Carlos the most

It's a desire that's both odd and understandable that makes pro sports fans expect team loyalty out of the players on their team. When a player goes from one team to another, they're doing no more than any of us do when we switch from one job to another: going with the more attractive offer, the better situation, the new job after we've lost our old one. Yet athletes who were once loved in their old towns get hated when they change jobs, getting called traitorous and greedy.

But it's a little different with Carlos Beltran. There were some Astros fans who got up in arms when he left the 'stros for the Mets, but mostly everyone understood his situation, and were just thankful for the amazing (though short) time he'd spent with our team. And it was an amazing time: Beltran was amazing in the half season that he spent in Houston, especially in the post-season, where he just seemed to come through dramatically and reliably every single time.

And because of those great memories (in spite of the way it ended) of the Astros 2004 post-season, I could fully enjoy Beltran's fantastic home run last night without feeling at all sad that he was no longer with the Astros. I reveled this morning when reading Deadspin's wrap-up of the night before when he describes the home run pitch like this: "...but the minute the pitch left his hand, you knew Beltran was going to get his Astros on." I don't blame him at all for moving to New York and taking the big bucks, and I'm thrilled that he left a legacy that was so much more than the short time he was in Houston.

The fact that he beat the Cardinals didn't hurt.