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03/04/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Giants Earn Cruz' Wrath"
Giants Put in Cruz Control in 5-2 Dragons Victory
Ivan Cruz has come back to Japan with a vengeance. Monday against the Yomiuri Giants, the Chunichi Dragons first baseman unloaded a pair of rockets for a total of four RBIs to power the Nagoya outfit to a 5-2 victory. Takashi Ogasawara was credited with the win after an okay outing that saw him get taken deep twice, but ultimately surrender only two runs over five innings.
Gary Rath started for Yomiuri and for three innings had the Chunichi lineup eating out of his hand, as he either struck them out or had them beating the ball into the dirt for easy ground ball outs. However, the second time around the order, the hitters made some adjustments and Rath got rocked by the first of Cruz' roundtrippers to end up permitting three runs on four hits in four innings and may have endangered his chance to open the regular season with the big club.
So since the game was scoreless going into that fateful fourth, let's get right to the action, with the Dragons up at the plate. With one down, second baseman Masahiro Araki and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome cracked singles to left. That brought up Cruz, who got a knee high changeup out over the plate and he put it on the fat part of the bat, sending a nine iron through a wind that often gusted up to 36mph on the afternoon and well into the rightcenterfield bleachers for an instant 3-0 Chunichi lead.
The Giants resorted to heavy manners in a comeback attempt. DH Akira Etoh leadoff the bottom of the fourth and used the aforementioned breeze that was blowing out to left to hit a high drive completely out of the stadium in that direction to put the kyojin on the scoreboard. Third baseman Daisuke Motoki then stepped in and he played hammertime with an Ogasawara delivery, mashing it into the leftcenterfield stands to bring his side within 3-2. Ogasawara gave up two more hits after that, but kept anyone from scoring and it remained that way until the top of the sixth, when Cruz got a fastball from Matt Randel on the inner half of the plate and absolutely murdered it, propelling a majestic monster deep into the centerfield seats to widen the Dragons' advantage to 4-2.
The Aichi Prefecture favorite sons then capped off their scoring in the eighth when 22 year old backup third baseman Shingo Maeda bigtimed Randel for a dinger beyond the centerfield fence to make it 5-2 Dragons.
Yomiuri attempted to catch up in the bottom of that frame when pinch hitter Masahiro Kawai singled to center and Etoh singled to left with two outs against former Giant Kazuhiro Hiramatsu. But Hiramatsu got through that crisis and then retired the Tokyo contingent's order 1-2-3 in the ninth to turn out the lights.
During the game, a 6'x3' section of billboard was ripped loose by the wind and blew into the leftcenterfield stands, striking a 12 year old boy, who was uninjured.
Of his rotation chances, Rath acknowledged that it will be tough, especially with rookie Hiroshi Kisnanuki around, who Rath believes could pitch in the major leagues right now. A scout for Hiroshima averred that what made things tough for the former Dodger was that his pitches began coming up in the zone when he had to pitch out of the stretch.
Yomiuri boss Tatsunori Hara is experimenting with trying various players in the three slot. Today, he had Toshihisa Nishi, in no way a three hole hitter since he strikes out too much and won't produce enough pop to justify his presence there, taking on that role. Nishi went 0-3 in this one.
About Cruz, a Yomiuri scout posited that Cruz isn't muscling up as much now as he did with Hanshin and it has made it easier for him to adjust to the pitcher's offerings as they come across the plate.
