In one of the most amazing managing jobs ever, Nippon Ham manager Trey Hillman has taken a team that was last in hits (1218), homers (73), RBIs (485), walks (324) and runs scored (513) in the Pacific League and turned them into a pennant winner for their second straight year after routing the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium 9-1 Saturday. Fighters starter Brian Sweeney was mostly dominant over his seven innings of one run, three hit ball and didn't strikeout anyone while walking three to improve to 6-8 with a 3.70 ERA and help Hillman become the first foreign skipper to push his club to a pair of league flags, let alone doing it back to back. 

Yaustomo Kubo started for Lotte and went 6.2 innings of three run, eight hit ball while striking out three and walking none before Nippon Ham wrecked the Marines pen for another half dozen in being hung with his eighth defeat. 

The Fighters put two on with two outs in the first, but a strikeout did that in. 

Kubo would thena allow a hit in the third, fourth, and the fifth, but that was it. In the sixth, though, Nippon Ham rightfielder Atsunori Inaba grounded one back through the middle for a single. DH Fernando Seguignol did likewise and Inaba turned and burned for third. Catcher Shinji Takahashi grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Inaba crossed for a 1-0 lead. . 

Sweeney was nearly perfect over three before running into a two on and two out jam in the fourth, but he induced a groundout to rebuff the threat and then no hit Lotte over the ensuing two innings. 

Sweeney then received more run support in the seventh, as third baseman Eichi Koyano singled to center and was pinch run for by Yuji Iiyama, who went to second on a sacrifice. Shortstop Makoto Kaneko chopped one off the turf and Kubo, knowing he had to get rid of it quickly, tried to glove it and fire in one motion, but dropped it for an infield hit. Centerfielder Hichori Morimoto flied out to left and Iiyama tagged up and busted home. Soichi Fujita entered from the bullpen and second baseman Kensuke Tanaka tripled off the leftfield wall to send Kaneko in and make it 3-0. Inaba struckout to strand Tanaka. 

The Marines would snatch one of those back in the bottom stanza when rightfielder Saburo Omura singled to center and catcher Tomoya Satozaki walked and they moved up on a groundout. DH Julio Zuleta grounded out third, the play going to first, and it was 3-1. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura flied out to left and Sweeney turned it over to the bullpen. 

Nippon Ham put men on first and third with one out in the eighth, but a flyout and a groundout bogged that down. 

Nonetheless, they would lock it up in the top of the ninth, as Kaneko and Morimoto singled to center off of Masahide Kobayashi. Koji Takagi assumed the mound duties and Tanaka singled to right to cash Kaneko in and Inaba singled to center to welcome Morimoto home. Tadahiro Ogino replaced Takagi and backup DH Yang Chung-shou doubled to deep left to carry Tanaka in. One out later, leftfielder Takahito Kudoh was intentionally walked to load the bases. Iiyama flied out to right and Inaba tagged up and visited the promised land. First basema Naoto Inada doubled to rightcenter and plated both runners for a 9-1 advantage. 

Michael Nakamura gave up a pair of one out singles in the bottom of the inning and then struck the two men after that out and the long 2007 PL pennant race was over, the Fighters notching their first consecutive titles ever after being founded in 1946 as the Tokyo Senators. It was their fourth league title over all, one as the Toei Flyers and one in 1981 as Nippon Ham before the most recent two. 

Hillman was hoisted on the shoulders ofhis players for what is called a doage  in Japan. He was soon followed by retiring veteran infielder Yukio Tanaka, who was flipped in the air three times as a sendoff   before he becomes a coach next season. 

Hisashi Takeda pitched the eighth for the Fighters in his sixth straight appearance. He and Nakamura have now been in 100 games together dating back to last season and Nippon Ham has gone 82-16-2 in those battles. 

Inaba told reporters that this was a tough season for them and he is happier to have won this pennant than he was in 2006. A lot of the players pinted out that they had been expected to finish either fifth or sixth by most observers (including yours truly) after losing Hideki Okajima and Michihiro Ogasawara, but they overcame that and were especially pleased to have done so. It was the first time since Hiroshima in 1991 that a team has won a pennant cracking fewer than 100 homers and it is the first time in the PL since 1962 (Toei) that a team has pulled that off in the Pacific League. But this Nippon Ham aggregation compiled even fewer dingers than those two did. 

With Inaba leading the league in hitting, he was thought to be the leading MVP candidate by Hochi Sports, but Sports Nippon and Sankei Sports posited thatthe award will go to pitcher Yu Darvish. . 

Here are some other picsi   from the postgame celebration from Sports Nippon. 

For Lotte, second baseman Jose Ortiz was 0-3 with a walk and is at .286. Zuleta was 0-3 with a walk and is at .270. 

For Nippon Ham, Seguignol was 2-3 with an HBP and is at .247. 

The disappointment of a season in which the Softbank Hawks were expected to cakewalk to the title with what at first blush looked to be the greatest pitching staff in NPB history came to a head Saturday, as not only did the Nippon Ham Fighters clinch the pennant, but they were whipped by the Rakuten Golden Eagles to lose their season series with a 7-3 defeat at Fukuoka Dome. Top college pick Kenji Otonari started for the birds of prey and was rocked for six runs on five hits and three walks, most of that in a disastrous fourth, and accepted blame for the negative outcome. 

Hideki Asai started for Rakuten and went 6.2 innings of two run, ten hit ball while striking out six and walking one to shine his record to 8-7. 

Otonari looked great at the outset, permitting only a single and a walk over the first three innings.

