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Episode 43 – Bench the Bird?

Episode 43 – Bench the Bird?

Host T-Ray is flying solo this week! He talks about the three games in Hiroshima (vs. Carp) and the three at Kyocera Dome in Osaka (vs. Dragons). Thanks to contact with regular co-host Joe, the two choose a player of the week – it was unanimous. Zorny chimes in with his thoughts on this week’s hot topic –…

Happy Birthday to… (Part 3)

Happy Birthday to… (Part 3)

Today, August 13, is Randy Messenger‘s 35th birthday. Happy birthday, big fella! We are so fortunate to have such a steady guy as the anchor of the pitching staff. Here’s a little run-down of Randy’s Hanshin accomplishments: Longest serving foreigner in club history (tied with Jeff Williams and Gene Bacque, but not for long!) Second…

Book Review – Prepare and Proceed

Book Review – Prepare and Proceed

This book, written by current manager (and former player) Tomoaki Kanemoto, is only a mystery to me because of when it was released. Kanemoto was still in his playing days and still extending his ironman streak from game to game, season to season, at this point. Why did he write a book and have it published…

vs. Dragons – August 12-14 – Cruising at Kyocera

For some reason, the Hanshin Tigers have played relatively well at Kyocera Dome Osaka in recent years. It is definitely not as electric an atmosphere as Koshien Stadium, but for this series, which coincided with the Japanese obon holiday season, the house was packed and home field advantage could be felt. Still, when facing a…

@ Carp – August 9-11 – Finding Even More New Ways to Lose

The weekend series against the Yakult Swallows left a bad taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans. But things were about to get a whole lot harder for the traveling Tigers. Having started the season even (4 wins 4 losses) against the Fish, an ugly, humiliating 9-game losing streak meant this series would probably be the hardest…

Fantasy Tigers 2016 – Update 14

Fantasy Tigers 2016 – Update 14

The season really is moving along fast now that the 100th game is in the rearview mirror. The team seems to have generated more offense in recent weeks, which means certain statistical categories have seen slight changes. Overall, though, T-Ray’s team continues to rake and rack up big quantity pitching numbers. The best race right now…

Episode 42 – Recent Tigers Success

Episode 42 – Recent Tigers Success

Host T-Ray is joined by co-host Joe to talk about the first week of the Tigers’ August road trip – 3 @ BayStars, 3 @ Swallows. We choose our players of the week, talk about whether or not the Tigers have a shot at a .500 record, hear from our Fantasy Tigers players, and finally, predict the upcoming week (@ Carp,…

@ Swallows – August 5-7 – Sunk by Submariner & Subpar Relief

Three straight series wins and an exciting come-from-behind victory on Thursday gave Tigers fans plenty to talk about. But this team of mostly youngsters was still sitting 9 games under .500 and 4 games out of a playoff spot heading into this one. Could they take a chunk out of both of those numbers against…

@ BayStars – August 2-4 – Grinding Out Third Straight Series

Going on a good run at home against teams with similar records was one thing. Taking that act on the road and beating the higher-ranked teams would be another. Could Hanshin continue its mini-run in Yokohama to start its annual long road trip? Game 100 – Tuesday 8/2: The bats started out extremely silent against…

Episode 41 – “Road of Death”?

Episode 41 – “Road of Death”?

Host T-Ray is joined by co-host Joe to talk about the amazing week that the Tigers had – 3 vs. Swallows, 3 vs. Dragons. We choose our players of the week, hitters and pitchers of the month, talk about the “road of death” that the Tigers start this week, and finally, predict the upcoming month and week (@ BayStars, @ Swallows)….