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August 26, 2023

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

Seven thousand three hundred sixty days ago, I sat in an apartment in upper Manhattan and typed these words into Blogger:

This will be a continuation of a bloggish thing I did at this site. My other website is dedicated to the 1918 Red Sox and the book I wrote about that team and season.

Back in 2001, around the time that "1918" came out, I started a website dedicated to Pedro Martinez. While working on the book, I was unable to root for the Red Sox (because if they actually managed to win it all, no one in the world would give a shit about the 1918 team). It was my good luck to not have my team break my heart by winning and as soon as I could, I embraced my fandom like never before.

It was, more or less, perfect timing. Major League Baseball was just starting to provide access to every team's radio broadcasts. I started listening to Red Sox radio broadcasts via my desktop computer in 2001. MLBTV would soon follow.

I started the Pedro site (pedro45.net) solely for my own amusement -- and anyone that stumbled upon it. One part of the site gathered links to Red Sox articles and a snip from each one. That pre-blog blog started on February 9, 2001, with . The first post of what would evolve into "Schadenfreude: A Continuing Series" appeared on November 5, 2001. With few exceptions, I did not add my two cents to the links/snip format for two seasons. On March 1, 2003, I started writing short posts, loaded with links.  (Who could have imagined that the next two seasons would be the absolute pinnacle of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry?) Also, it's no surprise my complaints about the Boston media and the Red Sox manager were there from the very start. (I was, for a while, forbidden from uttering the words "Jimy" and "Williams" while my partner was home.)

"The Joy of Sox" was the second possibility when I wondered what to call this new forum. My first thought was "Tagging on Evans", a phrase I remember well from listening to radio broadcasts as a teenager in the late 1970s. "The Joy of Sox" is a far superior name, not tied to any era or player.

Posts from the 2004 season were a mix of baseball and 9/11 research. Initially, I offered no option to comment, but I changed that in 2005. Gamethreads emerged rather quickly -- and they were never better than in 2007.

The first (and only) Josapalooza was held at Fenway Park on July 28, 2009. I purchased a block of 20 seats in the left field upper deck. I wanted to have t-shirts made, but I ended up designed a game program with everyone's name/avatar on the back and a scorecard inside.

When the Red Sox fell out of contention early in the 2012 season, I had the brilliant idea to stop wasting three hours every evening watching the Red Sox lose. This would happen again in various seasons.

I have always said that if writing this blog ever became like a job, actual work rather than something I enjoy, I would stop. There have been several winters when I thought it was over, but I always rebounded in the spring. On February 12, 2021, I announced that I would no longer be doing regular season game recaps.

I no longer worry about watching the Red Sox every day, of immersing myself completely in their current season so if they do win it all, I'll have gone through the full experience. I don't need to do that any more and, if I'm being honest, I really don't want to. Fifteen years ago, following the team was a part-time job even on the slowest days. 

My main reason for watching the Red Sox now is because I enjoy watching the Red Sox. There's only one problem. I don't enjoy watching the Red Sox in the manner in which the games are presented to me.

If you have been reading my posts for a while, you are undoubtedly familiar with my ever-growing list of grievances, my numerous complaints, about MLB and NESN. In brief: I have zero patience for gaffe-prone announcers who remain blissfully ignorant of their nightly missteps or who mail it in so often their face should be on a stamp; the incessant advertising makes me sick; and while the slower pace-of-play bothers me, MLB's refusal to intelligently deal with it annoys me much more, because MLB cannot do anything without somehow fucking things up and Rob Manfred's crusade to trash the fundamental competitive structure of the game by adding gimmicky rules better suited to beer-league softball, none of which will solve the problems he claims he wants to solve, and all of which causes me headache-level infuriation, as well as a profound sadness over the clear realization that I've already begun losing one of the few things I've loved for nearly my entire life.

Also: I switched time zones two seasons ago (Eastern to Pacific) and added a fourth day to my work schedule. Now, night games usually begin at 4 PM and weekend day games start before noon. Watching every game is not a priority and these earlier start times don't make it any easier. . . . 

Almost three seasons later, my attitude is unchanged. But in an unexpected twist, it is watching (and accepting) baseball as it exists in 2023 that has become a burden. I truly hate how the rules of the game have been perverted in the last five years.

I have not abandoned baseball. Baseball has abandoned me. I want to watch a baseball game in which managers can position their fielders wherever they want, use their available players in the manner they believe is best, and I want the same rules to apply for the entire game. I watched that type of game for more than four decades. I loved that game. But that game is gone . . . and it's never coming back.

This is my 9,307th post at The Joy of Sox and it should be my last.

Except . . .

I am not about to never read anything about baseball again. There will be times when I need to rant about MLB, or post crazy linescores and factoids, or share my happiness at the Yankees' misfortune. When the writing project I mentioned in 2021 results in an actual physical book, I'd like to have a little spot at which to promote it, where it might be seen by more than a few people. And what if the 2025 Red Sox are blazing their way to a 117-45 record? Could I stay away?

