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Sports

Old Astro's disloyalty is beyond money

Beltran's move to NY betrays Houston

Holding Court

Richard Whitrock

"Follow the money." -- Deep Throat

Unfortunately, not everyone who utters these words have the same selfless, greater-good inspired intent as the original. Carlos Beltran was kind enough to prove this to the entire city of Houston by signing with the New York Mets and shrugging off the Astros like a used condom, driving up his off-season value to climactic proportions.

Ironically, while it turns out the original Deep Throat showed the moral fiber that made his code name an ill-fit moniker, those who have followed his words' seem to be much more apt for it. Whether it was Beltran or his pimp of an agent responsible for whoring the center fielder off to New York, it's hard to tell. There is wisdom, however, in the old adage that a man is judged by the company he keeps.

There is nothing wrong with money, and more importantly there is nothing wrong with going after large amounts of money. So why so hard on Beltran?

The simple fact of the matter is that there is more to life than money, and nothing is more depressing, disheartening and infuriating than witnessing the actions of a man who has not figured this out and hurts millions of people with his ignorance. Here is a man who was offered obscene wealth to play for a big-city ball club whose fans would practically set themselves on fire to sign him, but turned it down. Apparently, slightly more obscene wealth in New York (most likely all but negated by higher taxes and higher cost of living) where the Mets will always play second fiddle to the Yankees was a better offer.

New York may well be downright ecstatic to have Beltran, but that matters little when confronted with how loved and wanted Beltran was here in Houston. He graced our field with his presence for half a season, yet in the playoffs he was the most popular player in town. Perhaps 80 percent of the signs at Minute Maid Park had something to do with re-signing Beltran. The groundswell of support, attention, donations and passion Astros fans flooded him with were nothing short of breathtaking.

Astros fans loved and wanted Beltran so much it was palpable; the smell of it permeated the steel and concrete heart of downtown and radiated off the highways for 30 miles in every direction. It was quite a honeymoon, but we were cast aside like a cheap one-night stand. It was as if Beltran came straight from the corners of Scott Street in the middle of the night, and when morning came he moved on to the next bed and the next dollar.

Beltran's mistreatment of Astros fans is only the beginning, however. His naked greed has far more reaching and devastating aftershocks than simple negligence. In an effort to sign Beltran and make another run to the series, the Astros passed on Jeff Kent and Wade Miller. Without Kent, Miller and Beltran, Roger Clemens is faced with the decision to either retire or rejoin a team whose chances of making it to the World Series next season are half of what they were last season when they didn't make it.

The bottom line is that if Beltran wanted to stay in a city that truly wanted and needed him, if he cared even marginally about the millions of people who loved him, he could have done it with a minimal (and, at the kind of numbers he would be making, practically negligible) hit to his pocketbook. Unfortunately, it seems that money is more important than people or love to Carlos Beltran.
 

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