Laying an egg.

Key Points:

• How correct were our predictions from TS Podcast number seven?
• What grade would you give Tokyo’s performance thus far?
• General baseball-related stupidity
• Hand transplants

Enjoy!

Oh, and please let us know what you think about how the birds have done so far. What’s your grade?

Miyamoto’s Meikyukai Induction

Miyamoto became the 40th batter to reach the 2,000 hit milestone with a single in his first at-bat against Hiroshima starter, Yuya Fukui on Friday. The game was immediately halted as Miyamoto’s teammates came onto the field to congratulate him.

The team has decided to designate May 30th Miyamoto Milestone Memorial Day when Hokkaido will be in town for a two-game series (May 30th and 31st). Former Tokyo Swallow and teammate, Atsunori Inaba, who became the 39th hitter to enter the Meikyukai just a short while ago, will be playing for the Fighters in that game, and it is likely that Inaba will also be honored by the team in some way.

For more information, including stats and lots of trivial information, check these two posts (here and here) on Yakyu Baka.

In case you missed it, here’s a video replay:

Many congrats to Miyamoto and his family from everyone at Tsubamegun!

Swallows of the Week

Week 5

The Tsubamegun community voted on the outstanding performances by the following five players: Wladimir Balentien (RF), Tony Barnette (P), Kazuhiro Hatakeyama (1B), Lastings Milledge (LF), and Shohei Tateyama (P). There were 35 official votes this week, and here’s how the numbers added up:

Player	Votes	%
Lastings Milledge	20	57
Wladimir Balentien	6	17
Tony Barnette	5	14
Kazuhiro Hatakeyama	2	6
Shohei Tateyama	2	6

Congratulations, Thrilledge! The man has been an impact player at the plate, and he has shown hustle and determination both on the field and the basepaths. All the best to Milledge from the Tsubamegun community as he continues to transition to the pitching and style of play here in Japan.

Week 6

The Swallows played five games last week which completed a eight-games-in-nine-days marathon against Central League competition. The first two were in Yokohama, and after romping in the first game thanks to Balentien’s three bombs, the offense was quieted in game two due to some decent pitching from the home team.

The second series was at home against the Hiroshima Carp. The first two games were both monumental and enjoyable to watch for Tokyo fans as Miyamoto eclipsed the 2,000 hit mark on Friday, and the team churned out an impressive performance both on offense and defense to clinch the series. Yesterday’s game, however, was a bit of a mess thanks mostly to the fact that Tokyo wasn’t able to get anyone on base for most of the game.

Coco made this pose many times this week. They must've thought it was hailing in the left field stands.

May 1st at Yokohama 7-0 W
May 2nd cancelled (rain)
May 3rd at Yokohama 1-3 L
May 4th vs Hiroshima 8-4 W
May 5th vs Hiroshima 4-1 W
May 6th vs Hiroshima 0-6 L

Several players put up impressive numbers last week, and here are the names for you to choose from:

Wladimir Balentien (RF) had a crazy week 6 at the plate. He was 8-17 with six homers, four walks, eight RBI, and 27 total bases. Here’s his slash line for the week: .471/.571/1.588.

Masanori Ishikawa (P) recorded his first complete game shutout in a couple of seasons at Yokohama on Tuesday. He threw 145 pitches through nine innings of work and gave up five hits, one walk, and one beanball while striking out five on his way to helping his team secure a 7-0 victory.

Orlando Roman (P) had his longest outing of the year on Saturday when he subdued a very aggressive Carp team with only 95 pitches through eight innings of work. He gave up only five hits, three walks, and one earned run while striking out three. The Swallows went on to win that contest 4-1.

Hiroyasu Tanaka (2B) was solid both at the plate and on defense. He was one of only two players to hit safely in all five games last week and was 7-21 at the plate. He mixed in a couple of doubles, two walks, and four RBI to help reward Hatakeyama and Nakamura for their solid offense in the bottom third of the lineup. Slash line: .333/.391/.429.

Tick the box next to the player you think most deserves SOW honors for week 6.

Roster Updates

On Wednesday May 2nd, Genki Nitta (C) and Yuhei (OF) were demoted, and on Thursday veterans Atsushi Fujimoto (IF) and Kazuki Fukuchi (OF) were brought up. Fujimoto had his first hit of the season that same day. Fukuchi had his first hit on Friday and recorded his first sac fly of the season on Saturday.

Ueda (CF) was dropped to the farm on Saturday after banging up his right shoulder on a herculean effort to prevent a home run in Friday’s game. He was 1-2 at the plate with a double before being removed from the game. Hopefully his rehab stint doesn’t take too long.

Rookie Hiyane (OF) was brought back up on the same day to serve as cover/competition for Kazuki Fukuchi in center field.

Takeuchi was dropped to the farm on Sunday for reasons that were not immediately clear. Hopefully it’s nothing more than an attempt to keep him fresh by seeing live pitching on a regular basis on the farm.

That leaves 27 players on the top team roster as of this morning:

Pitchers
Muranaka, Ishikawa, Masubuchi, Tateyama, Barnette, Hidaka, Akagawa, Watanabe, Roman, Abe, Oshimoto, Hirai

Catchers
Fukukawa, Nakamura

Infielders
Kawabata, Miyamoto, Tanaka, Fujimoto, Hatakeyama, Noguchi, Miwa, Morioka

Outfielders
Hiyane, Fukuchi, Balentien, Iihara, Yuhei, Milledge

From the Farm

Tokyo’s minor league team dropped two of their three games against Tohoku up in Sendai. Depressingly, they lost both of the first two games in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 10th inning. But there were definitely some bright spots tucked in there.

The Swallows won the third game thanks largely to a fourth inning, two out grand slam care of Yuichi which put a previously tied ballgame at 6-2 in Tokyo’s favor. The team eventually won the game 6-4 with rookie Hugo Kanabushi getting the ‘W’ thanks to his six innings of  eight hit, three run baseball.

Chikara Onodera continues to pitch effectively from the bullpen. He made two appearances last week and kept the opposition off the board. In 15 appearances so far (farm team high), he’s pitched 15.1 innings and has an ERA of 0.59.

