No Way, Jose!

I haven't rooted this hard for a Jew since Eric Bana played Avner Kaufman in the movie "Munich", but tonight, even with my Braves facing the possibility of choking away their once-strong Wild Card spot to the Cardinals, I will be rooting for Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun to go 3-for-4 against the Pirates to snatch away the NL batting title from Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.

The backing of Braun has less to do with solidarity for "The Hebrewer" and more to do with wanting to see a selfish prick like Reyes get what he deserves. In the last game of a contract year, Reyes(with a slight lead in the batting race over Braun and Dodgers triple crown threat Matt Kemp) bunted for a single in his first at-bat. Then, despite the fact his Mets are long out of the playoff race and surprisingly having no physical ailment to warrant early rest, Reyes bullied his way out of the ballgame to avoid a possible batting title-costing slump. Fellow ballplayers lauded the move, with the most damning being a tweet from Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson calling the move "bush league".

As bad as the move was, Reyes' explanation, as well as the explanation of first-year manager Terry Collins, was even more aggravating. In the post-game interview, the Mets' speedster had this to say:

"I said 'If I go 1-for-1, take me out of the game.' And I did that. If I went 0-for-1, maybe I'm still in the game until I get a hit....I wanted to stay in the game, but (Mets fans) have to understand, too, what's going on. They have to feel happy about it if I win the batting title. I do that for the team, for the fans too, because they have been supporting me all the way through. I've (had) throughout my career a lot of ups and downs here with a lot of injuries. One thing I do all the time is give 100 percent all the time."

If you thought the stench from the busted sewage around the old Shea Stadium wreaked, then the pungent smell of the load of bullshit that emanates from that paragraph makes that rotten scent smell like fresh cut flowers. Let's be clear. Reyes pulling himself after the bunt single had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Reyes giving back to the fans. Fans don't pay their hard-earned money to watch the star player on their favorite team, in perhaps his final game with the franchise, willingly take himself out of the game after one at-bat if he isn't hobbling like Kirk Gibson in the '88 World Series. Reyes pulling himself out after the base hit had EVERYTHING to do with maximizing his value come contract time. Fans couldn't give two shits if Reyes became the first player in franchise history to win a batting title. Not when the team is 24 1/2 games out of first. Not when the team has been a laughingstock for the past decade. Nobody remembers batting champions who hit .337. Hell, nobody remembers batting champions unless they're hitting .400. Anyone remember who won the NL batting crown in 2005? No? Me neither. (To save you the time of Googling it.....it was then-Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez. Who? Exactly.).

Reyes did what he did because he thought in that little pea brain of his that somehow a newly-minted batting title will con some team into paying top dollar for a oft-injured leadoff hitter with no pop and a suspect glove. The thing is, batting title or not, someone will pay him big money this winter. We've seen teams overspend on guys who are more sizzle than steak(See Werth, Jayson). In an effort to line his pockets with gold, Reyes spit on the game. That's why today's nonsense should be a bigger deal. For the past decade, Bud Selig, Congress, sportswriters, radio jocks have talked our ear off about the purity and sanctity of the game and how steroids was such a black cloud over baseball eventhough everyone who now criticizes it benefited from it. Reyes pulling out of a meaningless baseball game to secure a batting title nobody will remember he won two years from now taints the title for me if Braun somehow doesn't put on a show against Pittsburgh tonight. In the history of self-centered, stat-padding moments in sports, it's right up there with Ricky Davis purposely botching a layup on his own basket in an attempt to notch himself a triple-double.

Reyes isn't the lone coward here though. Collins deserves every bit of the blame for allowing himself to be pushed over by a guy who might not even be in his locker room next season in Reyes. Collins' reasoning for pulling Reyes centered around not wanting to jeopardize all the hard work Collins had put in to earn the players' respect by denying one of his star player's wishes. In other words, Collins is a punk who got owned by a diva who will wipe his ass with all the respect Collins' accrued in that locker room with the crisp $100 bills he'll get from Washington or San Francisco or whoever overspends for Reyes this offseason. In an ironic turn of events, I'd love to see Braun take the batting title and cement what has been an MVP season for the left fielder and then have Milwaukee use the money it won't be using on Prince Fielder to bring in Reyes so that, every day, Reyes can stare across the locker at the man who DESERVED to be called the 2011 National League batting champion.

Perhaps we are overblowing this story. But if we are to believe that the decade-long witch hunt to eradicate baseball of the cheaters who desecrated the game and restore America's former pastime to the pristine condition historians like to believe it was once in before sluggers brought the syringes out, then maybe we aren't fussing enough. If Reyes deserves anything, he deserves credit for making us care about a single-season honor that will be rewarded to some guy who worked his ass off to hit .338. Braun vs. Reyes isn't Maris-Mantle competing for Babe Ruth's home run record in '61. Still, Braun's quest to topple Reyes is about what's right. It's about sticking it in the face of a selfish coward who saw nothing but dollar signs as he jetted down the first base line after what may be his last hit as a New York Met.

Another lousy Mets season ends the way it normally starts: With a Big Apple-sized amount of criticism and negative publicity.

You have Jose Reyes to blame for that.

A once-meaningless Brewers-Pirates season finale suddenly has significance tonight.

Hopefully, you'll have Ryan Braun to thank for that.