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04/01/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Iwamura Out for First Half of Season"
Irabu Gets First Win in Japan in Seven Years 7-3
Hanshin Tigers righthander Hideki Rabu didn't pitch all that well Saturday at Yokohama Stadium against the Yokohama Bay Stars, giving up three runs on nine hits in six innings while displaying sub-90mph velocity, but he was succeeded by three frames of one hit relief and his team's offense generated five runs to ultimately prevail 7-3. It was the jellyfish's first victory in Japan since October 10, 1996, when he put it to the Daiei Hawks as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines.
The Stars seized an early 2-0 edge in the second when Irabu walked shortstop Takuro Ishii and went to second on a groundout. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki walked. First baseman Tyrone Woods blitzed one off the rightfield wall for a long RBI single, Suzuki motoring to third. Rightfielder Takahiro Saeki then did likewise to recall Suzuki with the second tally.
Hanshin, though, organized a counterattack in the third, as centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi beat out a roller toward third and then went to second on a balk when Stars starter Domingo Guzman failed to pause in the stretch before delivering to the plate. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto lined an 88mph fastball to left for an RBI single. Rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka walked. Rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama doubled to right to redeem Kanemoto. Third baseman George Arias walked to pack the sacks. Catcher Akihiro Yano singled to left and both Hamanaka and Hiyama sped around to lend the Tigers a 4-2 advantage.
Yokohama did the tighten up in the home portion when Saeki connected with two gone and drove the ball into the rightcenterfield seats to cut the deficit to 4-3.
They then returned in the fourth to really breathe hot and heavy down Irabu's neck when centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo grounded to Arias, who booted it, and catcher Satoshi Nakajima singled to right. Pinch hitter Shogo Kimura laid down what was supposed to be sac bunt, but Irabu was so slow getting off the mound that it became a basehit and the bags were juiced. But Ishii popped out to his opposite number on an 87mph fastball and Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda got jammed on an 88mph heater and grounded to Arias, who stepped on the bag and then gunned it to first for an inning ending double play.
In the sixth, against reliever Kazuo Fukumori, the Tigers posted another run when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto doubled down the leftfield line and went to third on a sac bunt. Fukumori nailed second baseman Makoto Imaoka with a pitch. Akahoshi spanked a single to right and Fujimoto scored easily to expand the Hanshin hegemony to 5-3.
They added another pair in the ninth, as another Yokohama reliever, Hisaki Tomioka, plunked Hamanaka with one out. One out later, Arias blasted one into the leftcenterfield bleachers to make it 7-3 Tigers.
Lou Pote jogged in from the pen and after giving up a single to center to Kazunori Tanaka, who then stole second, he induced a flyout to left and two strikeouts to preserve the victory.
Irabu was clocked at 89mph.
One of the Japanese sports dailies came up with an amazing statistic: Hanshin had lost its last 13 opening series at Yokohama Stadium since 1982.
Before the game, Guzman didn't have a thing when he was warming up in the bullpen and couldn't make it work once he entered the game. That probably means that whoever he faces next will be in for one real long night.
For Yokohama, Woods was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .429.
For Hanshin, Arias 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .286.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Irabu (W, 1-0) IP 6.0 BF 29 PC 106 H 9 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.50
Yoshino IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Williams IP 1.2 BF 5 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Pote IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yokohama:
Guzman (L, 0-1) IP 4.0 BF 22 PC 74 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 4 R 4 ER 4 ERA 9.00
Fukumori IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Kizuka IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tomioka IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 22 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 18.00
E: Hiyama, Irabu
SB: K.N. Tanaka
2B: Hiyama, Fujimoto
HR: Saeki (1), Arias (1)
RBI: Akahoshi, Kanemoto, Hiyama, Arias 2, Yano 2, Woods, Saeki
HBP: Imaoka (Fukumori), Hamanaka (Tomioka)
Balk Guzman 2
GIDP: Woods, Taneda
LOB: Hanshin 10, Yokohama 9
Season Series: Hanshin 1, Yokohama 1
Game Time: 3:13
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Watamari (HP), Suginaga (1B), Ino (2B), Nishimoto (3B)
Abe Slam Destroys Asakura, Dragons 11-0
Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe clouted a grand slam and both second baseman Toshihisa Nishi and third baseman Daisuke Motoki cracked four hits to trample the Chunichi Dragons Saturday at Tokyo Dome 11-0. Kimiyasu Kudoh started for the Giants and while he threw more pitches than he probably should have been allowed to considering that he is in his 22nd season and just coming off of a calf injury, he stifled the Dragons potent order on six hits in seven innings to pick up his first win of the year.
