1. Missing even one thing can irreversably destroy the possibility of a win. For one thing, not that any of you have noticed, but I realized far too late that the Red Sox seemed to lose almost every game when I closed the previous gamethread. So I stopped doing it and left it up to the other mods.
2. Pasta mojo has been in effect several times, I just haven't promoted it. The first year I did it I didn't mention it until Opening Day the following season, and it worked wonders. It wasn't as successful when I told everyone, so I'm keeping it to myself. I will tell you, though, that pasta mojo has been in effect four of the six games during this streak.