Chip on shoulder

session with only the print media after his introductory press conference, wanted to make the point about how happy he was to be back in New York.

“A lot of people have the misunderstanding I didn’t enjoy New York,” he said. “They’re wrong. It’s just that when you don’t win, everything is a failure.”

That prompted a question about whether Beltran returns now determined to prove he can be successful in New York.

“I was successful in New York,” Beltran said rather defiantly. “I don’t need to prove anything to nobody. I just need to stay healthy, do my job.”

Finally, that led to a question about the cause of the misunderstanding about his feelings for New York. And at that point Beltran just seemed compelled to speak his mind on the subject.

And it’s not as if he has a reputation as a bad guy around baseball. Beltran was practically beloved as a Cardinal during his two seasons in St. Louis, both among fans and teammates.

The ultimate irony, of course, is that, his strikeout against Wainwright notwithstanding, Beltran has put up numbers that make him one of the great, clutch postseason hitters ever.

And let’s be honest, everything is probably different between Beltran and the Mets if he had delivered a game-winning hit in that Game 7. Certainly some fans never seemed willing to forgive him for that moment.

For that matter, Mets fans always knew he preferred the Yankees. He just made it official on Friday when he talked about finally realizing his S dream to play in the Bronx. o it’s a second go-round in New York, but not really. Same city, different boroughs, worlds apart; Beltran is finally wearing the pinstripes, and for his sake you hope it ends better for him this time around.