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Kyle Kendrick never had an easy day in Philadelphia, or any stadium in any city in which the Phillies were playing. But the fifth man in a rotation of stars isn't an easy position to be in, and needless to say, KK got endless sympathy and/or relentless vitriol every time he took the mound.
He wanted to belong with the Lees and the Halladays, and with each positive start, we'd think maybe it was his time to turn around. We the fans supported him by portraying him as a butthurt little brother in endless fictional characterizations. You're welcome, Kyle.
But to most people, he would always be the guy Brett Myers tricked into believing he'd been traded to Japan. Despite many attempts - winning a World Series, for example - to rewrite his legacy, the Japan thing was always going to be it. Even after his World Series ring was stolen and found in a swamp.
From a baseball sense, the Phillies finally decided it was time to part ways with Kyle after 2014, years after most fans had assumed he would be gone. During this current Rockies series, it was exciting to think the totally hittable monstrosity that had given up so many runs (559 over eight seasons) for the Phillies, would now be giving up a few to them. But no, even with a four-game series, Kendrick's turn wouldn't come back around until after the Phillies had left town.
Obviously, though, somebody was going to track KK down and get his thoughts on whatever. Someone did, and those thoughts sound a little bitter (a state of mind that has led to Kyle turning to the bottle, as pictured above, irresponsibly hammering bottled water after bottled water just before bed time).
Kyle Kendrick said there wasn't chance to re-sign w/#Phillies. Amaro told him wanted to go younger. "And then he signs Harang and Williams."
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) May 18, 2015
This statement has left Philadelphia's top fans in a state of polarized confusion. On the one side, it's Kyle Kendrick, a guy we blamed for all of our personal problems from 2007-14. On the other, it's Ruben Amaro, the man we use as a target for shouting when our inadequacies and inner turmoil become overwhelming. Where's a Phillies fan to side?
After hours of deliberation, we have concluded the best course of action is to set a giant fire, somewhere.