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03/01/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Japanese TV "Matsui on Parade""
Report for February 28, 2003
Just about every Japanese television station prominently featured footage of Hideki Matsui's homer against Philadelphia Friday morning to the extent that Sankei Sports called it "Matsui on parade." TBS, which broadcast the game live in Tokyo, drew a 2.9% rating, with that going up to 4.2% with Matsui at the plate just before he went yard. TBS had more than 42% of all televisions that were turned on during the middle of the night time slot tuned to it. Normally, TBS gets a 1.1% rating in that slot.
Fuji Television's morning news program lead with the Matsui blast and then had Matsui footage and news on its early morning chat show Mezamashi Terebi as well as the evening program Sporto!".
Japanese stations pay about $65 million for MLB telecast rights, but now it is expected that will rise drastically thanks to Matsui's defection to the league, according to an MLB spokesman. Fuji Tv has already indicated that they intend to pursue a contract with MLB.
More Efficient Daiei Beats Wasteful Yomiuri 6-3
The Daiei Hawks got two runs in the third and three unearned runs in the seventh, as they survived a less than optimum outing from youngster Hayato Terahara to win at Fukuoka Dome Friday, 6-3. Terahara's velocity and location were horrible and he was tagged for seven hits in three innings, but yet managed to limit the damage to a run to secure the victory for himself.
Hisanori Takahashi started for Yomiuri and he was victimized by good clutch hitting, ultimately surrendering three runs on six hits in four innings to get hung with the defeat.
The Giants got a first inning one out single to center by shortstop Tomohiro Nioka and a double to off the leftcenterfield fence by centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi off of an 86mph fastball that was up and over the outer half of the plate one out later, but rightfielder Roberto Petagine hit a little tapper out in front of the plate, where catcher Kenji Johjima pounced on it and pegged it to first to end the inning.
Daiei made the kyojin pay for failing to exploit that opportunity, as rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to center, who then went to second on a groundout to third. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to left and Shibahara put on the afterburners for the plate to make it 1-0 Hawks.
Yomiuri saw both catcher Shinnosuke Abe and second baseman Toshihisa Nishi single with one out, but they may as well have then been planted there, as DH Koji Goto flew out to left and leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu grounded out to first to squelch that threat.
Terahara lost it a bit in the third, but the damage could have been a whole lot worse. Nioka torqued a shot down the leftfield line for a double and went to third on a groundout. Takahashi then scorched a 2-2 84mph fastball that was up and on the inner half of the plate right on the screws to the wall in rightcenter for an RBI double to knot it at 1-1. Petagine singled to right. First baseman Akira Etoh walked to load the bases. But Abe popped out in foul territory near third and Nishi grounded to third to keep it even.
Relieved at enduring that crisis, Daiei went back on the attack in the home portion. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu singled to right to begin the frame. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi seared one down the rightfield line to put men on second and third with nobody out. Shibahara grounded out to second to bring Muramatsu home with a 2-1 advantage. Kenji Johjima attempted to leave the building to the opposite field, but had to settle for a double off the rightfield fence. Takahashi played the carom and gunned it to Nioka, who in turn ran it over to Takayuki Saito at third, who slapped the tag on Johjima attempting to stretch it into a triple. However, another run had crossed and it was 3-1 Hawks.
The home side then put it away in the bottom of the seventh off of Yukinaga Maeda. Leftfielder Chen Wen- pin leadoff with a walk. DH Bryant Nelson hit a ground ball right to Saito, who let it get through the wickets for an error. Substitute second baseman Mitsuru Honma singled to right. Despite his shortcomings, though, Chen decided not to challenge Petagine and the sacks were packed. Muramatsu grounded to Etoh, who went to the plate for the force on Chen. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki singled to right to push Nelson in. One out later, reserve catcher Masanori Taguchi splattered a shot off the leftfield wall to welcome Honma and Muramatsu in and it was 6-1 Daiei after seven complete.
Yomiuri mounted a comeback in the top of the eighth, but it wasn't enough. Backup centerfielder Mototsugu Kawanaka singled to right to kick off the rally. One out later, rookie sub leftfielder Kenji Yano smashed a shot down into the leftfield corner, Kawanaka hustling all the way around from first to cut the Hawks lead to 6-2. Nishi laced a drive into the leftcenter alley for another two bagger and Yano strode home to bring the visitors to within three at 6-3. That is where it ended, though, as reserve DH Daisuke Motoki flied out to right and backup catcher Kohei Oda struckout to prevent any further incursions into home plate. Katsunori Okamoto then came on to toss a perfect ninth for Daiei and that was your ballgame.
