. We didn't offer him $100M off the bat. We offered him $75M. If he had been straight from the start, he would have gotten a far lower offer from NY. Should he have taken $40M less to be nice to a team he spent 4 months with? I still don't see what he did wrong here. It would be different if all the teams gave him a final offer and then he waiting 4 months to decide - but the offer kept rising. As a player and an agent, that was the goal, and that's what happened. Yes, the Astros got screwed - that's part of what negotiating involves. You don't always get the player you want. Until you have a signed contract, you'd be stupid to assume he's coming back. And we as fans, and maybe the organization as well, were stupid to assume any such thing. We took a gamble waiting him out and lost. Big deal. It's amazing Astros fans are so pissed still, given that the end result worked out perfectly for us. As it stands this year, we're better off without him. We're better off without people like Steve Finley who were guys we might have signed. We have a great team we love with a lot of exciting young players. And yet, we're pissed that the Beltran situation caused us to be in this situation.
Yes, it was negotiations, but they (Boras and Beltran) were as dirty as possible to squeeze out every penny from the Mets. When he said Houston as his first choice it just wasn't true. That kind of money grubbing deserves a good booing. And yes, we were probably dumb for believing him and Boras. I'm glad though, that we didn't sign him.
The question really should be why is Beltran continuing to get this "implied" pass on his season. Dude is sucking it up at the plate, and regardless of how he is playing in the field, is ripping the Mets off. He's like Kelvin Cato but worse, because Beltran really should be good whereas Cato was just flat out overpaid.
So I guess if I was married, and my wife cheated on me she gets off the hook because the next woman I date is the woman of my dreams? Just because I'm doing better without her doesn't mean I hate her any less.
EXACTLY!!! if all of this helps stoke the passion of baseball fans here...if it helps create a better baseball city than it was previously...then great!!! i love to see people care about this franchise like this here. as an astros fan, i always felt like i was in the serious minority growing up in this town. no longer. the ballpark and the relative recent success has attributed to that, i believe.
Especially when it effects his play: "I tried to block it out, but I was too close. I couldn't block it out. But to be honest, I don't care at all. They can boo me. I just want to concentrate on my game. It's just hard to block all that noise out." I hope the fans light him up the rest of the series.
I have a feeling we might hear Jack's first curse word tonight. just kidding...i'll keep it clean for the kiddies.
Good post, I would also like to add that dude was traded here, played great, and went where he wanted. He owes the Astros no loyalty. The Roger situation isn't the same. He said he was retiring, and then left to go to another city. Which is also his perogative, but just pointing out its not the same.
He owed them an ethical and truthful negotiation which one can argue he did not. And don't come back with it was his agent and not him. He hires his agent. I don't understand how hard it is for some to understand why people don't like Beltran. Sure, he was only here a few months and didn't owe the Astros squat, my previous caveat not withstanding, but this is and will always be a part of sports. Like someone earlier correctly analogized, sports are very much like relationships and/or family. When you're jilted by a player, you're pissed. When you're jilted by a significant other, you're pissed. It doesn't matter you're better off because that person jilted you, you're still going to be upset. Many fans view their sports teams like they do family, to a lesser extent among most. You mess with us one way or another, we're going to let you have it next time we see you. Not to mention, just because he's not living up to his contract in New York doesn't mean he wouldn't be here. Less pressure + fans treating him like a god = much higher comfort level for Beltran. He had the chance to be King of the city when it comes to athletes. Had he stayed and we won a World Series, he'd be bigger than them all, Dream included.
Also, its a little unfair to compare Randy Johnson to Carlos Beltran. The market for pitchers is almost always set going into the offseason because its easier to compare pitchers to other pitchers especially starters. Randy Johnson was arguably the best pitcher in the Majors, if not he was only behind Pedro. He knew he would be if not the highest paid, one of them. Position players are ranked on so many variables that it basically comes down to what teams can best use your skillset, especially outfielders. Johnson wouldn't have had the opportunity to increase his contract value the way Beltran did.
I only wish Beltran would say, They beat me. They're that good right now. They're that hot. I just tip my hat and call the Astros my daddy.
Okay lets compare this to a relationship. If rooting for Olajuwon was like marrying your H.S. sweetheart (basically being a Houston Sports Icon his whole career including College) the Beltran was like a one night stand with the baddest girl in the club that night, almost getting her to do everything (almost getting to the W.S.). What guy would complain about that?
We hate Beltran because we can. I don't get why some Astros fans have a problem with that, who gives a damn. As others have said it's doing nothing but getting more people interested in Houston baseball, and that can only be a good thing!
Well if you consider that that one night stand gave you V.D. (using us for a better contract from the Mets) then you'll hear a lot of complaints.
