Beltran Plays Himself into the Yankee Lineup

Great players retire and go on to the Hall of Fame. It is only a select subset of modern players who are deemed great enough to be recongized during their playing career as the greatest amongst the currents of the greats. They become Yankees. George Steinbrenner opens up his checkbook and adds another All-Star to his star studded lineup. While the Yankees may not be locks for this year's World Series title, the only question that remains for the Yankees 2005 campaign is whether or not the Yankees will have more former All-Stars as reserves than any other American League team has on their roster (starters and reserves included).

The following is a completely unfounded rumor that I’m starting:

Unfounded rumors swept through Minute Maid Park during yesterday’s ballgame that speculated that superstar slugger and free agent to be Carlos Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras, has been ordered by his doctor to cease attending and otherwise watching Beltran’s remaining playoff games. Apparently Boras becomes so giddy while watching Beltran that he has made himself susceptible to a heart attack. Additionally, his incessant drooling makes being in the same area as Boras more than a little bit uncomfortable for those around him, particularly those wearing open toed shoes.

For those of you who haven’t been paying close enough attention, Beltran has hit eight home runs in the Astros nine post-season games to date. He’s hitting nearly .500 (.486 to be more precise) and is reaching base at a Bonds like clip of .571. Since he’s expected to be the most highly sought free agent this off-season, his asking price was already expected to be high. His postseason performance though has been so outstanding, that it’s likely to only have sent the bidding war into the stratosphere (meaning that it’s only a matter of time before Beltran inks a deal to play in the Bronx).