Rookie Yuya Kubo, Yomiuri's number two draft choice, had his parents in the stands as he went through his two economical innings. "I was just trying to not embarrass myself out there," the diminutive hurler offered when asked about any pressure he may have felt with mom and dad peering down from the bleachers. With his strong performance in this game, Kubo may be given a shot at starting an exhibition game against Hiroshima on the 12th or 13th, according to the Japanese press.
For Daiei, Nelson was 0-3 and is at .000.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 1-3 and is ta .273.
Pitching Lines:
Yomiuri:
H.N. Takahashi (L, 0-1) IP 4.0 BF 16 PC 69 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.75
Kubo IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
Y. Maeda IP 1.0 BF 8 PC 27 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kamoshia IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Daiei:
Terahara (W, 1-0) IP 3.0 BF 17 PC 51 H 7 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Kamiuchi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Mizuta IP 4.0 BF 17 PC 64 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
K. Okamoto (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Takayuki Saito
2B: Y. Takahashi 2, Nioka, Iguchi, Johjima, Taguchi, K. Yano, Nishi
RBI: Y. Takahashi, K. Yano, Nishi, Kawasaki, Shibahara, Johjima, Taguchi 2, Kokubo
GIDP: T. Shimizu, Chen
LOB: Yomiuri 10, Daiei 4
Season Series: Yomiuri 0, Daiei 1
Game Time: 2:57
Attendance: 45,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Kasahara (1B), Tamba (2B), Arisumi (3B)
Kawakami Lit Up in Dragons Loss to Yokohama 6-4
Kenshin Kawakami, who was beat out for the ERA title last season by Yomiuri's Masumi Kuwata, got off to a rough start Friday at Ginowan, Okinawa against the Yokohama Bay Stars, as he was cuffed around for eight hits and three runs in three innings to absorb what became a 6-4 loss to the Yokohama Bay Stars.
Domingo Guzman was credited with the shiroboshi after he followed starter Chris Holt's two runs on three hits in two innings effort with a pair of shutout stanzas on a total of one hit. With Yokohama now appearing to have some run scoring capacity even with Steve Cox on the sidelines, Guzman could emerge as a consistent winner this season.
The Dragons surged to an early 2-0 lead in the first, as Holt started the game by walking shortstop Hirokazu Ibata and giving up a single to right to second baseman Masahiro Araki, which allowed Ibata to speed over to third. Rightfielder Kosuke Fokudome grounded to short to send Ibata in and third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami whistled a double down the rightfield line to recall Araki. First baseman Ivan Cruz walked. But Holt slipped out of further pain when he induced a 6-4-3 double play ball out of catcher Motonobu Tanishige.
Yokohama had a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first sabotaged by the double play ball and had a man thrown out at the plate in the second to end that uprising, but finally went wild on Kawakami in the third. Shortstop Takuro Ishii commenced it with a single to right. First baseman Hirofumi Ogawa walked. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki ripped a sinker down the leftfield line for an RBI double. Cleanup hitter Katsuaki Furuki lifted a sacrifice fly to center to level the score at 2-2. Rightfielder Tyrone Woods singled to center and Suzuki set the controls for the heart of home plate for a 3-2 Stars lead.
Then in the fifth, backup rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura blasted a solo homer to rightcenter with one out off of Masataka Endo to widen the Yokohama hegemony to 4-2.
An inning later, Yokohama were on the move once more, when catcher Ryoji Aikawa walked, Ishii cracked a one out single to center and reserve second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa singled to right to convert Aikawa, Ishii moving over to third on the play. Suzuki grounded out to second and Ishii trotted in and the Stars were ahead 6-2.
The Nagoya forces struck for a pair of their own in the top of the seventh to make it close. With one away, centerfielder Hidenori Kuramoto singled to right and stole second. One out later, rookie DH Yoshimi Sukurai rifled an 86mph fastball that was up and in through the hole between third and short for an RBi single. Catcher Eiichi Nakano bonked a shot into the leftcenter gap and Sakurai showed some wheels by blazing around to the plate from first on the double to get his side within 6-4. But then the Dragons were put to sleep by relievers Atsushi Kizuka and Matt Whiteside and it was "game setto."
