Archived Weblog Entry - 03/04/2003: "Japanese Baseball News: Rookie Pitchers Impress"

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03/04/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Rookie Pitchers Impress"

Two Run Shibahara Triple Slays Giants 4-3

A triple to the centerfield wall by Daiei Hawks rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara pushed both second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and leftfielder Masashi Matsuda across the plate in the 7th inning to open a 4-1 lead at Fukuoka Dome Sunday. The home nine then held on by the skin of their teeth to prevail 4-3.

This was a battle of number one and two draft choices, as top pick Hiroshi Kisanuki opened on the mound for Yomiuri while the Hawks had flamethrowing righthander Nagisa Arakaki, selected behind Tsuyoshi Wada, ascend the hill. And it was Arakaki who graded out ahead here, as he was clocked at a high of 94mph and struckout four men in a row at one point in a four inning, one unearned run tour de force in which he permitted just one hit and fanned a total of five while walking only one.

Kisanuki's line looks good, as it shows him twirling four innings of one run ball on three hits and striking out five. However, it should have been much worse, as a baserunning error by Hiroki Kokubo shortcircuited a big inning in the fourth.

Yomiuri drew first blood in the third, as second baseman Toshihisa Nishi got aboard on a miscue by Iguchi on a groundball and then trotted into second on a wild pitch. Rightfielder Takahiro Suzuki walked. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to left to recall Nishi and it was 1-0 Giants. Arakaki then blew shortstop Tomohiro Nioka away and catcher Shinnosuke Abe grounded out to keep it there.

Daiei should have blown it open in the fourth, but it wasn't to be. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu hit a ground ball to Daisuke Motoki at first, but Kisanuki was late getting to the bag and the speedster Muramatsu beat it out for a gift hit. Kisanuki plunked catcher Kenji Johjima. Third baseman Kokubo walked to pack the sacks. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka cranked a shot to the centerfield wall for what should have been a bases clearing double. Muramatsu jogged in with the tying run. Johjima, though, was playing it conservatively and watched the ball to ensure it would drop as he edged away for the bag. Unfortunately, Kokubo was a lot more aggressive and, running with his head down, inadvertantly passed Johjima and he was out while Johjima was sent back to second. It was scored a single and RBI for Matsunaka. Kisanuki then put the boot in and struckout DH Pedro Valdez and induced a groundout from second baseman Iguchi to kill the rally.

Cory Bailey came on to pitch the fifth for Yomiuri and was immediately taken on a tour of Kyushu through the rightfield exit by Matsuda to make it 2-1 Hawks. Bailey then retired the next six men he faced in his two innings, but the dinger resulted in him being hung with the loss.

Rodney Pedraza was next and he was betrayed by a costly defensive bobble. With one away, Iguchi tapped one toward third and beat it out. Matsuda slapped what should have been an inning ending double play ball to Nishi, but he kicked it. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki grounded into a 6-4 force play. Shibahara lined one to the base of the centerfield wall and by the time the ball got back to the infield, Kawasaki and Iguchi had journeyed to the plate and Shibahara had blazed into third to expand the Hawks hegemony to 4-1.

The Giants fought back in the bottom of the inning against second year man Toshiya Sugiuchi, as Yoshinobu Takahashi walked to kick things off. One out later, Third baseman Akira Etoh smacked a double down the leftfield line. Motoki flied out to center and Takahashi tagged up and hustled in to make it 4-2. Nishi spanked a single to left to usher in Etoh and it was 4-3 Hawks. Now with the tying run on, backup catcher Kohei Oda flew to center for the third out.

Sugiuchi struckout two in a perfect eighth and the ball was given to Matt Skrmetta to seal the deal in the ninth, but the Giants didn't go quietely. Takahashi commenced the stanza by striking out. Pinch hitter Koji Goto walked. Etoh struckout. Pinch hitter Mototsugu Kawanaka singled to left to put the winning run on. But another pinch hitter was sent up and Yoshinori Murata rolled out to first to end it.

Arakaki, who was consistenly getting his slider on the inside corner at the knees, told reporters after the game that "I was a little tense at first, but once I was on the mound, I was comfortable." The 94mph is the hardest any Japanese had thrown for Daiei in its history. "The fans really backed me," he enthused. I'm glad I continued playing baseball." That last sentence isn't just a throwaway. Arakaki had been drafted by Orix out of high school, but refuse4d to sign with them. The scout handling the negotiations committed suicide by throwing himself off a hotel balcony. When Arakaki moved on to Kyushu Community College, some hecklers made references to the scout doing himself in and the lanky rookie seriously thought about hanging it up, he was so upset. He didn't, though, and you may one day see him in MLB.

