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Podcast Episode 13

Podcast Episode 13

Co-hosts T-Ray and Whiz-Oh talk about newly appointed manager Tomoaki Kanemoto, the new coaching staff, players who have retired or been cut, potential departures as well as players likely to be back in 2016. We also talk about other players who have made the headlines in the last two weeks, and quickly look at the…

Climax Series First Stage Game 2 Summary

Climax Series First Stage Game 2 Summary

After yesterday’s heartbreaking disappointing loss, the Tigers had no choice but to take games 2 and 3 in order to advance. The task for Randy Messenger would be a tall one, as his record at Tokyo Dome this year was 1-2 in four starts and his average run support on the year was just 2.25. Still,…

Climax Series 1st Stage Game 1 Summary

Climax Series 1st Stage Game 1 Summary

Here’s a hitter-by-hitter breakdown of Saturday’s game. No spoilers in the opening! Just read and enjoy! Top 1: Hiroki Uemoto fly out to center, Ryota Imanari grounder to short, Takashi Toritani strikeout (swinging). 0 hits, 0 runs. Bottom 1: Tateoka leadoff single, Kataoka bunt, Sakamoto fly out to center, Abe fly out to right. 1…

Series Recap – September 25-27, 2015

Series Recap – September 25-27, 2015

The losing streak was at four. First place was far in the distance, second was looking unlikely, and it seemed like a matter of time before third would slip away as well. The Tigers were back to being a .500 team and were heading into enemy territory, where they had not fared well. Then the…

vs. Carp – September 1-3, 2015

vs. Carp – September 1-3, 2015

The triumphant return to Koshien was everything the fans wanted. The follow-up two games were every fan’s nightmare, unless you count the 7 runs in the last two innings of Sunday’s game (the team still lost that one, 11-8). With three more at Koshien against the team that took two straight from them in Hiroshima…

vs. BayStars – August 21-23, 2015

vs. BayStars – August 21-23, 2015

So the lead was now down to a half game. The Hanshin Tigers needed to take advantage of the short “home” respite at Kyocera Dome on the weekend against the floundering Yokohama DeNA Baystars. Could they hold them off and preserve or even build on their lead over the surging Giants? Game 1: Starter Minoru…

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…

Any news is good news today…

Any news is good news today…

Those of you who watched the game today probably wish you hadn’t. The Tigers got shellacked and are showing few signs of life in July. (More in the next series recap.) I just “discovered” a Twitter account (mine is @thehanshintiger, follow me!) that reports on activity down at Naruohama, where the farm team plays and…