Kenta Asakura, who was 3-3 with a 1.94 ERA against Yomiuri in 2002, opened on the hill for Chunichi and was just flat out hammered for seven runs on nine hits in five innings to get hung with the defeat.
The opening shot of the Giants offensive bombardment was fired by rightfielder Roberto Petagine, who dug in to begin the second and applied maximum pain to a 1-0 88mph fastball and landed it in the centerfield bleachers.
Yomiuri tacked on another in the fourth, as Motoki singled to left with one down and Abe walked. Nishi singled to center to load the bases. Kudoh then lofted a fly ball to center, which Alex Ochoa caught at his hip and then shotgunned a frozen rope to the plate, where Motonobu Tanishige caught it on the fly. In a bang bang play, Motoki, who has average speed at best, was called safe while fans and team management marveled at Ochoa's arm on a ball that normally would easily score most runners. In any event, that made it 2-0 Giants.
An inning later, Asakura unraveled. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to center and then was out on a 6-4 force play on a grounder from first baseman Takayuki Saito. Centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi rammed a double up the rightcenter alley. Petagine was intentionally walked to set up the double play. Motoki singled to left on the first pitch he saw to shove Saito in. That brought Abe up, who was 7-12 last season in bases loaded situations. He obliterated an 88mph fastball into the upper deck in right for his second career granny and now the kyojin were very much in control at 7-0.
Yuichi Hisamoto, who pitched exceedingly well during the exhibition schedule, was summoned from the pen in the seventh and, as the Japanese press is so fond of saying, that was a miscaculation. Petagine walked. Motoki outran a dribbler down the third base line. Hisamoto carromed one off of Abe's elbow to pack the sacks. Nishi singled to center for one run and former 1995 number one draft choice Shunsuke Hara singled to right for another. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to right to push Abe across to turn it into a laugher at 10-0. Nioka grounded to Hirokazu Ibata at short, who turned the 6-4-3 double play while Nishi toed the dish and it was 11-0. The Dragons could only wait for it to end so that they could get back to the hotel and forget this thing even happened.
Kudoh was clocked at 87mph. He will be 40 in May.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 1-3 with an RBI, two walks and three runs scored and is at .143.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 1-4 and is at .222. First baseman Ivan Cruz was 2-4 and is at .250.
See related story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Asakura (L, 0-1) IP 5.0 BF 27 PC 98 H 9 HR 2 K 5 BB 3 R 7 ER 7 ERA 12.60
T. Ogasawara IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hisamoto IP 1.0 BF 9 PC 33 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 36.00
Yamakita IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 16 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yomiuri:
Kudoh (W, 1-0) IP 7.0 BF 28 PC 126 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Okajima IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Pedraza IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
2B: Tatsunami, Motoki, Cruz, Y. Takahashi,
3B: Fukudome
HR: Petagine (1), S. Abe (1)
RBI: T. Shimizu, Petagine, Motoki, S. Abe 4, Nishi, Kudo, Hara
SF: Kudoh
IBB: Petagine (Asakura)
WP: Yamakita
HBP: S. Abe (Hisamoto)
GIDP: Nioka, Tanishige
LOB: Chunichi 7, Yomiuri 10
Season Series: Chunichi 1, Yomiuri 1
Game Time: 3:24
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Sasaki (1B), Manabe (2B), Tani (3B)
Mitsui Masters Nippon Ham 5-2
Koji Mitsui tossed a dandy at Nippon Ham Saturday at Seibu Dome, going eight innings of two run ball on four hits while striking out seven and walking two and leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada homered for the second night in a row in a 5-1 Lions victory. Satoru Kanemura was fighting himself and was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits in four innings to absorb the loss.
