Wednesday Blogs
Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Blogs! This week, I try to encapsulate the feeling of controlling your own team and why fantasy might be better than real life..
There's no getting around it, the Red Sox 2019 season is off to a terrible start. The starting rotation, which was supposed to be the crown jewel of the East, has been anything but and the team suddenly finds themselves in a rather deep hole in the standings. And what can I do about it as a fan? Absolutely nothing! I'll take these early season beatings and like it (or rant about it in an online blog.)
Now on my tabletop, the New England Minutemen are also off to a slow start, though at (4-5) not as bad as the Sox. The ace of their rotation, third year phenom Fernando De La Rosa, is (0-2) with two tough luck losses; an opening day pitcher's duel that ended 1-0. and then just getting one run of support in his second start. The bats have been ice cold for the most part. The offseason deal that sent our starting catcher and third baseman to the rival Lobsters looks drastically one-sided as our "can't miss" prospect at third has not found his rhythm yet in the bigs. What can I do about it? ANYTHING I WANT!
I have dropped the prospect, Garland Ard (can't you just see the t-shirts? "Hit it 'Ard!"), down from clean-up to 7th, moving our veteran outfielder/DH Gary Moseby back into his customary slot at 4. Hopefully this gives the kid the kick he needs to find his swing. And if not, we've got a couple of nice bats waiting in the minors, just itching for a call-up to prove they have what it takes.
Maybe, I'll give our light-hitting back-up catcher, journeyman Marty Marcinkowski, the start when De La Rosa pitches and have Tony Mazza bat at DH. Maybe Marty calls a better game and it gives Mazza (who bats left-handed) a day off for his knees while still keeping his potent bat in the lineup.
This is the joy of being a tabletop GM and manager. Instead of yelling at my TV in vain, I can make changes and then see the fruits (or the foibles) of my moves. I still believe that baseball is our national past time and seeing the ups and downs of your team (and it really is your team) makes for a (mostly) enjoyable experience.
Join me tonight on Wild Card Wednesday when I see if Fernando Mania can finally get his first win of the season as the team is once again on the road to face the Lobsters!
EDIT: If you missed the LIVE show you can see the replay by clicking on the image below.
Steve