A communiqué issued later in the day had a rather more realistic note.
Torre was realistic, noting: "My only concern is the ball club.
And on that deliberately uninspiring but, I hope, realistic note – I wish you all an achievably happy-ish new year.
The article ended with the hope that Nic might finally have outrun his demons; the book ends on a less resolute but perhaps more realistic note.
Sometimes all it takes is a dash of absurdity which strikes a realistic note (Steinbeck had a sharp eye for the absurd).
Pierre-Henry Gagey of the Burgundy winemakers' association, striking a more realistic note, told local growers to improve their wines' quality.
Several people also questioned whether Mr. Bush's plan for greater competition was realistic, noting that several H.M.O.'s, some in the Baltimore area, have pulled out of the Medicare system in recent years, citing low reimbursement rates from the government.
After 32 months of conflict, Israeli and Palestinian officials are trying to strike a detail-oriented, realistic note, in contrast to what is remembered as the idealistic tone of the Oslo peace effort of 10 years ago.
However Hashim Amla, who was South Africa's batting hero again with a resolute century until he was bowled by Finn for the second time in the Test, struck a more realistic note.
So while 2010 has been a challenging year for global policy on climate change, it has ended in a more optimistic, but also more realistic note that the battle is not lost but it is going to be a long struggle that is fought by many different actors on many different fronts, from the local to the national to the global.
