So here’s the other half of the All-Star-Team’s new battery: catcher, Honest-Abe-kun. If you have to be an Abe, better try to be Honest Abe, widely recognized as the best Abe that ever Abed. Sorry, Shinzo Abe, but you don’t quite measure up, even after getting shot. A+ for effort on that, though, not many people would go that far just to emulate Lincoln Abe. And all of the other Japanese Abes also don’t measure up. I mean, it’s an awfully common name in Japan and I really don’t have the time to look through all of these biographies and try to assess them compared to Lincoln’s…but when it comes to Lincoln you’re allowed generalizations, he’s just that much of a popular culture icon.
Anyway, let’s focus on the Honest Abe out on the field right now. By first appearances, he definitely seems a lot more grounded than his pitcher, and his analytical skills seem to be on the same level as Tanuki Kazuya’s. Unsurprisingly so, since they’re written by the same person…who is far away from being able to write internal monologue that actually reflects high skill in sports analysis for lack of even a smidgen of understanding. But Tanuki Kazuya’s analytical skills are legendary, we have been told, and Honest Abe’s don’t seem obviously worse, so they’re legendary, as well.
Another trait Honest Abe shares with Tanuki, however, is his apparent inability to communicate effectively with his pitcher. But, unlike Injun Bakamura, Mihashi doesn’t react with anger. In fact, his attitude doesn’t change much at all. He’s a nervous wreck, which is his default condition. So I guess that makes their communication actually better than the earlier battery’s one?
Which leaves just one question: will Mihashi, like Injun, deliver the right ball even without understanding the instruction?
More on Thursday.