We thought it was over.
Some of us, anyway; the lucky ones, unburdened by despair. But when the Phillies’ 2018 season started, with young pieces of a future core installed in the depth chart, puzzling but not unsettling additions from free agency, and a gamble on an inexperienced manager, it seemed that perhaps, the uninspired stagnation of the organization since 2012 was beginning to lift.
By September 29, it was over. A lot of things were: The Phillies’ season. The hope that we had just witnessed a faster completion of a rebuild. The patience for some players deemed critical for the Phillies’ future.