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What happens to the guys who get released during a season? The DFA guys (designated for assignment) who are now hoping there???s an open spot in another organization (or the one that just DFA???d them) that they can slip into. What are these guys thinking? Back in December, I wrote about what was going through the minds of unsigned free agents in the Major Leagues. It was a slow market this past off season, so it took longer than usual for guys to latch onto their 2009 teams. But what happens during the season? What about the guys who get released during a season? The DFA guys (designated for assignment) who are now hoping there???s an open spot in another organization (or the one that just DFA???d them) that they can slip into. What are these guys thinking? Chase Lambin was one of the top prospects for the Mets in the middle part of this decade. In 2005, he hit a combined 24 home runs between AA and AAA ball with an OBA of almost .900 in Norfolk (the Mets??? former AAA affiliate). But he didn???t get called up by the big club in September. He came close again in 2006, hitting well in big league spring training and being told by Willie Randolph that he was on the radar. Chase could sniff the smell of Major League food. He could picture the better hotels, the nicer planes. He was going to love the big league salary. But he pressed too hard. He slumped all season, eventually getting demoted back to AA. He was so close and lost it. In spring training 2007, he was released. This is what happens to guys. They get released and are stuck having a catch in a hotel parking lot or working out at a Gold???s Gym. What was so close to them, virtually tangible, is removed in a heartbeat. Take a look at what happened to Nelson Figueroa recently. Called up from AAA Buffalo by the Mets, he pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. Normally a 4.50 ERA isn???t the stuff of the next Tom Seaver, but for the Mets this year, it???s very good. Not 60 minutes after the game, Figueroa was designated for assignment. There are two classes of guys then. There are the guys who???ve made it to the Major Leagues but can???t stay and there are the guys who make it to the top of the minor leagues and can???t get that first callup. They can sniff the coffee but not quite reach the cup. ???At AAA, it???s not about what you do,??? Chase says, ???it???s what the people ahead of you do. You gotta have breaks and if you don???t get those breaks, it doesn???t matter if you???re hitting .600.??? He???s referring to 2008, when he was in the Florida Marlins system. He had hit an even .300 that season with an OPS of almost .900. September came and no callup. Why? The Marlins were already a young team. They didn???t have the room, or maybe the reasons, for calling up more young (or by now in Chase???s case) inexperienced guys. The club was already filled with them. What is it? What makes a player like Chase Lambin, or Nelson Figueroa, or Alan Zinter, who played 19 years of professional baseball in order to appear in 67 big league games, stick with ???the dream??? for so long? That???s it. It???s The Dream. The reason anyone plays in the minor leagues is to make it to the big leagues. The reason anyone tries to make it to the minor leagues is the big league dream. The reason most kids play Little League is because they picture themselves in Dodger Stadium or Jacobs Field, hitting that game winning home run or throwing that third consecutive no-hitter. That???s The Dream that keeps the hopes of every minor league player and every recently DFA Major League player from going home and quitting. The Dream does shift. While the minor leaguer still thinks about smacking that bottom of the ninth grand slam at home in Camden Yards, he???s also thinking about that big league salary. Man, it???d be nice to earn $400,000 for at least one year. Then, maybe I can make a little more the next year. Hell, I could be bringing home a cool million if I play my cards right up there. My kids will always have a home. My wife will have that nice car she wants. I???ll be able to retire at 35 and not have to worry about getting a job for the rest of my life. We grow up and our dreams change. They have to. Our perspectives change, our relative touch-points change. When you???re nine, all you can think about is sitting in the dugout with Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. When you???re 19, you still think that, but you???ve seen so much more. You know there is no Food Fairy who magically places baked beans and rotisserie chickens in your kitchen every night. You???ve got to earn a living, not just dream about it. And when you???re 29, you???re doing it because it???s all you???ve ever done. What else is there? And you keep waiting for that chance. And working for it. Because if you do make it, maybe you do hit the grand slam. Maybe you do get interviewed and maybe someone from ESPN or the MLB Network sees how well you speak. Maybe someone from the Washington Post likes the way you think. Maybe a rich blogger???s attention gets captured and other opportunities arise. The Dream shifts again. Make the big leagues and maybe you can turn that into a broadcasting gig on TV or radio Maybe there???s some new media opportunity. Maybe there are better investment opportunities because you???re not just Chase Lambin, you???re now ???former Major League Baseball player Chase Lambin.??? Make the majors, be in the right place at the right time, hit the key double in Game 2 of the World Series, and your name is always remembered. There are card shows to attend. There???s adulation and some money. There???s a book deal. There???s a better chance at becoming a coach and working your way up to the Majors that way. Oh, man, just give me one sniff of MLB. Just give me that one AB, that one inning on the mound. I???ll show you. I???ll show them. I can do this. I can and I will. It???s not just all I can do and it???s not just all I know. It???s all I want. It???s part of my soul. It???s what I???ve been shooting for, aiming for, since I was dropped on my head at birth. Gimme the one shot and I???ll prove to you, to all the girlfriends who dumped me because they couldn???t take the lifestyle, to my wife who???s telling me this is my last year and then ???you???ve got to try something else.??? Just give me the chance to prove to my parents that all those hours playing catch in the backyard were worth it. Let me prove it to my 11th grade biology teacher, who said they should operate on my brain and remove the part that thinks I???ll ever make it. Let me prove to myself that all of that bad McDonald???s food at 2AM, all of those hotel rooms with bugs and mites, all of those hours by myself hitting in a cage are worth it. I can. I will. There is no other choice. Not now. Not while the sniff is still close by. That???s what goes through the head of the guys who are on the cusp. Not such an easy life, is it? Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you???ve never heard of. Visit Jimmy Scott???s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy. You???ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball. Go there now to hear Jimmy???s latest interviews with Nelson & Alisa Figueroa, Craig Swan, Desi Relaford and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.