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03/03/2004 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Seguignol Returns with Three Run Homer; Sakurai Slams Hanshin Past Orix"
Moore Shelled by Former Team 8-0
Lefthander Trey Moore was released by Hanshin following last season and signed with Orix. Sunday, he made his first start of the exhibition schedule and it was against his old club. However, he had major control problems and was screwed, blued and tattooed for seven runs on four hits in two innings in an 8-0 Tigers whitewash, the big blow of the match being rookie Kodai Sakurai's second inning grand slam, giving him seven RBIs for his first two outings this year.
Naohisa Sugiyama started for Hanshin and had the best performance at the top club level of his two year long pro career, going five innings of one hit shutout ball, though it should be noted that the Blue Wave lineup was short centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu and leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani.
The Osaka favorite sons wasted little time in battering Moore, as DH Atsushi Fujimoto singled to center with one out and shortstop Takashi Toritani and Sakurai each worked walks to load the bases. Moore hung a changeup to second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto and Sekimoto tomahawked it off the leftfield wall for a bases clearing double and a quick 3-0 Hanshin advantage.
In the second, centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to left and Moore got wild again, as he free passed both Fujimoto and Toritani to pack the sacks. Moore then tried to spot a 3-2 heater on the outside corner, but left it middle out instead and Sakurai belted it into the leftfield bleachers and Hanshin had an insurmountable 7-0 lead.
While four relievers were holding the Kobe contingent to four hits over the final four innings, the Tigers posted another tally, this on in the seventh. Akahoshi leadoff with a walk and Fujimoto laced a double to left, the speedy Akahoshi putting it in fourth for the promised land to enlarge the Hanshin hegemony to 8-0.
Orix had a man on in the ninth agaist Makoto Yoshino, but a groundout, a flyout and DH Roosevelt Brown's strikeout put this baby to bed.
Touted rookie Toritani is still hitless in his initial pro campaign and commented to reporters aftere the game about the difference in movement and speed at the pro level as opposed to what he saw in college. A Hiroshima scout evaluated that the young infielder is having problems in dealing with hard stuff inside.
On what happened to him in this game, Moore offered that there was a difference in the height of the mound in the bullpen and the one on the actual playing field and he never got comfortable.
Kazuo Yamaguchi made his first appearance in a couple of years for Orix after sustaining an arm an injury and was clocked at 91-92mph. Now we'll see if he can work his way back up to the 96-98mph velocity that he once had by the time spring training ends.
For Orix, first baseman Jose Ortiz was 2-3 and is at .400. Brown was 1-4 and is at .333.
Pitching Lines:
Orix:
Moore (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 BF 14 PC 63 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 5 R 7 ER 7 ERA 31.50
Aiki IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawagoe IP 3.0 BF 10 PC 38 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
D. Kato IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
K. Yamaguchi IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hanshin:
Sugiyama (W, 1-0) IP 5.0 BF 16 PC 56 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Egusa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
A. Yoshida IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 16 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Makino IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshino IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Ortiz
SB: H.M. Saito
2B: Ortiz, Sekimoto, Fujimoto
HR: K. Sakurai (1)
RBI: Fujimoto, K. Sakurai 4, Sekimoto 3
HBP Hirano (Sugimoto)
GIDP: Kida, R. Asai
Game Time: 2:22
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Shirai (HP), Sasaki (1B), Tamba (2B), Kiuchi (3B)
48,000 See Valentine Back in Winner's Circle
The Daiei Hawks disappointed a sellout Fukuoka Dome audience Sunday when Lotte starter Naoyuki Shimizu and submariner Shunsuke Watanabe gave the birds of prey a whole lotta nothing to hit to help manager Bobby Valentine scoop uphis first win in Japan in nine years 4-3. Lotte third baseman Matt Franco cracked a trio of knocks and scored a run to pace the Chiba nine's attack.
Kazumi Saito, who had Lotte for breakfast last season (5-0 1.29 ERA in six starts), left his slider and his forkball in the locker room and focused on sharpening up his fastball and curve and was roughed up for six hits and two runs in three innings as a result.
The defeat, though, went to Brandon Knight, who was rusty from the months long layoff and never had it together controlwise, was penalized for a pair that the ballgame ended up hinging on.
