Now, if you’re reading this expecting some kind of new high-brow niche in adult entertainment from Japan, please accept my apologies and look elsewhere. This here be about baseball. Just as it did last year, the new Swallows Official Goods Catalogue popped through my letterbox this last week, goading me to waste yet more money [...]

Pitchers Kyouhei Muranaka (no. 15) and Mikinori Katoh (no. 16), the alleged future of the pitching staff, were brought up to the top team on the 18th of September. Muranaka, a fourth year lefty from Kanagawa, has been one of 2009′s bigger letdowns as far as the rotation is concerned. He resurfaces on the parent [...]

September 16th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7 Yokohama BayStars 3 Streak: Won 2  Last 5: LLLWW (Yokohama Stadium) The Swallows won two games in a row for the first time since July 31st and August 1st when the team was playing the Dragons at home. Coincidentally, that was also the last time that the birds [...]

September 16th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6 Yokohama BayStars 2 Streak: Won 1  Last 5: LLLLW (Yokohama Stadium) Huh. Imagine that.

September 15th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5 Yokohama BayStars 6 Streak: Lost 9  Last 5: LLLLL (Yokohama Stadium) The last time the Swallows played the Baystars, the Stars whupped them 13-2. Carrying an eight game losing streak, the beleaguered fourth-place Swallows headed to Yokohama to play a team that has had their number all season [...]

September 13th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Chunichi Dragons 7 Streak: Lost 8    Last 5: LLLLL (Nagoya Dome) The Swallows long slide to fifth place continues. Hanshin’s win over Yokohama means that Dave was right, and the birds now find themselves in fourth place at the end of the weekend.

September 11th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Chunichi Dragons 3 Streak: Lost 6    Last 5: LLLLL (Nagoya Dome) The reeling Tokyo Swallows traveled to Nagoya to take on the slightly uninspiring (recently) Dragons after dropping three in a row against the Carp. To sweeten the deal a little (for Tokyo), Ochiai gave old guy [...]

September 6th, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 Yomiuri Giants 4 Streak: Lost 2   Last 5: LWDLL (Tokyo Dome) Well if Friday was a travesty of justice, and yesterday a feeble blowout, then today was simple wastefulness. Tokyo outhit the Giants 8 to 6 and had a few good chances to score more runs but [...]

September 3rd, 2009 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4 Hanshin Tigers 2 Streak: Won 1    Last 5:  LLLLW (Koshien) Tokyo finally broke it’s losing streak on the back of a solid, complete-game 134-pitch performance by Ishikawa.

August 18th, 2009 Hanshin Tigers 4 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1 Streak: Lost 1     Last 5:  LLLWL (Jingu Stadium) Let it never be said that chances weren’t created in this game. Tokyo put plenty of runners on base, but they were phenomenally unsuccessful at getting them to cross home plate. Such is the overriding [...]