Despite the difficulties that Kisanuki endured in the fourth, Giants coaches believe that the righthander has stepped it up and he is likely to get a job at the back end of the starting rotation.

For Daiei, Valdez was 0-1 with a walk.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Arakaki (W, 1-0) IP 4.0 BF 15 PC 50 H 1 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Sugiuchi IP 4.0 BF 15 PC 61 H 2 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
Skrmetta (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Yomiuri:

Kisanuki IP 4.0 BF 16 PC 73 H 3 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.50
Bailey (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 32 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Pedraza IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 17 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Okajima IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kamoshida IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Iguchi, Nishi
SB: M. Kawasaki
2B: Etoh, Chen
3B: Shibahara
HR: M. Matsuda (1)
RBI: Shibahara 2, Matsunaka, M. Matsuda, T. Shimizu, Motoki, Nishi
SF: Motoki
WP: Kisanuki, Arakaki
HBP: Johjima (Kisanuki)
GIDP: Matsunaka, Horita
LOB: Yomiuri 5, Daiei 5

Season Series: Daiei 2, Yomiuri 1

Game Time: 2:49
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Iizuka (1B), Arisumi (2B), Tamba (3B)

Iwakuma Hammered Again in Hanshin Whitewash of Kintetsu

Hisashi Iwakuma, who the Kintetsu Buffaloes had hoped would really come on this season after a promising 2002, is still getting hammered and his team was humilated by a masterful Kei Igawa in a 5-0 loss. Igawa served notice that the curve ball he has been working to improve isn't just going to be a "show me" pitch, but will play a big role in his fortunes this season, as it helped him strikeout five in a row at one point in a four inning shutout performance during which he permitted just one hit.

Hanshin leftfielder Osamu Hamanaka got the Tigers offense going when he crushed a 1-2 second inning 90mph fastball that was up and on the outer half of the plate to the opposite field and into the rightfield stands at Kurashiki to go up 1-0. First baseman George Arias singled to center. DH Hiroshi Yagi steamed a shot down the rightfield line. Iwakuma then fanned the next two hitters, but second baseman Taichiro Kamisaka torqued a triple up the leftcenterfield gap to make it 3-0. Centerfielder Norhiro Akahoshi followed suit with his own three bagger to leftcenter and the big cats were up 4-0.

Kintetsu created its only threat of the night when second baseman Katsumi Yamashita beat out a dribbler by the mound and went to second on a walk to shortstop Masahiro Abe. Catcher Tetsuya Matoyama sacrificed both men along. But leftfielder Shinji Shimoyama bounced to Kentaro Sekimoto at third, who held the runner and then gunned it to first for the second out. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura hit a comebacker to Igawa, who went to first for the inning ending out.

Things really slowed down after that, as Hanshin's Taiyo Fujita notched a perfect three innings while Iwakuma settled down to allow only one hit over his last three innings. Hideo Koike replaced Iwakuma, however, and he got dented. With one down, backup leftfielder Yutaka Nakamura flamed one down the rightfield line for a double with one away and went to third on a groundout. Sekimoto went back through the middle for a knock and an RBI and Hanshin was sitting pretty at 5-0.

Jeff Williams and Lou Pote were both impressive in the eighth and ninth respectively, though an error in each inning behind them made things harder than they needed to be. Pote had the bases loaded on the miscue, an infield hit and a walk with one out, but slammed the door shut to keep the shutout intact.

For Hanshin, Arias was 1-2 and is at .500.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Iwakuma (L, 0-2) IP 5.0 BF 21 PC 81 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 11.25
H. Koike IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Aikyo IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
D. Miyamoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.00

Hanshin:

Igawa (W, 1-0) IP 4.0 BF 14 PC 69 H 1 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Fujita IP 3.0 BF 9 PC 34 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Williams IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Pote IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Sekimoto, S. Tanaka
SB: Hamanaka
2B: Yagi, Y. Nakamura
3B: Kamisaka, Akahoshi
HR: Hamanaka (1)
RBI: Akahoshi, Hamanaka, Sekimoto, Kamisaka 2
LOB: Kintetsu 7, Hanshin 4

Season Series: Kintetsu 0, Hanshin 1

Game Time: 2:38
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Nemoto (HP), Kodera (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Hayashi (3B)

Yokohama Gets the Lions' Goto in 7-0 Shutout

The Yokohama Bay Stars jumped all over reliever Mitsutaka Goto in the seventh inning to break open what had been a 2-0 ballgame with the Seibu Lions Sunday at Haruno, as number two draft choice Shuichi Murata mortared a three run homer, his first spring hit in 18 at bats, to turn it into a laugher for the suddenly offensively prosperous Stars, who took it 7-0. Yuji Yoshimi tossed four solid innings to get credit for the victory while Takashi Ishii had control problems and was blamed for the loss.

