It’s been a while since our last audio edition, but David and Christopher sat down again on a Sunday afternoon to make fun of each other a little bit and talk about everything that has happened since the Central League playoffs kicked off at Meiji Jingu Stadium at the end of October.

After a brief recap of the playoffs and Japan Series, David and Christopher run through some of the off-season player moves and what might be in store for 2012.

They hit on Norichika Aoki’s upcoming move to Milwaukee, Yomiuri’s free-spending consumption of the best free agent’s from both leagues, and soap that smells like bacon.

Happy holidays to everyone out there who keep checking and listening in. All the best to you and yours!

Rain cancelled both Swallows’ games against the Chunichi Dragons, giving the Swallows a short week in which they only played 3 games against the Yokohama BayStars. The Swallows’ first trip to Yokohama this season yielded 3 wins and a widening of their Central League lead heading into Inter-League play this week. The Swallows are now 8 games over .500, for the first time since August 2009.

The Week That Was

Rotation Slippery When Wet: The two rained out games against Chunichi basically meant our team took a road trip to Kanazawa and Toyama with nothing to show for themselves baseball-wise. The rain out meant that the team had to juggle their rotation a little. Yoshinori, rather than Ishikawa, was given the first start in Yokohama to put him on track to pitch in Sendai, his hometown, next week. Ogawa has said he believes Yoshinori’s homecoming would be important for both the young pitcher and the people of Sendai, and that he would do what he could to allow the start to happen. Ishikawa and Masubuchi pitched games 2 and 3, essentially skipping Tateyama and leaving the question of our fifth pitcher’s spot still unresolved. Although Nakazawa was sent down today along with young catcher Yuhei Nakamura. Tateyama and mystery pitcher #5 will probably start against the Fighters to start the week.

How long will he mash?

The Continuing Exploits of Coco Balentien: It seems that the windy bandbox of Yokohama Stadium combined with the BayStars’ subpar pitching was enough to jolt Balentien’s stats even higher. Over the 3 game series Balentien went 8-for-11 with 4 HRs, 7 RBIs, 5 Rs, 1 BB, and 0 Ks. Looking at the Triple Crown stats. Balentien leads the league in BA (.386) and HRs (13), and he is 1 RBI behind league leaders Sledge and Ramirez who both have 21 RBIs. Balentien is in the top 5 in almost every meaningful offensive category including an absolutely unreal SLG of .916. His 13 HRs in 25 games still keeps him on pace to shatter the NPB homerun of 55 currently held by Alex Cabrerra and Tuffy Rhodes. But of course, past performance is not always a indicator of future returns and Balentien doesn’t get to hit against the BayStars in Yokohama every game, so we’ll hold off on handing the young slugger the Triple Crown just yet. One interesting stat I’ll throw out there is that Balentien’s BA w/ RISP is a pedestrian .267. Not that I put too much stock in this stat, but it may be an indication that Balentien is forcing himself and swinging at bad pitches with runners on base.

Quo Vadimus

Interleague Fun Time: It’s that time of the year again where every Central League team will be pitted against their Pacific league counterparts in a series short two game series. The specific mechanics of NPB Interleague can be found at last year’s Interleague Preview article. The only difference from last year is the continued enforcement of the 3 and a half hour rule. While the ultimate goal is to finish first over the 11 other teams, any games advantage that can be gained over fellow Central League teams even if we don’t win the Interleague outright, can be a big boost at the end of the season. Last year all 6 PL teams finished ahead of the CL teams with the top CL team being the Giants with a 12-12 record. The Swallows finished 11th with a 9-14-1 record despite starting the Interleague schedule with 9 straight losses, which prompted the sacking of then-manager Takada. This year, with the team on top of the CL standings the expectation will be much higher.

DH Options: One of the fun things about playing in PL parks is the availability of the designated hitter, allowing the team to add a bat to the line up, and to hide defensive liabilities. With that it mind I would guess that the team would make Whitesell the DH, move Hatakeyama to first base, and play Iihara in left field. Takeuchi, Yuichi, and Fukuchi are other bench players that may be given at bats, but I expect that Iihara would get the first opportunities.

