A week later and I still taste the sweet victory that we laid upon the hapless Whybunts. There is not too much to mention outside of what has been discussed in previous posts (defense, defense and more defense) but here is what we should capitalize on in the next game or two:
1) The Whybunts were not only stuffed by superior infield defense, but also a new change in the outfield dynamic. For the first time as far as I can remember, the Catfish instituted a four-across outfield defense. Although it gave up the short field (and a few were missed as anticipated) it mostly ate up the 'home run' gaps. Along with providing a more accessible back up, the four-across defense could reduce opposing team's run output by a strong amount.
2) Every time a ball is dribbled towards the left side of the infield, everyone must take a page out of Hasley's Guidebook of Gutsy Ballplaying and book it to first base. Aside from a few accurate arms, there is a high chance that a throw will go wild from third basemen and shortstops across the league. If one does not sprint to first base the likelihood of beating a throw is less, but if one does sprint then the likelihood of causing panic in the left side of the infield increases, er, exponentially?
3) Don't assume that their left fielder can catch a softball. Oh wait, that was last game.
4) As for Whybunt particulars, they still have a few wrecking balls in their lineup. The bearded guy (whose name escapes me, unfortunately) still just itches to run out extra bases from singles, so there's no sense in trying to catch him. One must just get the ball into the infield to hold him.
5) Their defense is usually pretty good but we caught them on a bad day, especially early on. This is why a Catfish sneak attack early in the game will gain us the run advantage we need so that any crafty hits made by opposing teams later we can shrug off.
The astroturf has been the Catfish's best buddy, but aside from the awful bad hops and mud holes on the base paths, natural grass at least keeps the bouncing softball from turning into automatic runs. This sometimes works against us but, since our defensive and offensive confidence have greatly improved, it seems to be working for us these days.
We're finishing 4-6, I can feel it.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
bat songs...
AND, for our last game, we will be using our batting songs. If you haven't sent me one yet, please do. If you don't send me one yourself, you'll be assigned one by Marc Lowenthal, so look out.
Catfish 15, Whybunts 10!
Catfish were victorious last night against the Whybunts (NOT the Fowl Swingers, whom your befuddled captain originally claimed we'd play)!! There were 15 of us in all, and we really pulled together as a team. The first homerun of the game was hit by Marc, who now humbly joins the Homerun Club (rubbing shoulders w/ the greats: Evan, JC, Butters, Nathan, David W, Charles, Jose Luis, and let's not forget- Katie... am I missing anyone??). David Weininger also got a homerun last night, and so did Costello. Lots of great hits by all, though, and smart, agressive base running. Lotsa hits by David W, JC, Evan, Charles, Katie, Ryan, Nathan, Butters, Kate, Erin, Greg, Marc, and even yours truly.
In the field, Jose made a lovely catch in the outfield, Evan made a graceful leaping catch (it looked sort of like basketball for a second), David W caught a fly in the outfield, and Greg made a nice catch as pitcher in the last inning. We held them to ZERO 2 out of the 5 innings Fish, whereas we scored 4 out of the 5. Kate did almost all the fine pitching, with Greg as our fiery closer.
In sum, we've got much to be proud of, Fish. Our next (and sadly, final) game of the season is Wednesday, August 5, on field 8, vs. the Shadow Masks. (This information is correct, I've checked and double-checked.) We're off next week, so enjoy your rest and relaxation.
Judy
Friday, July 17, 2009
Further Items of Note: Fowl Langers
Marc summed up the first game well and really, after a month or so off from even 5 innings of softball, some of us were not only rusty but also looking like they were allergic to exercise. Haha, maybe I'm only speaking about myself there, but here is what the Fowl Swingers did:
a. They had some real lucky hits. It was infuriating how the wind would kill a few of their fly balls that normally would've made it into a glove but instead died in no man's land. A few of them also hit some key gap shots that split the outfielders ... lucky!
b. As mentioned earlier, many errors. Dropped balls, hesitation in throwing, misjudged responsibility or range ... the deficit was due to errors and not necessarily fine hitting on their part.
c. They did improve nicely since last game and their defense was solid for the most part. Still a manageable foe.
d. Marc needs to cheer more effectively. There, I said it.
As for Langer Lab, it was apparent to a few Fish that they looked mentally beaten from their thumping by the WhyBunts. Whereas the Catfish reset the score and played with newfound energy, Langer Lab looked distraught and, quite possibly, more tired than us! Despite a near comeback at the end, the Lab showed us the following:
a. They have a couple of real hitters disguised as science dorks that can hit to the opposite field quite well. I found out the hard way.
b. While we hit well on astroturf with the never-ending rolling ball, they had a good time with the astroturf as well. Twice it got past us for home runs the long way, (once the short way over the fence) so we need to keep it in front of us better.
c. They have no outfield communication or consistent outfield skill. We launched easy flies to left a couple of times and they had a hard time with them. Also, a 4 foot tall woman utterly disrespected Costello by playing right field at the edge of the infield! I disrespect JC by hiding the bandages when he slides on the astroturf, but this lady had real balls. The fact that no one told her to move back speaks volumes. Too bad JC thought she was just another imaginary pixie in his daily hallucinations or he would've lauched one to the moon.
Again, when the Fish are aware of their defense and are aggressive at the plate, they stand to win every time. The first game was the old Fish and the second game was the new Fish. Keeping it in front of us and using two hands to catch could win us more ballgames this season!
a. They had some real lucky hits. It was infuriating how the wind would kill a few of their fly balls that normally would've made it into a glove but instead died in no man's land. A few of them also hit some key gap shots that split the outfielders ... lucky!
b. As mentioned earlier, many errors. Dropped balls, hesitation in throwing, misjudged responsibility or range ... the deficit was due to errors and not necessarily fine hitting on their part.
c. They did improve nicely since last game and their defense was solid for the most part. Still a manageable foe.
d. Marc needs to cheer more effectively. There, I said it.