Kyuko has also seen his workload increase, which is another great sign for the team as he was a phenomenal left-handed option out of the pen last year. He made two appearances last week and didn’t allow any runs.

Recently demoted center fielder, Yuhei, started all three games last weekend and was 5-15 at the plate.

Kawamoto (C) appears to be back in action and both caught and DH’d last weekend. Nitta did the same and appears to be having a bit more success at the plate so far.

Tokyo’s little birds will play six home games up in Toda starting tomorrow. The first three are against the little Giants, and the second set is against the little Marines. All six games are scheduled to start at 1PM.

Around the Central League

Tokyo finished the week with three wins and two losses which leaves them in sole possession of first place in the Central League with an overall record of 18-10-2. After splitting a rain-shortened series with Yokohama, the birds returned to Jingu and took 2-3 from the visiting Hiroshima Carp. They enjoy a mere half-game lead over second place Chunichi.

Chunichi finished the week with two wins, two losses, and two ties. Those two losses came over the weekend when they were visiting Yokohama who are now in possession of a semi-healthy Tsutsugoh at third base. The boy has been hitting the ball hard, and if memory serves, he’s eligible for ROY voting this season. The Chunichi Dragons finished the week in second place, half a game behind the Tokyo Swallows.

Staff ace, Kazuki Yoshimi, was taken off the active roster due to a gammy hammy on May 2nd. That’s good news for the Swallows because it means that they won’t have to face him next week when they travel to play Chunichi.

Hanshin finished the week with one win, four losses, and one draw. In fact, they finished the Golden Week nine-game stretch with a league worst 1-6-2 record. They only scored five runs in their six games last week, and they were shut out three times. They’re still in third place though, 4.5 games behind Tokyo and just a half game ahead of the surging Yomiuri Giants.

The scoreless draw against Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome on April 30th was the first time in 69 years (link in Japanese) that such a result has happened between those two clubs.

Looking for some depth at catcher due to injuries to Johjima and Fujii, Hanshin traded pitcher Ryuji Wakatake to Hokkaido for backup catcher, Kenta Imanari. 24-year-old Imanari appeared in 22 games for the Fighters last year and hit .115 with three hits.

Yomiuri finished the week with four wins and two losses. They took 2-3 from the visiting Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome and then did the same against Hanshin when they played there this past weekend. Yomiuri finished the GW stretch with a Japan-best .750 winning percentage which is terrible news for those who value what is just and right in the world. Yomiuri still has a losing record, but they’re just a half game behind the faltering Hanshin Tigers.

Yomiuri is apparently going to be welcoming 33-year-old Edgar Gonzalez back into the fold. You may recall that Gonzalez played for the Giants back in 2010. He had 327 plate appearances in 100 games for Yomiuri that year, hitting .263/.342/.457 with 76 hits (12 HR) and 44 RBI. Last year he hit .315/.378/.457 with 159 hits (30 2B, 14 HR) and 82 RBI in 137 games for AAA Fresno (San Francisco Giants).

Hiroshima finished the week with two wins and four losses. They dropped all three of their GW series, and critically four of their six games with the first place Tokyo Swallows. They are now in fifth place in the Central League, one game behind Yomiuri and just two games ahead of the improving Yokohama Baystars.

Yokohama finished the week with three wins, one loss, and one draw. The biggest thrill for them was undoubtedly winning their weekend series against the defending Central League champs, Chunichi. They outscored the Dragons 19-6 in those three games, and it should be fun to see if they can keep this momentum going into the Interleague block of the season which begins on the 16th. Yokohama are still in last place, but they’re finally showing some signs of life. If Yoshimura, Ramirez, Nakamura, and Tsutsugoh all get on track at the same time, then they should be able to produce quite a few runs.

Yokohama apparently has some kind of ticketing scheme worked out whereby fans can get a refund if they were unhappy with the game that they watched. According to reports, there have been some long lines at the ticket windows following several of the games.

The Week Ahead

Tokyo has a slightly abbreviated schedule this week, the last before Interleague games begin on May 16 with a two game home series against 2011 Japan Series Champs, Fukuoka.

This week also features quite a bit of running around for the team. The first series is against the Dragons May 8th-10th, and even though it’s an ‘away’ series for the birds, only one of those games will be played at Nagoya Dome. Game 1 is in Toyohashi, game 2 is to be played in Gifu, and the final game will see the teams play a game in the cavernous dome that Chunichi calls home.

Friday the 11th is a travel day as the birds head north to Akita for a two-game “home” series against Yomiuri.

Games on the 8th-10th and 12th start at 6PM. The game on the 13th is scheduled to begin at 3PM. Check the calendar at the bottom of this site’s homepage if you need more detail.

Former Swallows

Seth Greisinger continues to be unhittable for the Chiba Marines. He leads the Pacific League in ERA (0.31), winning percentage (perfect), opposing team’s batting average (.165), and K/9 (8.59).

Norichika Aoki only has 34 at-bats in the 22 games that he’s appeared in (usually as a pinch hitter), and his slash line is currently: .235/.316/.353. It will be fun to see what he can do if/when he gets to start regularly for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Alex Ramirez continues to struggle at the plate in his new home of Yokohama (.198/.217/.284). He finally hit his first homer of the season on Friday when Chunichi came to town.

Standing ovation for Tokyo's legendary third baseman.

Alright, that’s all for this week. Please excuse me because I have fallen woefully behind on my meat consumption.

Drink up.

Website Updates

Apologies for the delay, but we finally set up a game schedule up on the front page. We didn’t have one on there last season due to space limitations, but we think that you’ll find this year’s solution to be a workable one. Scroll down to the bottom of the front page for a look at Tokyo’s upcoming schedule as well as the Central and Pacific League Standings. Oh, and there’s a list of the community selections for Swallows of the Week down on the right.

Swallows of the Week

Week 4

Last week you chose your favorite from among five outstanding performers: Katsuki Akagawa (P), Wladimir Balentien (RF), Tony Barnette (P), Shingo Kawabata (SS), and Orlando Roman (P).