Lions number one draftee Shuichiro Osada started and displayed the fact that he has some major skills, as he quelled a hot lineup on one hit and struckout four in three shutout innings. Osada, who was clocked at 88mph, will likely start the regular schedule in the minors since he needs just a dash more seasoning, but if he stays healthy, this is going to prove a good choice by the team's scouts.

Once Osada had a seat on the bench, Yokohama went after the veteran Ishii, who wasn't sharp. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda whizzed one into the leftfield corner to catalyze a brief rally. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki clocked a single into left and Taneda beat it for the promised land to make it 1-0. Ishii then attempted to pound third baseman Katsuaki Furuki inside and nailed him. One out later, Ishii walked rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura to juice the bags. But DH Murata grounded into a 5-2 force play and catcher Ryoji Aikawa whiffed to snuff out the remainder of the revolt.

Ishii got through the sixth without either of the two baserunners in that inning scoring and then ceded the horsehide to Goto, who went up in flames. With two outs in the sixth, Murata walked. Aikawa beat out a groundball toward short. Centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo thwacked one to the rightfield wall for an RBI double and it was 2-0 Stars. Shortstop Takuro Ishii walked to load the bases. Pinch hitter Hirofumi Ogawa has been doing very well this spring, but didn't do this time and it remained 2-0 after six complete.

In the seventh, Suzuki singled to center and Yokohama was back in business. Goto endeavored to come inside on Furuki, too, and, like Ishii, hit him. First baseman Tyrone Woods went to do some yardwork to right, but fell short and had to settle for an RBI double. Tamura lined out to Kazuo Matsui at short. Murata was next and he battled with Goto for eight pitches before connecting with a changeup down and away and landing it in the leftfield bleachers to put the Stars in the catbird seat at 6-0.

Yokohama obtained its final tally when Furuki cleaned and jerked a first pitch heater from reliever Shinji Mori center backscreen stylee to make it 7-0. Masahiro Tazaki fashioned a perfect ninth and the Stars went back to the hotel with the W.

Ryutaro Doi, Yokohama's number one draft choice, had 20 friends and family in the stands watching the game and he walked one in a hitless inning.

For Seibu, third baseman Scott McClain went 1-3 with a walk and a steal and is at .333.

For Yokohama, Woods was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .250.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Yoshimi (W, 1-0) IP 4.0 BF 16 PC 54 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
R. Doi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Fukumori IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 35 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Tomioka IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
Tazaki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.00

Seibu:

Osada IP 3.0 BF 10 PC 42 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Takashi Ishii (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 BF 12 PC 47 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
M. Goto IP 2.0 BF 14 PC 62 H 5 HR 1 K 0 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 22.50
Hoashi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
S. Mori IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 9 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00

E: T. Ishii, K. Matsui
SB: McClain
2B: K. Matsui, Taneda 2, Kinjo, Woods
HR: S. Murata (1), K. Furuki (3)
RBI: T. Suzuki, K. Furuki, Woods, S. Murata 3, Kinjo
WP: Osada
HBP: K. Furuki (Takashi Ishii, M. Goto)
GIDP: M. Koike
LOB: Yokohama 9, Seibu 7

Season Series: Yokohama 1, Seibu 0

Game Time: 2:49
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Watamari (1B), Higashi (2B), Yoshimoto (3B)

Tachikawa Sayonara Three Run Homer Frustrates Yakult

Big righthander Kevin Hodges was so dominant in this, his first spring start, that Sankei Sports wrote that he handled the Chiba Lotte Marines batting order "as if they were children." Unfortunately, it went all for nought, as Yakult Swallows reliever Ryu
Kawabata saw pinch hitter Takashi Tachikawa do his David Copperfield imitation and make one of his pitches disappear into the leftcenterfield seats with two on and two out for a walkoff three run homer in a 3-2 Lotte victory. That give the shiroboshi to Lotte reliever Takashi Kawai, who threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth.

Yakult got the upper hand early off of starter Hiroyuki Kobayashi, as shortstop Shinya Miyamoto and first baseman Todd Betts both singled to right with one out and, two hitters later, third baseman Akinori Iwamura whistled a drive up the rightcenter alley to convert Miyamoto, but Betts was meat at the plate and theinning ended 1-0 Swallows.

This was such a well pitched game that there was little subsequent excitement until the eighth, when DH Kazuhiro Hatayama connected for a solo homer to left to make it 2-0 Yakult.