For Chunichi, Cruz was 2-3 with four RBIs and is at .385.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
T. Ogasawara (W, 1-0) IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 87 H 6 HR 2 K 2 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.80
Hisamoto IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hiramatsu (S, 1) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 23 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yomiuri:
Rath (L, 0-1) IP 4.0 BF 16 PC 69 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 10.80
Randel IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 36 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
M. Hayashi IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 34 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
H. Tani IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
2B: K. Inoue
HR: Cruz 2 (3), Etoh (2), Motoki (1), S. Maeda (1)
RBI: Cruz 4, S. Maeda, Etoh, Motoki
HBP: S. Abe (T. Ogasawara)
GIDP: Etoh, Y. Takahashi
LOB: Chunichi 6, Yomiuri 6
Season Series: Chunichi 2, Yomiuri 0
Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Honda (HP), Arisumi (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Kasahara (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Roberto Petagine's shoulder continues to bother him after he ran into the rightfield wall against Daiei last Friday and he will miss the next couple of weeks. Notice one thing: despite him missing so much time, they haven't given him an MRI yet. What is up with that? In any event, it hurts enough that he can't even swing the bat. So now the Giants have more than $10 million worth of ballplayers sitting on the sidelines in Petagine and Kazuhiro Kiyohara....Veteran southpaw Kimiyasu Kudoh threw 86 pitches in the bullpen Monday and reported that his bad calf is feeling a lot better. However, he is still going to be out of commission for another week....After, as John Candy used to say on the old SCTV shows, "getting blowed up real good," Monday, Gary Rath may be bound for the minors. Team coaches said that Rath was hanging his changeup and it will be as hard for him to crack the Giants rotation as it was for him to win a similar position with the Dodgers. Manager Tatsunori Hara offered a rather grim assessment: "if he doesn't get more zip on his fastball, his breaking pitches won't be effective"....Masumi Kuwata threw 76 pitches in the bullpen Monday and did some hitting both off of a tee and then off of a pitching machine. He will start against Nippon Ham Thursday.
Yakult Lefthander Shugo Fujii will begin the regular season in the minors due to his slow healing elbow malady for which the trainer uses the Japanese word for "arthritis," but it could just be just a common elbow inflammation. Fujii told pitching coach Akimitsu Itoh that his elbow "still feels a little funny" and he has been able to do little more than play catch.
Chunichi Ivan Cruz said that some of his success right now is due to holding his head more still and looking to hit the ball back up the middle. Manager Hisashi Yamada has been very pleased so far with what the former Cardinal has been showing him in game situations.
Hanshin Regular third baseman Atsushi Kataoka is headed for the minors to rehab an oblique muscle sprain. Right now, he can't even run. So manager Senichi Hoshino is going to put Shinjiro Hiyama at first and George Arias at third, which enables him to put speedster Norihiro Akahoshi in centerfield and bat leadoff. It could be that the Kataoka injury will end up being a blessing, though Akahoshi has an unenviable injury history of his own. Kentaro Sekimoto has to be feeling frustrated, though. Just when he thinks he may have a shot at a seizing the regular third baseman's job, Hoshino comes up with this. Sekimoto's bat is being wasted sitting on the bench, which is also going to hinder his overall development. They absolutely have to find a spot for him in the lineup somewhere, though that may not be until next season, especially if both Kataoka and Hiyama have down years.
Hiroshima Chris Brock will wear number 42 and he is likely to be given a shot at starting.
Seibu The Lions are planning to insert Alex Cabrera into the starting lineup around the 15th. He is still working out getting prepared for game action....Sidearmer Tetsuya Shiozaki has come down with back pain and may miss opening day. He was scheduled to make an appearance on the 15th, but that is going to be pushed back.... Daisuke Matsuzaka threw Tuesday for the first time in a week, delivering 40 pitches in the bullpen. He says the blister on his right foot that resulted in his holiday from throwing is healing okay....Alex Cabrera has been forbidden to use a Lions outdoor practice facility due to his proclivity for launching 500 foot bombs, according to Hochi Sports. The projectiles have been flying into a graveyard as well as on to Highway 55, so for safety reasons, the big Venezuelan will be limited to taking batting practice indoors....Chang Chia-chiah, who was recently sent down to the minors for being out of shape, will throw batting practice on the 14th and then start a game on the 18th against Daiei.
Daiei Waseda grad Tsuyoshi Wada, the all time Tokyo Big Six University League strikeout king, will make an appearance on the 9th against Hiroshima and then will mae starts on the 15th against Hiroshima and on the 22nd against Yakult. Wada says that he is experiencing no pain in his shoulder and he is rounding nicely into in season shape ....Nagisa Arakaki said Monday that he wants to be on the Japanese olympic baseball squad, "but first I want to put up good results and contribute to the team." He also reiterated that he wants to hit 100mph on the radar gun.
