Freddy Galvis Strains Back in Misguided Attempt to Fit in with Teammates

It’s always hard to be the new kid.

Having to adjust to new surroundings is one thing, but when the new surroundings are Philadelphia, intimidation can be a bit steeper.  Because that’s what it feels like in Philly; not that you’re in the city, but that the city has surrounded you.

And along with the new setting comes a fresh set of customs.

For instance, the current trend in the Phillies clubhouse is to suffer a debilitating injury of some kind.  That probably sounds pretty silly.  But remember when you took a different route home from school  and stumbled upon those cool kids rubbing Vicks Vapor Rub on their chests and getting high off the fumes?

That seemed pretty silly, too.  But within a few days you were running out of CVS with a knapsack full of Vicks clanking behind you and store clerks laughing while not even bothering to stop you.

So, naturally, Freddy stayed healthy and has been really fun to watch, but who wants to be fun for the fans to watch?  That’s like asking for your reward from a great report card to be a board game night with your parents and the Gundersons from across the street.  All the while, a perfectly cool Vicks Vapor Rave is happening in somebody’s parents’ toolshed.  For shame.

So Freddy succumbed to the peer pressure and now he is on a 15-day trip to the DL of his own.  I hope Ryan, Chase, Doc, David, Laynce. Michael, and Jim are pleased with themselves.  They took a perfectly promising young athlete, showed him through their actions that the only way to be their friend is to strain a back muscle, and now we’re left with another gaping hole at second base while they all high five and cruise around looking for chicks and play all the NES Megaman games in a row in one night or whatever happens when players go on the DL.

And we’re left to stand on the front stoop, shaking our heads as Freddy skips down the sidewalk to hop in the convertible with the other DL’d players.

A hand on our shoulder attempts to offer comfort.

“You have to let him grow up,” Juan Pierre says.  “You have to let him go.  Besides, you’ve still got me!”