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10/05/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Daiei Ends PL Pennant Race; Singleton to Seibu?"
Daiei Finally Clinches Pennant 13-10
Red hot Daiei Hawks rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara drove in three runs while three others plated two apiece Tuesday at Chiba Marine Stadium, as the birds of prey finally locked up their first pennant since 2000 with a 13-10 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines. Another hot hand, Toshiya Sugiuchi started for the winners, but he got hammered and credit for the pennant decider went to reliever Makoto Sato.
Nate Minchey started for Lotte and was playing duck and cover all night, as he had his eggs scrambled for an amazing 15 hits in just five innings, the result being he was charged with nine runs, though "only" five of those were earned.
Daiei loaded the bases with two outs in the first on a pair of singles and a hit batsman, but leftfielder Pedro Valdes struckout to keep it scoreless.
However, Daiei did grab a lead in the second, as centerfielder Yudai Deguchi doubled off the centerfield wall with one out and shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to right. Shibahara then banged a single to right and it was 1-0.
They tacked on another in the third, when first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to right and, one out later, Valdes singled to left. DH Julio Zuleta singled to center to pack the sacks. Deguchi flew out to right and Matsunaka tagged up and lumbered in to make it 2-0 Hawks.
And the hits just kept on coming. In the fourth, Shibahara doubled to leftcenter and went to third on a sac bunt. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi singled to left and it was 3-0 Daiei.
But Lotte then brought some major artillery to the plate and knocked Sugiuchi all over the lot in the home portion. With one away, DH Koichi Hori whizzed one down the rightfield line for a two bagger. Third baseman Jose Fernandez laced a shot up the leftcenter alley for an RBI double. Leftfielder Yukihiko Sato doubled into the leftfield corner for another tally. Rightfielder Saburo Omura doubled to leftcenter and it was tied up at 3-3. Catcher Tomoya Sugiuchi walked. One out later, blazing fast diminutive shortstop Makoto Kosaka beat out a bleeder toward second and the bags were juiced. Doubles fiend Kazuya Fukuura was up and he did that voodoo he does so well, rifling a shot down the rightfield line and to the wall to invite everybody over to the house and it was 6-3 Lotte. Sato replaced Sugiuchi and he fanned centerfielder Jun Inoue to finally end the fusillade.
Unfortunately for the very devoted, though relatively small, Lotte following, widely considered just about the most dignified fans in the Japanese game, Daiei cut Minchey to ribbons in the sixth. Shibahara opened the frame with a single to center. Third baseman Mitsuru Honma singled to right. Iguchi singled to right to plate Shibahara. Matsunaka singled to center for another run. Catcher Kenji Johjima lifted a fly ball to center, but Inoue geeked it and the bases were loaded. Valdes singled to right to put the Hawks in front 7-6. Hiroshi Tobe was summoned from the bullpen. Zuleta worked a walk to force in a run. Deguchi also wangled a freebie to force a runner across. Torigoe drilled a shot headed into the rightfield corner, but Fukuura was in the way and he snagged it for the first out. Shibahara singled to left to usher in Valdes and Zuleta for a 10-6 advantage.
As it would turn out, though, they would need some insurance and they got it in the eighth, when Zuleta doubled off the rightfield wall and Deguchi walked. Motoi Okoshi was sent in to pinch run for Zuleta. Torigoe grounded to Fernandez, who threw it away and Okoshi scored. Shibahara walked and the basepaths were jammed. Satoshi Funaki entered from the pen and was greeted with a liner up the rightcenter gap that went for a two run double and Daiei was firmly in control at 13-6.
Funaki struckout the side in the ninth and now it was time for Lotte's last at bat. Masaumi Shimizu doubled off the leftfield fence and went to third one out later on a groundout. Fukuura added to his two bag total with one to rightcenter, his 49th, to make it 13-7. Inoue was plunked by Hawks reliever Takayuki Shinohara. Hori torqued a screamer down the rightfield line and both runners sprinted around. Fernandez singled to left to chase Fukuura in. Sato, though, flied out to center and it was "game setto" and the Daiei celebration began, the players lifting manager Sadaharu Oh on their shoulders and tossing him up in the air several times before they returned to the locker room and sprayed beer and champagne all over each other.
Daiei set a new franchise record for wins with their 80th (when they were owned by Nankai, the compiled a Japan record 99 in 1955). It was Oh's fourth pennant, two with Daiei and another couple with Yomiuri.
Johjima was the only regular not to get a hit in the contest, but he contributed anyway by picking Fernandez off of first base in the first.
Shibahara has three hits or more in each of his last four matches, rasing his average to .336.
