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04/05/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Sayonara Means Central League History"
McClain, Wada Homers Power Lions Over Orix 6-4
Hsu Ming-chieh registered a rare complete game victory Wednesday, as he was backed by first baseman Scott McClain's first longball of 2003 and another long distance runaround by leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada to get by the Orix Blue Wave 6-4 at Kobe Green Stadium. Masato Yoshii is still seeking his first win in Japan in six year, as he was tagged for five runs, four earned, in 5.1 innings to drop his second.
Hsu was wild in the second inning and barely made it out alive. Rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi walked with one down and Hsu then plunked first baseman Yuji Goshima and walked shortstop Makoto Shiozaki to load the bases. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka scorched a shot that was destined for the rightfield corner, but McClain was positioned just right and snared it for the out. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani grounded to Kazuo Matsui, who made the wrong decision on a fielder's choice and everybody was safe while Katsuragi crossed with the first run and a 1-0 Orix lead. Second baseman Keiichi Hirano flied out to center to minimize the dent that Hsu suffered.
The Lions restored equilibrium in the top of the third when catcher Tsutomu Itoh singled to center and went to third on a double down the rightfield line by second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi. Unfortunately, in rumbling around the basepaths, Itoh also hurt his hamstring and Toru Hosokawa was dispatched to pinch run and replace Itoh behind the plate. Matsui grounded out to second and Hosokawa toed the dish to make it 1-1.
Next time up, Yoshii lost his command and the ballgame with it. Centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji walked. Yoshii ran a shuuto up to the plate, but it was up and over the middle and McClain wailed on it, landing it in the rightcenterfield stands. Wada got a bp fastball right in the heart of the plate and killed it, leaving the carcass in the leftfield bleachers and the Lions were in front 4-1.
In the seventh, Hosokawa drilled a one out double into the leftcenter alley and Takagi singled to right. Rui Makino spelled Yoshii. Matsui flew out to right and Hosokawa tagged up and scored to widen it to 5-1 Lions.
The normally reliable Yoshitomo Tani then aided the opposition in notching its final run in the ninth, as Takagi cracked a one out single to center, Tani geeking it so that Takagi could hustle into second before Tani recovered. Matsui singled to center to redeem Takagi to make it 6-1.
Considering that closer Kiyoshi Toyoda is still rounding himself into shape in the wake of a spring training layoff due to injury, manager Haruki Ihara must have been thinking about giving his pen a night off. He was able to do it, but got a scare in the process. With two down, Hsu walked Goshima. Kota Soejima, Pinch hitting for Shiozaki, laced a double up the rightcenterfield gap and Goshima sped around to the promised land. Hidaka munched a Hsu offering into the rightfield seats to cut the deficit to two at 6-4. However, Tani lined a shot near second and Takagi cut it off at the pass and it was "game setto."
After the game, Orix manager Hiromichi Ishige had eight of his players take part in a 20 minute defensive drill. Yet, the guys who made the misucues, third baseman Jose Ortiz and Tani, didn't have to come out for it. Huh?
For Seibu, McClain was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .308. Matsui was 1-4 with three RBIs and is at .348.
For Orix, leftfielder Roosevelt Brown was 1-3 with a walk and is at .300. DH Scott Sheldon was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .261. Ortiz was 0-4 and is at .143.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Hsu (W, 1-0) IP 9.0 BF 37 PC 151 H 3 HR 1 K 9 BB 6 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.00
Orix:
Yoshii (L, 0-2) IP 6.1 BF 27 PC 95 H 7 HR 2 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 4 ERA 7.84
Makino IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Tokano IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Tani, Ortiz
2B: H. Takagi, Hosokawa, Soejima
HR: McClain (1), H. Wada (4), Hidaka (2)
RBI: K. Matsui 3, McClain 2, H. Wada, Tani, Soejima, Hidaka 2
SF: K. Matsui
HBP: Goshima (Hsu)
GIDP: Ortiz
LOB: Seibu 4, Orix 6
Season Series: Seibu 2, Orix 1
Game Time: 2:44
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Nagami (2B), Sato (3B)
Goto Sayonara Homer Enables Giants to Squeak by Yokohama 4-3
Yomiuri Giants pinch hitter Koji Goto bigtimed a Matt Whiteside delivery with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for a walkoff homer that sunk the Yokohama Bay Stars Wednesday at Tokyo Dome 4-3. Benefiting from that bit of glory was rookie reliever Yuya Kubo, who was bestowed with his initial pro win after twirling a perfect inning.