Kintetsu A Buffaloes spokesman says that the team is going to carry on without Akinori Otsuka and isn't going to trade him. They still hold his rights under Japanese rules, so until he reaches some kind of agreement with them, he is in limbo. Dan Nomura has been hired as Otsuka's agent, but no word as to whether the team is actually willing to deal with him. This is only wild speculation on my part, but I would guess that Nomura is attempting to find a way to legally circumvent Kintetsu's custody of Otsuka so that he will be free to go to MLB. Kintetsu can hold on to Otsuka without a contract by paying him 25% of his normal salary on a prorated basis. When he was asked about all this, Otsuka was non-commital....Tommy Lasorda will arrive in Japan on the 11th and it is rumored that he might make some recommendations on foreign players. It had been rumored last year that Mike Kinkade might end up in Osaka, but so far that hasn't happened.
Nippon Ham Team officials believe that Itsuki Shoda isn't going to be ready to pitch before the regular schedule gets under way, so he will likely be dispatched to the minors until he is ready to come back up and contribute to the big club....Manager Trey Hillman said that he gives the team's time at its Nago, Okinawa camp a 90 out of 100. "This was a first for me personally," Hillman told Sports Nippon. "It has been a wonderful experience." He also said that the players have made quite a bit of progress since camp began. However, "there are also some things we have to get done by opening day."
Lotte A team spokesman announced that they will not take on any new foreign players. They had been looking for an outfielder with some pop and were going to send a scout to the MLB spring training camps to find one, but have no decided to forego that.
Orix Makoto Suzuki has been doing some light running and he threw 80 pitches in the bullpen today after a bunt fielding drill while his leg muscle pull heals. He says that he can throw okay, but wonders how well is leg would handle the stress of making sudden stops under game conditions.
Hideki Matsui Matsui had a good game against Toronto Monday, cracking two singles, one after an eight pitch at bat, and then getting a first pitch hanging curve ball from Evan Thomas and unleashing a bazooka shot that went well over 400 feet. Godzilla told reporters after the game that he hit it right on the screws. He further said that he is going up to the plate looking for the fastball and then adjusting to the breaking ball.... Alfonso Soriano said that now that Matsui's in a Yankees uni, he can study Japanese again, something which he is "happy" for....A word to MLB first basemen: play deep. In a game in 2001 against Yokohama, Matsui just about decapitated Takahiro Saeki, who ducked and just kind of waved his glove as the ball headed into the rightfield corner. In a game last season, he hit a ball that was low enough that Yakult's second baseman was reported in some quarters to have jumped for before it ended up pounding off the centerfield bleacher seats some 440 feet away from home plate.
Miscellaneous Clemson University will play Chukyo University Thursday at 4:00 p.m....This season's rookie class convened at the New Yokohama Prince Hotel in Yokohama and received lectures from former player Hiroo Ishii and speed skating gold bronze medalist Seiko Hashimoto, who is now a member of the Japanese Diet on how to talk to the press. NHK announcer Toshiharu (Shunji?) Shimamura lamented that there aren't any first year players in this season's crop who can relate crisply to reporters like Hideki Matsui did. "He never had that much to say that was interesting, but he put his thoughts across honestly"....Ichiro is working on a four game hitting streak after blooping a changeup on the outer half of the plate down the leftfield line....So Taguchi flew out to center Monday on a high fastball in a pinch hitting appearance....Hideo Nomo went three innings Monday against the Marlins and allowed one run on four hits....The Japanese minor league all star game will be held July 13th in Sapporo....The 2003 Central League Green Book goes on sale today via mail order for those of you who can read Japanese. For info, call: (03) 3219-1651 or look at Tuesday's Hochi Sports....For those wondering what former Hiroshima Carp hurler Erik Schullstrom is doing these days, he is now a scout with that team..
Today's Pictures
Chris Brock at His Press Conference
Hideki Matsui Watches Ball Get Well Out of the Ballpark in Monday's Exhibition Game
Tsuyoshi Shinjo Gets in Some Much Needed Batting Practice
Dopey Shot of Brock With Carp Mascot
By the way, the sign says, "wet paint."
