Tokyo News Today’s home opener versus the Hanshin Tigers was obliterated by very unfriendly weather, so the clocks of the Tokyo faithful have been reset to 6PM Wednesday evening. We’ll see you there. Miyamoto took a pitch in the upper calf (just below the back of the knee) during Sunday’s game, and he’s apparently still [...]
Milestone Countdown: Kyohei Muranaka
February 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
Although arguably not as noteworthy as the first installment in this series, 24-year-old LHP, Kyohei Muranaka, is high on our list of players we’d like to see do well in 2012. And he’s got a small personal milestone within his grasp that we’d be very happy to see him reach–500 career strikeouts. After an injury-shortened 2011, [...]
Milestone Countdown: Shinya Miyamoto
February 15, 2012 By 4 Comments
Shinya Miyamoto and his teammates have been busy with spring camp for the past two weeks, so we thought it might be nice to profile some of the Tokyo players that are within shouting distance of significant milestones this season. We’ve thought for quite some time that Miyamoto would begin regressing at any moment, but [...]
RHP Orlando Roman signs one-year deal with Tokyo Swallows
January 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
As announced yesterday, we have a new friend. Orlando Roman has signed a deal to pitch for the Swallows during the 2012 season. ¡Bienvenido a Tokio, Señor Román! Call me crazy, but looking over his numbers from the past several years, it seems like there’s a bit of a climate-linked variable in terms of how [...]
RHP Orlando Roman: Tokyo’s newest addition
January 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It’s official. The rumors that we reported earlier this month were the real deal. The Swallows now have a little extra competition brewing in the starting rotation. Meet Orlando Roman. The 33-year-old RHP has significant minor league experience in North America with the New York Mets, Baltimore, and Toronto. He has also spent time in Mexico [...]
Thrilledged about Milledge
January 10, 2012 By 3 Comments
I’m not any more willing to predict how well Tokyo’s brand-spanking-new left fielder, Lastings Milledge, will do in NPB than I was about Norichika Aoki and his possible transition to MLB. There are several doubters out there, perhaps due to a collective pessimism related to Aoki’s departure, so I would like to make sure that [...]
Under the Knife: Yuji Nakane
January 7, 2012 By 1 Comment
2011 fifth round draft pick, Yuji Nakane, had surgery on his ACL (right knee) today. Recovery and rehab are expected to consume the entirety of the 2012 season. The official announcement comes through the Tokyo Swallows Japanese-language website. The Swallows were aware of Nakane’s knee issues when they selected him late in the draft but [...]
RHP Hashimoto traded to Tohoku Rakuten for OF Kusuki
December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As of 2PM on Monday this bit of news still hasn’t been reported by either Tokyo or Tohoku’s websites, but it appears that 32 year old RHP Yoshitaka Hashimoto is being sent to Tohoku in exchange for 27 year old OF Yusuke Kusuki. Hashimoto made 17 appearances for the Swallows in 2011 and had a [...]
Ueda wins minor league MVP
December 1, 2011 By 2 Comments
Before spending a good deal of time on the top team toward the end of the 2011 season, Tsuyoshi Ueda had himself a very strong season on the farm team. Number 50, who turned 23 in October and grew up in Okayama Prefecture, stole 55 bases this year to easily win the Eastern League crown. [...]
Miyamoto and Aoki earn Best Nine honors
November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Tokyo third baseman, Shinya Miyamoto, and center fielder, Norichika Aoki, were voted into the Central League’s best nine today. Miyamoto earned the award for the first time in his 17-year career while it was the seventh time that Aoki has been voted in during his eight seasons as a pro. This comes just after both [...]