Takashi Saito started for Yokohama and was humming along pretty nicely until Roberto Petagine broke up the party with a two run jack in the sixth, causing the big righthander to leave without a decision.
Yomiuri climbed on top in the first, as shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singed a one out double to rightcenter and Takayuki Saito slapped a single to left. Centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi flew out to left and Nioka tagged up and ran in for a 1-0 Giants lead.
Yomiuri starter Hisanori Takahashi was solid and made that standup until the fifth, when rookie second baseman Shuichi Murata connected for his first career homer, which went out to the opposite field, to knot it at 1-1.
Unfortunately for the Stars, Takashi Saito walked Takahashi with two away in the sixth and then he attempted to buckle Petagine's knees with a slow curve ball, but the former Swallow waited on it and then destroyed it, sending it 469 feet to rightcenter for a gigundo two run roundtripper and a 3-1 Giants advantage.
Stars third baseman Katsuaki Furuki got one of those back when he kicked off the top of the seventh with a ride into the rightcenterfield bleachers to tighten it to 3-2.
Manager Tatsunori Hara then made the error of assigning the erratic Hideki Okajima setup duty in the eighth, when Stars centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center and moved to third on a double to rightcenter from leftfielder Takanori Suzuki. Tyrone Woods was intentionally walked to setup a force at every base. Takahiro Saeki flied out to center and Kinjo tagged up and crossed to even it at three all.
Whiteside took the mound beginning in the eighth and survived a bases loaded, two outs predicament that was partially due to an error in back of him and then easily retired the first two enemy he encountered in the ninth. Goto went up to hit for Okajima and after working the outside corner on Goto, Whiteside tried to jam him with a heater and left it where Goto could extend on it, rifling it into the rightfield seats for the 4-3 triumph.
Petagine has gone yard four games in a row. His personal best is five, when he was with Yakult.
For Yokohama, Woods was 0-3 with a walk and is at .176.
For Yomiuri, Petagine was 1-3 with a walk and two RBIs and is at .294.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Takashi Saito IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 89 H 4 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.50
Tomori IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Whiteside (L, 0-1) IP 1.2 BF 9 PC 38 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Yomiuri:
H.N. Takahashi IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 103 H 7 HR 2 K 8 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.57
Okajima IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Kubo (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Taneda, Nioka
SB: Woods, T.H. Suzuki
2B: Nioka, Y. Takahashi, T. Suzuki
HR: S. Murata (1), Petagine (4), Furuki (1), K. Goto (1)
RBI: Saeki, Furuki, S. Murata, Y. Takahashi, Petagine 2, K. Goto
SF: Y. Takahashi, Saeki
IBB: Woods (Okajima), Petagine (Whiteside)
HBP: Motoki (Takashi Saito)
GIDP: T. Ishii
LOB: Yokohama 6, Yomiuri 6
Season Series: Yokohama 0, Yomiuri 2
Game Time: 3:05
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Uemoto (1B), Arisumi (2B), Kittaka (3B)
Iguchi Two Run Homer Wins if for Daiei Over Kintetsu
To answer the musical question of "who put the bomp in this ramalama, Daiei Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi slammed a two run homer to right in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie and spearhead a 4-2 toppling of the Kintetsu Buffaloes Wednesday at Osaka Dome. Hayato Terahara, mixing in quite a few changeups in addition to a fastball that was clocked at 92mph, threw too many pitches, 116, but the results worked, as he held the Buffs lineup to two runs on six hits while walking three, hitting a batter and striking out just one.
Hiroki Yamamura started for Kintetsu and didn't do too shabby, as he went seven innings of three run ball on seven hits to lose it.
The Hawks bared their talons in the fourth, as leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to left and went to second on a groundout. Catcher Kenji Johjima singled to center to cash Valdez in and make it 1-0.
Kintetsu retorted with one of their own, as second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi beat out a bleeder toward third and went to third on a single to right by leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura bounced into a 4-6-3 double play and Mizuguchi loped in to level it at 1-1.
But in the seventh, Johjima singled to left and Iguchi walloped a slider into the rightfield stands to give the Hawks a 3-1 advantage.
But Terahara tired in the seventh. With one down, he walked DH Kenshi Kawaguchi and shortstop Osamu Hoshino singled to right, Kawaguchi rambling to third. With pinch hitter Daisuke Masuda in the batter's box, Terahara tossed one past Johjima and Kawaguchi sprinted in on the wild pitch to make it 3-2.
