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Tokyo Swallows under the knife

October 21, 2011 by 4 Comments

The Tokyo Swallows put out a two sentence blurb (Japanese text) on their website today stating that Keizo Kawashima will not be on the bench for the playoffs as he had reconstructive surgery on his right elbow yesterday.

Keizo had surgery at a hospital in Gunma Prefecture, and the team predicts that it will take about a year for the 28 year old shortstop to make a full recovery.

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There’s also some speculation that Tateyama will have hand surgery sometime after the Swallows conclude their postseason play. It was reported that he has been having problems with his middle and ring fingers on his throwing hand.

Toshihisa Nishi, who used to play for Yomiuri and Yokohama, had a similar blood-flow problem that he solved by receiving an incision on the side of his fingers.

Tateyama was apparently apprehensive that the surgical procedure would affect his ability to throw forkballs, but felt better after hearing about the operation firsthand from Nishi.

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About Christopher Pellegrini

Christopher is a budding sabermetrician and long-time supporter of Tokyo's more lovable team, the Swallows. He has publicly volunteered, several times, that he plans to buy the team at some point in the future. When he finally runs the joint, it is likely that he will fine any player who swings at the first pitch or sac bunts (unless it's a pitcher, of course). Follow him on Twitter: @chrispellegrini

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  • Mac

    Would anyone trust a Gomiuri to give advice to our only decent pitcher?

  • http://marinerds.blogspot.com Deanna

    Toshihisa Nishi (name correction, yo) suffered enough as a Baystar and later trying to make it in the American independent leagues to have some kind of redemption, I think. 

    I think it all depends on how severe the problem is?  Like, does Tateyama *need* surgery?  That’s the part it’s hard to understand.  Like, whether the time off over the winter may improve his hands just by resting, or whether such a surgery will heal over the winter anyway if he has it.  I wonder what Nishi’s timeline was like.

    • http://japaneats.tv/ Christopher Pellegrini

      Oops. Thanks for the heads up. Post adjusted accordingly. I probably should have left it though seeing as how he spent the majority of his career in a Yomiuri uniform. 

      As for Tateyama’s injury, I wish I knew exactly what type of problem he’s dealing with. I’m guessing (based on zero insider info) that it’s a discomfort issue. In other words, he can throw, but it hurts. 

      Like you, I hope that he doesn’t need to go under the knife. That said, if he sought out Nishi because he wanted to know if the surgery would screw his ability to comfortably throw a forkball, then he was either sucking up to a well-known and important former player, or he’s actually pursuing a solution to a problem that affects his ability to do his job.

      I will be enormously happy if it turns out that he was brown-nosing. Somehow I feel that’s not his style though.