fukudome

@ Swallows – August 14-16, 2015

@ Swallows – August 14-16, 2015

August is usually a fair barometer for how the Hanshin Tigers’ season will develop. Typically the team gets one series at Koshien Stadium to start the month, and one at the end to finish it. The rest, they travel to nearly all Central League parks, playing a few interspersed “home” series at Kyocera Dome (home…

Series Recap – August 7-9, 2015

Series Recap – August 7-9, 2015

Two straight huge wins over the Hiroshima Carp had the Tigers looking great and remaining in the thick of the Central League race. The weekend series in Yokohama would feature their two legitimate aces and a chance to move into first place if all the cards got dealt in their favor. How would they fare…

Series Recap – August 4-6, 2015

Series Recap – August 4-6, 2015

The “Road Trip of Death” (which hardly deserves that name anymore) has officially begun. Not only will the Tigers spend the month away from the confines of Koshien Stadium (where they boast a great record this year), but they will suffer through the heat of summer while trying to remain close to the top of…

Series Recap: July 31-August 2, 2015

Series Recap: July 31-August 2, 2015

The tightly-packed Central League is starting to loosen up a little bit. Ten short days ago, just two games separated first from fifth, and no team was over the .500 mark. But collapses by the Chunichi Dragons and DeNA Baystars, along with the continued mediocre play of the Hiroshima Carp, have turned things (at least for this week) into…

Mini-Series Recap – July 28-29, 2015

Mini-Series Recap – July 28-29, 2015

With the Road Trip of Death looming and a quick series in Nagoya on tap, the Tigers needed to sneak in a couple of road wins before coming home for one last Koshien Ultra Summer series. They were facing the last place Chunichi Dragons with just one problem: a history of losing at Nagoya Dome….

Series Recap – July 24-26, 2015

Series Recap – July 24-26, 2015

It is completely illogical and unfathomable, and in all ways inconceivable that two .500 teams should be tied for the league lead as summer vacation started here in Japan. And yet that is exactly where the Central League found itself – the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers sat at the top, a game ahead of…

ASB – Report Card Time!

ASB – Report Card Time!

Yes, I’m a teacher, and while I don’t necessarily agree with the grading system, I do believe in evaluation. As we have a few days off here, I figure it’s time to look at how the team has performed up to this point. I’ll start with the position players today, then look at the starters…

Mini-Series Recap – July 14 & 15, 2015

Mini-Series Recap – July 14 & 15, 2015

Two losses and a win, two losses and a win. What comes next in this pattern? If two losses, then there would be no time for a win – the team had just two games remaining before the all-star break. That being the case, they started two of their core pitchers on short rest at…

Series Recap – July 10-12, 2015

Series Recap – July 10-12, 2015

夢はつぶれる、未来はつぶれる ぼくとわたしの大きな夢は いつもの負けで いつもの阪神… 阪神! Yume wa tsubureru, mirai wa tsubureru   Boku to watashi no o-kina yume wa  Itsumo no make de, itsumo no Hanshin… HANSHIN! (My dreams have been squashed, my future is squashed. Your big dreams and mine, always losers, always Hanshin… HANSHIN!) Coming into this series, the boys were rocking a 3-6 record since…