For every prospect that makes it, and for every prospect that pans out, there's always one prospect that fakes you out, and pretends they're not gonna make it while reestablishing themselves later.
I liken these fakeouts to Back to the Future, or more specifically, the last half hour of Back to the Future. I love the movie, but I've seen it so many times to grow accustomed to the number of fakeouts they use during the climax. Every time it looks like Marty's gonna get home safe, something happens. Or every time it looks like Marty's gonna get away with something, something else happens, to the point where you're screaming at the TV in exhaustion. They're gonna get out okay, but the car runs out of battery. He charges it up, but the cable falls. He gets the cable back up, but it won't reach. They're very annoying, but they pay off, eventually.
I'd like to think of Domonic Brown as reminiscent of the last 30 minutes of Back to the Future. Because every time you think things are gonna go swell, he has a setback. Best prospect in the organization, but he stops hitting. Rehabs it up for a season, but they trade for Hunter Pence. 19 home runs, but he fails to get any more in a week. It's the same sorta suspense that frustrates fans of Marty McFly.
But, there is, somehow, a perk to all of this maddening confusion.
How different would the movie Back to the Future be if Marty McFly gets to 1955, talks to his folks, gets them together, and promptly goes back home, without anything happening, without him endangering anyone's lives?
It would be one boring-ass movie, I'll tell you that much. No excitement. No real drama, or action. If all the little fakeouts were taken out, it'd easily be fodder for the Satellite of Love (MAJOR obscure reference there, folks. Only a certain breed of geek will get that.)
Now, lemme go the other way. How different would Back to the Future be if he goes back, and doesn't get the happy ending? He does all these things, and he ends up either dying, or killing Doc Brown, or doing something that off-sets everything, and it ends in a somber tone? No, that can't happen either. You can't just start something with so much potential, only for it to just end up a total mess. I mean...that happens a lot in movies (see Steel, Man of), but people don't like it when it does.
No, Back to the Future works because it has all the suspense, and things happen, and even when the little fakeouts happen, they amount to something. It's not a one note shoot to a happy ending, but it's not too bleak, either. Hell, if you want bleak, watch Back to the Future Part II (or The Hangover Part II). But it's a fine balance between ending well and ending horribly, by having moments where you're not sure it's gonna end well.
And that's what makes Domonic Brown's sudden rise to Philly fame so satisfying. It's been bleak, it's been suspenseful, and it's been a hell of a ride, but all that matters is that it's currently amounting to something. And all of those little fakeouts are pesky, and frustrating, but by the end (or at least by right now), Domonic Brown is playing well, hitting well, getting a million All Star votes (yet 10th in the polls), and making Philly fans happy.
You could argue here that it may not take money, or a sudden onset of fame, or a AmEx to ride this transit system. But all it takes is the fact that fans have waited a long time to see Domonic Brown play like everybody else hyped him up to be. And now that he is, it's a long like of relief, and satisfaction.
And THAT...is the power of Brotherly Love.
(scoots away while dancing to Huey Lewis music)
Coming Tomorrow- What's that? You want more Diamondbacks? Fine, here's the probable starter at 1st base for the NL All Star team, unless the Cincinnati fans start stuffing ballots.
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