Quote:
The thing that's ridiculous is that after 5 years of being with the Astros he'd be a 10/5 guy. So he wouldn't need a no trade clause.


Yeah, but the Astros still would have had the right to trade him within the first five years, so Beltran would have been wise to seek the no-trade clause. Think about a Richard Hidalgo-like dropoff after Hidalgo signed that monster deal after his 2000 season. At the time, I'm sure it seemed like Hidalgo was a budding superstar and that it would be foolish for the Astros to ever consider trading him. But any club would think about a trade if there was an injury or significant dropoff in a player's performance, no matter who he is. And getting rid of Hidalgo certainly helped the Astros last year.

Personally, I think the Astros were strung along for the process of Boras/Beltran wringing some sucker for the most money, so the whole no-trade thing doesn't really get me that upset. I don't think Beltran would have re-signed in Houston, even with a no-trade clause. The negotiations seemed like one giant ruse to get the NY clubs involved.

Furthermore, Beltran was a major reason the Astros won their first playoff series. Without him, I'm not sure that happens. Yes, he misled the fans after the season, but I'm not sure that wipes away all the good he accomplished for the team. I wouldn't boo him and give him the satisfaction of thinking I was that passionate about him and what he does, good or bad. He deserves polite applause or no reaction at all. It's a shame he got the reaction he did Thursday night.