Reyes of Sunshine??????

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I have always had a "special" s*** list for men (or women) who left the spouse who stood with them through their training/college years only to have the spouse dump them when they made it big. In this category, I would place people like Jim Carrey, Roseanne Barr and Robin Williams.

And I'm a Mets fan. I've been a Mets fan for a long time, as long as I can remember. It's ingrained in me. For the most part, I like the players on the team (there have been a few exceptions over the year, but they have been few and far between).

Jose Reyes used to be one of my favorite players. He started with the Mets when he was very young. His 9 seasons with the Mets have been productive, but they have also been plagued with injuries. He gave the Mets a lot in those years, but the Mets also stuck with him, despite injuries.

After 9 seasons with the Mets, Reyes did something that no other Met ever did; he won the batting title. As a Mets fan, I was rooting really hard for him. But I also had some difficulty feeling really good about this because I knew in my heart of hearts that if he won the title, it would be VERY unlikely that he would sign with the financially plagued Mets.

To make matters worse, as soon as the rumor mill started grinding, it because more and more obvious that not only wouldn't Reyes sign with the Mets (apparently they weren't even talking), but he would be signing with a team in the Mets' own division, a team that was in the group of teams that they will be playing more than the other teams in Major League Baseball.

So now that the other cleat has dropped and Reyes signed a 10-year (longer than he played with the Mets) contract that rivals a huge Power Ball Jackpot, I am angry. I feel as though I was left after sticking with a spouse through the lean years (granted, Reyes years have rarely been totally lean, but, by the same token, his true potential never totally came through), after the Mets built a stadium designed to be a triples-hitter's (like Reyes) paradise, after the fans have loved him and cheered for him and showered him with affection that is rare among New York fans. Maybe he's spoiled. He doesn't realize how rare that sort of adulation is, particularly in NY. But I will adulate no longer. I will, from my perch in my house, boo him when he comes up against the team that nurtured him.

The nice thing about this happening now is that I have time before the season to forget Reyes, to move him from the beloved category to the despised category that I usually reserve for players who I heard abuse their spouses, children or animals. I hope by season's start some players I have loved will still be with the Mets (I just heard yesterday that Angel Pagan was traded away -- that I can't blame Angel for, any more than I can blame Carlos Beltran for leaving, since he was also traded). Good riddance, Jose Reyes. Take your dirty money and run.