Lotte grabbed an early edge in the first, as centerfielder Toshio Haru singled to center and Franco scorched a double off the leftfield fence to put men on second and third. DH Kazuya Fukuura converted both men when he singled back through the middle to make it 2-0 visitors.
In the fourth, Knight walked Chihiro Hamana, but induced a 4-6-3 double play out of catcher Masaumi Shimizu. Unfortunately, he then issued another "four ball" to shortstop Makoto Kosaka and then threw a wild pitch, putting a man in scoring position. Haru singled to center to hail Kosaka in and lend Lotte a 3-0 advantage.
Big horse Nathan Minchey was dispatched to the hill by Valentine for the bottom of the frame and Daiei worked him over to even it. Hawks shortstop Munenori Kawasaki leadoff with an infield hit. Rightfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji singled to left. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara outran a ground ball toward second to juice the bags. Catcher Kenji Johjima walked to force Kawasaki in. Minchey plunked DH Julio Zuleta to push another run across. Third baseman Mitsuru Honma grounded out to first and Shibahara hustled in to knot it at three all. Leftfielder Hisao Arakane hammered a shot headed to left, but Franco intervened for the second out. First baseman Ryo Yoshimoto flied out to left and it remained a 3-3 tie.
Watanabe entered the fray in the fifth and Daiei was utterly helpless, as five Hawks batters went down on strikes during the righthanders two perfect innings. He would then be rewarded for that outstanding showing in the sixth when rightfielder Saburo Omura singled to center and Hamana walked. Oneout later, Kosaka singled to center to plate Omura and Lotte was back on top 4-3. Daiei could only muster one hit over their final three ups and that was that.
Lotte first baseman Seung-yeop Lee registered his first knock in Japan by slapping a curve ball into centerfield in the third. He struckout and grounded out his other two turns at the dish.
Here is something to remember for the coming season" against Watanabe, a former teammate, Johjima hit .196 in 2003. From his comments to the press, one gets the impression that the great backstop has trouble obtaining a good look at the ball from the "shitatenage" artist. Indeed, while I tonguelashed former skipper Koji Yamamoto for sticking so long with Watanabe in a starter's role where he was getting lit up like a Christmas tree until he suddently became effective during the last two months of last season, it could be that Watanabe's development will end up being Yamamoto's best gift to Valentine and will help take some of the onus off of Minchey, who has been the glue that has held the entire Lotte staff together since he chews up innings like Bugs Bunny eats carrots. Watanabe is using his curve ball quite a bit more this spring and is able to get hitters to chase it, so he is becoming another name to watch.
Incidently, Watanabe had a son on the 25th and named him Koki.
For Daiei, Zuleta struckout twice to accompany the HBP in his three plate appearances and is at .000.
For Lotte, leftfielder Benny Agbayani was 0-3 and is at .000. Franco is at .667.
Pitching Lines:
Lotte:
N. Shimizu IP 2.0 BF 6 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Minchey IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 43 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 13.50
S. Watanabe (W, 1-0) IP 2.0 BF 7 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
S. Fujita IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 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
Tobe (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Daiei:
K. Saito IP 3.0 BF 15 PC 45 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.00
Knight (L, 0-1) IP 3.0 BF 14 PC 56 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.00
Mise IP 2.0 BF 8 PC 35 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Takeoka IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Hatsushiba, Inamine
SB: Oho
2B: Franco, Hori, M. Watanabe
RBI: Haru, Fukuura 2, Kosaka, Johjima, Zuleta, M. Honma
WP: K. Saito, Knight
HBP: Zuleta (Minchey)
GIDP: M. Shimizu, Inamine, Taguchi
Game Time: 2:44
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Yoshikawa (1B), Sakaemura (2B), Higashi (3B)
Swallows Slay Dragons 6-3
Yakult Swallows starter Yuya Kamada said that he left too many pitches up in the zone in this game, but it is perhaps a measure of how slowly the Chunichi Dragons offense is right now that they couldn't take advantage while every Chunichi hurler was scored on at least once in a 6-3 Yakult triumph Sunday.
Takashi Ogasawara was tagged for six hits, but just one run, in four innings, though he only needed 50 pitches to finish his assignment.
Yakult rookie Ryo Kawashima wasn't all that impressive, but emerged with the victory anyway despite allowing two runs (one earned) in three innings.