28 people cast their vote this time around, and here’s what you decided:

Player	Votes	%
Wladimir Balentien	13	46
Tony Barnette	7	25
Shingo Kawabata	5	18
Katsuki Akagawa	2	7
Orlando Roman	1	4

Nicely done, Mr. Balentien! Coco was a force in week five as well, so it should be interesting to see if he can be the first player to ring it up twice here in the voting. At any rate, we’re enthused that he’s helping the team so much. Love, love, love! his improved control of the strike zone and hustle in the field. Long may it last!

Week 5

Tokyo played six games in the fifth week of the 2012 season. Three of those were played in the rain at Jingu, and the other three were day games at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima.

Tokyo outscored Chunichi 9-4 in the three game series that they hosted last week, and including the rough day against Hiroshima’s young Nomura on Sunday the birds outpaced the Carp 13-8.

Game reports:

April 24th vs Chunichi (Home) 4-1 W
April 25th vs Chunichi (Home) 1-1 D
April 26th vs Chunichi (Home) 4-2 W
April 28th vs Hiroshima (Away) 6-4 W
April 29th vs Hiroshima (Away) 0-3 L
April 30th vs Hiroshima (Away) 7-1 W

And here are the top-performing birds from week 5:

Wladimir Balentien (RF) comes fresh off of his first ever SOW win with another solid performance in week 5. He hit .304 last week (7-23 at the plate) with three walks and seven RBI. He hit another two home runs in week 5, including that three-run dinger that helped the team steal game one of its just-finished series against Hiroshima.

Tony Barnette (P) notched three saves last week and appeared in the first four games of the week. That was good enough for the most innings pitched of any reliever. Over four innings of work, Tony struck out two while allowing three hits and no walks. He has yet to surrender a run this season (0.00 ERA).

Kazuhiro Hatakeyama (1B) had a bit of a breakout week while continuing to toil in the 7-hole. He was 8-22 at the plate (.364 average) with a double and a triple (gasp!) this week. He also drove in five runs and added two walks. Give the man some more pudding.

Lastings Milledge (LF) was awesome this week. He hit .391 and was a team-leading 9-23 at the plate with three doubles, a game-changing home run, three RBI, and three walks. And I daresay that his aggressiveness in left field is having a ripple effect in right. Oh, and he’s a sure bet to get waved home. I lost count, but Lastings slid home safely several times this week.

Shohei Tateyama (P) is at the end of this list due solely to alphabetical concerns. Tokyo’s true ace won two games this week, and that’s no mean feat. 13 innings pitched, 10 hits, 5 K, 5 BB, and just two earned runs–not too shabby. He co-shares the league lead in wins (3) and winning percentage (perfect!).

Let us know what you think! And as always, please vote only once.

Roster Updates

Rookie Hiyane (CF) was dropped to the farm on the 23rd due to some general greenness at the plate and in the field, and a complete inability to use his speed to swipe second base.

Utility infielder, Noguchi, was promoted on the 24th and featured as a pinch runner and defensive replacement at third last week.

Second year shortstop, Tetsuto Yamada, was dropped on the 27th in order to get some actual playing time, and speedster Miwa (INF) was promoted a day later to provide another pinch-running option.

The active roster, as of game time on the 30th, looked like this:

Pitchers
Muranaka, Ishikawa, Masubuchi, Tateyama, Barnette, Hidaka, Akagawa, Watanabe, Roman, Abe, Oshimoto, Hirai

Catchers
Nitta, Fukukawa, Nakamura

Infielders
Kawabata, Miyamoto, Tanaka, Takeuchi, Hatakeyama, Noguchi, Miwa, Morioka

Outfielders
Balentien, Iihara, Yuhei, Milledge, Ueda

From the Farm

The team announced that an Eastern League game was scheduled for May 17th at Toda against Saitama. You can check the farm team’s full schedule here (link in Japanese).

Tokyo’s game against Rakuten on the 27th was rained out, but the little birds won three of the four games that they played last week (results for Monday’s game against Saitama were not available when this article was published).

Lim pitched in a few games last week and earned a couple of saves but also got shelled in his outing yesterday against Saitama. If the bullpen holds together over the next few days, that could mean that Roman gets at least one more start on the top team.

Onodera continues to look pretty sharp, and it looks like Kyuko is getting a little bit of work in. I didn’t see Yoshinori’s name anywhere though.

Around the Central

Tokyo finished the week with 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. They took two of three from Chunichi in the rain at Jingu (one tie game), and two of three from the Carp in Hiroshima. They’re tied with Chunichi for first place in the Central League.

Chunichi finished the week 3-2-1. They lost two of three to Tokyo (one tie), and then swept Yokohama at Nagoya Dome. They’re tied at the top with your Tokyo Swallows.

Hanshin finished the week 2-3-1. They took two of three from Hiroshima at Koshien Stadium, and then lost two and drew one against Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome. Tossers. Hanshin are 2.5 games behind the first place tie of Tokyo and Chunichi.

Hiroshima finished the week 2-4. They lost two of three against the Tigers in Hanshin territory, and then they dropped another two at home to the Tokyo Swallows. They remain 2 games behind the third place Tigers and 4.5 behind Tokyo and Chunichi in first.

Yomiuri finished the week 3-0-1. They won one game against Yokohama in Kagoshima (the other game got rained out), and then won two and drew one at home against the Hanshin Tigers. Yomiuri are one game behind Hiroshima in fifth place.

Yokohama finished the week 0-4. They didn’t win a game this week against either the Yomiuri Giants or the Chunichi Dragons. Sixth place and three games behind the Giants.

The Week Ahead

Tokyo are headed straight to Yokohama for a three game series against the last-placed Baystars. The games on Tuesday and Wednesday both start at 6pm, but the game on Thursday starts at 2pm. Ishikawa will start for the birds on Tuesday.

Don’t be too surprised if the outfield bleacher seats are all reserved (ie. more expensive than normal) as Yokohama has a history of gouging during Golden Week.

Also, the weather looks kind of iffy, so plan accordingly. If the game gets rained out, and you’ve got extra time on your hands in the Kannai/Bashamichi area, stop by the Baird Bashamichi Taproom for a couple of brews and some BBQ ribs.

The final third of Tokyo’s current nine-game marathon will be played at the lovely Jingu Stadium Friday to Sunday. Friday’s game starts at 3pm, but the two weekend games are scheduled for 6pm starts. If the weather’s nice, those games could see some pretty healthy attendance, so arrive early if you’re part of a decent-sized group (four or more) or are picky about where you sit.

