Saffron is one of the most respected and thoughtful owners in WIS baseball. He has started multiple progressive leagues, including his pioneering of the Split Progressive League. He has played over 240 seasons of Simleague baseball, but recently transferred his interests to HBD where he now runs 10 simultaneous teams and makes the playoffs in roughly 60% of those seasons. (Photo inset is the Saffron flower.)
1) What is the story of your username and how did you get hooked up with Whatifsports?
"Saffron" was pure serendipity -- the first word which came to mind when my eyes strayed to a photo of Indian food in a magazine next to the computer. I thought that it was merely a means of accessing the site, not a moniker which would stay with me; but I've grown attached to it. I came to WIS through a link on mlb.com.
2) Offer a paragraph bio of yourself, possibly including things like work, family life, geography, other hobbies, quirky traits, bad habits, etc.
With my wife and two sons I live in the historic village of Concord, Mass., settling here after spending most of our lives in Asia. I write, mostly bad poetry and ignored short stories, and at 56 am also one of the crusty codgers of Capra. My list of bad habits would be too long to list here and at any rate would likely be censored by rls1 for the sake of the young'uns.
3) A sports-themed bio paragraph. Favorite team? Players? Did you play as a kid? Now? What and when? Best sports moment? Most heartbreaking moment? etc.
Despite never having lived close to Ohio I'm a passionate fan of the Cleveland Indians, and have been since the 1962 season. My first memory of the team is of Jerry Kindall hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Yankees and thinking: "This is my team". Little did I know the team I attached myself to wouldn't sniff contention for decades.
4) What about your franchise is most exciting going into Season 8? What is your team's biggest challenge? Anything else about your squad?
My first HBD franchise shift has landed us in Montana and I'm hoping we can give the fans here more to cheer about than we did in Honolulu. This franchise has confounded me more than any other I have.
5)What piece of strategy or advice can you offer about HBD? Yes, I'm asking for one of your secrets, but many of us will be sharing as well.
To me the core beauty of the game is its complexity combined with our inability to reduce success to a simple set of formulae. That said, as in rl, I prize defense above all else, then pitching. The fixation on home runs seems so Republican to me in its reflection of sexual inadequacy...but then again the Archers did win the last WS so who am I to talk ;-). As far as "secrets" or how I approach the game I'll leave that to boring "thought pieces" I'll drop into our blog.
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