The Swallows seized the upper hand in the contest in the third when catcher Kosei Ono singled to right and was doubled off on a liner to first by second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi. Munehiro Shida singled to center. Centerfielder Tetsuya Iida singled to left. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to right to drive Shida in for the 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Shida sparked another rally with a safety to left and Iida copied that, Shida blazing to third on the play. Miyamoto grounded out to third and Shida managed to score to enhance the Swallows advantage to 2-0.
The Dragons got that back in the sixth when shortstop Tadaatsu Nakazawa doubled to left with one out and came around on a throwing error by Shiroishi, who was now at shortstop.
It would then be an even battle in the seventh, as DH Masahiko Morino doubled to left, third baseman So Tsutsui walked and, one out later, pinch hitter Eiichi Nakano singled to center to garner the RBI and make it two all.
Yakult, though, would pull away, as Shida walked, went to second on a sac bunt, went to third on first baseman Hirobumi Watarai's single to left and completed the circuit on a single to right from third baseman Akinori Iwamura's single to right. There was an error on that play by second baseman Masataka Minatogawa and it enabled Watarai scored for a 4-2 advantage.
Chunichi made it a one run affair once more in the eighth when Nakazawa singled to center on a slider and stole second. One out later, leftfielder Shogo Mori singled to center. Morino clocked a single back through the middle and Nakazawa ran in to cut it to 4-3 Swallows.
But Yakult rightfielder Atsunori Inaba singled to right and DH Billy Martin singled to left. Catcher Kosei Ono walked to load the bases. Shiroishi singled to right to wave Inaba in. Backup second baseman Hajime Miki walked to force Martin in and the Swallows were up 6-3.
Yakult reliever Ryota Igarashi was clocked as high as 95mph in a perfect ninth that saw him throw all fastballs except for one forkball.
For Chunichi, First baseman Omar Linares was 1-3 and is at .167.
For Yakult, Martin was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .375.
Pitching Lines:
Chunichi:
T. Ogasawara IP 4.0 BF 17 PC 50 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.25
Shotsu IP 2.0 BF 9 PC 26 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.50
Hiramatsu (L, 0-1)IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 9.00
S. Ishikawa IP 1.0 BF 8 PC 27 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 18.00
Yakult:
Kamada IP 4.0 BF 14 PC 53 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawashima (W, 1-0) IP 3.0 BF 14 PC 52 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 3.00
Tat. Yamamoto IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
Igarashi IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
E: Linares, Minatogawa, Iwamura, Shiroishi
SB: Nakazawa, Inaba
2B: Nakazawa, Morino
RBI: Morino, Nakano, Miki, S. Miyamoto 2, Iwamura, Shiroishi
GIDP: Ogawa, Tsutsui
Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Fukatani (HP), Kittaka (1B), Nishimoto (2B), Kobayashi (3B)
Seguignol Puts Hammer to Yoshimi in Nippon Ham Victory
Nippon Ham first baseman Fernando Seiguignol celebrated his second tour of duty in Japan with a three run bomb Sunday against the Yokohama Bay Stars, as Stars lefthander Yuji Yoshimi continues to be batting practice for opposition stickmen in a 7-5 Fighters victory.
Ryan Rupe started for the winners and had an indifferent time, going four innings of two run ball on six hits to earn the shiroboshi.
Nippon Ham'sbatting order voted early and often on their approval of what Yoshimi was serving up, as leftfielder Hichori Morimoto commenced the bottom of the first with a double to the wall in center and Yoshimi plunked rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi. One out later, DH Angel Echevarria lasered one to the leftfield fence for an RBI double. Seguignol then crushed one into the centerfield bleachers to make it 4-0 Fighters.
Yokohama halved that in the second when first baseman Yuki Yoshimura singled to right and rightfielder Yuki Kono doubled to center. Shortstop Toshiyuki Kitagawa hit a little groundball by the mound and beat it out as Yoshimura checked in. Centerfielder
Kazunori Tanaka singled to right to exploit Kono and it was 4-2 Nippon Ham. Rupe extricated himself out of all this when he induced a double play ball to third from second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa.
Nippon Ham retorted with another tally in the fourth, as centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo unloaded a deep drive to leftcenter on a slider. Tanaka got on his horse and made an usuccessful dive for it, allowing Shinjo to slide into third safely. Catcher Shinji Takahashi singled to right to recall Shinjo and the Fighters and Stars were separated by three at 5-2.