Former Swallows

Alex Ramirez (Tokyo player from 2001-07) didn’t start against the Dragons on Saturday or Sunday. The manager is apparently worried about his conditioning and wants him to get his legs back in shape. Ramirez did start yesterday, however, and was 0-3. He’s currently hitting .215/.227/.262.

Atsunori Inaba (Tokyo player from 1995-2004) joined the Meikyukai on Saturday after recording his 2,000th hit in a game against Tohoku in Sendai. Check this post for some excellent factoids related to Inaba’s feat.

Alright, please excuse me while I tune in to the derby.

Drink up!

Swallows of the Week

Week 3

Last week’s vote saw the strong performances by Hiroyasu Tanaka (2B), Lastings Milledge (LF), Katsuki Akagawa (P), and Kyohei Muranaka (P).

28 people cast their vote this week, and here’s what they decided:

Player	Votes	%
Hiroyasu Tanaka	19	68
Lastings Milledge	6	21
Katsuki Akagawa	2	7
Kyohei Muranaka	1	4

Congratulations to Beavis, a very well-liked player in these parts. We’re excited to see him having a chance to swing the bat more often this season (now that he’s not on perpetual bunt duty), and we hope to see him lead a threatening top of the order for Tokyo.

Week 4

HR number four (2nd this weekend).

Tokyo played six games this week: one in Kobe, two at Koshien, and a three-game home stand at Jingu against Yomiuri.

The birds were outscored 6-10 in their series against Hanshin, but played decent baseball throughout most of those games. They then returned home for the Tokyo derby and took the series against Yomiuri.

In case you missed them, here are game reports:

April 17th vs Hanshin (Away)
April 18th vs Hanshin (Away)
April 19th vs Hanshin (Away)
April 20th vs Yomiuri (Home)
April 21st vs Yomiuri (Home)
April 22nd vs Yomiuri (Home)

Overall, the birds won four and lost two last week.

And here are the contestants for your week 4 vote:

Katsuki Akagawa (P) – The 21-year-old lefty pitched Tokyo’s first complete game shutout of 2012. In fact, it was the first time that any starter went the full nine, period. In the process, he faced 32 batters and threw 127 pitches (5 H, 6 K, 1 BB). He’s now 2-1 after four starts and leads all Swallows starters with a 0.95 ERA and .210 opposing team batting average.

Wladimir Balentien (P) – Suddenly more focused both in the field and on the basepaths, Coco got on base in all six games last week. He had six hits (two homers), three RBI, and two walks last week. When the Swallows returned to defend Tokyo against the Giants, he was switched up to cleanup in place of the ineffective Hatakeyama, and that’s when both home runs appeared.

Tony Barnette (P) – The week 2 Swallow of the Week was back at it again in week 4. He took the mound in the ninth three times last week, each time to protect a one-run lead. He allowed just one runner last week and converted all three save opportunities. His three strikeout performance on Friday was a clear indication of how well he’s throwing at the moment. His ERA remains at zero, and he has a NPB career-high seven saves which is good enough for second for second in the Central League. He was also ready to go Saturday night when Akagawa was attempting to get through the ninth on his own.

Shingo Kawabata (SS) – Tokyo’s shortstop continues to display some of the gap power that he displayed last season which was highlighted by his bases clearing triple on Saturday. Like Balentien, he had six hits and three RBI last week while mixing in a pair of walks as well. His defense at short was also solid, and he has teamed nicely with Tanaka in turning a number of clutch double plays. He currently leads the team in hits (20) and has done a good job of protecting the cleanup hitter.

Orlando Roman (P) – With a five-man rotation, someone has to pitch twice in the same week. Although the team had been able to avoid doubling any of its starters up earlier in the month, Roman became the workhorse of the week. He pitched six full innings on Tuesday and 5.1 on Sunday. During those eleven and one-third innings he allowed nine hits (two homers) and four earned runs. He worked hard in the rain on Sunday and was awarded with his first NPB win.

OK, Tsubamegun, cast your vote. Click the button for your Swallow of the Week. Please vote only once.

Roster Updates

There were no major roster updates announced by the team last week.

From the Farm

It sounds like Yoshinori’s rehab had another setback and he may not be ready to rejoin the top team until Golden Week or later. Instead, there are rumblings that Shichijo may get promoted to relieve some pressure on the starting rotation. (HT Yakyu Baka)

As for minor league performances, it seems like outfielder Jun Matsui is playing alright. He has appeared in 22 games so far and has a slash line of .345/.371/.452 with a team-leading 29 hits.

None of Tokyo’s minor league starters are exactly tearing it up at the moment, but Chikara Onodera seems to be posting serviceable numbers. Through 12 innings of middle relief, he’s posted a 0.75 ERA.

Tanaka has been clutch protecting the middle of the infield.

Around the Central

Chunichi finished the week with five wins and one loss. They took two of three from Yomiuri at Nagoya Dome and then swept Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium to make it five wins in a row. Chunichi is still in first place.

Yomiuri finished the week 1-5. Sugiuchi helped earn a series-opening win on Tuesday in Nagoya, but the Giants haven’t won since. They wrapped up their week by being swept by the Tokyo Swallows at Jingu. They remain in last place in the CL, half a game behind Yokohama.

Hanshin finished the week 3-3. They took two of three from Tokyo on their home soil but then only won a single game in Yokohama this past weekend. They remain in third place, half a game behind the second place Tokyo Swallows.

Hiroshima finished the week 3-3. With all six games played at home, they swept the Baystars to start the week and then dropped three in a row to the visiting Dragons. They are fourth in the Central, 1.5 games behind third place Hanshin.

Yokohama finished the week 2-4. After getting swept by Hiroshima away, they returned home and took two games from the visiting Tigers. They’re doing just enough to stay out of sixth place at the moment.

The Week Ahead

The birds will host current CL front-runners, Chunichi, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. All games are scheduled for a 6PM start. Both teams swept their most recent opponents and hope to take advantage of that momentum during the upcoming matchup.

Tokyo has Friday off and will travel to Hiroshima for a three-game set with a 1:30PM first pitch scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Former Swallows

Norichika Aoki finally got his first major league start and collected his first home run in the process, an inside-the-park round tripper.

