Clearance Rack Items...And The People Who Love Them

Here's a story I held back from you from last night.

I abhor crowded trains. And with a crowd of 49,000 plus last night, the seven train was bound to be crowded, tepid, and odorous. Not for me. Some people leave early to beat the crowd...screw that, I let the crowd beat me.

So I took a jaunt to the clubhouse shop to do what I usually do...look around the shop for items that other people would like, and wind up buying something for myself. And now that I've invested ten minutes wandering around the concourse finding the entrance to this shop...relatively new at Shea, plus five minutes waiting to get into the place to prevent throngs of people in the same place, I had to get something.

So where did I look? The clearance rack, of course...it's where I bought my Edgardo Alfonzo jersey. Can lightning strike again? I saw some Xavier Nady t-shirts for the low low price of $8.40 and thought "well I didn't really like this trade so...score!" As I was looking for other things to buy I kind of felt like a dope walking around with this "NADY 22" shirt when a young couple saw my future purchase...and their eyes lit up.

"Hey! Where'd you get the Nady shirt?"

"Clearance rack (punctuated with a point to my right)."

"Yes! WHOO-HOO!"

And as they darted to the clearance rack, hands above their heads with extended index fingers and pinkies like they were at Ozzfest '06, I felt a little better...and a little more scared at the same time.

You know who else likes Xavier Nady tee shirts on the clearance rack? Endy Chavez.

He's had a great season, but with Nady gone and Cliff Floyd back on the disabled list, Endy is receiving a ton more playing time. While that may be scary, but Endy has done well so far...heck, after last night's game he was announced over the P.A. system as the player of the game.

Player of the game? Who knew?

Well, nobody knew. That game is going down in history as the Piazza return (with two home runs, maybe even more so than the night before). Not only did he hit home runs, but he threw out Chavez stealing second. How embarrassing.

But let the record show that Endy Chavez was the player of the game.

Chavez, no doubt razzed by teammates and perhaps fined in kangaroo court (does kangaroo court even exist anymore in clubhouses? If not, it should, but that's another blog) he attempted and succeeded in stealing two bags off of the not-so-throwing-arm-challenged Josh Bard. He also got two hits while playing center field in an outfield which he was flanked by, speaking of clearance items, Ricky Ledee and Michael Tucker.

Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton, and Bubba Trammell laugh at these guys.

But Chavez, so far, isn't wilting at the pressure of an expanded role. As long as that happens, then his shirts will remain at full price.

You could, however, probably get a spiffy Nats model at clearance rack prices in D.C., where Chavez will no doubt get a tribute video and fifteen standing ovations this coming weekend just as Piazza did at Shea. I also expect a tear or two from the Nationals faithful as Chavez enters the batters box against the team he spent nine memorable at-bats with in 2005.