Togashi is still being a big baby.
Ao Ashi S2 Ep. 6
Aoi is trying to pick Togashi’s brain during an intrasquad match, which is natural. He’s still new to defense, so he needs tips from people who have done it for years. But Togashi just walks away in a huff. This mindset is why he can’t improve, and Fukuda immediately points it out. He even ends up having to correct the other coach, who thinks Fukuda is spending too much time with the bench players. Yo, what is wrong with these people? Do they really not understand that you gotta coach up new players? They don’t automatically get better! I just wish Fukuda would apply this coaching to, y’know, Akutsu being a massive prick.
Later that night, Togashi swallows his pride and asks Aoi for help, which is the ideal outcome. Still, I really wish Aoi would take some initiative by trying to clear the air. If I were in his position, I would just straight up ask Togashi why he’s got beef with me and what we can do to squash it. It might work, it might not work, but it’s better than doing nothing. If someone doesn’t want to talk, alright, cool, tell me when you are.
Aoi only now realizes that teaching others also helps him understand the game better. I’m not trying to make fun of the kid. Rather, this is how bad his coaches have been. This is something he should’ve been taught a while ago. He hasn’t had any proper guidance, and I would argue he still doesn’t!
Togashi rounds up some of the boys on the B squad to do a late night practice session. More specifically, he wants to understand how Aoi sees the game. Yet somehow, people are mystified to be seeing this. You guys don’t do this? Even I did this as a kid, and I never played competitive team sports.
Apparently, Aoi developed his ability to keep track of everyone, because he used to kick a crumpled ball of paper around with his brother where their mom used to work. Basically, don’t get in the way of the customers. Anri quickly relates this to an actual pro player. I looked it up. The guy is real. This sort of thing helps you in other sports too. I can’t remember who, but there was a basketball player who talked about how playing soccer as a kid immensely helped his footwork.
Even so, the other guys feel as though they can’t really help Aoi. It’s the same ol’ refrain as usual: Aoi lacks the fundamentals, which should’ve been drilled into him at a younger age. They don’t know where to start. Eh, I guuuuueeeeeeess. At the end of the day, these are still kids, so we shouldn’t expect them to be great teachers. This is where the adults need to step in, which is why Fukuda suddenly emerges (creepily) from the shadows. He’s going to lace them up and help them get better. Good.
No Hana whatsoever this week. That’s a shame.
Ace of the Diamond act II -Second Season- Ep. 5
Aso makes a diving catch to save two runs, but it was incredibly reckless. I mean, he dove headfirst at the wall. He could’ve broken his fucking neck. I hope no kids attempt this. If you can’t get to the ball, then you can’t get to the ball. It doesn’t matter if it’s high school or the goddamn World Series. No game or job is worth dying over unless… you’re saving babies from a burning building or whatever. But a game where you catch, throw, and hit a ball for funsies? Certainly not.
Watching Kuramochi take nearly four minutes of actual runtime to get on base, I’m reminded of how slow baseball used to be without the pitch clock. Oh man, certain playoff games were unbearable to watch. They would take like four or five hours! Pitchers would stand on the mound and stare at you for minutes between throws, and it was utterly ridiculous.
Kuramochi manages to swipe a base, so he lets out a huge cheer. Mei simply thinks to himself that this is a lot of noise for a single steal. Pitchers tend to have a lot of attitude since their actions are so consequential. By necessity, they are involved in every single play. Still, some of them take it too far and become psychos. There are jackasses who might throw at you for simply cheering. Take too long to round the bases? Oops, gotta bean you now! That’s another thing that I’m glad is dying. They used to yap all the time about the unwritten rules of baseball, but it was usually just an excuse for old heads to be a dick.
Speaking of getting beaned, Mei slips up and hits Shirasu in the shoulder. Whoops. But it’s not all bad. Now that they have a runner on first, they can get out of this jam with a double play. In fact, the correct strategic move was probably walking the guy. But this might bruise your ace’s ego so y’know… It ends up not mattering anyway, because a semi wild pitch gets the runner on first to second.
And that’s where the episode ends, because they gotta cliffhanger us. Damn, we finished the episode, and we still can’t get through half of an inning. This is like those Yankees-Red Sox games of yore.