He batted second and finished the game 2-4 with six total bases (HR, 2B), two runs scored, and one RBI.

Seth Greisinger has been pitching well for the Chiba Marines. He’s 2-0 through two starts and 15 innings of work. He’s averaging a strikeout per inning, and he has yet to give up an earned run.

Former Tokyo third baseman, Akinori Iwamura, played in his first minor league game on Saturday. It was his first day back in competitive action after hurting his right hamstring more than a month ago.

That’s it for this week’s snapshot. Please excuse me while I start peeling.

Drink up!

Tokyo Swallows  3

Hanshin Tigers  4

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: WWLWL

(Koshien Stadium)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Swallows	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	9	0
Tigers	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	8	0
W: Ando (2-0) L: Ishikawa (1-3) S: Fujikawa (6)

Ishikawa and the Swallows lose a back-and-forth affair at a windy Koshien.

	Swallows		Tigers
1	Tanaka (2B)	1	Hirano (2B)
2	Ueda (CF)	2	Yamato (CF)
3	Milledge (LF)	3	Toritani (SS)
4	Hatakeyama (1B)	4	Arai (3B)
5	Kawabata (SS)	5	Brazell (1B)
6	Miyamoto (3B)	6	Murton (RF)
7	Balentien (RF)	7	Kanemoto (LF)
8	Nakamura (C)	8	Komiyama (C)
9	Ishikawa (P)	9	Ando (P)

The Swallows struck first in this game in the second. After Kawabata walked to lead off the inning, Miyamoto got career hit number 1987 to put men on the corners with no outs. Balentien took the first pitch he saw and hit it deep enough into center field to cash Kawabata in on a sacrifice fly. 1-0 Swallows Unfortunately, the inning ended 2 pitches later as Nakamura grounded out into a double play.

The lead didn’t last long as the heart of the Tigers’ lineup got hot to start the bottom of the inning. Arai started the inning off with a single. Brazell followed with a double off the left field wall, to put men in scoring position with no outs. It looked like Ishikawa jammed Murton on a 1-1 pitch, but a strong wind pushed a ball that normally would have sailed comfortably into Balentien’s glove back into shallow right field for a run-scoring single. 1-1 All With no out and men on the corners, Kanemoto killed the Tigers’ momentum by grounding into a 6-5-3 double play, but not before scoring Brazell for the lead. 2-1 Tigers

The Swallows came back in the fifth. Balentien and Nakamura opened the inning with back-to-back singles, and Ishikawa bunted them both into scoring position. Tanaka hit a high fastball that Toritani just managed to snag on a dive, and throw to first. The ground outallowed both runners to advance, scoring Balentien and putting Nakamura on third. 2-2 All Ando walked Ueda on just 5 pitches to put the Swallows’ hopes on Milledge’s bat. He answered with a single to right to score Nakamura and put the Swallows back in the lead. 3-2 Swallows

Unfortunately Ishikawa wasn’t able to hold the lead in the sixth. Ishikawa started the inning off with a strike out off Yamato, but things started to go awry with a single up the middle by Toritani. Ishikawa walked Arai to put 2 men on, but did manage to induce a fly out from Brazell despite getting behind 3-1 in the count. But Ishikawa’s lack of control got to him as Murton cashed in both runners with a 1-0 double to retake the lead for the Tigers. 4-3 Tigers Kanemoto ended the inning with a fly out, but the damage was done and Ishikawa’s night ended there.

The Swallows had a chance in the eighth when Iihara, pinch hitting for Ueda, started the inning off with a double and Milledge bunted him over to third (?). Neither Hatake or Kawabata could bring him home. The Swallows also got their lead man on in the ninth against Tigers’ closer Fujikawa. But Miyamoto’s 1988th career hit was for naught, as his pinch runner, Hiyane, got picked off of first and Fujikawa struck out Balentien and Takeuchi to end the night.

The only other highlight for the Swallows in the latter third of the game came in the bottom of the eighth with Hidaka in to face the heart of the Tigers’ order. Hidaka managed to get Toritani, Arai, and Brazell all to go down swinging. Hopefully a confidence boost for the young pitcher, and a sign that the Swallows have another option out of the pen.

Ishikawa pitched 6 inning on 94 pitches, got 4 strikeout, and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and all Tigers 4 runs. His Tigers’ counterpart, Ando, had similar numbers giving up the same number of hits and walks, and getting 1 less strikeout.

The Swallows travel back home to face the Giants and Dragons for a 6 game homestand. Muranaka is the announced started for the Swallows, while the Giants will open the series with Utsumi.

Ishikawa doesn't quite get the night he wanted.

Tokyo Swallows  0

Hanshin Tigers  4

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: LLWWL

(Hotto Motto Field Kobe)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tokyo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
Hanshin	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	X	4	8	0
W: Messenger (2-0/2.84) L: Roman (0-3/3.64)

After two good wins against the Carp this last weekend, Tokyo returned to the kind of baseball that saw them lose last week’s series against the Baystars. The impotent bat kind.

	Tokyo		Hanshin
1	Ueda (CF)	1	Hirano (2B)
2	Tanaka (2B)	2	Shibata (CF)
3	Milledge (RF)	3	Toritani (SS)
4	Hatakeyama (1B)	4	Arai (3B)
5	Kawabata (SS)	5	Brazell (1B)
6	Miyamoto (3B)	6	Murton (RF)
7	Balentien (RF)	7	Kanemoto (LF)
8	Nakamura (C)	8	Komiyama (C)
9	Roman (P)	9	Messenger (P)

In fairness to those faltering Swallows bats, Hanshin starter Messenger pitched a blinder, throwing a 100 pitch complete game shutout, allowing just the 4 hits while striking out 9.

In contrast, Tokyo starter Roman wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t that great either, allowing 2 runs off 6 hits over his 6 innings of work, issuing 3 walks with just the 1 K. He tended to get behind early in counts as he struggled to find the zone, but he did well to keep the score down considering. Apparently this was the first time in his career he has started a game on just four days rest, and his next start will possibly be on the same rest too.

