Do you think that you will ever see an MLB team have a "we're sorry we sucked this season day" at the stadium? Pretty unlikely and who really wants to see them do it? Nevertheless, this is Japan with an entirely different set of presumptions and protocols and so the Marines will have an owabi chusenkai (drawing of apology) where fans will win various prizes during their last regular season home game as a way to salve over the disappointing showing in the pennant race. Among them will be a trip to the team's spring training site in Geelong, Australia. 

Nippon Ham Centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo has started his own supporters group on the Japanese social networking site  Pakila . Unfortunately, you have to be able to read Japanese to sign up for it. There is no english equaivalent for it. 

Infielder Naoto Inada's wife Megumi just had their first child, a daughter. Both mom and offspring are said to be doing well. 

Felix Diaz is going to get the axe, according to Sports Nippon. He was 3-5 with a 4.91 ERA this season. Now here's one players just love: the ballclub told the press, but they have yet to tell Diaz or his agent. That's bush league, guys. 

Rakuten The team will release pitcher Cedrick Bowers. Bowers, due to injury and family matters hasn't pitched an inning for the Eagles this season. 

Reliever Hisashi Tokano had surgery to remove a malignant cancerous tumor on August 9th and was released from hospital around the end of the same month. Tokano began feeling ill in late July and went to the doctor. He was shocked, as one would expect. "I thought, 'am I going to die?" he revealed. 

Fortunately, doctors believe that they got it early enough that a prognosis for a full recovery in viable. He returned to the Eagles minor league outfit Wednesday and was able to workout, even doing some throwing in the bullpen, though taking it easy. He hopes to be fully ready for next season. 

Seibu The Lions are well known for their forays into the Taiwnese talent pool with pitchers such as Taigen Kaku, Hsu Ming-chieh and Chiang Chia-chiah. Now they are going to go to another Chinese speaking country and I am talking the big kahuna here. If they don't land their top pick in the high school draft, they will take righthander  Hsu  Dai-ei. Born in Shanghai, the 6'0" 176 pounder features a 90mph fastball along with a slider and a forkball. His parents moved to Japan when he was six and he has spent the last three years at Chubudai Number One High School. He also reportedly has some pop at the plate, but considering that the Lions are in the PL, that is a moot point. 

He won't count against the foreign player limit. However, he is also pretty raw and may take a few years to develop. 

Softbank Interim skipper Koji Moriwaki and some of the team's player personnel folks visited manager Sadaharu Oh in his hospital room in Tokyo Wednesday. The Hawks are currently two back of first place Nippon Ham. There is also the matter of the draft and both issues were discussed at length. Oh believes that the Hawks have to win all of their remaining games. 

Oh's recovery continues to go smoothly and is expected to be released in the next few days. A team spokesman said that it is "50-50" that Oh would attend the high school draft meeting on Monday. 

Tsuyoshi Wada will start on the 27th against Nippon Ham. This season, he is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA against the Fighters.