Free and clear
Last week, and in fact for a while, they looked like chumps. Now they’re world-beaters who have it all figured out.
The way the Phillies are playing, it’s like when you come through a tough breakup.
One moment you’re a mess, seemingly directionless, without perspective and looking for solid ground, barely keeping your head above water and sometimes going under. It feels like there’s no end in sight, it becomes easy to question yourself, and everybody around you notices the state you’re in and starts to whisper.
Then something changes.
Often it’s something simple. Something just clicks inside, maybe a realization or some other means of closure — like a Jimmy Rollins squibber that finds its way through the infield — and your slump is broken.
Your whole world opens up. You’ve re-found yourself, maybe even better now. Now you can’t even believe you were ever in such a funk in the first place.
The Phillies beat the Reds 22-1 Monday night, right after sweeping the Mets. Whatever bad stuff happened before that, it’s not even worth remembering.
J-Roll is back to being J-Roll. Hamels is back to being Hamels. Hell, when you erupt for 22 runs, pretty much everybody gets in on the act.
A 22-run explosion. It’s like when you finally break free of that relationship that was dragging you down and you find what you’ve really been looking for. You’re walking tall now, almost dizzy but in a good way. And there’s no looking back.
One more thing… Raul Ibanez, your All-Star left fielder, is due to return this week.
Life is good.