It should surprise no one that Hanshin took the lead in the 4th off the bat of a certain Craig Brazell. After Arai had led off the inning with a single to left, Brazell slashed at a pitch over the outside of the plate, not making the best of contacts, but given his strength, that contact was enough to sneak the ball over the fence in left (and just out of the reach of a fence jumping Milledge) for 2-0 Hanshin. It was his fourth homer in just the three games against the Swallows this year.

This is becoming far too much of a familiar sight

The remaining two Tigers runs came in the 7th, with Hidaka on the mound in relief for the Swallows. Hirano got his third hit of the evening to get the inning going, before Shibata bunted him along for out number one. Toritani walked to put two men on, and then Arai hit a weak grounder to second. The problem with that was that Tanaka couldn’t come up with the ball, eventually spilling it, which meant an “E” being displayed on the scoreboard and, more importantly, Hanshin had the bases loaded with just the one red light lit.

It was Brazell up to the plate next, and to his credit Hidaka struck him out swinging for out number two. And so it was down to the ginger JESUS CHRIST IS MY KING of the Hanshin foreign contingent to deliver, and WITH THE POWER OF THE SWEET LORD TO MAKE HIM WHOLE he snuck one up the middle WHAT A JOY TO LIVE FOR HIM to bring home two runs. Arai was ran down between second and third to end the inning with the score at 4-0 Hanshin.

Tokyo’s only threats of the evening came in the 2nd: Kawabata with a  one-out double (he would be stranded there), and in the 8th: singles for Balentien and the pinch-hitting Yuhei put two on with one out for Ihara, who hit one back to Messenger for a 1-4-3 inning ending double play.

4-0 Hanshin Final.

Notes

• The Tigers took just over two and a half hours to halt their losing streak at two while stopping a Swallows win streak of the same length. They also lead the season series 2-0 with the 1 tie.
• Aside from Hiroyasu’s in the 7th, the other Tokyo error was charged to Hatakeyama in the 1st, as he failed to come up with Roman’s pick-off throw to first, allowing Hirano to reach second.
• Balentien was responsible for half of Tokyo’s hits as he went 2 for 2 with a walk. His line now reads .333/.480/.513, the first of those numbers being a team high, and the last two CL highs.
• Former Hanshin man Abe pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th.
• If you remove Saturday’s rather freakish 10-1 win over Hiroshima from the equation, Tokyo have mustered just the 1 run in their last 31 innings of baseball.
• The two teams will head to Koshien for tomorrow’s game, with Tateyama due on the mound for the Swallows against the Tigers’ Kubo.

Nakamura has some nerves to steady, and some big shoes to fill, but he's doing well so far.

Something for you to read while fielding offers for a more appropriate gig.

Swallows of the Week

Week 2

Ishikawa was the week one MVP, but he tanked after that. Hopefully the same fate does not await the winner of the week two polling.

31 people voted this time around, and they had five choices:

Shingo Kawabata (SS)
Orlando Roman (P)
Wladimir Balentien (RF)
Tony Barnette (P)
Takehiko Oshimoto (P)

And here’s how the community voted:

Players	Votes	%
Tony Barnette	18	58
Wladimir Balentien	8	26
Shingo Kawabata	2	6.5
Takehiko Oshimoto	2	6.5
Orlando Roman	1	3

Congratulations to Mr. Barnette! Hopefully the Tokyo bats continue to churn out enough runs that his services won’t be necessary more than a few times a week. It sure would be nice to have him with us for the pennant race this time around.

I must say that I actually didn’t expect a closer to win the community voting on this one so early in the season. I didn’t expect it, but I like it. Any time a closer wins the voting, it means that the team is winning, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate that.

Week 3

Tokyo played five games this past week, three at Jingu and two in Matsuyama. In case you missed them, here are the game reports:

April 10th vs Yokohama (Home)
April 11th vs Yokohama (Home)
April 12th vs Yokohama (Home)
April 14th vs Hiroshima (“Home”)
April 15th vs Hiroshima (“Home”)

The series against Yokohama started OK, but was pretty dreary for the last two games. Please don’t tell me that we’re going to revert to our old ways against Yokohama. Remember how they always used to piss on our collective pillow, at least through the 2010 season, even though they generally didn’t know how to play baseball? Ugh. Hopefully 2011 wasn’t an anomally.

Saturday’s game versus Hiroshima was an enjoyable one to watch for Tokyo fans. Sunday’s was a good one, too, although not nearly as easy on the heart.

And here’s the compiled data for the top five performers from week 3:

Hiroyasu Tanaka (2B) – Beavis scored two hero interviews this week, one on Tuesday and another yesterday evening (shared with Akagawa). His game winning hit against Yokohama and decisive RBI single against Hiroshima on Sunday were just two of his team-high six hits last week. He was 6-17 at the plate with three RBI and three walks.

Lastings Milledge (LF) – Despite spending another week in the batter’s box against pitchers he’d never seen before, Milledge was one of Tokyo’s biggest contributors this week. His quick feet and arm in left kept opposing base runners honest while he also presented himself as a constant nuisance when it was his turn to to start targeting extra bases. In addition to his heads-up base-running, Milledge was 5-19 at the plate. Two doubles and a home run helped lead to three RBI this week, and he added a walk just for good measure. Oh, and get this–he’s actually been seen running hard to first base even on routine grounders. Weird.

Kyohei Muranaka (P) – Tokyo’s socially-awkward southpaw from Kanagawa Prefecture earned his first win of the year with a very solid eight-inning performance on Saturday against Hiroshima. He threw 116 pitches and allowed just one run off of eight hits and two walks. He also struck out five while lowering his ERA to 2.25. He leads the team in winning percentage (100%), innings pitched (20), hits allowed (18), HBP (2), and strikeouts (13).

Katsuki Akagawa (P) – Like Muranaka above, Akagawa earned his first win of the year this past weekend. He threw 105 pitches in seven innings of very solid work. He didn’t strike anyone out, but he kept his pitches down and allowed just four hits (all singles), three walks, and one beaned batter. He’s now 1-1 with an impressive 1.40 ERA through three starts and 19.1 innings.

So let’s hear it, Tsubamegun. Who was your MVP? Cast your vote below. Please vote only once.

This poll is closed. To see who won the voting, please check next week’s Snapshot.

