can we play a meaningful game, already?

I have started this post over and over, looking for the right words to tell you how I'm feeling, but in all honesty, I don't know how I'm feeling (unless you count sick as a dog with something flu-like). Truly, it's hard to know what to say or how to feel about a team that played so hard and clinched the division and then just decided to bag the rest of the season. Am I supposed to be excited? Disappointed? Outraged? Yes and no, I guess.

The post-celebration season was a drag. Nothing interesting happened, and while it was really no fun to watch, we can at least take solace in the fact that nothing disastrous happened, either. Maybe that was the point. Maybe it was all pre-arranged to prevent serious injury. It would have been nice, however, if they could have managed one or two more wins. You know, just to get the enthusiasm up a little headed into the playoffs. But, whatever.

Like I said, I had a lot of trouble conjuring up any emotion (one way or the other) about the situation, but then I thought, "wait, what about some emotionless writing to convey my emotionless thoughts?" And if you've ever read or written nurse's notes, you know that it doesn't get much more emotionless than that.

So, here's my best attempt at NN (nurse's notes) to describe what has been a less than impressive season finale...

• 9/26/09 2230 Team in playoffs p clinching against Col. Celebrating c alcohol in clubhouse. Media present. A&O x2, unable to identify time of day/date or purpose possibly r/t ETOH consumption. Team pleasant, smiling, cooperative. VS 120/80 72 20 98.6o. Skin warm, dry. LCTA. Respirations even. BSx4. No c/o pain or discomfort. No distress noted.

• 10/1/09 1600 Team c one win of three in Cin series. A&O x4. Mood labile. Denies SI/HI. Catcher c/o pain in L knee p incident c foul ball. Reports pain as "8" on 1-10 scale. Unable to bear weight L leg. Swelling & bruising noted to area. Pedal pulses present B. Prn pain meds given as requested. Ice pack applied. Player replaced. VS 114/66 98 24 98.0o. Skin warm, dry. Respirations even. BSx4.

• 10/4/09 1830 Team swept by division foes. Regular season over. Three series losses to end season. VS 102/60 110 28 96.7o. Skin cool, clammy. Respirations labored. Lung sounds diminished B @ bases. Oral mucosa pink, moist. Cap refill 2 seconds. No cyanosis noted. Sa02 90%. 02 applied per NC @2L/min. HOB elevated. A&O x4. Mood anxious.

Hopefully, the post-season adrenaline will kick in and we'll stop the bleeding and survive the NLDS.

...

Whatever.