Since 2004, I have seen my interest in the off-season slowly dwindle.
Before that, when there was no way of knowing if the title drought would last 85 years or 185 years, I'd follow the rumours, trades and roster moves as closely as I could. And during the season, I obsessed over every single game, especially when there were stupid managerial decisions. And in the pre-Tito era, there was plenty of those. Hell, I was often furious after wins.
Winning a World Series championship changed many things about the nature of my fandom -- all of them impossible to predict, or to prevent -- and this is one of them. It's not that I don't care. It's similar to how I now feel after games: winning is fun, but if the Sox lose, well, it happens and there's another game tomorrow. I seem unable to muster the energy or focus to dissect managerial decisions in the type of detail I did in 2003 and 2004.
And during the winter, I feel some obligation to put up a post every few days, at the very least. (I have given up saying stuff like "Don't expect more than one post a week", because I never stick to those statements.) Without the blog, though, I'd be happy if I were transported directly to Opening Day. Hand me the roster, tell me who is percolating in Pawtucket, and let's get to it!
So what am I doing? I'm working on a book proposal (music-related) that is due at the end of the month. I've been sleeping with a CPAP machine for the last 10 weeks and thinking I should be seeing better results than I have had. I'm thinking about JoSapalooza '09! I'm currently reading (appropriately enough) "Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, And Bums In America" by Tom Lutz. (My subtitle up top comes from a quote from a 1780s London magazine, The Lounger.)
And Truck Day is two months away.
6 comments:
I obsessed over every single game, especially when there were stupid managerial decisions.
Do tell!
Winning a World Series championship changed many things about the nature of my fandom...
Moi aussi.
I still comb the papers and the web sites nearly every day during the off-season for the latest Red Sox tidbits but two championships in the last five seasons have dulled my senses, too.
I think, in part, the new ownership has made a lot of smart decisions and the front office seems to make all the right moves. I don't find myself saying "Why can't we get players like that?" quite as often.
Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't get moody when a losing streak goes longer than two games.
I feel the same way, but maybe it's also because nothing has happened yet to get me either excited or agitated. In fact, nothing has happened. Period.
I hate winter for many reasons, lack of baseball being only one. So I echo the title of your post, but even more pointed, "Is it opening day yet?"
Two words...Fanalytical Baseball (Scoresheet). I've been spending a couple of hours a day working trade ideas with other teams. I've been waiting a couple of days for Ron Shandler's Baseball Forcaster, it's driving me crazy.
This time of year baseball is far from my mind, as well. Although, I just got my power back after 5 days and 13 hours from that damned ice storm, (ironic that right now there is freezing drizzle out)... I spent some of that time in the house listening to 2004 ALCS 5 on my mp3 player.
It's good to be past the end of the season and into winter, so we're not still agonizing over the baseball season being over. We look ahead.
I just got my power back after 5 days and 13 hours from that damned ice storm
Oh man, that is a long time!
I was wondering how many JoSers were effected by the ice storm. Amy said it just missed them.
I hope everything is getting back to normal in Casa del Ish.
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