In Akiyama Koji's office, all the members of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks coaching staff gathered around the conference table, listening to their manager analyze the upcoming situation and strategies.
"First, the most important issue—how should we choose the starting pitcher for the first game of the series?"
When Akiyama Koji posed this question, surprisingly, the usually active coaching staff remained silent, showing an unusual quietness.
There was a reason for this silence—
The SoftBank coaches could easily predict how Hoshino Senichi would arrange the Rakuten pitching rotation:
With a 1-0 lead, Rakuten would choose the safest option for the opening game of the series—sending the undefeated Tanaka Masahiro of the season to extend the lead to 2-0, leaving plenty of room for maneuver in the upcoming games.
With the opposing starter choice almost revealed, SoftBank had two options:
