Exitio in omnibus nobis

Later today, the Diamondbacks will begin the second half of the season in a recently-built stadium that sits inside 14 different counties in Georgia*. The first half has gone very well. We all know that. There are articles on this website that detail the reasons of that better than this one will. Read those, and click on the sponsor links within and buy their products!

*(The state of Georgia has 159 incredibly small counties. This is the joke I am making here.)

I have a confession, though. Despite this surge and the generally good position the Diamondbacks are currently in to secure a Wild Card spot, there is a heaping of anxiety that it all could just fall apart as suddenly.

There isn’t, save for the six game stretch leading into the All-Star Break which could very well just be a slight stumble, any particular reason for this. It’s more of a psychological defense mechanism. If I prepare myself for a doom that may or may not ever come, it won’t hurt as much. That is crap, of course, but it’s still there.

I don’t want to be right about it should the team stumble in the second half. I don’t want to step into a sea of fan misery and say “Well actually I predicted this ergo I am your God now.” Nobody likes that guy. If you see that guy, you have my every permission to do a comment section reenactment of the Cinna the Poet scene from Julius Caesar. Really, I’m just acknowledging a feeling I sometimes get and sharing it with others, in the hope that it will be relatable and we can share in this experience. Synergy!

I just remember 2008 very vividly. Such a hot start, there was nothing that could the Diamondbacks! Except, everything did. The Dodgers got hot, and even a second Wild Card wouldn’t have saved the Diamondbacks, because 82-80 doesn’t usually get you many playoff appearances. Spending the next two seasons watching every development, or lack thereof, of Brandon Webb’s shoulder didn’t particularly help either.

I’m not saying you should feel doom. The advice of someone with column space who decided to title this week’s entry with a pretentious-sounding Latin phrase isn’t something you should take at face value (Unless you ask me about something I really do know a lot about, like theatrical lighting systems or main sequence stars.) As I said before, I’m just acknowledging this feeling exists.

All in all, if the pitching continues to do well, players get healthy, there aren’t any more injury woes, and a shrewd deadline move or two could put all of these anxieties to rest. Or not. Anxieties are fickle like that. For now, we just grow worried over things we have very little control over. Human existence is fun!