My other favorite team

Saw something beautiful in the 'Stros-Mets game--something I hope makes Phil Mushnick's New York Post column Monday. 6-4, two outs, runner on third. Sophomore Chris Burke hits a dribbler to the left of the mound; Met reliever Aaron Heilman goes to his left to field the ball, allows his momentum to carry him toward the bag. First baseman Carlos Delgado breaks for the bag and awaits the throw. Ho-hum.

Then something wonderful happens. Instead of flipping to Delgado or running to the bag, Heilman slows up and jogs toward first base, unaware that Burke had burst from the batter's box and was sprinting up the line.

A few feet from the bag, Heilman practically comes to a full stop and lazily sticks his foot out . . . just as Burke flies past him and touches the bag.

Safe? Out? The Astros announcers postulated that the umpire called safe on general principle, which is good enough for me. The play reminds me (in reverse) of Jeter's flip play in the 2001 playoffs, when Jeremy Giambi saw that the cut-off man (Tino Martinez) had been overthrown, then slowed up and failed to slide. I've seen Jeter's play maybe twenty times (not including the tricked-up Gatorade ad), and I still don't know if Giambi was safe or out. The moral, always, is: don't make the umpire do your job.

And the moral of Burke's hustle play? You might steal five hits a year by running all-out. Five hits, in a season where maybe half your games are decided by two runs or less. Anything less is inexcusable.