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03/13/2006 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball: Seibu Lions Team Preview 2006"

Japanese Baseball: Seibu Lions Team Preview 2006

Japanese Baseball: Seibu Lions Team Preview 2006
>	By Glenn Davies, Tokyo.     The Lions finished 3rd in 2005 and lost their chance to defend their 2004 Japan Series crown after falling in the playoffs. Typically strong pitching leaked in a few too many runs and the offense wasn't as consistent as it has been in the past. Losing Fernandez to Rakuten and Ozeki doesn't help the offense and the new faces may take time to gel. However, the pitching should bounce back and its likely that there is enough in the line-up to be in the fight for a play-off spot again this season.
Probable Lineup
2005 Stats
Pos. Name Avg. HR RBI SB 1. RF Tomoaki Satoh .239 0 4 0 2. CF Shogo Akada .272 3 24 20 3. LF Kazuhiro Wada .322 27 69 3 4. 1B Alex Cabrera .300 36 92 1 5. DH Akihiro Etoh .172 0 4 0 6. SS Hiroyuki Nakajima .274 11 60 11 7. 3B Takeya Nakamura .262 22 57 0 8. 2B Yoshihito Ishii .312 6 38 7 9. C Toru Hosokawa .194 8 32 0     The Lions have the makings of a fairly well balance attack if a few key things happen in 2006. First is the search for a leadoff hitter, Satoh is pencilled in here and has some speed, Nakajima may get a look as the season goes on as might Akada. If someone can be found to regularly set the table then the power houses of Wada and Cabrera will thrive. The second key will be the play of Etoh. If the once feared hitter can regain the form that saw him regularly hit 30HRs a season he will be the pick-up of the year. Injuries and reduced playing time with the Giants may have taken their toll on Etoh and it will be interesting to see how he fares. Nakajima and Nakamura continue to impress with the bat and glove and Ishii looked strong in his first season as a regular starter. Catching is the 3rd key to the Lions season and former Lions catching legend and manager Tsutomu Itoh will not have been happy  with last years efforts. Look for improved game calling and for Hosokawa to make better contact this season.
Probable Rotation
2005 Stats
Name Games W L Sv ERA SP Daisuke Matsuzaka 28 14 13 0 2.30 SP Fumiya Nishiguchi 25 17 5 0 2.77 SP Kazuyuki Hoashi 26 13 8 0 4.03 SP Alex Graman 2 0 0 0 13.50 SP Christopher Gissell 23 8 8 0 3.54 SU Tomoki Hoshino 56 1 2 1 3.11 CP Chikara Onodera 30 1 2 0 4.29     Matsuzaka has established himself as one of the premiere starters in Japan and his ERA rarely creeps above 3.00. He struck out 226 in 215 innings last year and if he gets the run support could be in line for 20 wins in 2006. At 34 Nishiguchi continues to dazzle and dosent seem capable of recording a losing season (133-74 lifetime).If Hoashi can replicate 2005 then the Lions might have the best 1-2-3 rotation in the league. Graman and Gissell join the Lions for the first time and both have spent limited time in the majors and it will be interesting to see how they adjust. Hoshino and the rest of the bullpen was solid in '05 but the loss of Toyoda to the Giants means its time to find a new closer. Onodera has never closed before and should he faulter the Lions have Junichi Kawahara on their staff as a backup. Kawahara saved 28 for the Giants in 2002, but trusting a former Giants reliever would be risky at best.
2005 Standings
Central W L T Pct% GB Pacific W L T Pct% GB Hanshin Tigers 87 54 5 .617 - Chiba Lotte Marines 84 49 3 .632 - Chunichi Dragons 79 66 1 .545 10.0 Softbank Hawks 89 45 2 .664 4.5 Yokohama Bay Stars 69 70 7 .496 17.0 Seibu Lions 67 69 0 .493 23.0 Yakult Swallows 71 73 2 .493 17.5 Orix Buffaloes 62 70 4 .470 26.0 Yomiuri Giants 62 80 4 .437 25.5 Nippon Ham Fighters 62 71 3 .466 26.5 Hiroshima Carp 58 84 4 .408 29.5 Rakuten Eagles 38 97 1 .281 51.5