In the fifth, Morimoto kicked it off with a single to left and Tsuboi doubled to right. Second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto grounded out to the rightside to usher Morimoto in. Pinch hitter Tomoyuki Oda doubled to left to comfortably score Tsuboi for a 7-2 Nippon Ham lead.
Yokohama chipped away at that a little in the sixth when catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to left and Yohimura singled to center. Kono singled to center. There was a defensive miscue by second baseman Hiroshi Narahara (bad relay?) and Aikawa and Yoshimura both flew home to close it within 7-4.
The Stars would cadge another in the ninth when leftfielder Katsuaki Furuki collected his fifth hit of the afternoon, a two out monster jack completely out of the ballpark to right that brought them to 7-5. Third baseman Shuichi Murata singled to center and the tying run was now in the batter's box in the form of Tatsuhiko Kinjo. But he flew out to left to put it in the books and give Nippon Ham its first consecutive exhibition season opening wins in eight years.
Yokohama reliever Teruaki Yoshikawa (nickname: "Inakappe Daisho"---hick general) used his changeup well in his one inning performance.
For Nippon Ham, Echevarria was 1-2 with an RBI and is at .500. Seguignol was 1-2 with three RBIs and is at .500.
Pitching Lines:
Yokohama:
Yoshimi (L, 1-0) IP 3.0 BF 13 PC 54 H 3 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 12.00
T.H. Kato IP 2.0 BF 11 PC 47 H 5 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 13.50
Yoshikawa IP 1.0 BF 3 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tomioka IP 1.2 BF 6 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kizuka IP 0.1 BF 1 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Nippon Ham:
Rupe (W, 1-0) IP 4.0 BF 18 PC 51 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
Iwamoto IP 3.0 BF 14 PC 52 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Shibakusa IP 1.0 BF 4 PC 8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Tateyama (S, 1) IP 1.0 BF 5 PC 11 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 9.00
E: Narahara
SB: K.A. Furuki, K.N. Tanaka
2B: K.A. Furuki, Kono, Morimoto, Echevarria, Tsuboi, Oda,
3B: Shinjo
HR: Seguignol (1), K.A. Furuki (1)
RBI: K.A. Furuki, K.N. Tanaka, Kono, Kitagawa, Kimoto, Echevarria, Oda, Seguignol
3, S. Takahashi
HBP: Tsuboi (Yoshimi)
GIDP: Uchikawa
Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Kaneko (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Kodera (3B)
Team Reports
Hanshin Mike Kinkade's performance thus far has been so encouraging that he has already been given a nickname, "Kin-chan." It is also getting him a lot of attention from Yomiuri scouts. Giants manager Tsuneo Horiuchi said that he remembered Kinkade as a pull hitter and so is surprised at his being willing to back up the middle this time around. All of his homers to date against other teams have been to center or rightcenter....If you're wondering where outfielder Osamu Hamanaka is, he is still rehabbing his shoulder. Still no definite word on when he will be back in action....Ace Kei Igawa will start against Orix in an exhibition game at Koshien Stadium this coming Sunday. Monday, he threw 100 pitches in batting practice....Bullpen catcher Yoshida told reporters that setup man Jerrod Riggan was getting outstanding sink on his changeup Monday....Outfielder Kanichi Matoba sprained his shoulder Sunday while running the bases and will have it looked at again in the coming days. It isn't thought to be serious.
Yomiuri A practice game with Kintetsu was rained out....Because he has a bad cold, first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara will not make the slate of exhibition games from March 5th through the eighth....Roberto Petagine will not see any game action as long as he can't run at full speed, said a Giants coach. Manager Tsuneo Horiuchi believes that the Venezuelan slugger needs only about three games to be ready anyway, so there is no big hurry right now....Lefthanded reliever Hideki Okajima may see some spot starts....Righthander Brian Sikorsky will close at times Junichi Kawahara won't. The way Kawahara is throwing right now, that may be the whole season....Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo has been suffering from water on the knee lately....Utility infielder Daisuke Motoki has been elevated back to the top team due the mistakes that Horiuchi is seeing from his younger infielders.
Hiroshima Veteran Shinji Sasaoka had a talk with youngster Kan Otake about the grip and delivery on his curveball Sunday. Sasaoka advised Otake that he should try to throw the breaking ball with a motion very similar to that of his fastball so that he doesn't tip the bender off....Chris Brock is having shoulder trouble....Takaya Kawauchi threw 74 pitches in the bullpen Sunday after a scheduled practice game with Seibu was rained out. He will now start Friday against Daiei.
