There's another season coming. Be thankful.

We bitch a bit round these parts, and I am personally to blame for much of that. I can find the cloud around any silver lining, blow it out of proportion, and try people’s patience bitching about it, although I swear that’s only for matters pertaining to the diamond (or diamonds, but I’ve only done that once).

I was all set to put up a belated post on what sucked about the 2010 season (there’s nothing that doesn’t suck about a record-length game that ends in a shittily-played tie, in the m*th*#rf*ck!ng Japan Series, giving us another pointless playoff tie. Competitive events that end sans result have no merit and need never have happened. Two CL teams, yet again, might as well have not taken the field, etc.), when I thought I’d take a different tack. We’re out of the hot, muggy, crabby barbecue pit of the Tokyo summer, when baseball leads to the ambiguity of repeated disappointment, and into the relatively mild chill of the Tokyo winter and the reliable, indoor-voices, joys of opera season. We have the space of a bit of time and it turns out some good stuff happened in the 2010 season.

Such as:

• Although Tokyo didn’t make the Climax Series this year, they actually had a much better, winning season and were six and a half games out instead of 22. Last year was a season that showed the absurdity of having half of the league make it to the playoffs. This year was decidedly more competitive.
• The partial remodel of Jingu was successful in a number of ways: the toilets are much better now, not only cleaner and nicer, but laid out better, allowing people to get in an out in a reasonable manner; the separate line for sausages has not only boosted sausage sales, but left little wait for my customary, but oft-regretted chicken basket; the installation of a Baskin-Robbins near the bottom of the ramp leading the bleachers has relieved me of the duty of keeping an eye peeled for the ice cream girl when my wife comes to games; there’s a KFC near our in ramp, which I, in theory, could patronize some day.
• Takada is gone.

- Garrett

• Yoshinori and Muranaka turned a corner and had themselves respectable seasons. They showed some unexpected poise and stability and were a validation of Araki’s approach to grooming young pitchers. If the progress continues, and Nakazawa follows suit, then that will mean very positive things moving forward.
• The Swallows have so many quality young infielders that they cut Kajimoto (will definitely find a home elsewhere) and didn’t even flinch when Iwamura resurfaced in Japan looking for a new team. Onizaki, Kawabata and Araki (not the pitching coach mentioned earlier) should provide plenty of competition for each other and hopefully keep Fujimoto and Kawashima on the bench for most of 2011.
• I saved a lot of money this year by switching to shochu. With the ‘Beer Oji’ off to corporate pastures, I decided to find a new way to drown out Takada’s decisions. Apparently the switch was enough to drown him right off the team. Haven’t looked back since.

- Christopher

As a Canadian, I already celebrated Thanksgiving last month, but I think it’s important that we never take things for granted, and thus I’d like to add my thanks to this list.

• First of all, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people through Swallows baseball, for which I am very thankful. There are too many people to name, but I’m particularly thankful to Chris, David, and Garrett for giving me a chance to contribute to this site.
• I’m thankful for the continued development of Hiroyasu Tanaka and Yasushi Iihara. Tanaka quietly put together a very solid season both offensively and defensively, and was a consistent presence in our lineup. Iihara also showed improvement in both facets of the game, and is no longer a liability on the field.
• I’m thankful for our fairly deep pitching corp. We have a solid rotation in Ishikawa, Tateyama, Muranaka, and Yoshinori, and bullpen stars like Masubuchi, Matsuoka, Oshimoto, and Lim. While every team always needs more pitching, we’re certainly no exception. But I feel we’re deeper than any other team in the Central league, something that gives me great hope going into next season.
• Honestly, I’m just thankful that I know that the Swallows will continue to exist next year and into the foreseeable future. As a former Expo fan, I can sympathize with Yokohama fans that are living in a state of constant uncertainty. I’m glad we can afford to bitch about baseball related stuff.

-Kozo

I am thankful that:

• Takada is no longer anywhere near my ballclub (touch wood).
• We have Tateyama and Ishikawa as our team aces. Despite an injury affected start, Tateyama proved once more that he is still the man. Ishikawa also showed the enormity of his stones by coming back from a horrific start to the year (primarily due to poor run support from Takada’s Swallows) to shine as usual.
• Ogawa will be back next year. He pleasantly surprised me as an interim-manager and I will be interested to see what the Ogawa-Araki combo can do with a full season to play with.
• Yomiuri choked down the stretch and in the post-season. With the added bonus of Marc Kroon providing a lot of the entertainment as the Giants sunk.
• Hanshin choked down the stretch and in the post-season. No added bonus really needed here.
• Aoki is still a Swallow.
• I had HDTV coverage of every Tokyo game.
• I have HDTV coverage of the English Premier League to tide me over until next April.
• Kozo joined team-Tsubamegun.
• People actually read this website.
• Takada is no longer anywhere near my ballclub. (Erm, did I mention that?)

