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01/24/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Yankee Stadium Serenade for Matsui?"
Hot Shots....
Former Hanshin and Seibu third baseman Tom Evans has signed with Detroit....Ex-Yomiuri reliever Hector Almonte has been picked up by Boston. Now let's see if Almonte can keep his temper in check....Nippon Ham manager Trey Hillman amused Japanese reporters today at a workout for the team's rookies when he decided to play catch with batting instructor Gary Denbo while talking to them. "I'm sorry if this is rude, but I want to warm up my shoulder," the former infielder said while pulling out a glove he brought with him from the states. "Just because I'm the manager there's no reason why I should stand around watching quietly." The headline in the press as a result? "Hillman's play catch press conference." You can see a pic of him during this Here and Here....Yomiuri Giants ace Koji Uehara has appealed to his team's front office that fans be allowed to use a space in back of the bullpen from which reporters are permitted to watch workouts at the club's spring training camp in Miyazaki in order to give the Giants faithful a richer pro yakyu experience. Uehara's batterymate, catcher Shinnosuke Abe, is still battling to shed an additional nine pounds....One thing, though, that should make the Giants batting order richer is that they have retained the great slugger Futoshi Nakanishi as a coach during spring training. Nakanishi, who slugged a 500 foot homer during his playing career, a Mike Piazza like laser beam that completely left the yard in the blink of an eye, that is still one of the hardest hit balls I've ever seen anywhere, will tutor the Giants young hitters....The Seibu Lions front office has told its players to not try to play through injuries, but to report them right away and get some rest so that they can heal before they become something bigger. That concern about injuries, though, didn't stop shortstop Kazuo Matsui from a personal six hour workout that included a lot of running and fielding practice as well as a session in the batting cage. Little Matsui has been an absolute animal getting himself ready for the season, as he has had several other five hour workout days....For those of you who plan to be at Yankee Stadium for the Yankees season home opener against Minnesota, you will perhaps have an added treat. Over 200 Japanese fans plan to be there who are part of a Hideki Matsui fan club and they may end up serenading everyone with a song produced by Masao Ishizaka, who used to work with singer Keiko Fuji, the mother of NY born Hikaru Utada, the best selling Japanese soul-pop artist. The tune, meant as a way to encourage Matsui, is called "Habatake Major Leaguer" and it will be out on CD soon in both japanese and english versions by a duo called Takeshi and Riyo. Among those fans could be former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who is the honorary chairman of an Ishikawa Prefecture-based Matsui supporters organization, though it isn't definite that Mori will indeed make the trip....Godzilla spent the day amid all this by taking 199 swings in the batting cage, 130 of those off of a tee working on hitting the ball back up through the middle as well as getting in some running. It was also announced that Matsui-related t shirts and Yankees uni tops will be available in Japan starting the last week of February. They should already be available starting today in the U.S....Sports Nippon is positing that the conflict that lead to Mark Newman being demoted after a loud argument with owner George Steinbrenner stems from some in the Yankees front office preferring that the team add Cliff Floyd and give up on Hideki Matsui. However, the caveat to this is that the paper is saying whether Newman was among those preferring Floyd over Matsui is still unknown at this point. Furthermore, if this ESPN Article is correct, this all had zero to do with Matsui and more to do with Newman, who hasn't taken a vacation in 11 years, finally tiring of Steinbrenner's meglomania....Yakult Swallows lefty Shugo Fujii threw 139 pitches from in front of the mound during a breezy team batting practice session. He also told reporters that he expects that manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu will have either Kevin Hodges or Masanori Ishikawa get the start on opening day....Seibu batting instructor Koju Hirohashi, whose daughter Madoka is married to Kintetsu Buffaloes hurler Hisashi Iwakuma, says that he hopes that Iwakuma will win 20 games this season, as long as he goes winless against the Lions. Last season, Iwakuma was 1-2 against the Tokorozawa nine in five starts with a 4.18 ERA. Iwakuma, though, has vowed to beat his father in law's squad since they are the team the Buffs have to go through to win the Pacific League flag.
Yomiuri Warms Up to Guam
See story at: Agana Pacific Daily News Article
Lotte Giants Turn Their Back on Park Jung-tae
See story at: Korea Times Article
Baseball, Softball Out of Asian Games
See story at: Japan Today Article
China Trust Targets Young Baseball Fans See story at: ETaiwan News Article
