Archived Weblog Entry - 02/21/2003: "Japanese Baseball News: One More Day to Baseball"

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02/21/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: One More Day to Baseball"

Team Reports

Yomiuri Rightfielder Roberto Petagine homered deep into the rightfield seats with two on off of an 88mph fastball that was up and in from ace Koji Uehara Thursday in an intrasquad game, the Venezuelan's first longball in three such tilts. For Uehara, who threw all fastballs, he ended up giving up three runs on six hits in three innings. Petagine has never been very comfortable against Uehara, as he went just 11-52 (.212) with three homers while Petagine was with Yakkult...First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara launched a 520 foot blast to left in batting practice yesterday, the ball leaving the Miyazaki Municpal Stadium and cracking the windshield of a car driving down a roadt that runs through the park where the stadium is located. Fortunately, it struck the passenger's side and the driver, 55 year old Yukio Fujikawa, was uninjured. After he finished his hitting session, Kiyohara went to apologize to Fujikawa for causing an estimated $800 damage to his windshield. In all, Kiyohara slammed 18 homers in 73 swings. But due to his bad hamstring, he is unlikely to see any action in exhibition games until at least the 25th....With Kiyohara's absence, as expected by many media outlets, centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi will bat cleanup when the exhibition schedule kicks off....Hiroki Sanada sparkled in the intrasquad tussle, and fashioned three shutout innings on one hit....Masumi Kuwata threw 100 pitches in the bullpen Thursday....Both Cory Bailey and Rodney Pedraza posted scoreless innings, but opposition scouts weren't impressed, offering that neither appeared to be at full speed yet.

Yakult Yoshiyuki Noguchi, 21, started at second and batted leadoff in an intrasquad game Thursday and tripled in and walked in three at bats. Second base is really the only unsettled position on the team and Noguchi is being given every chance to seize it over veterans Katsuyuki Dobashi and Noriyuki Shiroishi. Noguchi went 4-7 in two practice games against the KBOs' SK Wyverns earlier this week. At 6'1" and 158 pounds, he reminds physically of the recently retired Takahiro Ikeyama. Now can he do everything that Ikeyama did defensively and offensively?....First baseman Todd Betts took special hitting practice today after ringing up a donut in the practice games.... Reliever Ryota Igarashi will start throwing again in the middle of next week to begin his comeback from partially severing a tendon in his middle finger with a carving knife while washing the dishes....The Swallows announced that on opening day at meiji Jingu Stadium, they will be selling tickets for the same prices they were flogging them for in 1978, when the club won its first ever pennant. That will cut admission fees by more than half. Part of the reason for the reduction is that the MLB opener is also in Tokyo and Yokohama opens at home, so to lure fans away, they enacted the discounts. Tickets are available through Ticket Pia, Lawson's convenience stores, the box office at the ballpark and E+ starting March 14th.... Due to a string of injuries to its young pitchers, Yakult may have to cancel at least some of its instructional league games.

Chunichi Kenshin Kawakami threw 212 pitches in the bullpen today, almost all fastballs. Kawakami said he didn't feel that great, though...Team president Junnosuke Nishikawa met with Commissioner Hiromichi Kawashima today for a discussion on how a repeat of the Kevin Millar debacle can be prevented in the future. That subject will then be taken up by the league board on the 27th....18 year old rookie Yoshimi Sakurai will bat fifth and start in left for tomorrow's exhibition opener. Takashi Ogasawara will be the starting pitcher.... Reliever Hitoki Iwase threw 153 pitches in the pen today and was elated with both his control and the movement and his stuff.

