Wings of a Boomstick

So I kinda went on a Steve Phillips rant early in the ALCS about the fact that Phillips traded this blooming star for middle infielder Jorge Velandia. Or more accurately, a young raw minor leaguer for a middle infielder much closer to helping a team battling for the playoffs, which is what the Nelson Cruz for Velandia trade actually was back then.

But we (okay, I) like to find more things to blame Steve Phillips for. It’s natural, like humans insisting on using their opposable thumbs to eat and open doors and provide support for the other three fingers while you flip Shane Victorino the bird. But Phillips shouldn’t be blamed for this. Because let’s face it, Nelson Cruz would have never become a star while wearing orange and blue. There were too many pitfalls accompanying Cruz’s road to Flushing. Let’s look at them:

• He could have been a throw in for the Scott Kazmir trade.
• He had the immortal Victor Diaz blocking his path.
• He could have been released to make room for Julio Franco.
• He could have been traded for three grasshoppers and a parrot because Omar Minaya didn’t want to put Mike Pelfrey on the disabled list for three days.
• Billy Wagner would have driven him to therapy after hanging a note in his locker that read “know your place, rook.”
• Every injury that held Cruz back in his major league career with Texas would have no doubt been career threatening in a Mets uniform.
• He would have punched a family member in a rage in the family room … most likely because he was angry about Fred Wilpon telling a New Yorker columnist that he wasn’t worth Jorge Velandia money.

So congratulations on your big ALCS, Nelson. Looks like that Jorge Velandia trade was the best thing to ever happen to you. It couldn’t have worked here. It was written in the stars … a million miles and ten years away.