- David

Garrett again: For what it’s worth, I’d point out that Kozo did not get in on the Takada-swatting. I count that as a point in favor of his having joined the team – differing views and all. (Don’t tell your Mom, er. . . Mum, but he’s Canadian and all.) I’d also draw a bit of attention to our own Christopher, who has worked hard, very, very hard, to bring Tokyo Swallows merch to the masses. A lot of you contact us, a lot of you sympathize with us, Christopher makes it happen on the streets, where you can represent. More is to come. For those who haven’t noticed, nearly three years of day-by-day reports on Japanese baseball have been filed in English, with the proper partisan slant and the details and “inside baseball” the papers won’t give you, almost entirely due to the tireless dedication of our own David Watkins and Christopher Pellegrini. You should try hard to meet them. And Kozo; he’s rad, too.

On top of it all, though, you’re reading this. You rock.

The day will start at 9:00 when the Jingu field will be opened for fans. You’ll have a chance to walk on the field and also sign up for 2011 Fan Club membership. For those of you looking for Swwallows swag, the team will have various items for sale, including Swallows fukubukuros. More booths will open up at 10:00, mostly for sponsors shilling their wares. 10:00 will also be the start of the Tokyo Mascot Collection event, in which Tsubakuro will be joined by 15 other mascots that represent everything from Tokyo Tower to Hino Cable television.

The players will join the festivities at 11:00 with a short opening address. After that, players will man various booths, and you’ll also have the opportunity to play catch with select players. Keiichi Matsuoka and Kyohei Muranaka’s family business, will also have booths selling their wares. The field will be cleared off at 12:30 in preparation for the main event which will begin at 13:00.

The Main event will be a show on the field that will most likely feature some field day activities like tug-of-war and some cross-dressing karaoke. For Americans from the South, imagine high school football pep rallies with professional ball players. The actual details of the events are sketchy, but should be a good time for all ages. For reference witness Genki Nitta, Rafael Fernandes, and Koji Tsukamoto glaming it up at last year’s Fan Appreciation Day.

The events will end at 15:00 giving you plenty of time to celebrate Labour Day. The event will continue under light rain conditions, but will be canceled under heavy rain. The determination of whether to cancel the event will be made around 7:00 tomorrow morning. Check the Swallows website, or our Twitter feed for any news on the events’ cancellation. If you plan to walk on the field do not go wearing high heels, and if you plan on playing some catch bring a glove.

With the Swallows on the mother of all losing skids, and very little hope on the horizon, now seemed to be as good a time as any to turn to a higher power for help. So where does a desperate Swallows fan go to pray for divine intervention? Harajuku of course…

Harajuku, known to many as a fashionable shopping district, is also home to Meiji Jingu (明治神宮). In a baseball context, Meiji Jingu refers to Meiji Jingu Stadium, the Swallows’ home stadium. But in a more general context, Meiji Jingu refers to the Shinto shrine dedicated to the Meiji Emperor and his wife. The stadium is actually considered to be part of the outer precinct of the Shrine. So Meiji Jingu seems like the natural place to pray for good fortune for the team. In fact Swallows’ players are known for praying at Jingu prior to the season’s start. What follows is a illustrated guide on how to pray for good fortune for our team!

A short walk from the station takes you to the first torii (鳥居) leading to Meiji Jingu. Whenever you pass through a torii, bow once before passing.

The first torii

You’ll notice the Chrysanthemum crests on the torii, symbolizing the Shrine’s connection to the Japanese Imperial family. After passing through the torii, you follow a long gravel pathway flanked by trees. The peaceful tranquility contrasts with the hustle and bustle of Harajuku that you left only moments ago.

Halfway along the path, you find casks of wine and sake that have been donated to the Shrine.

Offerings of sake.

Continue along the path and eventually you will pass through another torii.

The second torii

After some more walking you will finally see the final torii leading to the main shrine.

The final torii

But before you go through the torii, you must cleanse your hands with water at the font located outside the gate.

Using a dipper, rinse your left hand, then your right hand. Pour some water onto your left hand, and use that water to rinse your mouth. Finally, rinse your left hand again, and rinse the dipper by letting the remaining water to run down its handle. Never let your lips directly touch the dipper. Now, you are ready to go through the torii and the front gate to enter the grounds. Approach the main building pictured below.

The main shrine.

You can place a monetary offering in the offertory box. 5-yen coins are popular, as they are a symbol of good luck and harmony. Once you’ve made your offering, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish, and bow once again.

To make an even more direct appeal to the deities, you can write out your wishes or words of gratitude on an ema (絵馬), votive tablet.

These tablets can be purchased for 500 yen, and wishes can be written on the back, in any language. Writing utensils and tables are provided. This being a Tokyo Swallows’ site, appeals for the teams success like the one below would be greatly appreciated.

