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Tigers pitcher Randy Messenger (36) was ejected from Thursday’s game in the second inning for arguing with an umpire. The team couldn’t recover from losing their ace so early, and ended up being trounced by the Carp.
With 11 games in the books, the Tigers 6-5 record, which has them tied for second place in the Central, isn’t bad – but it’s even better when you consider the string of errors that have made the team look more Little League than Big League. The most glaring of these came against Hiroshima on April 10th. With no outs and runners on first and second, Itoi hit a long fly to right – but Takayama lost sight of the ball and ended up not being able to advance to third. In the third inning, Nishioka (on second) and Itoi (on first) attempted a double steal, but Nishioka’s hesitation led to Itoi getting picked off at first. In the top of the fifth, Nishioka’s bad throw to second cost the Tigers a double play, which allowed a run to score; and in the bottom of the same inning, Itoi tried to score from first on a Rosario double – and was thrown out at the plate easily.
Although the Tigers ended up winning 4-3 – mostly thanks to Hiroshima’s pitchers imploding – manager Tomoaki Kanemoto couldn’t conceal his irritation. “I’m amazed we won, actually. You can’t expect to win when you play like that.” These haven’t been the only glaring errors, though. For example:
April 1st: Takayama drops a line drive from Guerrero.
April 4th: Toritani fails to get a bunt down in the first.
April 6th: Fujinami’s poor bunt fielding and wild pitch.
April 11th: Itoi fails to tag up and run home from third on Shunsuke’s fly ball.
According to one ex-Hanshin player, “the problem is Kanemoto’s leadership.” He went on: “For example, look at Fujinami. His control has been terrible since last year. In the bullpen at spring camp, all they did was focus on his form, and he didn’t throw much. There was no pitching to the outside corner for righty batters, which is one of the basics. His fielding is terrible, but at fall camp all he did was take easy come-backers, and they all laughed like fools when he made an error. Fielding bunts has been a problem since last year, too.
“But real problem is that the pitching coaches watch Fujinami do all this and act like it’s not happening. When former manager Senichi Hoshino was managing, he let loose on the coaches in charge, and the players making the errors put in twice the effort in practice. Kanemoto needs to stop blaming Fujinami for his poor control and inability to field bunts, and go after the coaches who haven’t been able to make any improvements. The players keep making errors in the field and on the base paths because the coaches aren’t doing their jobs.”
Hoshino passed away in January of this year, and at a memorial service for his former manager, Kanemoto offered these words: “We will absolutely win this year, so we can hear your voice from heaven, telling us we did a good job.” Unfortunately, that determination is nowhere to be found with the current Tigers team.
Translated by Jacob Dunlap