Cruz Shows How You Get Elevation
Ichiro Suzuki Displays Form on Pitch at the Knees
George Arias in Batting Practice
Matsui Blasts Three Run Homer in Loss
See story at: Associated Press Article
Godzilla a Pal to Vaughan
See story at: St. Petersburg Times Article
Japan Opener a Tribute to O'Malley
See story at: MLB.com Article
MLB Players Sound Like Cowards About Japan Trip
As a form of self-dlsclosure here, I may not be doing this very much longer. It appears that I will be moving to Japan sometime in May and I am looking forward to it. I'm not afraid of flying, so MLB players, who will be on charter flights, for crying out loud, shouldn't be, either. Come on folks, you're letting the Bin Laden crowd get to you.
See story at: Associated Press Article
Koreans Have Mixed Fortunes at MLB Spring Training
See story at: Korea Times Article
Switching to Starting a Big Risk for Kim, Diamondbacks
A fine piece by Ken Rosenthal at: Sporting News Article
Details About Kida Car Crash
See story at: Japan Times Article
Replies: 3 comments
The problem you're having is in the phrase "muscling up." That doesn't have to do with his weight lifting routine. It has to do with going up to the plate and trying to hit the ball 900 miles. Look at Soriano and Guerrero last season when they both tried to attain 40-40. They were definitely muscling up, as was Alex Cabrera the last few games of the NPB season. Cruz has never been particularly muscle bound.
As for Seth's other proposals, the one having to do with foreign player limits is an idea I've propounded for a long time and he is spot on. But I'm not sure how workable the language thing is. While I agree that knowing Japanese would greatly help foreign players'
adjustment to Japan, these are ballplayers, after all, and not language students.
As for the Japanese manager taking on the helm of an MLB ballclub, I think Wakamatsu has the temperment for it in the way he handles his team, but he would have to learn english. Therefore, my feeling is that the first Japanese MLB manager will be someone like a Shigetoshi Hasegawa, a really bright guy who can speak english and who has played in MLB.
Posted by Gary Garland @ 03/05/2003 06:11 AM EST
I agree. Ivan Cruz lost some weight with the Cards because he was not playing every day. He had his knee "touched-up" after last season and his weight training has been consistent throughout. I would believe Ivan when he says he's simply trying to keep his head still and drive the ball back up the middle. Sounds much more plausable than lifting less weights. He's a mature hitter. I expect a great season from him.
Posted by Dan Rubin @ 03/05/2003 02:35 AM EST
It's amazing how Japanese scouts analyze the performances of non-Japanese ball players. To suggest that Ivan Cruz' lefting weights inhibited him from adjusting to Japanese pitches during his time with the Hanshin Tigers sounds a bit ludicrous. Are they serious? I saw Barry Bond's grand slam at the Sapporo Dome. With the exception of his performance against Uehara, he had little problem with Japanese pitches during the series. How do Japanese scouts explain his performance?
There is a real difference between the pitching in Japan and MLB. Sure MLB player see more fastballs, but those fastballs are fodder unless it's accompanied with other good set up pitches. I've been following Japanese baseball for five years now, and what I've noticed that the Japanese press covet "Japanese" pitchers who can pitch over 150kph. The "Holy Grail" quest for a Japanese pitcher that can throw a 160kph fastball is a dream. The Japanese game is what it is because of the limits it places on itself. If they truly believe they are as competitive as MLB and feel a "true" World Series is justified, NPB needs to adopt the following changes: (1) Place no limits on non-Japanese players allowed on active rosters. MLB has become more competive because of the injection of non-American players. This will not only improve the quality of the league, but Japanese players themselves. (2) Make Japanese foreign language study a requirement. Non-Japanese ball players should have a stipulation in their contract to provide bonuses for passing Japanese langauge cpmpetency tests. If non-Japanese players speak the language (even if it's at a basic level) it will improve their quality of life and their play on the field. (3) Japanese managers need to push for mangerial postions in MLB. For the most part, Japanese managers feel there is nothing they have to learn from MLB. And when a Japanese manager asserts that he's never seen an MLB game (Yakult's Wakamatsu), you know someone is either lying or down right ignorant. MLB has a lot to learn from NHB. Players such as Ichiro and Matsui are the best examples of players who have a lot to teach their clubs and managers. Just like Japanese scouts assessment of Cruz' performance, I feel the Japanese effort to improve their game lacks substance. Hopefully the exedus of their talent to MLB will convince the big wigs on top to make some changes.
Posted by Seth Cervantes @ 03/04/2003 10:24 PM EST
