Friday, August 16, 2024

Run It Back: Misery Loves Company

From April 1, 2003 to December 31, 2010, Whitney and I (and late in the game a few other blogsmen with good intentions and shark-jump impact) wrote about baseball on a nearly daily basis during the season. Our blog was entitled Misery Loves Company, and for a good 18+ months that moniker was as accurate as it was stolen. October 2004 changed the dynamic a bit, though it didn't really dampen our enthusiasm, at least not right away.

All told, we wrote 1,638 posts about baseball. We mocked David Wheeler (a lot), lauded Pedro Martinez, excoriated Grady Little, pondered Terry Collins, felt for Tim Wakefield (RIP), and worshipped David Wright. Among many, many others. We actually had readers, real, live readers from points all over the globe - one of our regulars was a Mets fan from Japan. The first comment on our valedictory post read, "sayonara!"

It was a blast, even as it got to wear on a fella after damn near seven years of trying to keep up. I loved doing it because it made me feel like a better fan, but also because it made me feel like a better friend - getting to share that experience with Whit was every bit as rewarding as watching the Sox win a World Series. Two, actually. Sorry, man.

So imagine the unexpected glee I felt earlier this afternoon when I got this text from my man. "Red Sox and Mets find themselves 2 games out of the last wild card spot as of right now. We could do sprint to the finish MLC coverage."

Lo there was rejoicing. 

Starting this weekend, G:TB will also be an MLC pop-up, at least once a week. Your proprietors are notoriously inconsistent and shirk most work, so a daily dose is probably out of the question. We can promise snark, overreaction, and the occasionally excellent turn of phrase. Very occasionally. 

Setting the table, the Red Sox are currently 63-56, with 43 games remaining. They trail the division-leading Yankees by 7.5 games, having scuffled to a 10-14 record since the All-Star break. The Royals are a more catchable 2 games ahead of the Sox in the Wild Card race. 

The Mets trail the Phillies by 8 games in the NL East, clocking in at 62-59. New York's other team have also been mediocre of late, their 13-13 post-break record courtesy of a five-game winning streak in late July. As of this writing, they're in the process of blowing a 5-0 lead to the A's that would leave them 2 games behind the hated Braves in the race for the final NL Wild Card. "Winnable Loss", texted Whit, a callback to one of our too-oft-used catchphrases.

Strap in, friends. You'll either get to experience the thrill of the chase vicariously, or you'll have the chance to experience the increasingly bitter mutterings of a pair of aging baseball fans. Fun for all ages, regardless.

As a sage scribe once said, lotta ball left. Stay on target.

19 comments:

  1. Well said, my man. Even as it feels like the Mets are faltering down the stretch — as if on cue, the mathy truth is that there is a full quarter of the MLB season slog still remaining. Lotta ball left is right. LFGM.

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  2. happy new premier league season to all who celebrate. come on you whites!

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  3. I, for one, welcome the return of MLC if only for a whit to recast the 1986 Mets movie. Horatio Sanz as Sid Fernandez still makes me giggle

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. High school football has kicked off in Florida. There’s a school around here that is a fucking dynasty. Cocoa High. Back to back state champs. Not a big school (population wise) but a bunch of guys in the nfl and produces multiple D1 kids every year. They currently have a top 10 WR in the 2025 class and a top 10 QB in the 2026 class amongst many other big recruits.

    They played my Alma Mater tonight. We have good sports programs but we’re far more Stanford than we are Alabama. It was 57-0…at halftime. Final score: 71-0.

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  6. I was an 86 Mets bandwagoner. I'm in!

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  7. I may also have to adopt ipswich as my secondary epl club. the ed sheeran singing thin lizzy on a tractor promo hooked me.

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  8. does everyone have a team? do we need to do any more wfcsags?

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  9. to mark's comment, embarrassed to say that i went to my first hs football game last night. well, not officially a game - technically their equivalent of pre-season. watching my kid play in his first game, official or not, after spending a decade in swim brought a whole new level of angst, anticipation, worry, excitement - you name it, i had it. a good bit of playing time - mostly special teams and as a blocking fullback. did catch a ball in the flat for an 8-yard gain before receiving his first legit hit. took it like a champ. 1st game of the season next week against ponte vedra high. he's at nease. kind of like handley & james wood back in incester...ha-yuge rivalry game. schools separated by about 5 miles as the crow flies where on each play you'll be lining up against a friend or even neighbor. much excite!

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  10. if you're wondering how a swim kid is playing special teams/fullback/tight end - 30 pounds added since swim ended. 205. these boys like their gym time.

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  11. Hey Mark, why is Cocoa High specifically and Brevard County in general such a fertile football hothouse? Guessing it's a combination of ability, coaching, facilities, priorities. Interesting to me when a public school produces an inordinate number of athletes. Sometimes an area seems to be a breeding ground, and sometimes prospects and families move to certain school districts when they have established success and pipelines to college.

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  12. Now I’m craving a piss warm olympia. Thanks, Whit.

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  13. I’m here live at Norfolk’s Harbor Park to see the Savannah Bananas take on the Party Animals. This is true entertainment.

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  14. who did you steal the title "misery loves company" from? christopher marlowe? is this going to get me excited about baseball?

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  15. If you ever attend a Savannah Bananas game, you’ll never watch baseball the same way again. Guaranteed.

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  16. made it up ourselves out of whole cloth, professor.

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