Daiei went back up by two, though, in the eighth when centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu outran a dribbler and went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka whomped it against the tightfield fence for a long RBI single and it was 4-2 Hawks.
Matt Skrmetta then rang up his first save by getting three of the four men he faced in the ninth to put it in the books.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was1-4 and is at .400.
For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .273. Rightfielder Bryant Nelson was 0-3 and is at .200.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Terahara (W, 1-0) IP 6.1 BF 27 PC 116 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.84
S. Yoshida IP 1.1 BF 5 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Okamoto IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 9.00
Skrmetta (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kintetsu:
Yamamura (L, 0-1) IP 7.0 BF 27 PC 103 H 7 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.86
H. Koike IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 10 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Teramura IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Matsunaka
2B: M. Honma, N. Nakamura, K. Kawaguchi
HR: Iguchi (1)
RBI: Matsunaka, Johjima, Iguchi 2
WP: Terahara
HBP: N. Omura (Terahara)
GIDP: N. Nakamura, Isobe, Nelson
LOB: Daiei 5, Kintetsu 8
Season Series: Daiei 1, Kintetsu 2
Game Time: 3:24
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Kaneko (HP), Kodera (1B), Hayashi (2B), Maeda (3B)
Kimura RBI Single in Tenth Defeats Hanshin 5-4
Hiroshima Carp utility infielder Takuya Kimura singled ro left with the bases loaded and one out in the tenth inning off of Hanshin Tigers reliever Shinji Taninaka Wednesday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to help rookie reliever Katsuhiro Nagakawa to his first pro victory 5-4. Taiyo Fujita saw his nice effort go up in smoke after he handcuffed the fish on two runs in six innings on four hits when rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka and second baseman Makoto Imaoka pulled an Alphonse and Gaston act in the seventh.
Allan Newman started for Hiroshima and commenced the game with two perfect frames, but then got burned for two runs in the third. Catcher Akihiro Yano singled to left and went to second on a wild pitch. Shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto fricaseed one into the leftcenter gap to usher Yano in on the two base hit. Fujita moved Fujimoto over with a sac bunt. Imaoka grounded to Andy Sheets, who went to first and Fujimoto scored to put Hanshin on top 2-0.
Hiroshima pushed back in the home segment when second baseman Kazuki Fukuchi singled to center and stole second. Sheets singled to center to redeem Fukuchi and make it 2-1 Hanshin.
The Tigers would dispose of Newman in the fourth, as leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center and stole second. Hamanaka singled to left. First baseman Shinjiro Hiyama grounded to Takahiro Arai at first, who went to second for the force, and Kanemoto was delivered. Third baseman George Arias clocked one off of the leftfield fence for a double, Hiyama thrown out at the plate. Yano doubled to deep leftcenter and Arias headed in with a 4-1 advantage.
The Carp began chipping away at that, though, as catcher Shuji Nishiyama smoked one over the leftfield wall to make it 4-2 in the fifth.
Two innings down the line, Kimura leadoff with a little fly off of Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi ball just over the infield. Imaoka turned his back to chase it while Hamanaka charged in. Neither could decide who would take it, however, and it fell in for a gift hit. Shimoyanagi nailed Kojiro Machida with a pitch. Nishiyama sacrificed them up 90 feet. Kazuyoshi Kimura singled to right to welcome the runners home and it was a 4-4 deadlock.
Neither side went anywhere until the bottom of the tenth, when Sheets beat out an infield hit and went to second on a sacrifice. Taninaka plunked Arai. The runners moved up on a passed ball. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base. And besides, it's better to face a 98 pound weakling like Kimura than the stud Maeda. But Kimura would betray that strategy when he hit a cutter jutting toward the outer half of the plate where they weren't for the second sayonara hit of his career and his first in four years for the W.
Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino was fuming at the confusion between Hamanaka and Imaoka in the seventh as well as Yano's defensive breakdowns.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .158.
