Sometimes, we ask ourselves why we continue to watch sports after seeing these gut-wrenching endings.

New York Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese is beginning this season with a new nose.

He showed up at the team’s camp yesterday looking just a little bit different, and was surprisingly candid when speaking to reporters about his decision to get plastic surgery. That was odd on its own, but stranger still was the revelation that Niese’s rhinoplasty was all Carlos Beltran’s fault idea. The ways in which this is a tragic story are myriad, so, after the jump, let’s just sample a few.

Congratulations, St. Louis Cardinals fans. The consolation prize for losing out on the Albert Pujols sweepstakes appears to be none other than Carlos Beltran. Yes, the Cardinals have gone and signed the soon-to-be 35-year-old Beltran to a 2-year, $26 million contract, complete with a no-trade clause.

The San Francisco Giants’ World Series repeat chances just got better, if a report from SI‘s Jon Heyman is true: Heyman says Carlos Beltran is headed to San Francisco. Beltran needs to approve the deal first, but we’re not sure why he wouldn’t…he’s headed for the world champions. And he’d help them out – the Giants are next to last in the NL in runs scored, and adding Beltran – still a highly effective hitter – to that mix could pay big dividends. Plus, the last time Beltran was involved in a midseason deal, that worked out pretty well. (Photo via)

In this week’s New Yorker, Fred Wilpon ripped some of the best players on the baseball team he owns. He will catch hell for it. Here’s why he shouldn’t.