Trying to be Diplomatic: Welcome Beltre, Goodbye Bay

I technically already made it official with moving Bay's name from the current list to the former list. That is a big thing for me, and really makes it all so official. I'm not one to adjust to change well, and I think I'm still in the middle of a temper tantrum over Manny being traded, but that's neither here nor there... and 'neither here nor there' is a phrase I really feel I need to start using more often.

Before I get into my welcomes and goodbyes, I want to take the time on my blog to acknowledge the wonderfulness of baby corn. My blog, I can do that. My lunch today included random baby corn, and surprise baby corn is just fantastic. Anyway, onto more important matters....

Jason "JayBay"/"Kazerud" Bay stepped up and filled in professionally when we needed him most. He was never gonna be Manny, but he was exactly what we needed at the time - not Manny. We needed everything not-Manny at the time. Oh, there was excitement about Kaz. A good player on a terrible team who was going to get his chance to shine in Boston? Excellent. He did just that. Shine. That's why he could command the contract that he got. Kaz was pretty fantastic, and I did enjoy almost all moments of the year and a half that he graced our left field. The pale one may be moving on, but he will hold a place in my heart for a long time. Not forever, but a long time. I wish him luck and genuinely he helps Prince and the rest of the Mets to anything except a horrible late-season collapse. They've had enough of that lately. Jason, it saddens me to see you go because our once "J"-dominated (Jason, JD, Jason, Jacoby, (ugh) Julio....) lineup is slowly slipping away. Good luck.

Adrian Beltre.... sigh. Do I have to do this? Everyone knows I love Mike Lowell. I really do want to keep being stubborn and ridiculous! All I will say is.... if Adrian takes Mike's job, I'll give him the same chance to win my heart that I gave Mikey after the departure of Billy Mueller. And I ADORED Billy Mueller (and wish we had him AND his surgically repaired knees back in some capacity. not as a third baseman. or player). I will try to be fair and understanding, and not hate Adrian for the mere fact that he is not Mikey, or not Billy. I will not boo him, even on opening day when I have to acknowledge that my Michael is gone. I will do my best to come up with a fun nickname for him, so I can embrace him as one of the guys... which, by the way, nicknaming is becoming much harder with this unimpressive bunch of ballplayers. Personality. That's what they need. I don't expect them to 'cowboy up' or anything, because that is so beyond overused that it has pushed into the realm of 'stab-me-in-the-ears'. That's a horrible realm.

What was I ranting about? Oh. Nicknames and Beltre. He'll get one. They'll all get one. I don't generally care if I have nicknames for outfielders, but infielders NEED nicknames. Scutaro, you're next.

Baseball, plz. I get all ranty without it.