For Lotte, Fernandez was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .298.
For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdes was 2-5 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .311. Zuleta was 2-4 with a walk and an RBI and is at .266.
Pitching Lines:
Daiei:
Sugiuchi IP 3.2 BF 20 PC 73 H 9 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.38
M. Sato (W, 3-3) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.02
S. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.03
K. Okamoto IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.74
Yoshitake IP 0.0 BF 1 PC 1 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.43
Shinohara IP 1.0 BF 7 PC 23 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.38
Lotte:
Minchey (L, 13-9) IP 5.0 BF 33 PC 125 H 15 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 9 ER 5 ERA 4.64
Tobe IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.36
S. Fujita IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.86
T. Kawai IP 1.1 BF 8 PC 32 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 4.76
Funaki IP 1.2 BF 8 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.23
E: J. Inoue, Fernandez
SB: Shibahara
2B: Deguchi, Shibahara, Hori 2, Fernandez, Y. Sato, S. Omura, Fukuura 2, Zuleta, Omichi, M. Shimizu
RBI: Shibahara 3, Omichi 2, Iguchi 2, Matsunaka, P. Valdes, Zuleta, Deguchi 2, Fukuura 4, Hori 2, Fernandez 2, Sato, S. Omura
SF: Deguchi
HBP: Johjima (Minchey), Matsunaka (Funaki), J. Inoue (Shinohara)
GIDP: J. Inoue (3-6-3)
LOB: Daiei 14, Lotte 5
Season Series: Daiei 18, Lotte 8
Game Time: 4:05
Attendance: 31,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Nakamura (1B), Akimura (2B), Yanagita (3B)
Cabrera Slugs 50th in 6-3 Loss to Suzuki, Orix
Seibu Lions' first baseman Alex Cabrera reached the 50 mark with a big jack over the leftfield wall in the seventh, but it would matter little, as Orix centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and leftfielder Ryota Aikawa each drove in two runs in a 6-3 Blue Wave victory Tuesday at Kobe Green Stadium.
Suzuki was shaky, being touched for eight hits and walking five in 6.2 innings, but Seibu only eeked out three runs, two earned, and their season is over.
Kenichi Toriyabe started for the Lions and was fine for three innings, but the second time around the batting order, the Orix lineup became a lot more selective and that hurt Toriyabe bigtime, as he was shaken down for five runs on three hits, two of which were for extra bases, and three walks between the fourth and fifth to absorb the defeat.
The Lions took advantage of an Orix miscue to go on top in the first, as centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki grounded to second baseman Jose Ortiz, who booted it. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada walked. Cabrera spanked a single to center and Ozeki scampered in for a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Seibu catcher Kosuke Noda mortarted a Suzuki delivery into the leftcenterfield seats and it was 2-0 Lions.
But in the fourth, Orix made that ground up, as Toriyabe issued two out walks to Ortiz, first baseman Takeshi Yamasaki and rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi to load the bases.Toriyabe threw a wild pitch and Ortiz crossed. Aikawa seared one down the rightfield line and both Yamasaki and Katsuragi set the controls for the heart of home plate while Aikawa slid into third for a triple and a 3-2 Blue Wave advantage.
Next time up, Orix shortstop Mitsutaka Goto singled to center with one down and, one out later, Tani parked one in the leftfield bleachers to increase that to 5-2.
Seibu had men on second and third with two out in the sixth, but Wada grounded to short to kill that threat.
Cabrera would come up to begin the seventh and he knew it was gone as soon as he hit it, the ball landing in the rear of the leftfield seats to become just the second man in history to have back to back 50 homer campaigns, the other one being the great Hiromitsu Ochiai in 1985-1986. One out later, Suzuki nailed second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi with a pitch. Third baseman Scott McClain walked to put the tying run aboard. Takeya Nakamura, pinch hitting for Noda, though, came up empty and the Orix 5-3 lead was still intact.
The Kobe nine then used a walk to Tani, a passed ball, a single to left by Ortiz and a double play ball for their last run. Hisashi Ogura closed it out in the ninth for the 6-3 triumph.
For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .326. McClain was 0-3 with a walk and is at .230.
Ortiz was 1-3 with a walk and is at .258.
