The Hangover

One of the most terrifying feelings is after a night of legendary partying, you wake up and you open your eyes and wonder “Where the fuck am I?”  It’s not a good feeling, so terrible in fact, you don’t even realize the severity of your hangover. You don’t move. You just stare at the unfamiliar color that is an inch from your eye. 

That’s the feeling I have right now in regards to the Phillies.  No clue how or what to think. When I finally get my bearings, will I know this team? So many key components could be gone. Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt have been notified their options won’t be picked up. The team has said they will still continue to negotiate with them. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson and Raul Ibanez are all free agents. And then there are those who are up for arbitration: Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence and Kyle Kendrick. While they will be back, the direction Rueben Amaro Jr. takes now can and will effect how the players will proceed in the future with regards to the Phillies and free agency.

You regret letting your friends talk you into those shots.

Maybe the Phillies regret the deal they gave Howard. Maybe they don’t. From the outset I said it was a bad deal. It’s a fact; players built like Howard break down with age. Sure, when the Phillies asked him to lose weight he did and showed his dedication to the team, but I’d rather have seen a dedication to learning the finer aspects of hitting like taking the ball the other way. I understand why they did it. Signing Howard to a long term deal before Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder got their deals may have kept the cost down but was it the right approach?

“Should I try to slip out unnoticed?” you think, but then you hear someone else stirring about.

The fear of the unknown isn’t helping matters any. Where Pujols and Fielder end up could bump the Phillies from their perennial place as the team to beat.  The thing with Fielder and Pujols being the best free agents on the market is where could they sign? The teams with money already have first baseman. The Red Sox have Adrian Gonzalez. The Yanks have Teixeria. The Angels have Mark Trumbo and Kendrys Morales. The Cardinals have shown they are a worthy foe and that’s without CY Young candidate Adam Wainwright who had Tommy John surgery before the season. I can’t imagine Pujols signing elsewhere but with Theo Epstein going to the Cubs maybe they make a push?

There is a good chance that when you roll over somehow someway you made it home and everything will be okay.

The one thing I have faith in is the ability of Amaro to do his job. Maybe the team will look different, but Amaro has shown he can bring in suitable replacements. He did it when he brought Ibanez to town for the departed Pat Burrell. He did it when replaced Pedro Feliz with Placido Polanco.

Your cell starts blowing up. Better check for drunken texts.

Yeah, its gonna take me a while to be okay with this one.

See ya…oh shit there’s that hangover.

See ya at the medicine cabinet.

Jay Wrizight

jaywrizight@yahoo.com