There’s so much to write about with this team that all follow the same trope, it’s hard to pick anything to write about.
Sitting down to write this piece all week genuinely felt like this:
The amount of ideas that flew into my head and quickly fell flat to me was astounding. I thought this was just a case of writer’s block and that I would find something—ANYTHING—worthwhile to write about. But then I realized something: this season—and frankly this team—is Groundhog Day.
We write so many stories about the same few tropes, just with different players thrown in. X player has issues, Y player is on the rise. This team has Y problem because of a) an injury or b) this problem. They win games and we gain hope. We say it’s because of X player or Y trend. They lose games and we’re cynical. We hate the front office (there’s rarely an alternative to that one lately.)
Let’s put this more into context. When Triston Casas went down with injury, the sky fell. When Alex Bregman went down with injury, the sky fell. Kutter Crawford is gone for the season. Is the sky falling? Roman Anthony is poised to break out. Marcelo Mayer is on the rise. Carlos Narvaez is awesome. Abraham Toro came out of nowhere. This is the biggest weekend for the Red Sox if they win. The month of May sucked for the Red Sox because of so many problems. The Rafael Devers saga gave us a lot to write about but so much of it boils down to the front office deluding themselves into thinking they’re infalible while making mind-boggling moves. But we had the same thoughts when we traded Mookie Betts and when we didn’t sign Xander Bogaerts. Different players, same trope. All the time. It’s really just the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. I feel just as stuck as a writer as we all do as fans.
This isn’t an indictment on community of writers who cover the Red Sox. I love seeing the takes everyone has and the banter it generates. It’s an indictment on this team that they don’t give us anything new to write about. When you mire in mediocrity, when you hover around .500, you can only find so many things to talk about.
So while I’m feeling stuck, let me take this time to shout out the fantastic group of writers here at Over the Monster.
Juliet is our newest writer and she’s written some awesome introspective pieces with personal tone. Maura keeps things fun and has no limit to what can be written about. She also graced us with crocheted recycled leather coasters to start off the season, which I love to death. Dean brings us the best from the Minors, and Mike sets the table for every series the Sox have—for better or worse. Bob and Bryan are our old heads, keeping us grounded in the history of the Red Sox and are great foils for opinions us younger guys have. Jake Roy is probably one of the most analytically fluent writers I know but makes everything so digestible. Matt is one of the most heartfelt and compelling writers, bringing a personal touch to every article. Avery does so much for us and her other outlets, I don’t know how she keeps it together. The Pod on Landsdowne crew are supremely funny both here and on social media (go follow them!). Dan is our fearless leader, one of the best managing editors I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He’s the engineer that keeps us organized and running rarely without fail.
As for me? I’m sure I’ll be back to normal programming next week—hopefully with a story outside the five true tropes of the current state of the Boston Red Sox, even if the team doesn’t change.