Analysis of the 2010 Akamites

Well this should be a slightly different analysis than usual, for the Akamites showed us something yesterday that we don't often see in the KFC league. Of the nine required players to field a team, they only managed to ~eventually~ cobble 7 of them. By 5:30, the team had a mere 3 players standing around taking batting practice with us. I think that this was the most important fact regarding this season's Akamites. They don't have any heart or enthusiasm for the game.

That said, they did have a few things worth mentioning:

1) The Akamites win with their bats, plain and simple. Like the Shadowmasks and some of the LOD, these guys (and I mean only guys) are able to knock softballs with steady pop all throughout their order. Granted, there were only a few that really hit it lengthily, so expect most softballs to zip through the infield or drop in the short field.

2) Their defense isn't anything to get excited about. Fumbling softballs in the infield, easy pop flies dropped, some fly balls misjudged ... sounds like a Catfish team in our first game of a season! Still, they didn't seem to have it all together defensively. If we just hit well it should work out.

3) There were a few aggressive base runners, so we still need to be smart about what we can actually do to get outs. Keeping a force play on these guys is important. Outfielders should throw to second and infielders should be aware of the force play to avoid errant throws. Note: Last year, with a full team, these guys were nearly all obnoxiously aggressive on the bases.

4) I still like 4 across as a strategy, but this team didn't really utilize the gaps much. Therefore, a short fielder would be most helpful to keep grounders and short drops as singles.

5) Best player on that team is the guy who gave Rich a high five after an opposite field zinger down the line. Anyone who congratulates the other team openly about a great hit deserves recognition, for usually all one sees from these guys is stoic bulldozing.

These guys are beatable as long as we don't beat ourselves. Since they only got 2-3 runs per inning, our offense could have matched that on a good day. If softballs got to the right place more often, we could have made it a closer game or even won that last one. There's a good chance we show them the door next time.