As for Langer Lab, it was apparent to a few Fish that they looked mentally beaten from their thumping by the WhyBunts. Whereas the Catfish reset the score and played with newfound energy, Langer Lab looked distraught and, quite possibly, more tired than us! Despite a near comeback at the end, the Lab showed us the following:
a. They have a couple of real hitters disguised as science dorks that can hit to the opposite field quite well. I found out the hard way.
b. While we hit well on astroturf with the never-ending rolling ball, they had a good time with the astroturf as well. Twice it got past us for home runs the long way, (once the short way over the fence) so we need to keep it in front of us better.
c. They have no outfield communication or consistent outfield skill. We launched easy flies to left a couple of times and they had a hard time with them. Also, a 4 foot tall woman utterly disrespected Costello by playing right field at the edge of the infield! I disrespect JC by hiding the bandages when he slides on the astroturf, but this lady had real balls. The fact that no one told her to move back speaks volumes. Too bad JC thought she was just another imaginary pixie in his daily hallucinations or he would've lauched one to the moon.
Again, when the Fish are aware of their defense and are aggressive at the plate, they stand to win every time. The first game was the old Fish and the second game was the new Fish. Keeping it in front of us and using two hands to catch could win us more ballgames this season!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
FW: Cat-recap
Catfishes,
Below is Co-Captain Lowenthal's thrilling summary of last night's events--and Kudos to youse! When I got word last night (texted to me from the Muddy) that we'd beaten Langer Lab, my heart rejoiced, as did the heart of my ailing cat.
We DO play on Monday, Catfish, as well as Wednesday (crazy schedule because of the rainouts), so please prepare yourselves. I'll send a reminder again tomorrow. Monday we play on field 9, vs. Alcator; then Wednesday we play again, on field 8, vs. Whybunts.
As always, Go Fish!
Judy
From: Marc H Lowenthal
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:09 PM
To: jmfeldma@mit.edu
Subject: Cat-recap
To: jmfeldma@mit.edu
Subject: Cat-recap
Dear Captain,
This is Co-Captain Lowenthal with the report of last night’s Catfish double-header. Sitting in the Muddy last night, holding the fort after everyone else had left, musing over things, thinking about the first game, and then about the second game, I penned a phrase that I think aptly summed up the double-headed event in a succinct manner: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Maybe swap out “best” with “very nice” and “worst” with “taste of old catfish that was stale because it was last year’s catfish, not this year’s.”
The first game was the doody portion of the evening: the Fowl Swingers came back at us with revenge over our soundly trouncing them earlier this season with a 20 to 9 victory on their part that announced their having gotten their act together, but more significantly, buoyed by the fact that the Fish just didn’t have their act together for that game: lots of errors all over the place, and evident difficulty displayed by all that month (or more?) away from the field had produced a lot of cobwebs to shake off. We had our moments, and if I was a better man, I would remember some of them. Our newly disabled-list entry of Old Greg, who found a new car to hit him while biking last week (and thus screwed up the same shoulder he screwed up when a car hit him last year) proved to be Catfish trooper of the night with his bench support and handling of the score card, so he may be able to chip in with some details. If there was one memorable moment to stand out for me in that game, though, it would be Abbate’s right-field catch in the last inning, which was an eye-popping feat that, coupled with his consistent pitching throughout the game, reminded me why they call him the “Unabatable Abbate” on the third floor.
Still, the game sucked for us; which made our ability to shake it off and do what we did in the next game doubly impressive. The astroturf is good to the Fish, as our playing always seems to improve on it. And I think I can safely say that my tough, hard-edged captaining helped things as well. Downgrading post-game beer options from Sam to Schlitz for anyone slacking (Ryan, Evan, etc. The usuals: people who think getting a double is the same thing as making a home run) proved to be an effective form of discipline. No less than 4 (5?) home runs scored: 2 by Costello alone (I had to bench him to keep him from getting cocky), Evan, I believe Butters ran all the bases on a dropped ball in the far outfield, and was there another? Sharp playing in the outfield, hard hitting by everyone, Weininger definitely back in action, Ryan just unbelievable in his ability to snap up absolutely anything thrown to him, Katie providing what may have been the fielding play of the game with a snap-up and throw to first from third base that was a beautiful thing to witness, Kate unflaggingly pitching through every inning with Matt having to take an early powder, Jose taking a hardball to his chin that proved that his rugged jaw isn’t just for show, Erin delivering not just her signal animal roar at bat but a sweet single that I failed to move forward after, Charles thankfully coaching first at several crucial moments and making calls that needed to be made, Evan catching his usuals in left field, Butters chided by the better half for sliding with an injured portion of his body needing to be looked after better (but also proving to be decidedly unbuttery when running or sticking to bases), Diane hitting nicely but also keeping her focus on being the team’s official cool cucumber, and Nathan making a right-field catch at a crucial pants-crapping moment in the game. And me, of course, whose deep-lunged catfish catcall energy from the sidelines I think can safely be championed as having won the game for us.
Not that the winning had been assured. Moving into the bottom of the last inning with a comfortable 6-point lead (with Langer Lab, not unpredictably, having already suggested stopping early) may have seemed enough reason to start celebrating, but anyone who has followed the Fish these last few years knows that the scenario was all too familiar for there to be any comfort level. With the Lab people then scoring 5 runs, I will confess, I was mentally adding on a second pillow to my bed to cry into that night, but we came through when we needed to, sewed it up, and delivered to you, beloved Captain, our second win of the season.
Are we playing Monday next week? Catfish need the official word.
Best,
Co
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