[Previous entry: "NPB News: October 21, 2002 by Gary Garland"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "YES to Broadcast Yomiuri Giants Game Saturday Morning"]
10/24/2002 Archived Entry: "Japan Series Preview"
Japan Series Preview
The Japan Series starts this coming Saturday, pitting the scrappy Seibu Lions, with only three true stars, against the Yomiuri Giants, which is choc-a-block with them. Sad to say, since your humble scribe is one of the "anti-Giants" tribe, it is unlikely that the big cats are going to have enough firepower in terms of both arms and brawn at the plate to overcome what the Tokyo team can offer.
Seibu will first send out their ace, Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has been on the shelf with both elbow and leg problems the last three months, to face the Central League wins leader, Koji Uehara. This one could go either way, but don't expect anything more than a decent performance from a not sharp Matsuzaka, if that. Uehara doesn't have dominating stuff, so they absolutely must be patient at the plate against him and get into the improved, though still erratic, Giants pen if they want to have a chance to win this thing.
Takashi Ishii is slated to begin game two for the Lions and he will get his butt kicked. He throws hard, but that just means that the homers that Godzilla Matsui and Kazuhiro Kiyohara will unload will go farther. I assume that Masumi Kuwata will open this one for Yomiuri and he will win it in a rout.
Chang Chieh-chiah will start game three for Seibu and he will dominate, as he is the kind of pitcher that Yomiuri has lots of trouble with. Hisanori Takahashi has to keep everything on the outside corner and his cutter has to be working to keep the score down. Don't be surprised if the final is something like 3-1.
Team wins leader Fumiya Nishiguchi will be tapped for game four against Kudoh and it won't be close. Nishiguchi has been in the doldrums the last month and he may be tired. Let's just hope that Lions boss Haruki Ihara can get his bullpen ready quickly enough to keep it reasonable.
Fortunately, I expect that Matsuzaka will comeback for game five and look like the guy who lead the PL in victories his first three seasons in what could be a whale of a pitching duel with Uehara.
For game six, if Seibu is behind in the series 3-2, Ihara will give Chang another start, if he is smart, and skip over Ishii. This could be dicey, as Chang ordinarily doesn't throw well on short rest. Ishii could end up being part of a bullpen relay if Chang really gets in trouble. He will probably lose, giving Yomiuri another Nippon Ichi. But Chang is also a smart and very competitive guy and could very well rise to the occasion.
If it somehow goes to a game seven, it will have to be all hands on deck, with Nishiguchi starting and Matsuzaka seeing some relief time against a combination of Takahashi and Kudoh. Kudoh seems to find a way to come out on top and is still likely to do so here.
There are only two big threats in the Seibu lineup, Kazuo Matsui, and, obviously, Alex Cabrera. The former Diamondback, who says he might slug as many as seven homers in the series, will go deep 2-3 times, but if Little Matsui is contained, those are going to be solo blasts. The Giants starting pitching is good enough to throw a wet blanket on Kazuhiro Wada and third baseman Tom Evans. The rest of the Lions lineup is full of much less threatening players, whereas even when you get past Godzilla, you have to face Shinnosuke Abe and Akira Etoh for the Giants. Etoh will ultimately be a non-factor, but shortstop Tomohiro Nioka, with all the focus on Big Matsui, could be the dark horse candidate for the MVP. And even second baseman Toshihisa Nishi can take you deep. The darkhorse for Seibu would be Evans, who hit the Giants pretty well, though not ferociously, during limited action with Hanshin.
Thus, the Giants can play relaxed while Seibu will have to virtually be perfect, something that brings with it a lot of tension. The best case scenario for the party from Tokorozawa is that they can turn each tilt into an eight inning affair before bringing on stellar closer Kiyoshi Toyoda in the ninth to finish the kyojin off. Yomiuri's pen, outside of Hector Almonte and his 95mph gas that provides a good contrast to the club's soft tossing rotation, is very hittable, including closer Junichi Kawahara. Hideki Okajima is the most overrated reliever in Japan. Thus, Seibu has an edge there. But that Lions pen is also going to see a lot of work and that could be significant in the later games.
It definitely won't be a sweep, but with the exception of the first Nishiguchi and Ishii starts, the rest of the matchups promise to be gripping. Again, though, the Giants will probably prove to be too much and will wrap it up in six. Bookmakers in England agree with me, though I hope I'm wrong.
