And here was Adam Wainwright on Sunday, full count on Fernando Tatis Jr., and it was one of those at-bats in which, frankly, you brace yourself. In the old days, back when ‘Waino’ would give an entire bullpen a day off, you simply waited to see which pitch he’d use to simultaneously bedazzle fans and befuddle a batter.
Things might not be back to normal — it’s hard to imagine he’s a top-three Cy Young vote-getter in 2019 — but maybe this is our new normal, meaning that onlookers might anticipate the bad but also could actually be pleasantly pleased and surprised with the opposite occurring.