Wada pulled his team to the front of the line in the second when he mashed one into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 1-0 Lions.
Mitsui had the Fighters eating out of his hand, striking out the side in the fourth. However, rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura took him over the leftcenterfield wall in the fifth to knot it at 1-1.
But then the Lions got busy during their ups. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to center and shortstop Kazuo Matsui singled to left. Rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki then tapped one to Kanemura, who, in attempting to get the double play, threw wide to load the bases. Centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji steamed one into the rightfield corner and Takagi and Matsui chugged home. Rookie first baseman Taketoshi Goto bopped a cutter to right for his first pro hit and RBI to make it 4-1. Hillman went sought some fast, fast, fast relief and brought Yukihiro Sakurai in from the pen. Wada popped out to short, but then Lions shotcaller Haruki Ihara ordered up a squeeze and DH Hiroyuki Shibata delivered the goods as well as Miyaji to improve the Lions lead to 5-1.
In the sixth, Nippon Ham used some temporary wildness by Mitsui to obtain their second run. With one away, shortstop Makoto Kaneko walked and third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara singled to right. Leftfielder Angel Echevarria walked to jam the basepaths. First baseman D.T. Cromer grounded to second to get Kaneko in and it was 5-2 Seibu. After that, the Fighters bats went to bed and Kiyoshi Toyoda worked a perfect ninth for the save.
Fighters helmsman Trey Hillman lamented to reporters that his hitters weren't patient at all in this one, an aspect of the game that he really tried to impress on them during spring training.
For Seibu, Scott McClain was 0-1 in a pinch hit role and is at .000.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .000. Cromer was 0-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .000.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Kanemura (L, 0-1) IP 4.0 BF 22 PC 85 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 3 R 5 ER 3 ERA 6.75
Y.H. Sakurai IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Ko. Yamaguchi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Sekine IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Seibu:
Mitsui (W, 1-0) IP 8.0 BF 30 PC 120 H 4 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.25
Toyoda (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Kanemura
SB: H. Shibata
2B: Morimoto, Miyaji
HR: H. Wada (2), Nishiura (1)
RBI: Miyaji 2, T. Goto, Wada, Shibata, Cromer, Nishiura
LOB: Nippon Ham 4, Seibu 5
Season Series: Nippon Ham 1, Seibu 1
Game Time: 2:43
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Tsugawa (HP), Yanagida (1B), Tachibana (2B), Nakamura (3B)
Knight Does His Job, But Loses 2-0 to Lotte
Daiei Hawks starter Brandon Knight had a frustratingly freakish outing Saturday against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Fukuoka Dome, as he went seven innings of two run (one earned) ball on five hits while being clocked at 94mph and lost at least partially thanks to a balk. Of course, the Hawks also dropped this one due to some nifty work on the mound by Lotte starter Naoyuki Shimizu, who limited the bird of prey to just six hits in seven innings while fanning four and walking one to cadge the shiroboshi.
Neither of starter was in any real trouble until the fourth, when Knight got slightly out of sorts. With two outs, second baseman Koichi Hori doubled off the centerfield wall. While pitching to leftfielder Takashi Tachikawa, Knight threw a wild pitch and Hori advanced to third. Knight then balked and it was 1-0 Lotte.
In the seventh, Knight was victimized by dubious defense. Hori leadoff with a single to center and Tachikawa walked. Both men were moved up 90 feet on a sac bunt. With the infield up, shortstop Makoto Kosaka grounded to shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who made a bad peg home and Hori was in with a 2-0 Lotte advantage. Knight then struckout the next two men to end the inning, but the Hawks couldn't touch Shimizu, who didn't allow a hit in either the seventh or eighth.
So out came Masahide Kobayashi, a first rate closer, endeavoring to lock it up in the ninth. However, with one down, catcher Kenji Johjima singled to center and DH Noriyoshi Omichi singled to left to put the tying run on. That brought up dangerous second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who could turn the game around on one swing of the bat. But instead, he grounded to Rick Short at third, who winged it to Hori, who relayed it to first baseman Kazuya Fukuura for a game ending twin killing.
