Central League 4
Pacific League 5
(Kyocera Dome)

By a stroke of luck, I have one adult ticket and two children’s tickets to the Swallows vs. Carp game in Kure, Hiroshima (about half an hour from Hiroshima City) at 6:00 p.m., Monday, August 4th.
The face prices are ￥1,500 adult, ￥700 child (actual prices higher as no ticket agents carry them and Kure wants [...]

On July 28th, as the July 31st deadline for trades and signing foreign players drew near, the Swallows signed right-handed pitcher Sean Douglass, who played 2006 for the Hiroshima Carp with a 3.41 ERA and a 9-6 record in 18 starts and 20 appearances before spending 2007 out with injuries. Tokyo passed on an opportunity [...]

July 29th, 2008
Hanshin Tigers 4

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3
Streak: Lost 1. Last 5: LLLWL
(Jingu Stadium)
Ryan Vogelsong notched his ninth win for Hanshin as Masanori Ishikawa was charged with his eighth loss for Tokyo in this rain-abbreviated game. 
Tonight, the Swallows struck first, in a near-mirror image of last night, scoring two runs in the first inning when, with [...]

July 28th, 2008
Hanshin Tigers 3

Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Streak: Won 1. Last 5: LLLLW
(Jingu Stadium)
From July 11th to the 22nd, Tokyo went 8-2-1. Then they dropped four straight.
For whatever reason, we can’t seem to handle our biggest rival, Yomiuri, or our neighbors, Yokohama (yes, the same Yokohama that is at the bottom of the table).
The Tigers, [...]

July 27th, 2008
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 0

Yomiuri Giants 7
Streak: Lost 4. Last 5: WLLLL
(Tokyo Dome)
Tokyo starter, Ryo Kawashima (5-4, 4.19), gave up five earned runs in six innings of work, and the offense only chipped in with six hits as the Swallows dropped their fourth straight game.

July 26th, 2008
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4

Yomiuri Giants 12
Streak: Lost 3. Last 5: LWLLL
(Tokyo Dome)
Yeah, this game wasn’t a whole lot of fun.
Much like last night, things started out OK.
It was three nothing after the first and four nothing after the fifth. But that was the end of the joy for the Swallows in this [...]

July 25th, 2008
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2

Yomiuri Giants 3
Streak: Lost 2.  Last 5: WLWLL
(Tokyo Dome)
This game started alright.
Fukuchi doubled to left. Miyamoto grounded out. Aoki drew a walk, and then Hatakeyama brought Fukuchi around by way of a troublesome liner to short that resulted in an error. 1-0 Tokyo.
Another run scored in the fourth on an [...]

There’s a new game in town this year as far as t-shirts are concerned.

So what happened last Thursday?
The Tsubamegun at Chiba Marine Stadium? Hostile territory, one might think.
Not when Mr. Larry Rocca is around.
First of all, Mr. Rocca wears nice suits. We were a bit taken aback when he appeared out of thin air in 90 degree sunlight wearing a blue and white striped three-button job with a [...]