Hanshin Righthander Tetsuro Kawajiri started in an intrasquad game Thursday and was impressive, going three shutout innings of one hit ball. Kawajiri loaded up on breaking balls and was able to put them where he wanted. Manager Senichi Hoshino was pleased with the veteran sidearmer's command: "it's like he's already in mid-season form"....However, ace Kei Igawa hurt his hamstring throwing in the same game and was given an upper body workout routine while the the hamstring heals....Shigeo Nagashima visited the Hanshin camp Thursday, where he took in the intrasquad game and batting practice. Nagashima also asserted that Hanshin would finish in the first division this season, which would be the first time in 11 seasons if the Tigers pull that off. He also thinks that centerfielder Osamu Hamanaka should bat cleanup and believes that Hanshin will bat in the .260 range as a team. When lunchtime came, rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama, who is the club's players union rep, presented Nagashima with a bouquet of flowers and outfielder Norihiro Akahoshi and second baseman Makoto Imaoka hauled in a big birthday cake that reportedly cost about $400. The cake was shaped like a ballpark and the words, "2003 champions" inscribed in red chocolate with the Yomiuri and Hanshin mascots fighting it out on top. Nagashima reacted by saying, "this will be the year of a decisive battle between the Tigers and Giants"....Hideki Irabu threw in a simulated game today, using his breaking pitches more than normal. He got punished, though it should be noted he was throwing at about half speed in what was really little more than a tuneup. But he is throwing his changeup and curve ball with the same arm action as his fastball, which is a good sign.

Hiroshima Manager Koji Yamamoto was not smiling when he saw what one of his starters, Hiroki Kuroda, was doing on the hill in an intrasquad game Thursday, as he got taken downtown and ended up surrendering two runs on three hits in two innings, including a gigantic ballpark clearing shot to right with a man on from leftfielder Masafumi Suenaga on a hanging slider. Pitching coach Manabu Kitabeppu said that Kuroda is overweight and that he is lacking balance when he delivers the ball.

Yokohama 32 year old shortstop Takuro Ishii lit it up in Thursday's intrasquad contest, collecting some knocks, stealing a base and making a highlight film diving catch....Yuji Yoshimi had a nice outing, going two innings and totaling up four strikeouts. The forkball he is working on still isn't looking that great, so he threw mostly fastballs and sliders. The lefthander said that he would give himself a 60 or 70 out of a 100. He will start on the 24th against Yomiuri....Third baseman Katsuaki Furuki went 1-3....First baseman Steve Cox started rehab yesterday, doing some light hitting off of a tee. He said that he thinks he will be able to get into two or three exhibition games before the regular season opens....Reliever Matt Whiteside has trouble using the slidestep and opens his shoulder too early when he throws his breaking pitches out of the stretch, causing him to lose arm speed, according to Sports Nippon. Coaches have told manager Daisuke Yamashita that Whiteside's breaking balls aren't doing much of anything. If he's losing arm speed, that could certainly be a reason.During the intrasquad game yesterday, Whiteside gave up a two run double to right and then a run scoring single for a total of three runs surrendered in two innings on five hits....Takashi Saito and Kenichi Wakatabe made their batting practice debuts this season today. Wakatabe, who added a cutter before the 2002 season and saw it turn him from a mediocre righthander into a pretty decent one, had it moving.... Yamashita plans to use 11 pitchers in the first two exhibition games and those who don't so well may get demoted to the minors. Right now, he has 21 pitchers in camp vying for spots on the staff...Ace Daisuke Miura was brought back up to the first team camp today. He says that he hasn't experienced any discomfort in his elbow and is in a good mood thanks to that. He hasn't been scheduled to pitch in any games in the near future, however.

Seibu First baseman Alex Cabrera will report to the team on the 25th, according to Sankei Sports. Manager Haruki Ihara says that he expects that the slugger will be in good enough shape to where he can use him in a game a week after he shows up in Japan ....After getting hammered in an intrasquad game Wednesday, Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch and took some ground balls Thursday. The team will take the day off today. Matsuzaka will start another intrasquad game on the 26th....And just for fun, Matsuzaka took some hacks against Japanese olympic softball pitcher Taeko Ishikawa as part of a tv program and came up empty on a series of rise balls. Afterward, Ishikawa then showed Matsuzaka the grips she uses for her pitches....Fumiya Nishiguchi pitched batting practice Thursday, delivering a total of 100 balls to the plate and then threw another 148 in the bullpen afterward. Ihara revealed that the opening day pitcher will be either Matsuzaka or Nishiguchi....Pitching coach Hirohisa Matsunuma noticed that rookie Shuichiro Osada was pausing during his delivery out of the stretch, which is illegal, so he worked with the youngster to correct it.