In my chicken scratch I have asked for the Swallows to win again, and for world peace.

After writing out your ema you may take it home, or you may choose to leave it hanging at the shrine on the provided hooks.

Obviously, if you’re going to leave your ema hanging, be careful not to get too personal. If you’re a voyeuristic type, take a look to see what others have written. You may find an ema written by someone famous. I’ve seen ema left by Swallows’ players.

So next time you have some time time to kill before the game, the stadium is a 20-30 minute walk from the shrine, consider going to the shrine to pray for our team. The points of etiquette described in this article generally apply to all Shinto shrines.

Final note: Those of you who have taken a closer look at my ema will notice that it is dated May 21. Obviously the deities have not yet answered my wishes...

Baseball is not what this is about per se, though. No, this post is here to deliver some important news about baseball-watching.

First of all: Boycott Mini-Stop. In their wisdom, the management of the Mini-Stop next to JR Shinanomachi Station, right in our own ‘hood, have decided to shrink their section of Swallows merchandise to one shelf – a shelf it shares with a few Yokohama items and a few Hanshin items – whilst filling the three shelves beneath it with Hanshin Tigers crap.

Yes, that’s right, our local Mini-Stop thinks the coin it gets from hawking plastic tat to visiting tat-fiends is the main consideration. Therefore we say not one yen for any Mini-Stop anywhere. We’ll grant a dispensation if the only konbini where you live happens to be a Mini-Stop, but if you set foot in the Shinanomachi branch, we’re not your friends anymore – go be a Yomiuri fan if you care mostly about what’s easy. There’s a Newdays in the station, where you can get drinks and snacks.

We will not be awkward guests in our own home.

On the plus side, throwing slobbery plastic trash on the field at Jingu continues to be banned (no jet fusen.) If you get off on this obnoxious practice and you’re a Carp fan, so be it. If you’re supporting any other team, just knock it off already. Hiroshimans suffer enough between their muggy summers and their lackluster team – let them keep their own traditions.

Almost as big a plus is the raft of renovations made to the outfield concourse at Jingu. From the pedestrian bridge over Gaien-Higashi-dori (in front of Shinanomachi Station) to the ramp leading up the bleachers, you’ll see new slip-resistant floor coverings. The ramp has also been slightly elongated – presumably in order to make rainy evenings less slippery. At the base of that ramp, you’ll find a new Baskin-Robbins outlet, a concession stand twice as wide as it used to be (shorter lines, one hopes), better stadium maps showing what tasty tidbits are available where, and completely redone toilets. Not only are there more urinals and more sinks, they’re laid out better, making the bathroom 437 times better than it was last year. Why 437? When you’ve been to as many stadium toilets as I have, or have been the outfield men’s room at Jingu as often as I have, you just know. Some of you might say I’m exaggerating, that the toilets are merely 396 times better. I can see that argument.)

The new food items taste about the way you’d expect them to. We continue to recommend waiting until the fifth inning to purchase most edible items, as that is when they are most likely to be hot and less-nasty.

On the potable front, not only has our good friend, the Beer Prince, moved on to better pastures (he graduated from college and got a real job), beer prices have gone up 50 yen across the board, making it now 750 for a draft and 500 for a can or bottle. All the more reason to stop by Newdays (not Mini-Stop!) and BYOB – just keep it hidden.

Of course, everything looks newer and cleaner and is better-marked. The only downside is that the concourse is narrower.There are now some “Eat-in# stalls across from some of the concession stands, but if anyone decides to lay out tarps on the concourse to entertain little kids or get out of the rain, as people have always done, the concourse may well become impassible. My fear, of course, is that these renovations may yet turn out to be another in the long list of examples of Jingu spending a fair bit of money to make things better without bothering to observe the behaviors and patterns of the fans, much less asking what fans would like to see.

Any Tokyo Yakult Swallows decor showing that, in fact, the Swallows have been, for almost 47 years, the stadium’s main tenant? Don’t be silly. Have the old infield fences, with their wide view-obstructing posts, been replaced with more modern ones that protect people’s unsuspecting faces from line-drive fouls while also allowing people to see things without dead spots in their field of vision? Of course not. As I said, Jingu updates things, but refuses to talk to its patrons. Shas it always been, so shall it long be.

All of this said, turnout at preseason games has been better than in previous years, the scoreboard at Jingu says the first two home series of the regular season are already sold out, and you’ll probably be able to relieve yourself and make it back into the stands within an inning, so all is well with the world.

While the site is a little light on content now, it looks like it will be added to throughout the season. Currently accessible are details of “Legend” players of the past as well as notable uniform numbers.

Listed as coming soon is an events section, so hopefully the club will be putting on some decent promotions to get some bums on seats at Jingu this coming season.

All in all, an unusually professional offering from the organisation. Have a look.