Move slowly through drowning waves.

In the wake of Tuesday’s election results, I’m seeing way too many electrons wasted on assigning blame to individual actors or entire voting blocs and on trying to “explain” the results, and way too many people advising those of us who hoped for better to keep hope alive. I see the former as misguided and probably a waste of time. I see the latter as disrespectful. Right now, I do not feel hope for the country, and telling me I should be hopeful feels like when someone tells a grieving person that a deceased loved one is “in a better place” or that “God has a plan.”

I have very little insight to offer on the results. I can say from reading a little bit of post mortem coverage that it has reminded me in many ways of how Bill Clinton came from the back of the Democratic pack to win the nomination and election in 1992. The story at the time was that he had a little sign or poster in his office at campaign headquarters that said “(it’s) the economy, stupid,” a phrase coined by strategist James Carville. Millions of American voters are struggling economically and/or think the economy as a whole is struggling (it’s not, but there is gross income inequality, and the rising tide has not lifted all boats). The rate of inflation has come down from the spike caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but prices have not dropped – they’re just rising more slowly. That’s not surprising, especially in an economy that is growing at a high rate, but those are just words to people who find that feeding their families is much more of a financial challenge than a few years ago. Clinton’s strategy at the time was to appeal to voters frustrated over very similar things in 1992 and to argue that the solution was to change who was in charge. He did not run on many specific policy proposals on the economy beyond some fairly illiberal ones like welfare reform. He ran on vibes. It worked. It will always work: People who are mad, anxious, or frustrated about their personal finances will vote for the Other Party. I don’t think it matters which party or what they’re proposing. They’re saying to the incumbent, “you didn’t fix this, so I’m throwing you out.” That would explain all of the ticket splitting we saw this week, such as Missourians passing an amendment to protect reproductive rights and a $15 minimum wage while also voting for politicians who oppose those things. But that is all the uneducated and not very well-informed rambling of a sportswriter.

What I can tell you is that the results have completely disillusioned me about the country and the majority of the people who live in it. I have long believed that the long-term arrow for the United States always pointed up. Progress would be nonlinear, characterized by fits and starts, but we would never choose as a country to go backwards, to roll back progress made over decades, at the cost of lives and livelihoods. I also believed that kindness and empathy towards others were fundamentally American values – it’s on the Statue of Liberty, after all. And while I am not religious, I know that those values are a core part of the stated religion of a majority of Americans. I no longer believe those things: Over 70 million Americans looked at Donald Trump, at his history in office, his words, and his actions, and they made an affirmative and unequivocal choice. A man who said that “immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country” less than 12 months ago is returning to the White House. That is who we are as a nation. That is not who every individual American is, but more voters chose column B than column A. We all will live with the consequences. Leopards will eat people’s faces, including the faces of some people who voted for the leopards. I have just lost faith in the country to act in the best interests of the less fortunate even if it might mean milk is 10 cents more expensive. I thought we were different, and I was wrong.

This isn’t about me at all, or my feelings – I am certainly not asking anyone to feel sorry for me. This is about all of the people who are going to be hurt by the new Administration’s policies, and more broadly by this rightward shift in our society. It saddens me tremendously that this is the country we have become, but my sadness is not the point here, other than perhaps to validate your sadness if you’re feeling the same.

So no, I do not have hope, not today, and – not that anyone needs my permission – it is okay for you to feel the same absence of hope. Go ahead and grieve for your illusions. Allow yourself to fear for the future, the near future of eroding civil rights and deteriorating health (and perhaps a recession, if punitive tariffs do end up happening) and the far future of a boiling planet beset by wars. This all sucks and it’s better to just call it what it is.

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I walked into this place to browse. They told me I was short and my prose was too prolix.

This all seems pretty trivial right now, but it pays the bills: My ranking of the top 50 free agents in baseball this offseason is now up, and updated to include only players who did make it to free agency after option decisions and at least one re-signing. I also held a Q&A on The Athletic to talk about it. I’ll write up any significant trades or signings as they happen.

At Paste, I reviewed Stamp Swap, the latest game from publisher Stonemaier Games (Wingspan, Scythe, Tapestry); I think it’s fine, but ultimately not that interesting or fun to play.

On the dish, I reviewed the films Conclave, Daughters, His Three Daughters (unrelated!), and Dune: Part Two. I posted a new music playlist for October and a link roundup on Saturday. I paused posting more stuff first because of the noise of the election and now out of respect for so many readers’ feelings about it, but I’ll get back to the blog shortly.

For the second year in a row, the organizers of the board game convention PAX Unplugged have given me five three-day badges to give away to readers. To enter, head over to my Instagram post about it and leave a comment (and follow me if you aren’t already). I’ll select the winners Sunday night at midnight EST. The convention takes place in downtown Philly on December 6-8 and it’s a blast.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed that I locked my account (as in, went private) earlier this week. That was in response to the change in how blocking works on the site; accounts you’ve blocked can now see your tweets, but can’t interact with them. Going private means they can’t see my tweets, and while I don’t tweet much personal information and don’t share my location until after I’ve left, I’d rather err on the side of caution. My intention is to limit my use of Twitter to posting links to my work, and to move interactions with all of you to other places – in the comments under articles I post on the Athletic or on the dish, in comments here, or on Threads or Bluesky, the latter of which has seen a huge influx of baseball folk in the last three days. I fought what I told myself was the good fight for far too long on Twitter. My teaspoon failed to empty the ocean. It is time to touch more grass.

Keith