Pitching Lines:
Seibu:
Toriyabe (L, 2-1) IP 5.0 BF 22 PC 100 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.22
Hsu IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.09
Y. Doi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.01
Shibasaki IP 0.2 BF 3 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Hoashi IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.47
Orix:
M. Suzuki (W, 4-9) IP 6.2 BF 34 H 128 H 8 HR 2 K 4 BB 6 R 3 ER 2 ERA 7.14
J. Hagiwara IP 1.1 BF 4 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.79
H. Ogura (S, 6) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.61
E: Ortiz
SB: Cabrera
2B: Ozeki
3B: Ryota Aikawa
HR: Noda (1), Tani (19), Cabrera (50)
RBI: Noda, Cabrera 2, Tani 2, Ryota Aikawa 2
WP: M. Suzuki, Toriyabe
HBP: H. Takagi (M. Suzuki)
PB: Hosokawa
GIDP: Ozeki (3-6-3-4-1) T. Yamasaki (5-4-3), H.Y. Oshima (6-4-3)
LOB: Seibu 11, Orix 4
Season Series: Seibu 20, Orix 6 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:12
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Maeda (1B), Shirai (2B), Nagami (3B)
Three Run Rally in Seventh Caps Victorious Comeback for Hanshin
An RBI double by centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi in the seventh inning scored reserve first baseman Katsumi Hirosawa with the winning run after the Hanshin Tigers had been down by two and they held on to prevail over the Yakult Swallows Tuesday at Meiji Jingu Stadium 4-3. Lefthander Kei Igawa was okay, giving up all three opposition tallies, but then the bullpen scattered two hits over three innings and Igawa had his 18th win.
Yuhei Takai, who started for Yakult, made things really difficult for himself with a league record tying three wild pitches. His other numbers were pretty solid, six innings of one run ball on four hits and two walks, but he got a whole lotta nothing to show for it when Ryota Igarashi was victimized by the Hanshin offense.
Yakult pulled out to an early lead in the first, as shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to center with one out and third baseman Akinori Iwamura singled to left. They moved up on a wild pitch. One out later, first baseman Ken Suzuki bashed one into the rightcenterfield alley and it was 2-0.
Takai had a one hitter after five, but tired in the sixth. Hirosawa singled to left and went to second ona wild pitch. Akahoshi singled to center. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center to chash Hirosawa in and make it 2-1. Now it was gut check time for the rookie Takai, who sucked it up and struckout rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama and induced a 6-4-3 double play out of third baseman Atsushi Kataoka.
Igarashi was inserted into the mix in the seventh and it initially appeared to be a good move by manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu since the righthander blew away the first two men who stepped in against him. Shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto doubled to leftcenter and Koji Hirashita, pinch hitting for Igawa, walked. Hirosawa doubled up the leftcenter gap and Fujimoto and Hirashita each passed through the promised land to level it at 3-3. Tatsuki Yamamoto took the ball from Igarashi. Akahoshi pulled a pitch down the rightfield line and the slow footed Hirosawa was able to negotiate the bases safely to put the Tigers ahead 4-3.
Yakult got a two out double to left from Brazilian-Japanese outfielder Yuichi Matsumoto in the seventh, but that and an infield hit with one out in the ninth were all the Swallows could muster over the final three innings and Hanshin mosed off with the W.
For Yakult, Matsumoto was 1-1 and is at .444. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .325.
Pitching Lines:
Hanshin:
Igawa (W, 18-5) IP 6.0 BF 24 PC 95 H 6 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.86
Riggan IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 33 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.65
Williams (S, 25) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.57
Yakult:
Takai IP 6.0 BF 23 PC 94 H 4 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.86
Ryo. Igarashi (L, 5-4) IP 0.2 BF 5 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.84
Tat. Yamamoto IP 0.1 BF 2 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.76
Yamabe IP 2.0 BF 10 PC 38 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.13
SB: T. Noguchi
2B: K. Suzuki, Hiyama, Iwamura, Fujimoto, Hirosawa, Akahoshi, Y. Matsumoto
RBI: Hirosawa 2, Kanemoto, Akahoshi, K. Suzuki 3
WP: Igawa, Takai 3
GIDP: Kataoka (6-4-3), A. Yano (6-4-3), Miyade (4-3)
LOB: Hanshin 9, Yakult 4
Season Series: Hanshin 16, Yakult 11 1 Tie
Game Time: 3:09
Attendance: 38,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Kasahara (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Nishimoto (3B)
Omura Homer, Three RBIs Gets Iwakuma 15th Victory
Kintetsu Buffaloes starter Hisashi Iwakuma is now no longer zip for September, as he limited the Nippon Ham Fighters to six hits and a run in eight innings to notch his 15th victory in a 6-2 win Tuesday at Osaka Dome. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura egged his teammate on with a homer and three RBIs.
Shintaro Ejiri started for Nippon Ham and those coaching sessions he got at the Arizona Diamondbacks spring camp don't appear to have taken, as he was bothered and bewildered for four runs on six hits in just under four innings to fall to 0-1.
