(Lulu also got small bonuses in pitching and fielding, not that it mattered.) After last game I’d learned my lesson, and Lulu retook her rightful spot at the top of the lineup. As you can see above, Veronica not only got an extra point of fielding but two extra balls in batting, adding to her power. The game almost seemed to understand that I was looking for an easy-going game, and so made a couple of modifications in my favor to stats. At least it was comforting in a way my performance was almost certain to not matter, so I could relax and not worry about things too much this time. This week, the Melonheads were up against the team that I had predicted preseason to run all over the division, but somehow it was my team that was the current division leaders! Still, the extremely impressive performance the Astros put up in week 2 left me quaking in my figurative boots.

What would that look like after another round of games, though? Sure, I wasn’t anywhere near league leadership in anything (except for two-time Game Ball winner Chucky Flinder), and I hadn’t churned out any disgusting run counts like others had, but I was still 3-1 in the first two weeks, equaling the best any other coach could muster. Somehow, after two weeks of play, I found myself sitting among the top players in the league.

Backyard baseball 2003 settings