* If you’ve read the reports for the 1st Cool, the 2nd Cool, or the 3rd Cool, you know this already. For those of you who are new to H-TEN… The Japanese use the word クール (from the French cours = course / installment / season) to divide the spring training sessions into parts. But since…
* The Japanese use the word クール (from the French cours = course / installment / season) to divide the spring training sessions into parts. But since クール is usually used to mean “cool” I have turned it into a cool headline. Hope the クール factor isn’t lost on you! Happy Valentine’s Day, my western world friends! Today…
Hanshin’s slogan for the 2016 season was 超変革 (chohenkaku) – ultra reform. The idea was that the team’s attitude and atmosphere under manager Tomoaki Kanemoto would change. Gone would be the old way of thinking, of practicing, of reflecting on games won and lost. In would be a new work ethic. Practice extremely hard but…
The Hanshin Tigers have found too many weird ways to lose too many games this season. Even against these Yakult Swallows, success has been fleeting and hard losses have become the norm. Heading into this, the third-to-last game of the season, the Tigers were 11-12-1 against the defending Central League pennant winners. This one would…
You’ve already heard it, right? The Tigers have been eliminated from the playoff race. They are winless at home against the Giants this year. The only thing left to cheer for is rookie Shun Takayama breaking club (and league?) records. Still, baseball goes on until the end of September, even for teams out of contention….
We take two steps forward and one step back. One step forward and then two back. The Hanshin Tigers have been within a game of .500 since May 11 – an incredible stretch in which there has been no winning or losing streak longer than two games. After nine games on the road, the team came…
There seem to be no favorites this year – except the BayStars. There seem to be no weaknesses this year – except the power hitting and the bullpen. There seems to be no preference between home and away games – except that our record at Koshien so far is a pedestrian 10-12-1. So as the…
Sunday’s loss tie left a bitter taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans. After all, a solid outing by Atsushi Nohmi was wasted in large part to poor fielding and uninspired hitting down the stretch. Coming home for six straight, the Tigers needed to win back their fans and bring their record at Koshien back…
Myth: The BayStars have a terrible pitching staff and a dynamite hitting order. The opposite has been true more often than not this season so far. Though the Tigers entered this one 6-2 against the last place team so far, they would need their best pitching and hitting just to stay competitive in this one. Game…
Player A is well-paid and is a core team member. This year, though, he is hitting under .250. While he has never been known for his power, he certainly can do better than the single home run he has produced thus far. He has somehow gone from reliable hitter to double play maker. Not only that,…