Kawakami said after the game that he wasn't getting his weight behind the ball and therefore his pitches had no life.
For Yokohama, Woods was 1-2 with an RBI and is at .250.
For Chunichi, Cruz was 0-2 with a walk and is at .300.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Kawakami (L, 0-1) IP 3.0 BF 16 PC 55 H 8 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 9.00
Iwase IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Endo IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 31 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 19.29
D. Yamai IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 12.60
Yamakita IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yokohama:
Holt IP 2.0 BF 10 PC 45 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.00
Guzman (W, 1-0) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Kawamura IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
R. Kawahara IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 35 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Kizuka IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Whiteside (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Ryoji Aikawa
SB: Kuramoto
2B: Tatsunami, T.N. Suzuki 2, Nakano
HR: Tamura (1)
RBI: Nakano, Fukudome, Tatsunami, Y. Sakurai, Uchikawa, T.N. Suzuki 2, K. Furuki,
Tamura, Woods
SF: K. Furuki
GIDP: Ogawa, Tanishige
LOB: Chunichi 5, Yokohama 8
Season Series: Chunichi 0, Yokohama 1
Game Time: 2:56
Attendance: 5000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Fukatani (2B), Shikida (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Rookie Hiroshi Kisanuki hurt the middle toe on his left foot doing some long tossing Thursday and skipped Friday's pre-game practice. He did do some weight training, however. He is expected to resume throwing on Sunday....First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara slugged nine homers in 61 swings today. He also took some ground balls, a sign that he may finally be on the way back. To ease some strain on his legs, he has dropped seven pounds to 230.
Yakult Pitcher Futoshi Yamabe has hurt his oblique muscle and that may enable rookie Yuhei Takai to start the regular season with the big club, according to Sports Nippon. What amazes me is that Yamabe is still allowed to play pro ball, because he sucks!...Someone who doesn't, though, is Kevin Hodges, who will start in Saturday's exhibition game while Masanori Ishikawa will start Sunday.
Hanshin Owner Shunjiro Kuman is ill and didn't attend a team event at a shrine in Nishinomiya today....Hideki Irabu threw three perfect innings in a simulated game today, suing his breaking pitches to good effect. He was clocked at just 89mph, though....Manager Senichi Hoshino says that he wants outfielder Osamu Hamanaka to hit .350 with runners in scoring position if Hamanaka wants to bat cleanup. Last season, Hamanaka posted a .253 average in such situations. In addition, his first 15 homers were all solo jobs. Batting instructor Koichi Tabuchi believes that Hamanaka has displayed good progress in keeping his weight back and simplifying his hitting style....Batting instructor Tom O'Malley, who normally works with the foreign hitters, spent time today providing guidance to outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto on how to approach pitches on the inner half of the plate.
Hiroshima Carp groundskeepers have change the composition of the dirt on the infield, mixing in some white sand that is normally used for golf course bunkers. The new surface got a big thumbs up from shortstop Andy Sheets. Team officials hope that the mixture will give truer hops on ground balls and help reduce the number of errors by last year's league worst Carp infield....Club coaches also announced that Jimmy Hurst and Sheets are going to see time in all 14 remaining exhibition games to hasten their adjustment to the Japanese game.
Seibu Both Daisuke Matsuzaka and Fumiya Nishiguchi will miss scheduled exhibition appearances Sunday against Yokohama. Matsuzaka has a blister the size of a quarter on a big toe while Nishiguchi has a cold and a fever. Instead, number one draft choice Shuichiro Osada will make the start in Matsuzaka's place.
Kintetsu Manager Masataka Nashida said he gave this phase of the team's spring camp an 85 out of 100 due to the emergence of Yamashita and Shimoyama plus the fact that there have been no major injuries.... Katsuhiko Maekawa threw 270 pitches in the bullpen today....Team president Mitsuru Nagai backed off of a statement the club made the other day that they would pursue defamattion litigation against the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun for its report about a technical violation the team reportedly committed in preparation for posting closer Akinori Otsuka. However, the Buffs front office does intend to send a protest to the publication and it also denied that they had violated any part of the agreement between NPB and MLB ....For his part, Otsuka worked out today near his home in Toyonaka. He says that he is still waiting for a response from Kintetsu, presumably about a request to post him again after this coming season.