For Hanshin, Arias was 2-5 and is at .300.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
T. Fujita IP 6.0 BF 23 PC 89 H 4 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.00
Shimoyanagi IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 20 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 18.00
Williams IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Taninaka (L, 0-1) IP 1.1 BF 9 PC 34 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 11.57
Hiroshima:
Newman IP 4.0 BF 18 PC 62 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 9.00
Sawazaki IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Hayashi IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 37 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tamaki IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 29 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nagakawa (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
SB: Kanemoto, Fukuchi 2
2B: Fujimoto, Arias, A. Yano, Hiyama, Imaoka
HR: S. Nishiyama (1)
RBI: Hiyama, A. Yano, Fujimoto, Sheets, T. Kimura, S. Nishiyama, K. Kimura 2
IBB: Fujimoto (Newman), Kanemoto (Hayashi), T. Maeda (Taninaka)
WP: Newman
HBP: Machida (Shimoyanagi), T. Arai (Taninaka)
PB: Yano 2
GIDP: Hamanaka
LOB: Hanshin 9, Hiroshima 9
Season Series: Hanshin 1, Hiroshima 1
Game Time: 3:23
Attendance: 8000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Nishimoto (1B), Yoshimoto (2B), Mori (3B)
Fukudome Sayonara Blast in 12th Gets Dragons Over Swallows 2-1
This would be a historic night in the Central League, as all three games for the first time ever were decided on walkoff hits, Chunichi Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome did his share, punishing a Shingo Takatsu mistake leading off the 12th in the leftfield bleachers at Nagoya Dome to slide by Yakult 2-1. And for the Swallows, they not only lost the game, but they also lost their number two starter for the year.
Masahiro Yamamoto started for Chunichi and threw well, going 6.1 innings of one run ball on six hits, though he ultimately didn't get a decision.
Shugo Fujii started for Yakult and his diminished velocity and shaking out his arm frequently indicated that something was amiss. But he managed to hang on for a couple of innings before disintegrating in the third. Yamamoto singled to center and so did Fukudome. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata grounded into a 1-4-3 double play. Fujii hit catcher Motonobu Tanishige. Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu went to the bullpen for Ryu Kawabata. Centerfielder Alex Ochoa singled to center and Yamamoto crossed with a 1-0 lead.
While Kawabata slipped out of a couple of jams, Yamamoto was dominating until he wilted in the seventh. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left and third baseman Ken Suzuki ripped a double into the leftcenter alley and Ramirez blazed around to make it 1-1. Suzuki, though, endeavored to sneak into third on the relay home and was meat. The remarkable Atsuya Furuta doubled to rightcenter. Shinichi Sato singled to right, Furuta stopping at third. But second baseman Chihiro Hamana grounded into a twin killing and it remained even.
It went into extra time and Fukudome worked the count to 3-2 and then got a fastball up and out over the plate and tattooed it. Fukudome went hard right out of the box since he didn't know if it would carry enough to leave, but it did and sayonara meant goodbye.
For Yakult, first baseman Todd Betts was 0-5 and is at .227. Ramirez was 3-5 and is now at .381. Talk about your fortunes turning on a dime!
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .381. First baseman Ivan Cruz was 3-5 with two strikeouts and is at .381.
Pitching Lines:
Yakult:
S. Fujii IP 2.2 BF 12 PC 49 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Kawabata IP 3.1 BF 15 PC 49 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Tat. Yamamoto IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
H. Ishii IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Narimoto IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Takatsu (L, 0-1) IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 6 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA infinity
Chunichi:
M. Yamamoto IP 6.1 BF 24 PC 81 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.42
Ochiai IP 0.2 BF 2 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Iwase IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 32 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.25
M. Hirai IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
Yamakita IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
Gaillard (W, 1-0) IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 10 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
2B: K. Suzuki, Furuta
HR: Fukudome (2)
RBI: K. Suzuki, Fukudome, Ochoa
IBB: M. Araki (Kawabata)
HBP: Tatsunami (S. Fujii)
GIDP: Ibata, Hamana, Tatsunami, K. Suzuki
LOB: Yakult 6, Chunichi 11
Season Series: Yakult 1, Chunichi 1
Game Time: 4:16
Attendance: 32,000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Tani (1B), Kasahara (2B), Watada (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara took 109 swings in batting practice Wednesday and then participated in a baserunning drill....Hiroshi Kisanuki threw 70 pitches in the bullpen Wednesday tuning up for his start on the sixth against Hiroshima.
Chunichi Akinori Otsuka tossed two perfect innings in a minor league appearance Wednesday and should be called up to the big club around the 8th. At one point, he struckout four in a row.
Nippon Ham The Fighters' game with the Chiba Lotte Marines was cancelled due to rain, to they practiced indoors....The team also announced that players and coaches will be at gates 21 and 22 when they open at 4:15 p.m. to greet fans coming to see their home opener at Tokyo Dome Friday against Daiei. Manager Trey Hillman will then conduct an autograph session after Saturday's battle.