The Buffs stampeded to an immediate upper hand, as second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi doubled off the leftfield wall and rightfielder Koichi Isobe plopped one near the line in right to hail Mizuguchi in for a 1-0 lead.
They doubled that in the fourth when shortstop Masahiro Abe careened one down the leftfield line for a double and went to third on a groundout. Third baseman Osamu Hoshino singled to center to make it 2-0.
And they squared THAT in the fifth, as leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes walked and first baseman Yuji Yoshioka crashed one off the rightfield wall. Rhodes went to third easily, but rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi played the carrom well and gunned Yoshioka down at second. One out later, Omura transgressed the friendly confines to right and it was 4-0 Kintetsu. Ejiri was also sent to the showers in favor of Ken Kamakura, making his pro debut.
Satoru Kanemura came on in the sixth for a rare relief appearance for Nippon Ham and DH Kenshi Kawaguchi welcomed him with a double down the leftfield line. Omura did the same and it was 5-0 Buffs. Abe walked and the runners were advanced on a sac bunt. Hoshino, though, fliedout to left and pinch hitter Tadatoki Maeda grounded out to second and no further scoring occured.
Nippon Ham had men on second and third with one out, but stranded them on a strikeout and a groundout. Kintetsu then blew a bases loaded, one out opportunity in the seventh. But in the bottom of the eighth, pinch hitter Toshimasa Konta, in his first pro at bat, clocked one off the leftfield fence for a triple with one out. Pinch hitter Hichori Morimoto walked. Backup third baseman Takaya Hayashi, who, after a decent season at the top level last year was largely forgotten in the minors in 2003, grounded to short to bring Konta in. DH Angel Echevarria walked. But first baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto grounded out and the Iwakuma was out of the inning.
In the eighth, Buffs catcher Tetsuya Matoyama homered to left to restore a five run lead at 6-1.
Nippon Ham got a leadoff double down the rightfield line from leftfielder Yoshinori Ueda to kick off the ninth, but closer Hiroshi Takamura retired the next two hitters. Then second baseman Kensuke Tanaka singled to left to convert Ueda. Konta outran a dribbler for an infield hit. That would be it, however, as Morimoto went down on strikes to turn out the lights.
For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-3 with two walks and two strikeouts and is at .275.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 2-3 with a walk and is at .275.
Pitching Lines:
Nippon Ham:
Ejiri (L, 0-1) IP 3.2 BF 16 PC 53 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.17
Kamakura IP 1.1 BF 7 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kanemura IP 1.1 BF 9 PC 38 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.24
Tat. Kato IP 1.2 BF 8 PC 31 H 1 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Kintetsu:
Iwakuma (W, 15-10) IP 8.0 BF 32 PC 116 H 6 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.45
Takamura IP 1.0 BF 6 PC 30 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.15
SB: Y. Ueda
2B: Mizuguchi, M. Abe, K. Kawaguchi, N. Omura, Y. Ueda
3B: Konta
HR: N. Omura (16), Matoyama (5)
RBI: Omura 3, Matoyama, O. Hoshino, Isobe, T. Hayashi, Y. Tanaka
HBP: Isobe (Kamakura)
LOB: Nippon Ham 9, Kintetsu 10
Season Series: Nippon Ham 10, Kintetsu 18
Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 17,000
Umpires: Yoshikawa (HP), Kodera (1B), Higashi (2B), Sato (3B)
Hirai Spins Two Hit Shutout of Hiroshima 9-0
If there were a reclamation project of the year award, Masafumi Hirai, whose career had been in injury hell since he won 15 games over a decade ago for Orix, would earn it hands down, as he racked up his 11th victory Tuesday for the Chunichi Dragons 9-0 over the Hiroshima Carp, who are now 0-6-1 in their last seven games. Hirai has now collected a shiroboshi in his last four times out with two shutouts and three complete games. Consider him a parting gift from former manager Hisashi Yamada, who traded for Hirai in the offseason.
Chris Brock had his shortest stay in any of his starts since coming to Japan, as centerfielder Alex Ochoa leadoff the second inning with a single to center and Koichi Sekikawa doubled off the rightfield wall. One out later, second baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe grounded out to third and Ochoa beat it for the plate to make it 1-0. Hirai then helped his own cause with a single to right. Masahiko Morino singled to center and Sekikawa crossed. Second baseman Masahiro Araki looped a double to left and Hirai hit paydirt for a 3-0 advantage. That was the last anyone saw of Brock in this one.