Daiei Monday against the Lotte Giants of the KBO, lanky right Nagisa Arakaki went three innings of four hit, one run baseball, striking out six. He said afterward that he was focusing mainly on throwing his curve ball for strikes. His slider was very effective as well. No word on what the fireballer was clocked at. Lotte won 7-6, as Keisaburo Tanoue was tagged for three runs on five hits in two innings ...Two Hawks front office officials have left for the states to visit MLB spring training camps.
Seibu Pitchers Fumiya Nishiguchi, Shinji Mori and Takashi Ishii aren't looking all that good as yet at the Lions' minor league camp. Nishiguchi threw in a simulated game Sunday, but even if he got just about everybody he faced, the life on his fastball still leaves a lot to be desired. He will throw in another simulated game Wednesday. Nobody knows when either of the three will be back with the big club....Manager Tsutomu Itoh stated that he wants players to hustle at all times, even during defensive changes. "Loafing on the way out to your position or back to the dugout leaves a bad impression," he posited, believing that fans prefer the spirit and shorter games of high school matches.
Kintetsu With the rainout of the practice game against Yomiuri, outfielder Larry Barnes got a chance to visit with and thepick the brains of Tuffy Rhodes. Barnes, who is having problems adjusting the array of breaking balls he is seeing in the land of the rising sun, received three tips from the all time foreign homer leader: one, know the opposing pitchers and don't go up there anxious to hit something. Wait for your pitch; two, get used to pitching patterns of Japanese pitchers. Be ready for breaking pitches even with the count 3-1. three: take your time. Success doesn't come instantly. Of course, perhaps it should be said that you can take your time if your team has the patience. Look at Billy Martin of Yakult. If he hadn't jacked two bombs Saturday, the team was considering seeking another foreign import. Anyway, Rhodes said to call him if Barnes has anything he wants to discuss....Former Yomiuri Giant Mariano Duncan is back with the Dodgers as a AA batting instructor and had nice things to say about Buffaloes third sacker Norihiro Nakamura: "you can really feel the impact when he makes contact. He could definitely be a power hitter in the big leagues." Nakamura took 37 swings in bp Sunday and didn't go yard once, but he was lacing liners all over the field.
Lotte Monday, manager Bobby Valentine spoke to the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Tokyo and joked that he's the only manager who has been fired in both MLB leagues as well as in Japan. He also talked about the difference in the approach to workouts between stateside ballclubs and their Japanese counterparts.
Miscellaneous Mets shortstop Kazuo Matsui suffered an injury to the middle finger on his right hand that required two stitches during defensive drills Sunday. He will be out for a week. "I didn't keep my eye on the ball, so it's my fault," said the switch hitting speedster...Norihiro Nakamura will start at third in an intrasquad game Monday at the Dodgers Vero Beach spring training camp. Tuesday, Masao Kida will make an appearance in an intrasquad game. Sunday, Kida worked on pickoff plays....Another Japanese Dodgers pitcher, Hideo Nomo, will start the club's exhibition opener. He threw 56 pitches Sunday as a tuneup. He will go somewhere around two innings or 40-50 pitches against the Mets....Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made a wager on the last pitch of his batting practice turn with second baseman Brett Boone on whether Boone would hit the ball out. He didn't, instead grounding to short. Ichiro did do it, though....Hideki Matsui faced Jose Contreras in batting practice Sunday. No word on how he did, but a Sankei Sports scribe did ask batting instructor Don Mattingly about Godzilla and as part of that discussion Mattingly had this to say: "when he wasn't hitting, he was keeping too much weight on his heels." Will that subtle point help Matsui? We'll have to wait and see. By the way, Matsui's former manager, Tatsunori Hara, is at the Yankees camp as we speak. He believes that there will be alot more power production out of the Ishikawa native this season, about 35 homers...Former Chunichi Dragons great Kenichi Yazawa is managing a Tokyo area club team and they played the Shonan Sea Rex Sunday. Shonan is the farm team of the Yokohama Bay Stars and they thumped Yazawa's charges 21-0.
Today's Photos
Kodai Sakurai Connects for a Grand Slam
Lotte Submariner Shunsuke Watanabe REALLY Getting Down