Lotte New foreign addition Jose Fernandez joined the team Wednesday and he took batting practice with them at an indoor practice facility. He is still waiting for his work visa, which should get to him by the 15th.
Orix Makoto Suzuki's troubles continue, as in a minor league start Wednesday, he served up a grand slam in the first inning in a four run six inning stint. He was clocked at 94mph.
Hideki Matsui Matsui went 1-4 with a sacrifice fly Tuesday against Toronto in a 10-1 victory. He also had a groundout that moved the runner to third from second and tagged up and went to second on a sacrifice fly. According to the Hartford Courant's Dom Amore, he "impressed Joe Torre with his baseball know how."
Koshien Tournament Yokohama High School is going to the finals of the Koshien Spring High School Baseball Tournament, as they exploited several miscues by Tokushima High to take a semifinal match 5-3 Wednesday. Tokushima took a 1-0 lead in the second, but Yokohama surged back on an RBI knock to center by second baseman Shuichi Tamaki in the third. They then pulled out in front in the sixth thanks to a two run throwing error and an RBI infield hit to make it 4-1. They tacked on another in the seventh and then held off a late charge by Tokushima for a chance at the title. Tokushima starter Masaki Hiraoka was clocked at 91mph in defeat. Yokohama ace Yoshihisa Naruse got credit for the triumph....In the other semifinal faceoff, Koryo High School, which has sent a lot of players to the Hiroshima Carp during its history, overwhelmed a fatigued Kwek Tran Phuoc An for 15 hits in a 5-1 victory over Toyodai Himeiji High School. Koryo ace Kentaro Nishimura went all the way for the shiroboshi. It is the first time that Koryo will have made it to the final in spring Koshien play. Nishimura was clocked at 88mph.
Miscellaneous Ichiro Suzuki had a pair of singles off of Barry Zito, his first hits of the season, Wednesday in a loss to Oakland. Coming in, he had gone 6-13 against Zito lifetime....Thanks to being the brother of Hector Almonte, who pouted himself out of a job with Yomiuri last season, Yankees farmhand Erick Almonte got himself some publicity in the Japanese press for his heroics in his first 2003 MLB game.....Finally, just as an aside, Japan's closest analog to the Simpsons, Chibi Maruko-chan, will use as its new ending theme a song called "Hansen (Anti-war) Rock." The lyrics were written by reclusive series creator, Momoko Sakura, while Kiyoshiro Ino wrote the music. The series itself has never really been political, so it's kind of a surprise that they would choose to do this, especially since it will be irrelevant once the Iraq campaign ends. Moreover, the tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers stationed in Japan might find it offensive due to the timing more than anything else. And what makes it even more ironic is that the folks who run Fuji Television (they are owned by Fuji-Sankei, the parent firm of Sankei Sports) are, for the most part, rightwing Japanese nationalists. Fuji-tv has an interest in the Yakult Swallows and actually outright owned the team for five years, changing the name to the Sankei Atoms after Kokutetsu sold their interest in the ballclub in 1965. In addition, Fuji-Sankei hired ex-President Ronald Reagan for $2 million to make some speeches for it in 1989. So go figure.
Today's Pictures
Hayato Terahara About to Wing it to the Plate
Kentaro Nishimura Throwing a Fastball
Matsui Eye of the Storm
See story at: Toronto Sun Article
Yonamine Has Advice for Matsui
See story at: San Francisco Article
Matsui's Debut Draws Big Ratings in Japan
See story at: Associated Press Article
Coffee and Godzilla
See story at: ABS-CBN Phillipines Article
Matsui Off to a Strong Start
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Matsui Thrills Fans With Productive Debut
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Tosca Apologizes for Jays Ad
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
Dragons Lie About Girl's Age for Promotional Stunt
See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
Taguchi Demoted to AAA
See story at: Japan Today Article
Yomiuri Takes a Bath When MLB Pulls Out
See story at: Japan Today Article
Girls Baseball Anime Out
See story at: Anime Network Article
Baseball and Soccer on a Split Screen? Idiot Article of the Day
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Kim and Vietnam-Born Graves Make Switch to Starting
See story at: Way More Sports Article
Bears, Unicorns Have Shot at Winning it All in KBO
See story at: Korea Times Article
LG, SK Longshots in KBO Race
See story at: Korea Times Article
Park a Flop in First 2003 Start for Texas
See story at: San Jose Mercury News Article
Taiwan to Participate in World Youth Baseball Cup