Roster Updates

With Aikawa and Kawamoto both out with injuries, we’re down to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th string catchers now. Hopefully Nakamura shows us that he’s up for the challenge. He’s been playing pretty well so far.

Here’s what the roster looks like as of game time on Sunday April 15th:

Pitchers
Muranaka, Ishikawa, Masubuchi, Tateyama, Barnette, Hidaka, Akagawa, Watanabe, Roman, Abe, Oshimoto, Hirai

Catchers
Nitta, Fukukawa, Nakamura

Infielders
Kawabata, Miyamoto, Tanaka, Takeuchi, Yamada, Hatakeyama, Morioka

Outfielders
Hiyane, Balentien, Iihara, Yuhei, Ueda, Milledge

(28 players total)

From the Farm

Yoshinori got some work in during an exhibition game on Friday (4/13) against Fuji Heavy Industries. Final line: 8 IP, 8 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 3 R (all earned). Fernandez gave up one unearned run in the ninth to allow Fuji Heavy Industries to come back and tie the game for a 4-4 final score. (The team’s official Japanese write-up is here.)

Saturday’s game against the Futures was rained out.

The Week Ahead

Beavis isn't hitting the cover off the ball, but he's been pretty clutch recently.

Tokyo will next head to Koshien Stadium to take on the Hanshin Tigers for the second time this year. All three of the games start at 6PM from Tuesday – Thursday, and it seems likely that the pitching matchups will look a little something like this:

Tuesday
Messenger 1-0, 5.40 ERA (Hanshin) vs Tateyama 0-0, 2.08 ERA (Tokyo)

Wednesday
Kubo 1-0, 1.17 (Hanshin) vs Ishikawa 1-2, 5.19 (Tokyo)

Thursday
Ando 1-0, 0.69 (Hanshin) vs Roman 0-2, 3.97 (Tokyo)

Hanshin currently lead the season series 1 W, 0 L, 1 T against Tokyo.

And then Tokyo play host to crosstown rivals, Yomiuri, next weekend. Again, all three games start at 6PM, but I’m going to hold off on making predictions about starters at this point since things can so easily change in these parts.

Tokyo currently lead the season series 2-1 against Yomiuiri.

Around the Central League

Chunichi has opted to send slugger Tony Blanco down to the farm for some extra practice since he’s striking out a bit too much these days. Victor Diaz was sent down with him.

In other Chunichi news, starter Kenshin Kawakami is still out of action after tweaking his back on a high bouncer back to the mound  early in his April 7th start against Tokyo.

Elsewhere, NPB umpires have expressed concerns about showing replays of close calls on the big screens at various stadia. (Read: they are worried about their horrid decisions being advertised to the entire audience.)

First placed Hanshin finished the week with 3 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. They will play host to Tokyo in a three-game series starting on Tuesday. They were 2-0-1 against Hiroshima early in the week, but then dropped both weekend games against Chunichi. Their record of 7-4-3 puts them half a game clear of Chunichi and Tokyo in second place.

Tied with Tokyo for second place in the Central, Chunichi followed two losses to the Swallows at Nagoya Dome the weekend prior (Saturday’s game report; Sunday’s game report) with a tie and two losses away to Yomiuri, and an opening game loss at Koshien on Friday. However, they prevailed over the weekend by outscoring the Tigers 10-4. Their record of 7-5-2 is good enough for a tie with Tokyo for second place in the Central.

Hiroshima slid into sole possession of fourth place in the Central League after dropping both of its “away” games to the Swallows. They were outscored 11-1 in the two weekend games (Saturday and Sunday), and this followed two losses and a draw against Hanshin on Hiroshima’s home soil. The Carp are now 6-6-2 so far this season.

Yomiuri is starting to show some life, but they’re not nearly as good as they likely will be this summer. They lost to Yokohama in walk-off style yesterday afternoon, but that was the only real blemish during a week that the team posted a 3-1-1 record. Their 5-8-1 record leaves them a game and a game and a half behind fourth place Hiroshima, and half of a game ahead of last place Yokohama.

Yokohama had its best week of the season by taking two of three from the Swallows and one of two from the Giants. At 4-8-1, and once again gurgling in the CL cellar, Yokohama’s start hasn’t yet met many people’s expectations, but nobody’s particularly surprised by that nugget of reality either.

Former Swallows

It seems that catchers in the Pacific League squat a bit closer to home plate than we’re used to here in the Central. Former Tokyo first baseman, Josh Whitesell, took out a catcher with his backswing on both Thursday and Friday evenings. Call it whatever you want, a slump or unfair treatment of a foreign player, but Josh was removed from the active roster following Friday’s game.

Norichika Aoki has only seven at-bats so far this season, but he’s not embarrassing himself. He’s currently hitting .429/.556/.429 and is generally one of the first bats off the bench plus a pretty consistent late game replacement on defense. Here’s video of Aoki’s first big league hit.

Alright, that’s all for this edition of the snapshot. Please excuse me while I cut off a media outlet or two.

Drink up!

Hanshin Tigers 3 

Tokyo Swallows 1

Streak: Lost 1   Last 5: WWLDL

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Craig Brazell	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	3	0
Swallows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	8	0
W: Ando (1-0) L: Ishikawa (1-1) S: Fujikawa (2)

Only 2 Tigers showed up with their A game tonight, unfortunately only 1 Swallow could say the same and the result was a frustrating 3-1 loss to the Tigers.

	Hanshin		Tokyo
1	Hirano (2B)	1	Tanaka (2B)
2	Yamato (CF)	2	Ueda (CF)
3	Toritani (SS)	3	Milledge (RF)
4	Arai (3B)	4	Hatakeyama (1B)
5	Brazell (1B)	5	Kawabata (SS)
6	Murton (RF)	6	Miyamoto (3B)
7	Kanemoto (LF)	7	Balentien (RF)
8	Fujii (C)	8	Aikawa (C)
9	Ando (P)	9	Ishikawa (P)

Coming off the near no-hitter against the Giants to open the season, Ishikawa looked strong and in control giving up only 3 hits in 7 innings of work. Unfortunately Ishikawa was made to pay for every hit, as Craig Brazell solo homered in the 5th and homered again in the 7th to cash in a hit from earlier in the inning.

