Why did he do it?

No, I'm not talking about Elliot Spitzer. I'm talking about Albert/Joey/Jojuan Bell, a man who coulda been a contenda for the HOF if only he'd a stuck wid da Tribe. Yeah.

Or Sammy White. White, who retired from baseball rather than accept a trade from Boston to Cleveland in 1960. Jackie Jensen retired the same year because he was afraid of flying. Not helpful to Boston that year. But let's talk about Jooo-ey, since Sammy was nearing the end of his career back in the day when loyalty meant something.

Here's a guy, not a nice guy or maybe not even as well-balanced emotionally as Jimmy Piersall. But what a hitter. Teamed with Thome and Lofton, OMG! Couldn't hack Cleveland, though. I know he had a bad scare that one Halloween night and all, but let's face it: Albert/Jooo-ey was another in the rather long line of players who thought Cleveland just wasn't a big enough stage for their awesomeness. So Jooo-ey/Albert had to get himself traded to the White Sox where he could team up with a real slugger, Frank Thomas.

Turns out Thomas and Thome were then and still are about the same type of hitter. They get on base a lot, especially free passes, created skads of runs. Basically two of the best hitters the game has ever seen. But Jooo-ey/Albert makes a big deal about how Cleveland sucks and Chicago will be the place he will become one of the Immortals. Gets to the Windy City and finds there's a difference between Thome and Thomas--Thomas is an egomaniac, just like Joo-ey, and they mix like Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco. Joo-ey presses trying to outdo Big Hurt, and they both wind up hurt, only Jooo-ey never really recovers and is out of the game in a couple of years. Big Hurt's still going at 40, BTW.

Idiot! Why did he do it? Was it really worth it to force a trade to Chicago rather than stick with the Tribe, where he was averaging 43 HRs/year? At that pace, he would have been assured of joining the 500 club with a shot at the HOF.

Thome, on the other hand, wisely (and quietly) stuck with the Tribe for 12 seasons, piling up the numbers that would form the foundation for his bid for the HOF and playing on six post-season teams, two of which went to the WS.

So the rest of you can blog yourselves silly over Mr. Spitzer and his $80,000 schtups. We all know why he did it. But does anyone really know why Jooo-ey did it?