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So, you ever make a nice pasta with an olive oil sauce? Like, garlic sauteed with crushed red pepper, tossed with some angel hair, and drizzled with some parmesan cheese? Pretty good, right? Simple as anything -- maybe a $2.50 meal -- and totally unoriginal, but ultimately satisfying. That was kind of what last night's game was like: just high quality, tasty, and utterly routine in a lot of ways. Well, I guess it wasn't cheap, given Lee's price tag, but...you get the point. It's a utility meal: a 3-1 victory that is thrilling enough, if not historic or different.
In the past, I would have really wanted something spectacular to follow a game like that. Maybe like the molecular gastronomy of a 5-4 balk-off win, or the "All You Can Eat Ribs'n'Steak" grandeur of a 20-19 slugfest. Something I could remember distinctly and smile about as a particular experience. Something different.
This season? Pfffffffft. Not so much. Hang 2 on Lackey and let Kendrick go an easy seven, and I'll be happy. I'll sleep content. Because when you're not winning so much, the way you scrape together the wins doesn't really matter any more. The Phillies don't really get style points anymore: whatever does the trick is exciting enough.
Discuss lowered expectations below.