Au Revoir, August!

Last year’s pennant race was WAY (there I go again) better than this year’s.  Early in January the Commissioner read the tea leaves and was terrified by what he saw: the sudden emergence of a dominant Rosebud team, one that had been restarted just a couple years before and had never come close to winning.  But in January all the signs were pointing toward the coming of a new Rosebud era.

It took a while for the Rosebuds to get used to their newly powerful bodies, but by the end of June they had climbed to the top, and it looked like they would just keep climbing.  But Lo! the Wolverines had a monster July and kept pace with the ‘Buds, and even retook first place by a sliver on July 31.

Everyone deep down inside knew it wouldn’t last — but on the last day of August, to everone’s surprise (including the Commissioner’s), there the Wolverines were, still in first by 0.1 games.

For the next several days the W’s and the R’s ran neck and neck.  But in the Wolverine camp panic was rising.  Wolverine  pitchers who had dominated all summer were getting shelled.  Nagging injuries were piling up.  Each new victory was more diaphanous, more held together with paper clips, drawing ever more deeply on the fickle wells of good luck.

On September 11 — 9/11 to Wolverine fans — a day when BP never updated,  I hand-updated from box scores all the Wolverine and Rosebud players.  The Rosebuds finally broke through the Wolverines’ Imaginot Line.  They took a half-game lead and never looked back.

And still haven’t. This year there was no July pause in their march to the top.  Instead of ceding the lead on July, they surged, leaving the W’s suddenly 9.1 games back on the dawn of August 1st. Oh, yeah, and the Tornados were the team in second place, but they were more like lap dogs than bloodhounds to the Rosebuds, panting and grinning an awestruck  2.3 games back.

This year the Wolverines paced the Rosebuds in August instead of July.  It wasn’t as fun because we started were always 5.5 to 9 behind, but even with a late swoon, the W’s are now only 8.2 games out.  But gaining 0.9 games a month from 9.1 games out only works if there are 11 months left in the season.   The “Tornados” (Poodles is more like it) find themselves 5 games out.  They are busy mining other teams’ talents, which I admit is un-lap-dog like, but let’s be realistic.  If the Wolverines fell from 0.1 games up to end 5.1 games back of the Rosebuds last year, what’s likely to happen to the Tornados, who are already 5 games back?

Although… I suppose September 2018 proved  5.2 game moves in the standings are possible in September.  So maybe the T’s can distill a drop of hope from that.

However, I am duty-bound as Commissioner to remind the Tornado Thunderhead that it’s a lot easier to fight your way 5.2 games down the standings than 5.2 games up.

Unless the Tornados make an historic run this month, the story of this season will be one of ennui at the top for the entire second half.  This is even worse for the league than it was when Pittsburgh was winning all the time.  So tomorrow I will distract you from your draft prep with a radical idea, inspired by Sam Miller, the guy I want to be the next time I turn 40. Here is Miller’s inspirational article, a little collateral reading in case you want to be fully prepared for tomorrow’s brainstorm.