5/6/2004
5/6/2004
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Team Reports
| Hanshin | |
| Outfielder Osamu Hamanaka was taken off the roster Thursday after
experiencing "weird sensations" in his surgically repaired shoulder that
is preventing him from swinging the bat normally and team officials are
worried that he may be out for the season. He will be examined early next
week. He has gone 4-34 this season, a .118 average, and it is believed
that the shoulder is the cause of that. In his place, the Tigers have promoted
veteran infielder Yoshinori Okihara to the big club. He batted .343 in
Western League play with 11 RBIs.
Shinobu Fukuhara readied himself for Friday's start against Chunichi at Kurashiki Muskat Stadium with a 47 pitch bullpen |
session.
Hanshin is primarily interested in Shidax righthander Takahiko Nomaguchi and Meiji University righty Yasuhiro Nomaguchi for the November draft, but they are also following the progress of 6'2" 175 pound high school outfielder Atsushi Ugumori, who helped his squad win a spring Koshien title. He has slugged 33 homers during his schoolboy career. The Tigers need some righthanded help in the outfield, as all three of their current starters bat from the leftside.
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| Chunichi | |
| Shigeki Noguchi isn't scheduled to start during the upcoming series
with Hanshin, so he may pitch in a relief role. He was pummled by Yakult
in his last appearance.
Kenjiro Kawasaki may be released at the end of the season unless
he exhibits some improvement in his upcoming minor league starts. Kawasaki
refused a three year, $3 million a year offer from Boston to take the Dragons
offer after many years with Yakult. He cited family reasons as the rationale
for ankling the Bosox proffer, though
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Japanese teams.
The following spring, he injured his shoulder and has yet to get into a top level game in his three years with them, making the righthander a colossal drag on the Dragons payroll. We could very well be seeing the close of Kawasaki's career. Infielder Tadaatsu Nakazawa, who has been destroying the minors to the tune of a .372 average and six homers, was called up for the first time in his career Thursday. |
| Yomiuri | |
| Cubs minor league pitcher Brian Corey underwent a medical checkup
Thursday as a prelude to signing with the Giants. A team official said
they can't formally announce anything yet, but that "something may get
done during the series with Hiroshima." Owner Tsuneo Watanabe was given
a look at Corey's stats and thinks he would do better than reliever Brian
Sikorsky. He expressed hope that Corey can prevent late inning opposition
rallies.
Since this was an on off day for all 12 Japanese pro teams, the press in Tokyo took up the issue of the Giants first base spot. If you combine the salaries of Roberto Petagine and Kazuhiro Kiyohara, that is about $12 million worth of talent at the position. Petagine's knees are still subject to fatigue, so Kiyohara is going to get a fair amount of starts. However, manager Tsuneo Horiuchi will be cognizant of matchups, which got Sankei Sports commentator Takehiko Kobayakawa to speculate that since Hiroshima hurler Takaya Kawauchi hasn't been going inside much to lefties this season, that Petagine, a guy who likes to get extension, would be ideal against him. On the othert hand, during the exhibition slate, Kiyohara seemed to match up well with John Bale and Kiyohara |
might be better at attacking Hanshin ace Kei Igawa's changeup.
However, former Yakult all star shortstop Takahiro Ikeyama, who is also writing for Sankei, thinks that Petagine is better suited to go againts Bale and Tom Davey. He also believes that when it comes to facing Hanshin's Shinobu Fukuhara or Tomoyuki Kubota, Kiyohara is the better fit. Righthander Hiroshi Kisanuki, who will start on the eighth against
Hiroshima, tuned up by delivering 58 pitches in the bullpen Thursday.
After throwing very well in relief recently, Matt Randell might start against Hanshin on the 13th. Hiroski Sanada is also being considered for that job. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka will make a minor league rehab start Monday
and could be back up with the first team a week or so after.
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| Yakult | |
| The Swallows are said to be preparing a four year, $10 million deal
for leftfielder Alex Ramirez. The former Cleveland Indian's two year contract
is up after this season. It is being whispered that the 29 year old Ramirez,
a favorite in both the clubhouse and with fans,
may be headed back to the major leagues. So Yakult is trying to head that off. "There is a lot he could teach the Japanese players," a team official enthused. Catcher Atsuya Furuta spent part of the day in a photo shoot for an upcoming print campaign for a pricey watch made by Seiko. He was paired with a best selling author and college professor for the |
advertisement.