On the other side of things, the Swallows offense was facing Yuya Ando who was looking for his first win since 2010. Ando, who only made 1 appearance last year, allowed a runner to get on first base each inning he pitched. But he never allowed a baserunner to advance past that position and the Swallows never looked threatening.

The Swallows finally sort of threatened in the eighth after Ando was replaced by Enokida, managing to get men on first and second with no out. Unfortunately Iihara, Milledge, and Hatake weren’t able to cash in and fell 1-2-3. Balentien managed to smash a no doubt about it homer with 2 outs in the ninth to cap off a 3 hit night for him, but it was too little too late for the Swallows. 3-1 Tigers

(Not much else to write really…)

The Swallows now travel to Nagoya to face the Dragons who have been busy beating up the Carp and BayStars on route to an early 4-0-1 record in which they have only allowed 4 earned runs. The Dragons will send out their ace Yoshimi for the opener, while Orlando Roman will make his Swallows debut.

Hanshin Tigers 5 

Tokyo Swallows 5 

Streak: Tied 1   Last 5: WWLD-

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Hanshin	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	5	12	0
Tokyo	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	7	0

	Hanshin		Tokyo
1	Hirano (2B)	1	Tanaka (2B)
2	Shibata (CF)	2	Ueda (CF)
3	Toritani (SS)	3	Milledge (RF)
4	Arai (3B)	4	Hatakeyama (1B)
5	Brazell (1B)	5	Kawabata (SS)
6	Murton (RF)	6	Miyamoto (3B)
7	Kanemoto (LF)	7	Balentien (RF)
8	Fujii (C)	8	Aikawa (C)
9	Messenger (P)	9	Tateyama (P)

Some ties you’re happy to get, some are a letdown; the box score lets you know which one the Birds’ delayed home opener was.

Shinya Miyamoto, the koshu of Jingu.

Tateyama took the mound for Tokyo and got off to a pleasing start: three batters, one strike out, and a mere nine pitches. The offense quickly added to the fun when Ueda was walked, moved to third by a Milledge single, then brought in by a Hatakeyama grounder. 1-0 Tokyo.

Improving on his hot first inning, Tateyama notched another K, throwing only seven pitches to the next three batters in Hanshin’s order.

Miyamoto, then pounded hit number seven into left, putting him only eighteen away from the Meikyukai’s 2000 benchmark with 140 games to go. Unfortunately, this was followed by Balentien grounding into a double play (and giving up not evenhalfway down the basepath, which won’t win him any new fans out in the bleachers) and Aikawa grounding out.

Tateyama then gave up a hit to Fujii, but made up for it by striking out the bunt-attempting Messenger, then Hirano.

The Swallows’ bats then gave their hard-working moundsman some serious support. Tateyama walked, Tanaka singled, then Ueda popped out after briefly sparking your narrator’s overly sensitive consternation trigger by setting up to bunt. Milledge then struck out before Messenger started to come apart, walking Hatake to load the bases, then Kawabata to add another run to the home team’s column.

Miyamoto then sent hit number eight into right field for an RBI before Balentien drove in two more, making hoi polloi like him again. 5-0 Tokyo. 

Another ground out and another K for Tateyama, then Arai drilled a hole in the board just behind the center field fence. 5-1 Tokyo.

To no one’s surprise, Hanshin yanked Messenger and put Tsuru on the mound in the bottom of the fourth and he did his job well: 2 Ks against three batters.

Tokyo’s ace then started to show some wear: Murton, Fujii, and Hirano all hit, adding one more run to the visitors’ side: 5-2 Tokyo.

Watanabe then needed only eleven pitches to retire the home side 1-2-3. Oshimoto took the mound for Tokyo and had 1K vs. 1H.

In the sixth, Kawabata hit safely, but three of his teammates couldn’t get Watanabe’s stuff to leave the infield.

It may be this guy’s bad memory or failing eyesight, but Matsuoka looks a bit chubbier this year. He certainly threw chubbier: a lucky K when Kanemoto swung at a bouncing pitch, which, in fairness, might have counted as a strike back when Kanemoto was a rookie and the oldest of the Tsubamegun‘s authors were just beginning to shave. Matsuoka then beaned Fujii, walked Sekimoto, who was attempting the hit and run, and loaded the bases with a single to Hirano.

While fielding the ball and making a not-quite-handsome throw from right, Balentien appeared to injure either his wrist or his pride. Either way, he was yanked in favor of Iihara.

Not Matsuoka’s day. Would Masubuchi save the day?

Yes! (You didn’t expect that, did you?) Pop out, then a K to stave off disaster.

In the bottom of the 7th, Tanaka showed again what we here have long said: having him continually bunt Aoki over to second was a stupid decision; the man can hit. Sadly, no one else did.

Masubuchi then uncorked the swearing of a crowd already looking to go home, some of whom did after he gave up a single to Arai and a centerfield homer to Brazell, then single to Murton and Kanemoto.

Kanemoto took his Zimmer frame off the field to be replaced by the fleeter-footed Yamato, as Masubuchi was replaced by Hidaka.

After Hidaka got the first out of the inning, Shunsuke managed to bunt Murton in for another run.

You know what, Shunsuke? You’re only allowed to go by one name after you’re famous, you cocky little snot.

Hidaka’s strike out of Hirano finally ended things. 5-5.

The Swallows tried to manufacture a run against Enokida, putting Hiyane on the basepath after Hatake walked. Miyamoto also walked (Is this guy getting hotter in his 40s?), but Ks of Takeuchi of Aikawa ended the inning.

Barnette came in to close. He gave up a hit to Asai, got Toritani to ground out, then struck Arai in an epic ten-pitch battle. It took him five pitches to sit Brazell down and give the Birds a chance to slap Fujikawa around for the win.

Didn’t happen.

Ishikawa faces Ando as the Swallows host the grubs from Hyogo again tomorrow night.

Hanshin Tigers 

Tokyo Swallows 

Streak:   Last 5: WWL-

(Meiji Jingu Stadium)

This evening’s game has been postponed due to the impending storm due to hit the Tokyo area over the course of the rest of the day.

The two teams will try again at 6pm on Wednesday.