But in the ninth, Kawabata had a meltdown and the birds got burned. With one away, Pinch hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba singled to left. Kenji Morozumi beat out a roller toward first. DH Derrick May struckout. Tachikawa worked the count full and then got a forkball that he got good wood on and that was your ballgame.

Hodges threw 22 strikes in 29 pitches. Indeed, throwing strikes was his focus in this one and thus he was satisfied with his performance, saying that he is at about 90% of regular season shape. The former Mariner will start against Orix on the eighth.

For Yakult, Betts was 2-2 and is at .500. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .200.

For Lotte, third baseman Rick Short was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .200. May was 0-4 and is at .000.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Hodges IP 3.0 BF 9 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Masanori Ishikawa IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 49 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.71
Narimoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshikawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawabata (L, 0-1) IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 28 H 3 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 40.50

Lotte:

H.Y. Kobayashi IP 3.0 BF 11 PC 42 H 3 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
K. Takagi IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 24 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
K. Kato IP 3.0 BF 12 PC 50 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
T. Kawai (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Yoneno, M. Shimizu
SB: Watarai
2B: Iwamura, Fukuura 2
HR: Hatayama (1), Tachikawa (1)
RBI: Hatayama, Iwamura, Tachikawa 3
HBP: Harai (Hodges)
GIDP: Iwamura, S. Omura, Ramirez
LOB: Yakult 5, Lotte 3

Season Series: Yakult 0, Lotte 1

Game Time: 2:41
Attendance: 8,000
Umpires: Kiuchi (HP), Akimura (1B), Ino (2B), Shirai (3B)

Kimura Slam Buries Blue Wave 8-3

An eighth inning pinch hit grandslam by Kazuyoshi Kimura off of reliever Iwashita was the big blow in this faceoff between the Hiroshima Carp and the Orix Blue Wave at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium Sunday, the Carp floating to the top 8-3. Hiroshima got a total of four homers for all of its runs.

Hiroshi Kobayashi started for the Blue Wave and struckout four in three perfect innings. On the other side. Masayuki Hasegawa wasn't as terrible as his line would make you think, but he coughed up a three run homer to centerfielder Ryutaro Tsuji in the fourth to ruin the outing. However, Shigeki Sano was only getting his fastball up into the low 80's and the Carp hitters were able to then put it up in the jet stream to overcome the deficit and then eventually put it away.

This one was hitless until Orix catcher Kosuke Yoshihara doubled down the rightfield line with two outs in the bottom of the third. Shortstop Makoto Shiozaki and rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi each walked to load the bases, but leftfielder Roosevelt Brown popped up to second to douse that flame.

In that fourth inning, though, third baseman Scott Sheldon and second baseman Tatsuya Shindo both singled to left and then Tsuji bashed it out to straightaway center to make it 3-0 Orix.

Hiroshima ended the shutout in the fifth when centerfielder Toyo Asayama cannonaded a pitch from Masahiro Doi into the centerfield bleachers and shrink the disparity to 3-1.

After Doi scrapped his way through his three inning stint, Sano entered the frey and got taken to the downs by pinch hitter Itsuki Asai to leadoff the seventh. Sano then plunked Asayama. Third baseman Kenta Kurihara belted a shot over the leftfield wall for a come from behind two run homer and a 4-3 Carp advantage.

In the eighth, Iwashita strode in to try his luck and was touched for a single to center by shortstop Tomofumi Matsumoto. One out later, first baseman Takahiro Arai singled to right. Iwashita then nailed pinch hitter Kojiro Machida to jam the basepaths. Kimura dispatched an Iwashita delivery off into the wild blue yonder in left for the granny and an 8-3 lead. From there, Masaki Hayashi closed it out by tempting Tsuji into grounding into a 4-6-3 twin killing with one out to bring the curtain down.

Carp number one choice Katsuhiro Nagakawa, striking out four consecutively at one juncture and the Orix hitters had trouble getting the ball out of the infield against that nasty forkball of his.

For Orix, Sheldon was 1-3 with two strikeouts and a stolen base and is at .333. Brown was 0-3 with a walk and is at .000.

