6/6/2004
6/6/2004
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Team Reports
| Hanshin | |
| Relievers Ramon Morel and Makoto Yoshino have been brought back
up after pitching well in the minors recently. What this means for righty
setup man Yuya Ando, who has been hit hard recently, is unknown.
First baseman George Arias' hamstring is bothering him again and he was taken off the roster to rehab it. The Tigers infield has taken some big hits with Atsushi Kataoka and Mike Kinkade also out of action. Hanshin is in fifth place after winning only two of their last |
11.
On Kinkade, there is some good news. His fractured finger has healed faster than expected and he will take batting practice for the first time after incurring the injury on Tuesday. Manager Akinobu Okada would like to give Kinkade some minor league at bats, but the Western League has an upcoming break, so Kinkade may be thrown into action without benefit of some rehab at bats. "I want to get into a game so bad I can't stand it," Kinkade stold the press. |
| Chunichi | |
| Reliever Marc Valdez and starter Martin Vargas have been demoted
to the minors and in their place are fellow pitchers Satoru Ishikawa
and Taiwanese lefthander Chen Wei-lin.
Going by a statement a coach for the Dragons made, Chen is merely being allowed to get his feet wet and will probably only see a game or two of action before being shipped back to the bushes. So far in the |
Western League, he is 1-2 with a 5.17 ERA in eight games. Chen
has also been allowed to put off his obligatory army hitch to play in Japan. As for as his repetoire, he has a fastball, slider, curve and shuuto and is working on adding a forkball. Vargas could come back just after the ten day roster move restriction
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| Yomiuri | |
| It appears that Roberto Petagine will be the world's most expensive pinch hitter at $8 million plus in the team's upcoming round of games due to the popularity of first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara. With Kiyohara having attained 2000 hits, the club is billing this as an "onkaeshi koen (showing gratitude performance)" for fans who want to see Kiyohara. What is unspoken here, too, is that if fans know that Kiyohara will definitely be playing, maybe it will goose the team's flagging tv ratings up a little. It wouldn't hurt the team, | either, as Kiyohara has hit better than .380 in his last five games.
Righthander Masumi Kuwata, currently on the shelf with a back malady, was re-examined Sunday and it is still thought that they problem is minor. Lefthander Hisanori Takahashi will be elevated back on the 15th for a series against Yokohama, according to Sports Nippon. |
| Yakult | |
| New addition Dicky Gonzalez has arrived in Japan. He is likely to see action fairly quickly, but there hasn't been a definite date set for his Japan debut. For now, though, he will have a medical exam Monday and then formally sign his contract Tuesday. However, he will have | to wait two weeks before he receives his work visa. While he awaits
issuance of the immigration documents, he will be working out with the
team.
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| Hiroshima | |
| A signing from the Carp's Dominican academy has joined the top club. Juan Feliciano He will probably make a start on the 13th in an upcoming series against Yomiuri. He threw 50 pitches in the | bullpen Monday. In Western League action, the righthander is 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA in seven games. He was also once at Boston's Dominican academy. |
| Yokohama | |
| Reliever Eddie Gaillard may need elbow surgery. He will return to the U.S. later this week to have it re-examined. If he does have to | go under the knife, he will almost certainly be released since the procedure could put him out for the season. |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 2-5 with a stolen base Sunday
at (insurance company) Field in a 5-4 sayonara victory over the Chicago
White Sox. Ichiro ignited that uprising by insideouting a middle in 94mph
fastball near the leftfield line. Ichiro has owned Koch when the two have
faced off. His hitting streak now stands at 13 games and he has reached
safely in 34 straight to lift his average to .340.
Incidently, the interleague schedule begins Monday and Ichiro hit .413 last season during that part of the schedule. Shingo Takatsu got into the game and induced three ground balls in a 1-2-3 inning, but he didn't face Ichiro. Shigetoshi Hasegawa went 1.1 scoreless innings in the same game and was credited with his second victory when the M's rallied in the ninth off of Sox closer Billy Koch. San Diego reliever Akinori Otsuka tossed 1.1 scoreless innings |
against Milwaukee in an 8-3 Padres triumph. Otsuka is a major reason
why the friars are still in first place.
New York Yankees leftfielder Hideki Matsui took an 0-4 Sunday against Texas hitting in the two hole. According to Sankei Sports, Godzilla hasn't had much success in the two hole, posting a .188 average (13-69 in 16 games) there since coming to America. Moreover, he has had a miserable time at Yankee Stadium this year, batting an anemic .208 (20-96). Nonetheless, the Yankees eeked out a 2-1 win. By the way, Matsui has been a monster on the road to the tune of a .392 average. Overall, he is at .303. New York Mets shortstop Kazuo Matsui was also 0-4 against Florida in a 5-2 Mets victory. His 15 game reacing base skein is now over. New York's other team is now back at .500. St. Louis outfielder So Taguchi went 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance
against Houston Sunday. The Cards dropped it 3-2.
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