This was the type of game that I typically thank my lucky stars that at least I don’t have to recap. Then I realized a few minutes after midnight that actually I was supposed to recap it, so the following stream-of-consciousness ramble can be partly blamed on my own lack of organization, but I think we can all blame much of it on the franchise.

Tonight I had a really lovely evening. I’m visiting my parents and we’ve come to a group of lakes in upstate Maine, and tonight we went to dinner in one of the camping areas here that maintains a restaurant and bar with a beautiful view over the lake. It was taco Tuesday, so my dad and I both had haddock tacos, and they were incredibly fresh. The Allagash beer tasted pretty fresh, too.

All evening, my phone was buzzing, which indicated that the MLB app was telling me that runs were scoring. Eventually, I briefly glanced at my notifications to see that it was a bloodbath, and was glad that I’d more or less ignored it.

In times like these, there’s a poem I sometimes turn to. It was written by Flann O’Brien in his novel At Swim-Two-Birds, and it’s called “The Workman’s Friend,” and while it’s intended satirically in the text of the novel, many people have taken to quoting it literally, and quite frankly, I can’t strictly blame them.

When things go wrong and will not come right,
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night –
A pint of plain is your only man.

When money’s tight and hard to get
And your horse has also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt –
A pint of plain is your only man.

When health is bad and your heart feels strange,
And your face is pale and wan,
When doctors say you need a change,
A pint of plain is your only man.

When food is scarce and your larder bare
And no rashers grease your pan,
When hunger grows as your meals are rare –
A pint of plain is your only man.

In time of trouble and lousey strife,
You have still got a darlint plan
You still can turn to a brighter life –
A pint of plain is your only man.

Go get ’em, Smyly.