Many, including myself, wondered why the Tigers bothered signing a fifth foreigner back in March. After all, the Fab 4 did nothing but lead the league in at least one category each while staying healthy all year. What could go wrong in 2015? Well, on May 11, veteran ace Randy Messenger (league-worst 5.88 ERA) got…
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…
Before you get too hung up on my words, keep in mind I am a fan, and I love the Tigers. Take it with a grain of salt, please. Last time I spoke harsh words about this club, they had just beaten the Yomiuri Giants 4-2 to extend their record to 5-2 and remain in…
The weather during Golden Week was perfect, and the Tigers had a golden opportunity to do two things: end their two-game losing streak and win over a lot more young fans. Prior to games, children were invited to make cardboard Tigers “kabuto” (warrior helmets), and players even joined them on Tuesday. Facing the fourth place…
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…
At one point a few weeks ago, there were lots of complaints about our fabulous four. These men all won individual awards last season but were off to pretty slow, uninspired starts, it seemed. Randy Messenger was 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA to start the year. What does he do? Just pitch 7 innings of…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…” — A Tale of Two Cities How…
The original article can be found here 元の記事はこちら Matt Murton’s recent slump could no longer be tolerated. As he had gone 20 straight at-bats without a hit, team management finally bumped him down in the batting order on the 22nd (against DeNA) to the sixth spot. Batting sixth for the first time since Opening Day…
This week features two short two-game series split by two days off in the middle The Tigers are already half done their week, as they visited Yokohama to face the slumping Baystars. Let’s end all suspense and reveal the scores. Yesterday’s game extended the home team’s losing streak to 7, with the Tigers winning 5-3….
The Hanshin Tigers game I saw last night was one of total dominance for the home team. Starter Randy Messenger pitched 6 innings of 4-hit, 10-strikeout shutout ball while the hitters put up two runs in the 4th inning. The relievers (Kaneda, Takamiya, Shimamoto, Matsuda and Ishizaki) cobbled together two more innings of shutout ball…