1.   Exactly when this realization hit Mantle is unclear.

2.   Squint hard at the statistics, and the realization hits that at the one-quarter point of the season, the Giants are headed toward hallowed ground.

3.   The realization hit home that he and fellow managers are in charge of an assembly of no-names, while the real major-leaguers remain on strike.

4.   The realization has hit home that what has been witnessed over the past five weeks is, well, history.

5.   The realization has hit you that soon you are going to have to buy a car.

6.   The realization hit him that they had fallen into an ambush.

7.   Then, as he bounced between this career plan and that, a realization hit him.

8.   Then the realization hits home.

9.   When the realization hit that his season was a bust, Valentin started complaining about pain in his knee.

10.   When the realization hit a few weeks ago, there were moments of real terror.