American Legion Post 274: MLC Press Conference

(formerly entitled "New Kids on the Block")

Tap, Tap . . . Is This Thing On?

Fellow bloggers, blog-readers, commenters, lurkers, stray Googlers, mistypers, daredevils who clicked on Next Blog>> atop some other pitstop in the blogosphere, and dear friends:

It is with great anticipation and some apprehension that the founders of Misery Loves Company, Inc., LLC, WTF, announce the next chapter in the storied saga of our little blog. After five long years of an MLC juxtaposition between Rob's Red Sox and my Mets -- which, as you might not have noticed, evoked a bit of lopsided misery 'round these parts -- Misery Loves Company is undergoing its first foray into expansion. As with any addition of Young Guarde franchises into a long-standing organization, there will be purists who stand aloof and rebuff the introduction of new blood and new ways into what they have known and loved. We hope, however, that you will embrace this new pair of scribes in much the same, silent, stoic way that you've embraced us with tough love for five seasons of baseball.

I hereby introduce "TJ" and "Nick" as our two latest voices amid the clatter of MLC chatter. They represent the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, and they've accepted posts alongside Rob and me in broadcasting our collective misery (Rob excepted) to the Internet world. Please welcome them.

Yes, it has occurred to us that this saturates our message and splinters our readership and blog-linked allegiance even further. Yes, it's also occurred to us that we just cut our external readership in half. Yes, it's even occurred to us that to incorporate proponents of our teams' rivals is to stain our otherwise pure Red Sox and Mets content with some of the enemy. Hear us out.

First of all, bloggers are like sharks. If we stay in the same place, we will die. (And nobody outside our species understands or likes us.) Second, every good writer knows that incorporating some conflict into every scene is integral to entertaining the audience. Third, what's in a flu shot? A little bit of the flu, that's right, and so we introduce a bit of enemy poison into our collective body with this move. And finally . . . I don't know, hell -- it seemed like a good idea.

Avid MLC readers may recall a number of lengthy, bitter diatribes on the Phils in the comment section here, usually filed under "Phightin'-lovin' Nick." Another frequent commenter, TJ (aka Teejay, Teej, Taj, or Tajikistan) has worked with us over at Gheorghe: The Blog for years. The Misery Machine has now absorbed both of them, and you will be able to reap the benefits.

Now is the time to begin amassing some serious banter from some pissed-off fans with the baseball intellect, the literary savoir-faire, the comic acumen, the available time, and even the occasional point to make. It begins here, it begins now. Okay, uh, actually, it begins at the end of March, but you get the point.

Let's all drink to Nick and TJ. And change that obsolete header above.

Cheers,

Whitney & Rob