Keep in mind, reader, that I love the Tigers, despite my harsh words. I want them to succeed, reach their potential, win games, even championships. This is not a series recap, and there will be no series recap this time around. The Tigers’ play is not worthy of being retold. In fact, I question whether…
While the interleague mini-season has gone the Tigers’ way on most nights, they would face their biggest challenge in the early part of the week: a 3-game series against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in the same dome where they dropped three straight to end last postseason. They beat two great Fighters pitchers to finish up…
After finally reaching the .500 mark for the first time since early April, the Tigers proceeded to fall right back into mediocrity with two straight blowout losses to the Saitama Seibu Lions, ending May with a 12-13 record, and only staying in third thanks to even worse play (or luck?) from the Dragons, Swallows and…
The last time the Hanshin Tigers had been swept two times in one season at Koshien was 2001. On May 11, they already matched that futility. They also became the first Central League team to reach 20 losses for the first time since 2001. They also had the game following their Koshien sweep rained out…
When it rains, it pours. And when it shines, it blazes. The Tigers went all of April without winning a single series, following a season sweep of the Dragons to start the season. And now they have found a way to sweep another series and crawl to within a game of .500. The winning streak…
The original Japanese article was in the April “Monthly Tigers” Magazine. Let’s Ask His Teammates! Pitcher Yuya Andoh Q. What is Messenger really like? Just what you see. He’s really cheerful. Q. Fill in the blank. “Surprisingly, Messenger is actually ______.” Hmmm… there is nothing really surprising about him (laughs). Q. What is it about…
Despite winning the series finale against the Carp on Sunday, the Tigers were in no place to get complacent. In fact, they juggled their roster and order throughout this series in hopes of generating more offense and breaking out of their losing skid. They brought in Shunsuke, Keisuke Kanoh and Hayata Itoh as starting outfielders…
For the second straight series, the Hanshin Tigers lost two of three to an opponent that should have been easier to beat. This time, the losses were at the hands of long-time rivals Yomiuri (Kyojin) Giants. The series opened up on Friday with a Tigers win as starter Randy Messenger tossed 8 innings of 2-run…
Our four-part series about the Tigers and the upcoming 2015 season concludes today with a look at the relievers as a whole. Click here for infield analysis, here for the outfield and here for the starting pitchers. The relief squad is a complicated group, as it includes men who might get the occasional spot start,…
In a must-win situation, the Tigers mustered a mere four hits all night. With a huge chance to take the lead and tie the series at two, their RBI King grounded into a double play. With the game on the line in the bottom of the tenth, their Saves King gave up a 3-run walk-off…