hanshin

Episode 44 – Weak, Weak Week

Episode 44 – Weak, Weak Week

Host T-Ray is rejoined by rejuvenated co-host Joe! They talk about the two games at Kyocera Dome (vs. Carp) and the three at Tokyo Dome (vs. Giants). They choose a player of the week, then talk about which youngsters will still be playing full-time in a few years’ time. They end off by predicting the…

@ Giants – August 19-21 – Narrowly Escaping a Sweep

There’s no moving up in the standings too far if you can’t beat the teams at the top. After a humiliating two-game mini-series against the CL-leading Carp, the Tigers looked to redeem themselves against the second place Yomiuri Giants on the weekend. Redemption, minimal as it was, didn’t come until the last inning of play on…

vs. Carp – August 16 & 17 – Crushed at Kyocera

This year the Hiroshima Carp have utterly dominated our boys, no matter the venue. In Hiroshima, they have won 8 of 12, and at Koshien, they have won 7 of 9. Would playing in a different city but still being the home team reverse the Tigers’ fortunes? It reversed Takahiro Arai’s fortunes in 2015, and…

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,…