Your team mashed dingers, recorded shutouts,
showed some Golden Glove-worthy or at least SportsCenter-highlight
defense during the regular season.
Your team easily won the pennant,
outpaced the mediocre competition,
with little doubt about the ultimate outcome.
But in the gauntlet of the playoffs,
you face shutdown aces, Hall of Fame bats,
closers with Autobahn speed the eye can barely register.
Your team fell short.
The bullpen was too weak, the starters faltered,
the bats fell silent, the roster had too many holes all along.
Whatever the reason, there’s always next year.
There’s always an off-season for acquisitions,
and a reloading with promising prospects in the pipeline.
Winter may come with little Champagne,
but there’s always a finite number of days
until a tendril of hope sprouts during spring training.