Nippon Ham Former Yankees minor league manager Trey Hillman, who is now skippering the Fighters, went to bed early Thursday so that he could get up in time to see Hideki Matsui's debut against the Phillies Monday live on Japanese television. Hillman then placed a call to Yanks GM Brian Cashman, with whom he talked about Matsui. Hillman also told Sankei Sports that when Matsui first made contact, he thought it would go over the head of the second baseman, so he was surprised when it went out since it was hit on such a low line.
Lotte Tomohiro Kuroki threw 58 pitches in batting practice today. According to reporters, he had good movement and said he felt good after leaving the mound. But his rehabbing that shoulder is still going to require more time.
Orix Masato Yoshii and Makoto Suzuki worked out for two hours together today, playing catch and lifting weights.
Hideki Matsui According to Hochi Sports, members of the U.S. media asked Joe Torre if it was fair to the other players that Matsui was guarenteed to play when Yankees games are scheduled to be broadcast back to Japan this exhibition season. Ex-squeeze me? Hell, why don't we just pass a little league-like rule where everybody has to play in every game. That would only be fair, no?
Miscellaneous On the statements made in David Wells' new book that Baseball Guru.com readers are already familiar with, here is how I see it: first, don't blame Wells. He is just telling it as it is. He's not smart enough to be as witty or as incisive as Jim Bouton. In fact, he comes off as a big slobby clown (Jon Heyman over at Greenwich Time calls him a "party-'til-he-drops whack job"). But his admitting to pitching a perfecto with a hangover is hardly rare in MLB annals. Look at Grover Cleveland Alexander, who often made spirits part of his training table. Babe Ruth anybody? And who can forget Doc Ellis pitching a no hitter while on acid? The most disturbing thing is perhaps the allegations of speed and steroid abuse, but those things are hardly new in pro sports. Johnny Sample and Dave Meggyessey (I hope I spelled that correctly) wrote about it taking place in the NFL and Bouton and Pete Rose talked about "greenies" in MLB. The main problem I see is this: both the MLB players union and Commissioner Bud Selig haven't gotten in front of this issue from a public relations standpoint and if they don't do it soon, it has a chance to really fester. The banning of ephedra at the minor league level is a pathetically useless gesture since that won't stop players from using it when they get promoted to the big leagues. Selig has a chance to come up with a model anti-enforcement program here. But the players union, made up largely of stupid jocks (sorry folks, but it's the truth) with sub-100 IQ's, will probably stymie it. Selig has already turned most MLB fans, not to mention Congress for crying out loud, off with this penchant for flat out lying to them and he is unlikely to gain enough political capital with the public to embarrass the union into going along with him and the other owners. That is truly a pity. It is also a reason why we need a new Commissioner. Anyway, for more on what Wells has had to say about his life in baseball, go Here....What kind of shape is Alex Rodriguez in already? How about this item from AP: "Rodriguez crushed a 506-foot homer as a Texas Rangers split squad routed the University of Texas 17-1 in Surprise, Ariz." Yikes! ....Outfielder So Taguchi had two hits in two at bats, including an RBI double for the Cardinals against the Mets. Tsuyoshi Shinjo went 0-3....Geez, is the KKK really going to demonstrate in favor of the men only rule at Augusta Country Club? Talk about "with friends like these...."
Quote of the Day
The quote of the day comes from Paul Daugherty over at the Cincinnati Enquirer. I disagree with him on his unjustifiably snide remark about Jose Contreras spring debut showing that "$8 million doesn't buy what it used to," but this remark about Hideki Matsui's homer caught my attention: "It left the yard faster than George Steinbrenner's cash."
Today's Pictures
Hideki Matsui Watches Ball Leave
Yoshinobu Takahashi Makes Contact
Yankees Ecstatic Over Matsui Homer
See story at: Journal-News Article
See related story at: Hartford Courant Article
See another related article at: Boston Globe Article
And a real interesting one at: Middletown Times Herald Record Article
ESPN's Fantasy Guy Assesses Matsui
See story at: ESPN Article
Yankees Dealing With Japanese Press
See story at: Dayton Daily News Article
Brock Signs With Hiroshima
See story at: Japan Today Article
Daiei Moving Spring Camp Site
See story at: Japan Today Article
Interview With Taiwan Pro League Administrator
See story at: Taipei Times Article
