Alright, who are these guys? Talk about scrapping that year old script about how to take them on! The asian guy wasn't even there and neither were any women. It's a veritable frat house for graduates at the Media Lab there at MIT, eh?
So what's to know:
1) Like looking up at artillery on top of a hill, we were getting bombarded with opposite field bombs that didn't look like accidents. Fact is, these guys knew where they were hitting the ball and they knew they could hit it far. This powerful fact alone is how the runs piled up. Defense had very little to do with it.
2) There was a lefty who spent his first few at bats trying to poke softballs to left field with moderate, single hitting success. When he decided to hit comfortably, it was like an unplanned NASA trip to the moon with a softball. Yikes.
3) Of the two players that one could visibly tell were not used to softball, one of them grounded to first base twice and the other, curly headed one was completely unpredictable (yet non-powerful). And yes, if you do the math, of the 9 people playing 7 of them were quite capable.
4) Defense was pretty good in the outfield and decent in the infield, though the highlight-wishing shortstop let a few get by him rather easily. I don't recall how the range was of the shortstop or third baseman, so hit to the left side if possible.
Strategies:
a) We need to go four across in the outfield to protect any gap that may get taken advantage of. There were rarely any grounders that made it to the outfield.
b) Play deep ... and play deep everywhere. Unless the batter looks like a non-jock, just play deep. Keep them to singles and doubles in left and center, while prepare to back up the right fielder in case the ball goes even farther. Of all the teams we've played in the past (including LOD) these guys had more of a tendency for serious pop.
c) Hang onto the softball. This is not a remark regarding the slippery conditions which can't be helped, but again towards the obnoxious base running baiting that one or two members like to employ. Don't force a throw if the runner would prefer you to do so in order to advance by gambling on an error.
d) Don't play in wet weather. This is not a strategy more than an obvious fact. We probably could have saved a few runs if the conditions were drier. We also probably could have saved a few runs if the left fielder wasn't thinking about beer for seven innings. Yeesh.
Next week, we win!
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5 comments:
I asked Shadowmasks captain where hard-hitting lefty Ryan Chin was, and he said he'd be at the next game. And the one after that...and all the other games this year. But fear not, valiant Catfish!
Oh great for them. They need more offense if they're going to be any good. Oof.
We should employ the rational batting method: Do not extend your arms until after contact with the ball has been made, i.e., keep your arms flexed in an "L" stance. Also, we should invest in jet-packs, particularly in the outfield.
I think jetpacks are a smart idea. If money is an issue, let's just try to recruit a few defensive replacement players from the Bump Head On Ceiling Social club.
And the infield should be on unicycles, for improved mobility.
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