I started this blog almost three years ago. At the time, there was nearly zero Pawtucket Red Sox coverage. I thought, what the heck. I like talking about baseball even though I'm stupid about it. I also like talking about myself. And to myself.
And so I started to go to the ballpark as often as possible, even when I REALLY didn't want to. I referred to this practice as 'my other job'. Then I'd write about the games and my observations, which was a real baseball education. Along the way I figured a lot of stuff out that most baseball fans already knew. Because there was a long period of time where I didn't follow baseball at all.
At this point, there's plenty of information available about the Pawtucket Red Sox. You have Sox Prospects, Keith's PawSox Blog, um... a few others. It's so much better than what I do, which is essentially using a free, generic blog template and writing about baseball games without providing much inside information. It's sloppy and the pictures don't make sense and I use too many exclamation points and I take personal shots at the baseball players and I'm unfocused and I don't edit enough.
Yesterday at work I thought, well, isn't my work done? Do I need to do this any more? It's a real pain in the ass at times. There are other people doing it and doing it right. Like I always said, I sincerely hope no one is reading this to get front-line PawSox coverage. That would be tragic.
But then as I thought of quitting, I felt really sad about it. And I remembered why I started in the first place. I did it for myself. I never cared if anyone read the blog... half my family doesn't even read it. (TOM. ALICIA. MOM.) I love it! I think it's interesting and funny and lively! I never wanted it to be a box score or a compilation of stats. I could give a shit about the arithmetic. It's baseball. It's not science. And I still love it. So I'm gonna keep going! YEAH PEDRO!!!!!
I don't normally do shout-outs, but I gotta give thanks for inspiration (it guides my mind along the way): Thanks to RSF-PST and Gib. for long-time presence; the blog kids who linked me; Bob and his Two Things; my heavenly baseball team; PawSox Keith; the "Bored" kids; and the Pawtucket Red Sox organization for not messing with me. Wow, this is really making me wish I had liner notes.
Special thanks to my brother Phil, who's been a great friend, fan, and manager. ('IT'S NOT REAL GOLD!!') The baby in the photo is his daughter, who regularly drinks us under the table. YAY.
See you guys later!
2 comments:
JS,
I'm glad to read that you decided not to give this up.
People have little idea how difficult it is to do what we do...especially in trying to do it well. It is sometimes a second full time job! I have also questioned whether it is "worth it".
Blogging gives us a voice in a time when the media is consolidating into larger entities and taking away much of our collective local identity. Whether you are passionate about politics, gardening, or the PawSox, blogging builds a community of like-minded individuals. It's a great resource.
Even if we don't post as often as we'd like, it's nice to know we have that outlet.
All the best!
Welx.
I've been thinking a lot about the Heavenly Hills Mall lately. But I couldn't think of the line they say in that heavenly voice. I could've just looked it up, but as usual, I just floated through life and waited for the answer to come to me, the way my sister stands there waiting for the ball to come to her in volleyball. Also, not looking stuff up makes it feel more like the 80s. So it worked out, you gave me the line. Thanks. Glad you are not ending. Oh, right, because they thought it was the end but it wasn't in the episode. Hence the title. See, I was so focused on the episode itself and the shout-out I wasn't even thinking it was supposed to make sense in the post. Nice job. This is why you shouldn't stop doing this.
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