Asai suppresed a two on and two out rebellion in the second on a flyout. 

But in the fourth, Eagles third baseman Daisuke Kusano singled to left and first baseman Jose Fernandez walked. DH Takeshi Yamasaki doubled to leftcenter and Kusano skated in. Leftfielder Koichi Isobe walked to load the bases. Rightfielder Akihisa Makita singled to right for an RBI. Centerfielder Teppei Tsuchiya singled to center for two more and that deposed Otonari in favor of Yoshiaki Fujioka. The runners were advanced on a sacrifice. Shortstop Naoto Watanabe walked to reload the bases. One out later, Kusano walked to force Makita in. Fernandez singled to center and Tsuchiya and Watanabe found paydirt for a 7-0 lead. Yamasaki flied out and they would realize only one other hit for the duration.

They Hawks produced two singles in the last of the inning, but Asai also struckout the side. 

In the fifth, though, Softbank third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda singled to left and catcher Naoki Matoba singled to right. Second baseman Yuichi Honda grounded one back through the middle and Watanabe knocked it down, but that was all and the sacks were packed. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Matsuda crossed. Centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura singled to center and Matoba ran in to shave it to 7-2. 

They put men on second and third with two outs in the seventh, but Satoshi Nagai got Tamura to fly out to center to cashier the rally. 

Nagai returned for the eighth and first baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to right and leftfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to center. One out later, pinch hitter Shotaro Ide singled to left to knock Kokubo in and make it 7-3. But a groundout and a popup held it there. 

Kanehisa Arime, not closer Shinichiro Koyama, was appointed to bring the curtain down in the ninth and struck the first two men out. But Tamura doubled to right and Kokubo walked. However, Omura struckout and it was game setto. 

Rakuten is assured of finishing fifth or higher, a moral victory for them as they look to 2008. 

Asai couldn't attend a friend's wedding Saturday because he was starting, so he promsed to send them the game ball, lending him more incentive to win. 

Hawks closer Takahiro Mahara, who didn't pitch here, clinched the saves title. 

For Rakuten, Fernandez was 1-4 with a walk and is at .275. 

For Softbank, DH Brian Buchanan was 0-3 and is at .277. Adam Hyzdu was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance and is at .258. C.J. Nitkowski assembled a scoreless ninth on a walk and is at 3.03. 

The Seibu Lions tallied up three runs against the thin Orix bullpen to pull away for a 6-1 triumph Saturday at Osaka Dome to seal the Buffaloes into last place for 2007. Hironori Matsunaga started for Seibu and went seven innings of one run, five hit ball for his second win. 

Mamoru Kishida had another quiet, workmanlike outing , six innings of three run (two earned) ball on eight hits while striking out seven and walking none for his third loss. He has a 2.93 ERA with a WHIP of 1.17 and a nearly 5-1 K/BB ratio, but his team sucks. 

The Lions were ahead before the seats had gotten warm, as rightfielder Yutaro Osaki singled to right in the top of the first and, one out later, flew into third on a single to right from leftfielder Takumi Kuriyama. Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima flew out to right and Osaka tagged up and scored for a 1-0 lead. Kuriyama would somehow cross in the inning as well with the aid of an error and that made it 2-0. 

Orix put two on with two out in the bottom segment, but a groundout neutralized it. 

They would go hitless over the next three innings. But in the fifth, catcher Daisuke Maeda took Matsunaga into the great wide open in left to narrow it to 2-1. 

However, Seibu would poast another run in the sixth, as Kuriyama singled to center and Nakajima beat out a ground ball toward third. One out later, Akira Etoh pinch hit for first baseman Haruki Kurose and singled to left for his 1000th RBI, 33rd most on the all time list, to reimpose the two run edge at 3-1. 

Second baseman Yasuyuki Kataoka then went yard to left off of Yasunari Takagi in the seventh to up that to 4-1. 

Rookie centerfielder Kenta Matsusaka, making his top level debut, homered to center in the eighth off of Ryota Katsuki for his first career roundtripper. Catcher Toru Hosokawa doubled to left and went to third on a groundout. Osaki walked. Kataoka flied out to right and Hosokawa tagged up and crossed to hike it to 6-1.  

The Buffaloes put men on first and third with two outs in the ninth, but a groundout squandered that and the ballgame. 

This is the herd's first last place finish in three years and they went down to what could perhaps be called Seibu's B team. 

On his homer, Matsusaka told reporters, "I didn't think it would get out. It didn't feel good coming off the bat."

For Orix, DH Greg LaRocca was 1-1 with two HBPs and a walk and is at .286. 

According to Hochi Sports, manager Trey Hillman's likely replacement will probably be former Gold Glove outfielder Makoto Shimada. He is currently working as a baseball commentator but was a coach at Softbank for ten years as well. He is said to be an upbeat and friendly guy who should be good with the press. 

Also on the shortlist of candidates is the underrated former Kintetsu skipper Masataka Nashida, and Sankei Sports claims he is the guy with the biggest probability of landing the job. 

Rakuten The Eagles are reportedly hoping to hire former Hiroshima manager Toshiyuki Mimura as their general manager. Current player personnel head Daisuke Yamashita's contract is up this year and he won't be re-signed. 

Mimura was also a candidate at one time to be in the same position for Orix and reportedly sees eye to eye with Rakuten field boss Katsuya Nomura in terms of management style. Mimura lead the Carp to four first division finishes his his five years at the helm in the mid-1990's. He was also then manager Koji Yamamoto's bench coach in 2004.