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 1-4 and is at .500.
For Lotte, DH Derrick May was 0-4 and is at .000. Short was 0-4 and is at .000.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
N. Shimizu (W, 1-0) IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 98 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Kawai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Kobayashi (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Daiei:
Knight (L, 0-1) IP 7.0 BF 29 PC 117 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 2 ER 1 ERA 1.29
A. Yamada IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Skrmetta IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: M. Kawasaki, Nelson
SB: M. Kawasaki
2B: Hori, Tachikawa
RBI: None
WP: Knight
Balk: Knight
GIDP: Matsunaka, Iguchi
LOB: Lotte 7, Daiei 7
Season Series: Lotte 1, Daiei 1
Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Hayashi (1B), Yoshikawa (2B), Kodera (3B
Nakamura, Yoshioka Gigantic Shots Down Orix 8-3
Mammoth homers by third baseman Norihiro Nakamura and first baseman Yuji Yoshioka as well as five RBIs between them turned the Orix Blue Wave into losers for the second straight time Saturday at Osaka Dome in an 8-3 Kintetsu Buffaloes triumph. Hisashi Iwakuma had a decent performance for the herd with 7.2 innings of three run ball on seven hits for his first victory while Hiroshi Kobayashi was bruised for four runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings for the kuroboshi.
Kintetsu got off early, as second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi walked with one out in the bottom of the first and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes doubled to rightcenter. Nakamura singled to center to drive Mizuguchi in. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe grounded to second and Rhodes toed the dish to lend the Buffs a 2-0 edge.
Orix retorted in the second with a single to right by first baseman Scott Sheldon, who went to second on a subsequent groundout, and a double into the rightcenterfield alley that got Sheldon home to make it 2-1.
Then it was time for the Buffs to flex some muscle. With one out in the third, Nakamura murdered an 84mph shuuto that backed up over the heart of the plate and deposited it in the third deck in leftcenter an estimated 475 feet from home plate. One out later, Yoshioka rifled a Kobayashi delivery 440 feet into the upper reaches of the leftfield seats to enlarge the gap with Orix to 4-1.
In the fourth, Orix had a great opportunity to make up the difference when they loaded the bases with one out and had DH Takeshi Yamasaki at the plate. But he struckout and Shortstop Tatsuya Shindo flied out to right and that was that.
Iwakuma struckout the side in the fifth and extricated himself out of a minor jam in the seventh. His teammates in the batting order then went to work once more, as Mizuguchi doubled to leftcenter and Rhodes converted him with a single to center. Isobe grounded into a 4-6 force, but Yoshioka buggywhipped a triple off the centerfield wall to make it 6-1. DH Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to left for another run and it was 7-1 Kintetsu.
Orix was actually able to put together a two out uprising in the eighth when Iwakuma walked both third baseman Jose Ortiz and rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi. Backup DH Kota Soejima then paid those off by scorching one into the leftfield corner and Katsuragi sprinted homeward on Ortiz' heels to make it 7-3 Kintetsu.
The Buffs had their final scoring burst of the night in the bottom of the inning, as catcher Tetsuya Matoyama doubled to rightcenter and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Reserve second baseman Yusuke Takasu walked. One out later, Nakamura squirted
one into left and Matoyama loped in to go ahead 8-3. Toyohiko Yoshida fashioned a perfect ninth and it was "game setto."