Daiei Brandon Knight was clocked at a high of 93mph in Wednesday's intrasquad game....It was announced today that Hayato Terahara has been pulled from starting against the Giants in an exhibition game on the 28th after he had a bad simulated game Monday due to his control being off. "He isn't ready yet," said manager Sadaharu Oh ....Shigeo Nagashima was at the Daiei camp today to watch outfielder Chen Wen-pin. Nagashima said that Chen would be even more of a threat if he focused on backlegging the ball. Nagashima also enthused about rookie hurler Yasushi Kamiuchi, though Kamiuchi was cuffed around in limited minor league action last season.

Kintetsu Closer Akinori Otsuka said that a condition for his reporting to the Buffaloes this spring is that they agree to post him again during the offseason. He is now waiting for a response from team management....Infielder Katsumi Yamashita homered in consecutive at bats in an intrasquad game Thursday, his fourth jack in five intrasquad matches. Yamashita has worked extensively to shorten up his swing and did a lot of weight work during the offseason and both seem to be paying off....Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura mortared a drive to left and into the forest behind the ballpark Thursday, a shot of around 425 feet, during that intrasquad game....Kevin Beirne took the hill and spun three perfect innings, striking out three and getting six ground balls. He was clocked at 93mph and used all of his pitches effectively.

Nippon Ham Two players who came over in a trade with Hanshin for catcher/rightfielder Toshihiro Noguchi, outfielder Tomochika Tsuboi and reliever Masashi Date, each had a rough time in Thursday's intrasquad game. Tsuboi went 0-4 with two strikeouts while Date was touched for three hits and run in his one winning on the mound. Tsuboi is now 0-16 in three intrasquad matches and obviously has a ways to go getting his timing back after a heel fracture ended his 2002 season....Kuniyuki Kimoto broke the ring finger on his right hand Tuesday and will be out of commission for a month....Outfielder Kazuteru Shimada thwacked a grand slam to dead center in the first inning and dedicated it to his daughter, who turned one year old Thursday.... Carlos Mirabal will start Saturday's exhibition against the Chunichi Dragons. Manager Trey Hillman told the press that he intends to have his team run.... Centerfielder Tatsuya Ide, who has a Gold Glove to his credit, was demoted to the minor leagues today, as he is in a funk at the plate.

Lotte Middle reliever Hiroyuki Kobayashi tossed two shutout innings and struckout two while allowing just one hit in his second intrasquad game of the spring Thursday. He remarked afterward that while he had good movement on his pitches, his control isn't quite sharp yet....Rick Short batted third and played third in that game and had a pair of defensive miscues that lead to two unearned runs. With the bat, he went 1-4....Ace Tomohiro Kuroki was shut down after experiencing shoulder pain Sunday, but he came out to play again Thursday and threw 82 pitches and said he felt good afterward....Rookie Kanda was impressive in his one inning of work, striking out two with a good sinking forkball in a perfect performance.

Orix Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and his fiance, Ryoko Tamura, played golf Thursday in Miyakojima, Okinawa. However, neither would reveal their scores....Makoto Suzuki started an intrasquad game today and tossed three shutout innings on one hit and 32 pitches. He said he was overthrowing a bit since it was his first outing, but he was glad to get through it unscathed. The ex-Royal and Mariner was clocked at a high of 89mph. A Daiei scout said he liked the tilt on Suzuki's deliveries....Masato Yoshii started as well and had a balk called on him for not coming to a fullstop. Yoshii insisted that he got away with the same move in MLB, but he might want to look at the rules again. A pitcher must come to a full stop in the set position before delivering the ball. The erstwhile Met also was uncomfortable with getting only five warmups in Japan comparedto the eight in MLB. Keep in mind that Yoshii used to pitch for Kintetsu and Yakult before heading to MLB.