No Regular Season Pro Yakyu in Taiwan Next Season
According to Sports Nippon, due to the Seibu Lions backing out, the Daiei Hawks will not be playing any regular season games in Taiwan next season as they had with Orix this past May. A sorely disappointed Hawks owner, Mr. Nakauchi, said that instead his team will play two games against Kaohsiung and one against a Taiwanese all star club in a kind of friendship series next November.
This sort of goodwill gesture by Daiei will help promote its ballclub in that market, but the failure of Seibu to go over may leave many Taiwanese with the impression that they aren't taken seriously, which will hinder NPB's attempt to penetrate that fan base.
Kanemoto Rebuffs Carp, Yamamoto on Free Agency
According to Sports Nippon, despite pleas from popular manager Koji Yamamoto, Hiroshima Carp free agent outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto says that he intends to "think this over until the last possible minute."
Aside from Hanshin, who have been the most public about signing the veteran all star outfielder, the Chunichi Dragons are also wooing him.
Losing Kanemoto, even with his slow starts the last couple of seasons, would be a big blow to a mediocre Hiroshima team that can't seem to ever put it all together despite some fine individual performances.
Moreover, Yamamoto, in hopes of shoring up his defense, had planned to move Kanemoto to centerfield while putting Tomonori Maeda in left and Koichi Ogata in right. This is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, perhaps. But it shows Yamamoto is trying to do something, which in Japan, where making even token gestures are important, is perhpas the most vital part of this.
Yokohama to Make Deal With Chinese Pro Club
According to Sports Nippon, the Yokohama Bay Stars may conclude a working agreement with either the Tienjian Lions or the Peking Tigers of China's fledgeling pro league that would see the Chinese nine train with the Stars in Ginowan, Okinawa this coming February.
Yokohama has a famous China Town and the team's front office figures that linking up with a Chinese pro club would enhance its fan base with Japanese of Chinese descent. The last place Stars saw attendance fall this season by 145,000 to 1.53 million as compared with 2001. Furthermore, season ticket sales were off by around $800,000 for 2003. Eventually, club officials say, it may also perhaps open a way for Yokohama to get its hands on star Chinese pros once that league hits its qualitative stride.
Yokohama is also looking at a pact with an MLB outfit, the names mentioned in that regard being the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Chicago Cubs.
Hot Shots....
Kintetsu Buffaloes reliever Motoyuki Akahori, who was once the team's closer, says that he isn't going to exercise his free agent rights and will remain in Osaka....Kawasaki University hurler Daisuke Kato, 22, says he will sign with Orix. Reports claim he has a fastball that has been clocked in the mid-90's and quality breaking pitches....Yakult outfielder Tetsuya Iida, who sat out considerable time this season due to an injury to the ligament in a knee and hit just .190 with no homers and two RBIs, is going to see his pay cut from the $800,000 he makes now to less than $600,000. He will be 35 next year....Lions infielder Scott McClain walked three times in five hitless trips to the dish in an instructional league game earlier today.... According to Sankei Sports, Yokohama Bay Stars closer Takashi Saito still intends to jump to the major leagues, perhaps with the intention of once against being a starter. His injury history may preclude a rotation bid, though....Hanshin castoffs Satoshi Funaki, a righthanded pitcher, and infielder Kazuya Harai, have both been signed by the Chiba Lotte Marines....Meanwhile, the team's number one starter, Tomohiro Kuroki has made some changes to his pitching motion and worked out earlier today. No word on if the shoulder pain that kept him out for most of the past campaign reappeared....In hopes of resuscitating his career, Yokohama outfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo, who became the first rookie to ever win a batting title in Japanese history a couple of years back but has slumped ever since and lost his starting position, is going to be allowed to do whatever he wants at the plate by new manager Daisuke Yamashita. Kinjo never seemed to mesh with previous boss Masaaki Mori....Daiei Hawks hurler Toshiya Sugiuchi, who was a washout his rookie year, tossed a no hitter today in an instructional league game, striking out 13 and walking four. He was clocked at a high of 89mph.
Hara Makes it Hard to Hate Giants
See story by Jim Allen at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20021024wo52.htm
Pressure on for Samsung in Korea Series
See Jung Ang Ilbo story in english at: http://english.joins.com/Article.asp?aid=20021023235320&sid=600
Today in Japanese Baseball History
This report is for October 23rd and on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1958, Chunichi Dragons first baseman Michio Nishizawa, Hanshin Tigers third baseman Fumio Fujimura, and Hiroshima Carp outfielder Makoto Kozuru all retired.