Outfielder Billy Martin took 120 swings in batting practice Thursday after seeing a couple of minor league rehab starts he was supposed to make rained out. They hope he will be ready in time to face Chunichi on the 11th. Pitcher Jason Beverlin returned to Japan after going back to the U.S. for the birth of a new addition to his household recently. He will make a minor league tuneup start in the coming days andbe back inthe Swallows rotation by the 15th. |
| Hiroshima | |
| Pitching coach Manabu Kitabeppu said that he is willing to concede the Giants their home runs, but wants his pitcher to throw strikes | and not walk anybody in order to make as many of those inevitable dingers solo jobs. |
| Yokohama | |
| Even though he is struggling to get his fastball up to 90mph these days, closer Kazuhiro Sasaki is still getting the job done. As a result, anything with his name or likeness is flying off the shelves. | "We have lots of orders pouring in," a team merchandising official
revealed," but the manufacturers can't keep up with the demand." |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Nihon University lefthander Takumi Nasuno, who is expected to go
high in the November draft, tossed a 12 inning three hit shutout Thursday
against Asia University for his third straight win in Tokyo Metropolitan
University League action. It was also his second shutout of the spring
schedule. Nihon has now taken all five of its games opening the slate for
the first time in 45 years. Nasuno, who stands
6'4", made a diving catch of a sac bunt attempt in the first to help escape an early jam. He retired the last 21 men in a row to seal the victory while striking out a total of ten hitters. He was clocked at 91mph and also features a forkball and a slow curve ball. Dodgers lefty Kazuhisa Ishii had another strong outing Thursday, going 6.2 innings of two run, four hit ball against Florida and leaving with an 8-2 lead for his fifth win against one loss. Could be be an all star this season? If he continues this way, definitely. One of those runs scored due to the leftfielder butchering a catchable fly ball. According to ESPN, L.A. is scoring more than nine runs a game for the Japanese lefty. Nice run support! According to Chunichi Sports, Kyushu City College pitcher Kenichi Nakata is drawing a lot of por interest due to his 93mph fastball. He is 20-10 for his collegiate career after striking out 10 Thursday and permitting just one run against Kurume University. It is thought that his tools are as good as highly sought after Meiji University pitcher Yasuhiro Ichiba, who is being pursued by the Dodgers, among others. Chunichi is the most interested team, comparing Nakata's cutter to Kenshin Kawakami's. "He has some nice pop on that heater," said a Japanese scout. Another touted draft possibility is Shidax righthander Takahiko Nomaguchi, who was knocked around for seven runs on 11 hits in four innings against Mitsubishi Fuso Kawasaki in industrial league play. |
Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 1-4 Thursday against Minnesota.
He has a six game hit streak.
Lotte manager Bobby Valentine has also reportedly been registered
as a scout, too, and is said to be very interested in signing Nasuno, leaving
open the possibility that he will participate in negotiations. Scouts for
Lotte and Orix both averred that Nasuno gets better as the game gets further
on and he makes the correct adjustments himself.
Former Yomiuri great Shigeo Nagashima is reported to be not needing a wheelchair and is walking with a cain now. Moreover, he has decided to forego having a home care nurse with him, though he still has some paralysis in his right hand. He is also undergoing 4-5 hours of physical therapy a day. For entertainment, he watches Giants and MLB games on the television. Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi had a bunt single in three at bats Thursday against Philadelphia and scored a run. Mets shortstop Kazuo Matsui went 0-5 Thursday against San Francisco in a 2-1 victory and is now hitting .239. Iranian rug merchant Massoud Sobahani (I hope I'm transliterating that correctly) had a portrait of Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui woven into one of his carpets and will auction it off for charity. Sobahani reportedly used 130 different colors of silk thread and it took a year to finish. Had it gone on the open market, it would have been worth around $12,000, it is said. Sobahani, a Tehran native, came to Japan in 1986 and opened his business there. Matsui? He went 0-4 Thursday.
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