(NOTE: This update was from Sunday morning, before Sunday’s games.)
The Balk can’t break away, the Seraphim rise very close to the top, the Wolverines seem to recover their footing (but don’t, really), the Dragons get some justice just as they go through a rough patch, the Tornados have something happen to them, the Kangaroos definitely join the party, the Drive undergo an intervention at the hands of the Wizard’s life-long favorite team, the Cascades are about to cross an important line, the Rosebuds are the new most victimized team, the Pears have something happen to them, the Alleghenys demonstrate they are a good team looking for a break or two.
‘
DC: I wonder whether team names might actually affect team performance. Teams do find attractive names to get more fans, and more fan money, and then (some of them) use (some of) that money to make their teams better. If this scheme works, then a team’s name helps the team.
The Balk don’t have any use for more money. We’re all on fixed budgets. So if naming the team the Balk is going to have an effect, it has to be directly, on either the players or the owners/managers. My old fantasy league team was named the KingBees, after Ryan (I read somewhere “Ryan” connotes royalty) and Melissa (Greek for “bee”). I believed I was more motivated to care for my team because the team name evoked my children. This was before Ben and Sam.
What does “Balk” evoke among its owner and players? Would a team named the “Balk” have any tendency to hesitate or fail to utterly commit at the verge of winning a championship?
I only ask because we seem to be in a tag-team system where the Balk are always in, or just out of the lead, with first the Wolverines and now the Seraphim (and soon the Dragons?) besetting them. Can the Balk fully commit, let it all loose, and leave the others in the dust? Or will there always be that mental block holding them back, breaking their flow: An Ian Anderson giving up 4 earned runs in 4 innings, or a Bryce Harper going 1 for 9 this week before fracturing his left thumb (both of which happened this week already).
Salem: The Seraphim might be the most balanced team in the league, with very good pitching and hitting, in abundance. They have lurked all season, and now they are lurking creepy-close to the lead. Just yesterday (Saturday) the S’s had 6 hitters OPSing 1.000 or better (Bohm, Adolis Garcia, Oscar Gonzalez, Ohtani, Trea Turner, Verdugo) and great pitching (Archer and Bassitt combining for 12 innings, 3 earned runs). I am not seeing their weakness.
Old Detroit: The Wolverines rallied, with the help of gentle treatment from the Brewers, thanks to 10.7 good innings from Josiah Gray and two good relievers — but note that is only half of what’s needed to cover 3 games. And they will not have the pitching to make up the deficit this week. They also got reasonably good hitting from their healthy players. Unfortunately Wolverine management neglected to update allocations, thus leaving 3b mostly uncovered after KeBryan Hayes’ Thursday afternoon injury. Had management been paying attention they could have chosen from Rafael Devers, Austin Riley, and/or Tommy Edman to cover the 3b bag. Edman had 33% allocated there, but that won’t be enough. The injury-riddled Wolverines cannot keep up with the elite teams in this league.
Haviland: Today (Sunday) has been a full day in Seattle with Melanie, Melissa, and the two grandsons. I didn’t get past Old Detroit. I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow (Monday) morning.