For Orix, leftfielder Roosevelt Brown was 1-4 and is at .143. Sheldon was 2-4 and is at .375. Ortiz was 1-3 with a walk and is at .286.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 3-5 with an RBI and is at .625.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
H. Kobayashi (L, 0-1) IP 5.2 BF 27 PC 107 H 8 HR 2 K 4 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.35
Kase IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Imamura IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 29 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 27.00
Makino IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Kintetsu:
Iwakuma (W, 1-0) IP 7.2 BF 34 PC 134 H 7 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.52
A. Okamoto IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
T. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: Ortiz
2B: Rhodes, Katsuragi, Soejima 2, Mizuguchi, Matoyama
3B: Yoshioka
HR: N. Nakamura (1), Yoshioka (1)
RBI: Katsuragi, Soejima 2, Rhodes, N. Nakamura 3, Isobe, Yoshioka 2, K. Kawaguchi
HBP: Hidaka (Iwakuma)
LOB: Orix 8, Kintetsu 9
Season Series: Orix 0, Kintetsu 2
Game Time: 3:18
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Nagaami (1B), Tamba (2B), Kakigizono (3B)
Takahashi Pitches, Hits Way to Victory Over Yakult
Well, this isn't a very good omen if you're a Swallows honk like me. Not only did they get beat by the supremely mediocre (yeah, yeah, I know, technically there can't be anything that can be labeled "supremely mediocre." So shoot me) hurler Ken Takahashi, but then Takahashi also rapped the game winning hit in a 3-2 Hiroshima Carp victory at Meiji Jingu Stadium Saturday. With Akinori Iwamura appearing to be a goner until after the all star break, this may be a loooooooong first three months and ultimately a futile season. Anyway, enough whinging and on to the Carp-Swallows match.
Masanori Ishikawa started for Yakult and gave a pretty decent performance, throwing seven innings of three run ball on seven hits, but Takahashi topped that with eight innings of two run ball on seven hits while striking out seven and walking none to swipe a win.
Yakult pounded its way to a 2-0 first inning lead when shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to right with one away and first baseman Todd Betts got a fastball that Takahashi left over the middle of the plate and powdered it into the umbrella oendan in right for a two run homer.
Unfortunately, Hiroshima were able to storm back with some lightning of their own in the fifth when leftfielder Tomonori Maeda walked and, one out later, third baseman Kenjiro Nomura cleaned and jerked an Ishikawa offering into the rightfield stands to even it at 2-2.
In the seventh, Nomura catalyzed a brief winning rally when he beat out a tapper toward short and and, one out later, Takahashi lined a hanging slider up the rightcenter gap, his first triple in two years, and Nomura wheeled to the plate to make it 3-2 Carp. Yakult could only respond with a lone infield hit the rest of the way, rookie Katsuhiro Nakagawa, who was clocked at 93mph, slamming the door in the ninth for his first pro save.
For Hiroshima, shortstop Andy Sheets was 0-2 with two strikeouts and a walk and is at .000. Rightfielder Jimmy Hurst was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .143. Were is Toyo Asayama?
For Yakult, Betts was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .375. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .000.
Pitching Lines:
Hiroshima:
K. Takahashi (W, 1-0) IP 8.0 BF 29 PC 111 H 7 HR 1 K 7 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.25
Nagakawa (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yakult:
Masanori Ishikawa (L, 0-1) IP 7.0 BF 28 PC 108 H 7 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.86
Narimoto IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
R. Igarashi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
3B: K. Takahashi
HR: Betts (1), K. Nomura (1)
RBI: K. Nomura 2, K. Takahashi, Betts 2
GIDP: Ogata, S. Miyamoto, T. Arai
LOB: Hiroshima 5, Yakult 3
Season Series: Hiroshima 2, Yakult 0
Game Time: 2:35
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Arisumi (HP), Kiuchi (1B), Tomoyose (2B), Uemoto (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri Kazuhiro Kiyohara made a minor league rehad start and walked and singled in his two at bats.
Yakult At first it was diagnosed as a possible wrist sprain with some soft tissue damage, but now a CT scan seems to indicate a fracture and third baseman Akinori Iwamura will be out possibly as long as the first half of the season....Number one draft choice Yuhei Takai made an Eastern League start Saturday and went six innings of two run ball on six hits, striking out seven in a 13-2 victory. He was clocked at 91mph. Brazilian-Japanese outfielder Yucihi Matsumoto homered to pace the Swallows attack.
Chunichi Akinori Otsuka made a minor league appearance Saturday and was tattooed for two runs on two hits while striking out two in his one inning of work. He was clocked at 90mph.