Miscellaneous Angels shortstop David Eckstein was asked about Hideki Matsui by Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert at the Orange County Register: "he's a lot faster than people think. With Yankees Stadium, he might have the chance to hit 40-50 home runs." On the Rally Monkey, which was brought to Japan during the NPB-MLB all star series that Eckstein played in, the Japanese didn't know what to make of it, he said....Bosox hurler Casey Fossum gave up his number, 15, to Kevin Millar....Peter Gammons got suckered into believing that it was war concerns that drove Kevin Millar to ask for the revocation of his contract with Chunichi. That makes Gammons either a fool or a brown noser, take your pick....Ichiro Suzuki took a couple of tacit digs at Lou Piniella yesterday, as the Mariners worked on relays at their Peoria, Arizona spring training camp. According to Sankei Sports, under Piniella, the M's hadn't practiced such plays in the last ten years. Commented Ichiro, "because we've been winning the last couple of seasons, we lost sight of the importance of fundamentals." He further went on to say that "it could just be my imagination, but it seems to me that [Bob Melvin] is putting emphasis on doing the little things you need to win." This isn't the first time that the former Orix outfielder has noted his discomfort with Piniella not working on details that he was used to focusing on in Japan. But at least he seems to like what he sees so far from the new Seattle field boss....Kazuhiro Sasaki will appear for an inning in a practice game the Mariners will play against the Lotte Giants on the 25th. He is planning to throw some of the cutters he has been working on against lefthanded hitters. He was taking advice from Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price, one of the brightest minds in that role in the game, on what the best grip for that pitch is while throwing 70 pitches in the bullpen Thursday....Happy Birthday to Japan's Mr. Baseball, Shigeo Nagashima, who turned 67 Thursday. For you readers new to Baseball Guru, Nagashima almost became the first Japanese to play in MLB when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley offered him a chance to come to his ballclub in 1961. But Nagashima, as well as his ballclub, turned down the bucks that O'Malley proferred and stayed at third with Yomiuri....At least partially thanks to the signing of Hideki Matsui, the NY Yankees have already sold 2.3 million tickets to this year's regular season games, the fastest clip in their history, eclipsing their 2002 pace by over 165,000. Last season, they drew just over 3 million to Yankee Stadium....Angels DH Brad Fullmer says he may play in Japan next season after being disappointed by the huge pay cut he took to re-sign with Anaheim....Former MLB and Yomiuri pitcher Bill Gullickson's 16 year old daughter Carly may soon join the pro tennis circuit....Former Hiroshima Carp third baseman Sachio Kinugasa was seen at the Yankees camp yesterday. Between him and Matsui, that's 3465 consecutive games played....According to the NY Post, the Yanks' front office had Don Mattingly watch film of Hideki Matsui before they signed him to get his opinion on the Japanese slugger....This item from the Sporting News: Lefthander Sterling Hitchcock was interviewed by around a dozen Japanese reporters after outfielder Hideki Matsui swung and missed one of his pitches during batting practice....Dodgers lefty Kazuhisa Ishii isn't just working on a cut fastball, according to Sankei Sports, but also a changeup. Pitching coach Jim Colborn was quoted as saying that the theme for the former Yakult ace is "strike one".... Former Chunichi Dragons slugger Ken Macha, now the manager of the Oakland A's, told the Japanese press that he hopes Dragons fans will come to Tokyo Dome and root for his team....According to Hochi Sports, a Tampa rap producer, who is married to a Japanese, has created a track about Hideki Matsui. Apparently, the wife told her husband about Matsui and he came up with some lyrics and put the whole thing together in a five day period. Ichiro had a single about him put out about him and it sold well when he arrived in Seattle. So let's see who does better in this case.

Today's Pictures

Kazuhiro Kiyohara Opens a "500 Footers are Me"

The Damage Done

Roberto Petagine Takes Koji Uehara to the Downs

Shigeo Nagashima Gets His Cake

Hideki Matsui Insideouts the Ball

Kevin Beirne's Arm Gets Out in Front of His Body on This Delivery

Tsuyoshi Shinjo of Orange Julius---oops, the NY Mets, Hits off of a Tee

Norihiro Nakamura Massacres a Ball Up in the Zone

Millar: When Our Word is No Longer Our Bond

See story at: BP Sports Article

See related article at: Japan Times Article