After what has to be the worst preseason in history, the Tigers looked lifeless, and that all the February talk about a pennant was smoke and mirrors. And heading into Tokyo Dome to face the reigning Eiji Sawamura Award winner surely wouldn’t be an encouraging start to the regular season, would it? Starting Pitchers: Randy…
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…
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…
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!…
In this series, we look back on our draft picks from the past six seasons and see how they are faring now. Were the guys all the cracked up to be? Overachievers? Underachievers? Non-achievers? Click here for: 2011 / 2012 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 Round 1: Yuta Iwasada (P) – Yokohama Shoka University…
First of all, congratulations to the BayStars on their second straight trip to the Climax Series Final Stage! Hanshin lost to a strong team, and I hope they can take down the Carp next! Ryo (@baystarsEN) is back to share some of his thoughts on the series between Hanshin and his Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Our…
In Game 1 of the first round of the 2014 Climax Series, Randy Messenger pitched six shutout innings and got support via a home run by Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth. In Game 1 of the 2017… (same as last sentence). You probably remember that 2014 is the last time these Tigers found themselves playing…
The Yomiuri Giants have gotten the better of us most of the year, especially on our home turf. Though our spot in the playoffs was secure, second was still up for grabs, and the Giants were looking to complete their comeback attempt at sneaking into third. Though the BayStars shut us out in two straight…
This has been an absolutely atrocious year for the Yakult Swallows. The injury bug bit them frequently and didn’t seem to want to leave even after there was no more blood. And the Tigers have enjoyed feasting on the li’l Birds all season, too. In this, their last tilt of the season, we picked their…