The Hanshin Tigers announced their top squad members today in preparation for the start of the 2018 season, which starts tomorrow against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome (March 30, 6:00 pm JST). Here is the list, as well as some comments from yours truly: Catchers #12 Seishiro Sakamoto: Of the three catchers, he’s got…
Original article can be seen here 元の記事はこちら We sat down with infielder Wilin Rosario (29) for an interview and talked about his mental state as he prepares for opening day. Although Rosario was a hitting machine during February’s Okinawa camp, he lost steam through March, finishing the exhibition schedule batting .143 with four RBIs and…
Hey everyone. Just thought you might want a concise look at all that has been going on as far as roster moves in the past week or so. The season starts in 10 days, and management is starting to solidify the roster for Opening Day. Who’s been brought up? Who’s been sent down? Which positions…
March 16: Stomping on the Eagles in Shizuoka This game started quite slowly, as the two aces showed off their repertoires before helpless bats. Our guys finally got to Takahiro Norimoto in the fifth, when Kento Itohara smacked a 2-run double to the left field corner. T 2-0 E Randy Messenger is just getting warmed…
March 13: Starter Shintaro Fujinami didn’t look like himself. Or should I say, he looked a little too much like his 2017 self. Control was lacking, pace was slow, and it all fell apart in the fourth inning. (Prior to that, he played with fire in the first three innings.) In the 4th, it was…
March 9: Let’s just say that Randy Messenger didn’t get off on the right foot. The first inning saw him give up 5 hits and 4 runs. He said after the game that it was his first time facing live hitting this year, and that a lot of his pitches were right over the plate…
Let’s remember that it’s not about who wins and who loses. Unless we win. Then we can talk about how we’re going to be the champs this year. Anyhow… March 6: Starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked like a completely different man. He struck out the first and third batters, then the fifth and sixth, then…
Camp is over! The team packed up late this morning and are on their way back to mainland. Exhibition season up here starts on March 3 (in Fukuoka, where they’re selling “open seating” all-you-can-eat tickets for ¥2500) and runs through the 25th. Looking forward to see how the field and mound start to take shape!…
We’re most of the way through this long meal called Spring Training. The fifth course is now in the books, and on this, Wilin Rosario‘s 29th birthday, we bring you the news of the past 3 days. First, Rosario took some time during batting practice to teach struggling outfielder Taiga Egoshi about hitting. We can…
It’s another precious day off for our heroes on the diamond, so let’s look back on the last few days of spring training action! First, the “news”: Newly acquired relief pitcher Diego Moreno looked good pitching in the bullpen and in live batting practice. Some have called him a “skinny Mateo” – he uses the…