In the mood for a nice tease, but don't feel like dropping by the bank to get some singles and let the wife know about your "very important work project?"
Go to ESPN.com and click on the rumor central area. Or, mlbrtraderumors.com.
Same old blood rush without the touch.
In reality, the baseball season never ends.
Tonight on SportsCenter: The Yankees have JUST won the 2009 World Series!
Stay tuned for where Hideki Matusi could be moved, if Johnny Damon will be re-signed, and why the Yankees are the front runner for Roy Halladay.
Oh yeah, we may have time to check in with the winning team in their celebration.
But that can wait.
Rumors fly in just about every sport. It's what keeps people glued to the TV.
They allow us to be our own private investigators, snooping for the latest inside information. They allow us to be our own anchor, analyzing and scrutinizing the ins and outs of each deal.
But most importantly, it is what keeps everyone coming back for more—the off chance that your favorite player on a different team may be headed to another city.
Jason Bay going the Kansas City Royals? Don't count on it.
But to that sad sack Royals fan, even the .001 percent chance gives him an electric feeling.
It keeps him talking at the office water cooler. It keeps him refreshing his team's website.
He may know Jason Bay would rather drink his manager's dip spit before wearing a Kansas City uniform, but maybe just for a second, he thinks that Bay is willing to swallow.
Almost 99 percent are pure hearsay.
Some "inside scout" heard some "big time executive" name drop some "aging superstar" may be on the move.
What happens next?
The Internet explodes.
The scout's phone blows up with text messages.
And in about an hour, Billy Beane is pounding his fist trying to be the third team involved, and little Jimmy Joe in Baltimore just wet his pants for the third time that day.
Some "baseball elitists" will tell you they stay away.
They convince you that "it's all trivial" and "for the lower-level baseball fan."
Well, let me the first to call bullshit.
It may be cool to pretend to be you're a bigger man for not meddling with the plethora of trade talk, but behind closed doors (and behind a computer screen), that snob is just like the rest of us.
He's checking stats, making fake rosters and depth charts, and on his ballclub's website custom ordering a jersey for the possibility of a new stud gracing his teams colors.
If anyone ever tries to make you feel like less of a man for getting involved, call him out and ask to see his Internet's recent history.
Feel free to practice your victory dance ahead of time.
So, even though your heartbeat may rise and drop quicker than Tiger Wood's celebrity status (sorry, had to be done), you'll love every minute of it.
Baseball, more than any other sport, thrives on trade.
The GMs of the league even devote a whole week of their time to the annual "Winter Meeting," which—even though it turns out to be just a week of drinking and gambling—manages to have all of us praying on every word leaked from the gathering on Twitter.
Don't be ashamed.
Get out there and embrace the culture behind trading and the buzz kill that usually follows.
Just make sure you bring a backup pair of underwear.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
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