Nowhere

There's no baseball and it's made me sad

It’s hard to believe it’s March and there is nothing baseball related to talk about. Like, nothing at all. And no, I don’t consider Rob Manfred’s incessant lying to be baseball related, nor do I find it interesting to follow the leaking of CBA negotiations, at least 90 percent of which is leaked directly by the owners to a few particular national reporters who are quite fine sleeping at night with “ownership mouthpiece” hanging over them. Non-critical reporting is a scourge generally speaking, and while parroting ownership (or player) talking-points is small potatoes relatively speaking, it’s still doesn’t speak well for any “reporter” who partakes.

So first, I’ve been away for a while newsletter-wise and for that I’m sorry. I truly don’t like the CBA stuff. I acknowledge it’s necessary and I support the players’ right to collectively bargain with the owners, and I know it’s necessary to have these work stoppages from time to time (though this one is most certainly not necessary). But whatever. The point is this isn’t my thing. I’m not a labor lawyer and I’m not a reporter staked out behind some parked Porsches to get a grainy picture of portly middle-aged men striding overly confidently across a parking lot. None of that is my thing and more to the point, there are some people whose thing this is, and for this that’s really where you should go.

There have been a lot of great commentary and discussions on the CBA. I mean, probably. I’ve honestly done my best to avoid most of it, but I know there are smart people out there in baseball land and I’m sure they’re doing great work. A few places I’ve actually listened to learned from and am thus recommending are the Chin Music Podcast hosted by Kevin Goldstein, now of FanGraphs, the Effectively Wild Podcast, hosted by Meg Rawley and Ben Lindbergh also at FanGraphs, and… there’s probably others, but to be honest I’m getting kinda sick just thinking about it. It’s really not a healthy or productive thing to follow on a moment-to-moment basis, at least not for me.

As for the Red Sox and this newsletter, I owe you all my final piece on future Red Sox Hall of Famers. That’s in the hopper and just needs to be cleaned up before I can send it out to you. The problem has been that all of this CBA stuff has really sucked the creative life out of me. I know that’s whiney, and I’m sorry, but it really has. I admire all the content creators who have been making baseball content over these last months because, well, yuck. Unlike them, and despite incessant emails from Substack to start charging you all for this newsletter, nobody is paying me for this. Sure, I’d love to make some extra money, but the benefit of not charging anyone is that I’m not beholden to anyone else but myself. So if I don’t feel like writing, I don’t write. Maybe that’s a bad thing, or maybe it’s a good thing, but either way it’s a thing.

So anyway, the final Red Sox Hall of Famers piece is coming your way soon. After that? I don’t know. I was thinking of all the different kinds of pieces I could do, and maybe there’s something out there that isn’t a waste of your time, but does anyone out there in newsletterland really want to read a ranking of the strongest positions in the Red Sox organization, or another listing of potential bullpen trade targets? I mean, maybe you do! If so, let me know! But from where I sit on this couch, it sounds a little forced, a little like me trying to weasel my way into your inbox with little to offer and no real reason to be there. Wasting your time is honestly the last thing I want to do.

At some point the players and owners will agree to a new CBA. That could be next week, next month, or next year, but regardless, whenever it is, I’ll be waiting to cover the Boston Red Sox. And also, it should be a pretty fun few weeks following the new CBA ratification. I’m expecting a free agent signing or two, and probably at least a sizable trade if not more. There could even be contract extensions for people whose names rhyme with Blafael Blevers. The entire baseball world is going to go utterly bonkers and that should be fun. I’m looking forward to that more than I probably should.

So until then, if there’s something you’d like to read, please, reach out to me. You can reply to me here in the comments, or hit me up on Twitter. I’m at @mattymatty2000. Or, heck, just email me at Matthew.Kory@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if not, that’s great too. There’s no obligation, just an open invite.

I hope this finds you and your family safe and healthy. Thanks for staying subscribed and sticking with me.

-Matt