For Hiroshima, Jimmy Hurst was 0-2 with two strikeouts and is at .000. Andy Sheets, who was the starting shortstop, was 0-2 with two strikeouts and is at .000.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

H. Kobayashi IP 3.0 BF 9 PC 41 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Doi IP 3.0 BF 13 PC 57 H 1 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Sano (L, 0-1) IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 23 H 2 HR 2 K 0 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 27.00
Iwashita IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 31 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 36.00

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa IP 4.0 BF 18 PC 75 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.75
Nagakawa IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 34 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawano (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
Tamayama IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
M. Hayashi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Higashide
SB: Sheldon, Higashide
2B: Yoshihara, Shindo
HR: R. Tsuji (1), Asayama (1), I. Asai (1), Kurihara (1), K. Kimura (1)
RBI: Shindo, R. Tsuji 2, I. Asai, Asayama, K. Kimura 4, Kurihara 2
WP: Nagakawa 2
HBP: M. Shiozaki (Kawano), Asayama (Sano), Machida (Iwashita)
GIDP: Brown, Ishihara, R. Tsuji
LOB: Orix 5, Hiroshima 3

Season Series: Orix 0, Hiroshima 1

Game Time: 2:54
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Shimada (HP), Kaneko (1B), Suginaga (2B), Sugimoto (3B)

Team Reports

Yomiuri First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara took 40 swings in batting practice and then went and received an ultrasound treatment for his ailing hamstring....Even though a baserunning error minimized the runs he could have been charged with, Hochi Sports, a Yomiuri mouthpiece, claims that Hiroshi Kisanuki has secured the sixth spot in the
starting rotation.

Chunichi Neither catcher Motonobu Tanishige nor third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami will play in an exhibition game Monday with Yomiuri in order to rest them....Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome has been working recently on getting backspin on the ball in order to boost his power output. Shigeo Nagashima gave him some instruction a couple of weeks ago.

Seibu According to Sankei Sports, Daisuke Matsuzaka's blister on one of his big toes has gotten worse. No word, though, on what this means.

Daiei Rookie lefthander Tsuyoshi Wada threw 51 pitches in the bullpen today. He will make his first appearance in an exhibition game in the next few days in a relief role.

Nippon Ham Tsutomu Iwamoto went three innings and allowed a run in an intrasquad game Sunday. He was clocked at 90mph. Manager Trey Hillman said that there are eight candidates for the five starting slots and that Iwamoto is among those....During that game, catcher Shinji Takahashi crushed a grand slam to right. Outfielder D.T. Cromer also homered....Trey Hillman's wife and two children will be coming to Japan on the ninth and will be there for opening day against Seibu. They will return in August and start living in Sapporo in preparation for the team's move to that city next season. Hillman now lives in the upscale Hiroo area of Tokyo.

Orix Jose Ortiz went back to the U.S. to deal with family matters a few days ago. He is now back in Japan.

Hideki Matsui Hideki Matsui went 1-3 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Sunday, the lone hit being a slider off of Jim Parque that he wacked up the middle that was knocked down for an infield hit. He eventually scored on a bloop single by Robin Ventura. In his other two times up, he grounded to the pitcher and grounded out to first....Matsui then reportedly told Nikkan Sports that "I don't think I have the power right now to be a home run hitter in America." About doing more weightlifting to enhance his power, Matsui thinks that may be a lot of wasted effort: "Really, the bodies of major league hitters are different from Japanese. I don't know if it's a racial thing, but no matter how much I try to build myself up, I'll never have a body like [MLB power hitters]. Therefore, I'm not going to do any more weightlifting than is necessary." He then elaborated: "I don't want to lose the unique grace that orientals have. I'm going to be 30 soon. Rather than just lifting to build up my muscles, doing circuit training and training that emphasized jumping. You have to strike a balance."

Miscellaneous In a game Sunday against the Padres, Ichiro Suzuki went 1-3 with an RBI. The RBI came in his third at bat, when he laced a triple to rightcenter off of a hanging changeup. He popped to short and grounded to third in his other plate appearances....Kazuhiro Sasaki threw an inning in the exhibition faceoff and walked all three lefties he faced, but retired the righties to keep anyone from scoring....Shigetoshi Hasegawa also entered that battle and set down all three men he saw....Kazuhisa Ishii disposed of the Astros will little trouble Sunday, as he went two innings and limited them to one hit. Brian Hunter, whose line shot to the head ended Ishii's season, said he was happy that the southpaw was back on the field....Tsuyoshi Shinjo went 0-4 against Baltimore. He is now 1-13 on the spring, an .077 average....Keio University beat Cal Baptist University today in California 5-3.

Today's Pictures

Hiroshi Kisanuki Lets One Go

Another View of Kisanuki

Nagisa Arakaki Finishes His Delivery

Kazuhiro Sasaki from a Batter's Perspective

Kevin Hodges Whips it to the Plate

Katsuhiro Nagakawa Looking for Some Tilt

Yoshimi Sakurai in Batting Practice

Kazuhisa Ishii in Sunday's Game

Ichiro Sees Less Media, More Chances of Improvement

See story at: Miami Herald Article

Torre Expertly Handles Japanese Media