Hideki Matsui Matsui walked in four hitless at bats Saturday in his final exhibition game before opening day, also having a de3ep fly ball ball tip off his glove that was scored a double. Godzilla told Sankei Sports that his first MLB spring training went by "in the blink of an eye." "Everyday passed by so quickly," the former Yomiuri all star began. "There's no time. It was like, 'is it over already?" Matsui also offered that the adjustment to American culture was no big deal, but that he regrets he can't speak directly to his teammates in english. Furthermore, homering in his first game enbaled him to relax. He said that he doesn't know much about the Blue Jays, but that he will play to the best of his ability....Count the NY Post's Joel Sherman, a front runner par excellence, now solidly in the Hideki Matsui oendan (well, until Matsui makes his next out anyway): "So what about Matsui? I see a 2002 Anaheim Angel: Tough at-bat, fouls off good pitches, excellent eye, able to hit a mistake with authority, hustles on the bases and plays solid defense. In other words, a championship player. If I must be pinned to numbers, a .285 batting average, but more important a .370 on-base percentage and a .470 slugging percentage to go along with 25 homers and 90 RBIs." Matsui has tended to start slow and then build his numbers. So we'll see if Sherman pushes the panic button two weeks into the season. He does, though, make a smart bet on the Rookie of the Year sweepstakes on taking Mark Texeira for that honor over Matsui.
Koshien Tournament Yokohama High School got to the group of eight for the first time since Daisuke Matsuzaka graduated from that institution in 1998 Saturday when it defeated Meitoku Gijuku High School, who had taken a summer Koshien title last year, 8-4 in 12 innings. They were lead by centerfielder Sho Aranami, who cracked a pair of triples in the game despite playing on a foot he didn't know was fractured after fouling a ball off of it. Yokohama starter Yoshihisa Naruse managed to pitch through the eighth despite suffering a blister popping on him earlier in the contest. Matsuzaka watched the game on television....Heian High School defeated Chukyo High 3-2. Masakatsu Takehara ripped a pinch hit two run single to provide the margin of victory. Heian has been to the Koshien tourney 35 times now, the most of any Japanese high school in history. Heian starter Daisuke Hattori went all they way and struckout every man to come to the plate at least once, becoming the 13th schoolboy pitcher ever to do that at Koshien....Righthander Kentaro Nishimura of Koryo High School was clocked at 88mph in tossing a three hit complete game shutout in a 6-0 triumph over Yugakukan High School to go to the final eight for the first time since 1991, when they took home the title.
Miscellaneous Shigetoshi Haseagawa got taken deep for solo homers by Rafael Palmeiro and Todd Green in his one inning fo work Saturday. The righthander said that the ball he threw to Palmeiro,m who has killed the Mariners over the years, drifted back over the plate. He insisted, though, that the slider he threw to Green was a good pitch, but Todd just did a good piece of hitting on it....Tsuyoshi Shinjo had one at bat against the Orioles Saturday and grounded out to third....Ichiro Suzuki went 3-4 Saturday against Texas with a solo homer leading off the game, lining a 1-2 hanging changeup it into the rightfield seats.
Quote of the Day
The quote of the day comes from the Boston Globe about the new ballpark the Reds built: "David Niland, a retired architecture professor and a member of the city's Urban Design Review Board who saw the park's original design and was dismayed by many of the changes: ''There's so much of that building that is cosmetic. So much is heavy-handed. To me it's the Tammy Faye Bakker Stadium.''
Today's Pictures
Hideki Matsui Shakes Hands With Ken Davidoff, Head of the NY Chapter of the BBWAA
Ichiro on the Proper Use of Yard Implements
Kimiyasu Kudoh Breaks Off Another One
Trey Hillman During Saturday's Game
Matsui Applauded for Handling of Media Crush
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Another Piece on Matsui Adjusting to MLB
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Matsui's American Dream
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Yanks May Get Monster Out of Godzilla
See story at: Boston Globe Article
The Tribulations of Wally Yonamine
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
The above article doesn't give credit as to whom authored that piece, but it seems like it was cribbed from this one: Diamond Angle Article
There was an interesting incident after Yonamine went to the Dragons: he slugged a homer in his first game for Chunichi against Yomiuri and as he circled the bases, he shouted to the Giants' dugout in Japanese, "did you see that Tetsu? Did you see that?"
They're Coming to America
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Those Who Helped the Spread of MLB Internationally
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Kevin Millar's Pacific Adventure
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
