ESPN’s Tom Caple has an interesting piece on a “Misery Index.” Got the Giants tied for fifth. I must have gotten over the Heartbreak of 2002 because I don’t feel that we should be that high up on the list. Or at least put Texas ahead of us.
I give him credit for tackling the subject but I’m confused about his rankings. For “Historic Despair,” he said, “How many seasons have left fans chanting "Wait until next year!"
Well, "Wait Till Next Year" applies to a lot of teams but there is an association with it and the Dodgers. In fact, when they finally won it all in ’55, one of the headlines said “This Is Next Year!”
I think giving the Giants an 8 in Historical Index and the Dodgers 6 is not correct. He mentioned “all those pennant-winning seasons in Brooklyn.” Well, '47 - '56, ok. But otherwise, for years and years, the Giants had better fortunes.
Interesting to note that Tom Austin came up with something similar to Caple’s Index in The Big Bad Baseball Annual 1999. He called it “Close But No Cigar.” Not counting the DBacks and DRays, the Giants finished in third in his weighing of the factors.
Well I guess love is blind.
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