The Joy of Sox has likely run its course OR it might be merely going into a deeper hiatus. I'll still post occasionally, perhaps bring game recaps back for the World Series. I will definitely have something to say as we approach the exact date we greet out Robot Umpire overlords.

My main outlet for writing will be Writer. Reader. Grouch.

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for all the years of quality posting.

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  2. Allan,
    I'm sad and understanding.
    Could you keep the Schadenfreude series alive, in the meantime? Or gift it to another blogger?

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  3. Aw, fuck, Alan.

    But you are spot-on as usual....

    I'll keep the link to JOS on my desktop and will check it, if not religiously, at least as religiously as an atheist can.

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  4. Could you keep the Schadenfreude series alive, in the meantime?

    Absolutely.

    I'll keep the link to JOS on my desktop

    Please do.

    No deletion of bookmarks! I'm not shutting down 100%.
    Who knows? I might come back (and come back big) in 2025.

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  5. My reading started in 2003 with colorful posts about a certain Sox manager. Full karmic circle if it ended with A.Boone getting canned.

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  6. I can't remember when or how I stumbled on JOS , but am so glad I did. Helped extend my knowledge from here on the small island.
    Thanks.

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  7. As the cliches go :

    We all must do what we "believe" will make us happy

    But Life is, sadly, generally, an experience of diminishing returns

    Things Change
    We Change
    There will be other joys ......

    Why don't you make a run at Commissioner ?

    Perhaps, the Inaugural Commissioner of the B.C. League :

    The Better Competition League
    The Be Consistent League
    The Big Cranky League !

    Congratulations on 2 Decades of Quality & Caring

    Be Proud of what you have done
    Let the Future sort itself out ......

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  8. As I wrote back in 2021, you need not apologize to anyone. This site has been one of the few that I've continued to follow over the last 20 years. I really enjoy your writing style and your perspective on the Red Sox, baseball, and other subject matter. I often peek at the site at least once a week, just to see what you may have written. It's never disappointing to find nothing new OR something that spawned from your creative mind.

    My own site has floundered for the past four-plus seasons as well. I have not posted anything new since the start of the 2019 season. I have given thought to doing so, but then I just find myself distracted by my job, my family, and just about everything else. Meanwhile, you've written at least 1200 posts. You have put me to shame, and that's fine.

    Meanwhile, I'll keep looking, even if this same post is here for several weeks or months to come.

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  9. GK:
    I remain stunned that someone started reading in 2003 and is still here. And it makes me feel good. A heartfelt thank you.

    Honestly, having steady readers at all means a lot to every writer.

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  10. Allan, In 2003 I was a grad student living 60 miles away from Fenway not knowing what life will throw at me next. Now a lot more gray on the head, and making my home 3000 miles away. Checking JoS periodically (less so than in the 2000s and probably until 2018) has remained a constant.

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  11. A lot of good times here on this blog, even a few meetups over the years. I hope you feel good about your efforts here.

    Schadenfreude -- yes!

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  12. Many thanks for the blog. It has been a delight and I greatly appreciate all you've done to keep it going this long.

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  13. I'm not sure if I've ever commented on this site before, but I just wanted to say the following:

    I am a lifelong Yankee fan. This is the only Red Sox site I ever visit because, despite the Schadenfreude posts (which I can appreciate are just coming from a purely anti-Yankee position), the content is almost always interesting.

    I share your position on baseball in general. It has morphed into something I don't really recognize anymore. I used to live and die by the outcome of Yankee games (and seasons), but for the last 8 years I've weaned myself off of it almost completely. Now I check the box scores and read articles but don't actually watch baseball anymore. I enjoy keeping tabs on prospects (Jasson Dominguez looks promising), but between the sad state of Yankee management and the sad state of MLB management there is no real joy anymore.

    Regardless, I felt after all the articles I've read on this site I should at least express my appreciation for all your work over the years. Kudos dear sir. And kudos again!

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  14. Thank you for the many years of entertainment. I look forward to reading the occasional post. . .and the Sox 117 win season in 2025 with Theo at the helm. Cheers!

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  15. First of all, thank you for being the go to source for my Sox and baseball reading for the last 15+ years. You are a great writer and I've loved reading your posts consistently since that great 2007 year. It was a ton of fun chatting with the crew here, that still stands out to me as the strongest Sox team to win the hunk of metal.

    I couldn't agree more with what you are saying about the game and the quality of the broadcasts. I follow but do not watch regular season anymore. It's become an arcade game with all these new garbage rules, ads rammed in all over the place, etc. but the playoffs still have great drama, in spite of all the nonsense plaguing the game today.

    I'm still sad about not making it to Josapalooza and still treasure the custom program and scorecard. Also grateful that the group welcomed my aunt and uncle who went in our place.

    Hope you and L are enjoying yourselves and living the west coast life with your pups! Until we meet again...

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  16. Really enjoyed your blog. Thanks for 20 years of excellent reading.

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