The Dragons put it out of reach in the third, as third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami doubled down the leftfield line and Ochoa, who has made great strides with runners in scoring position, singled to left to drive Tatsunami in. One out later, catcher Motonobu Tanishige put the bomp into a hanging curve ball and tucked it into the leftcenterfield seats to enhance that to 6-0.
Tatsunami homered on a fastball on the inner half of the plate to right in the fourth and it was 7-0 for his 150th career big fly. Unbelievably, for a consummate pro like Tatsunami, that was his first roundtripper since July 12th, a period of 54 games and 220 at bats. He is the 130th in history to the 150 mark.
In the fifth, Sekikawa doubled into the leftfield corner and went to third on a deep fly ball to right. Watanabe flew out to right and Sekikawa tagged up and crossed for an 8-0 lead.
Tatsunami then made it 9-0 in the seventh with another exploration of the rightfield bleachers. That made it his 150th career game with three hits or more, 12th all time.
All Hiroshima could produce in the whole affair was two Takuya Kimura singles and Hirai cakewalked to the clubhouse with a W.
For Hiroshima, Sheets was 0-3 and is at .310.
For Chunichi, Ochoa was 2-4 and is at .293.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
Hirai (W, 11-6) IP 9.0 BF 29 PC 91 H 2 HR 0 K 6 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.10
Hiroshima:
Brock (L, 8-8) IP 2.0 BF 12 PC 33 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.04
Kikuchihara IP 0.1 BF 3 PC 13 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.14
D. Sakai IP 2.2 BF 12 PC 38 H 4 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.14
Amano IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 27 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.33
Sawazaki IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.67
2B: Sekikawa 2, M. Araki, Tatsunami
HR: Tanishige (15), Tatsunami 2 (12)
RBI: Morino, M. Araki, Tatsunami 2, Tanishige 2, H.Y. Watanabe
SF: H.Y. Watanabe
WP: Brock, Kikuchihara
LOB: Chunichi 4, Hiroshima 2
Season Series: Chunichi 12, Hiroshima 15
Game Time: 2:36
Attendance: 7,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), Suginaga (1B), Tomoyose (2B), Yoshimoto (3B)
Team Reports
Yomiuri The team reached agreement on a three year contract with new manager Tsuneo Horiuchi....Hisanori Takahashi, Hideki Okajima and Junichi Kawahara were elevated to the top team after rehabbing their various ailments in the minors. Kimiyasu Kudoh, Takashi Kashiwada and Junya Sakai were sent down. Sakai will probably be released....Hiroshi Kaisanuki threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session before heading off to the batting cage and hitting against a machine.
Hiroshima Backup shortstop Akihiro Higashide will have surgery on his left elbow joint Friday. He will be able to start working out two weeks after the procedure.
Seibu According to Hochi Sports, the Lions are mulling purchasing the contract of Oakland A's outfielder Chris Singleton. They apparently intend to bat him leadoff. The question is, why? Tatsuya Ozeki could fill that role. If they're going to bring anybody in, it should be somebody with some pop and Singleton, who is really a fourth outfielder in the majors, does not fit that bill. That also takes the spot filled by Hiroyuki Oshima, who has been a pleasant surprise this year.
Nippon Ham The Fighters' Eastern League team won that circuit's title, going 61-37-2.
Lotte The club has released three players. They are pitchers Junji Kuroki, a 29 year old righty, 25 year old lefty Takahiro Yamazaki and 34 year old outfielder Iwao Omura. In addition, 27 year old southpaw pitcher Kaoru Takahashi, catcher Yoichi Fukuzawa, and infielder Yasushi Yamamoto have all retired. Kuroki and Omura hope to catch on with other teams....Ace Tomohiro Kuroki will not see any time at the top level in the club's remaining games and they hope that he will be ready at the start of next season.
Miscellaneous According to the respected Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper in Korea, the Dodgers, Braves and Yankees have shown interest in Samsung Lions slugging first baseman Seung-yeop Lee, who is a free agent....Speaking of the Yankees, they are said to want to move Bernie Williams and his substandard arm to left and put either Hideki Matsui or Alfonso Soriano in center next season. If Soriano goes to center,Matsui would go to right. By the way, a reminder to those of you in the media: Kazuo Matsui doesn't want to play any other position than shortstop. So clubs who want to move him to second are reportedly behind the eight ball.
In the News
Eight Arrested for Scalping Hanshin Tickets on Web
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Japanese Sports Converage "Inane"
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Rockies Nix Tsao Playing for Country
See story at: Taipei Times Article
Taiwan Pro League Attendance Up Significantly
See story at: Taipei Times Article
