Wait 'til Next Year. Please.

Larry Bowa is gone, the Phillies have hunkered down to discuss his replacement, and the mainstream media and blogosphere alike have fingered everyone but Steve Bartman as the cause for yet another doomed season. It's all so ... numbing. Backward, clueless, and incapable of innovative thinking, the Phils squandered an absolutely golden opportunity to reintroduce baseball to Philadelphia. Most years I can overlook the futility, enjoy postseason action, and eagerly anticipate next year; now, though, I feel so beaten down by the drudgery of the season, after such high expectations, that I actually am looking forward to the break. I'll be back at Citizens Bank Park next year, of course, but with a much more guarded enthusiasm. I wore my heart on my sleeve this year -- new ballpark, new closer, returning stars, etc. -- only to get it broken like a high school sophomore's. Not next year, boyo. Next year I'm playing hard to get.