Our Opponents: The Swallows will Kick off Interleague play in Hokkaido against Yu Darvish and the Fighters on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by games in Sendai against the Eagles on Friday and Saturday, and ending the week back at Jingu on Sunday and Monday against the Hawks. The Fighters and the Hawks currently top the PL with a good balance of offense and defense, while the Eagles are middling as they cannot find the offense to complement their pitching. If things go according to schedule the Swallows will probably face Darvish and Masaru Takeda against the Fighters. Darvish needs no introduction and he has been pitching solidly winning his last 4 games including a complete game shutout against the Eagles last Tuesday in which he recorded 15 strikeouts. Takeda has been having a good season although he has been a little unlucky, Takeda has lost his last two games despite giving up only 1 run in each game. The Eagles’ rotation is a little murkier but it appears that the Swallows have a date with Eagles’ ace Masahiro Tanaka coming up in their series in Sendai. A Tanaka vs. Yoshinori matchup would no doubt get a lot of press if it were to materialize. Rookie southpaw Takahiro Shiomi would probably pitch game 2 if things go according to plan. The Eagles also feature MLB-returnee and former Swallow Akinori Iwamura. He has been struggling mightily in his return to Japanese baseball, batting only .169 in 85 plate appearances. Finally reading far into the Hawks’ rotation it seems quite possible that the Swallows will hit Hawks’ ace Toshiya Sugiuchi or possibly Tsuyoshi Wada the Hawks’ other ace. Former BayStar Seiichi Uchikawa is a player to watch on the Hawks, as his slap hitting ways slowed only by minor injury has translated well to the Pacific League stage.

Any insights from people that actually watch/follow the Pacific league would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, before we end this column for this week, we have one final item.

Condolences to the Barnette Family: Swallows reliever Tony Barnette was taken off the active roster, and he will be returning to the US to join his family after the sudden death of his brother Randy. We here at Tsubamegun would like to offer our our heartfelt condolences to the Barnette family on the loss of their loved one.

What’s Interleague Play? How does it work?

During Interleague play each team will play every other team from the other league, twice at home and twice away. For those of you who aren’t good at math, that comes out to 144 games total, and 24 games per team. The DH rule will be in effect at all Pacific League parks, and all other Pacific League-specific rules (notably lineup reporting requirements) will not be used during Interleague play. The team with the best record after all the games have been played will be crowned Interleague Champion and will receive a cheque for 50 million yen (approx. 540,000 USD). A Pacific League team has been crowned Interleague Champion every year since the inception of Interleague play in 2005. The top player on the championship team will be named Interleague MVP and will receive a cheque for 2 million yen (approx. 21,500 USD). Two additional players, one from each league, who were not on the championship team will be recognized as valuable players. All wins and losses, as well as all individual statistics accumulated during Interleague play count in regular season totals.

How have the Swallows fared during Interleague play?

The Swallows have a total record of 79 wins and 65 losses during Interleague play since its inception in 2005. They have had a winning Interleague record in 3 out of the 5 seasons of Interleague play, coming in second in both 2006 and 2009.

Who are the Swallows playing?

What follows is a series of short summaries of all the Pacific League teams. I’ll tell you how they are doing this year, and throw out some players to watch out for during the game. They’re presented in the order we will be playing each team.

Orix Buffaloes
Last year’s Pacific League doormat, under new manager Akinobu Okada, are solidly in the race for 4th place with a record of 16-22-1. They come into Interleague play with a 2-7-1 over their last 10 games. Behind sluggers like Alex Cabrera, Greg LaRocca, and the young T-Okada, the Buffaloes lineup features some power but not much else. The Buffaloes also feature the worst pitching in the Pacific League with a team ERA of 4.55. Their best starting pitchers, Chihiro Kaneko and Mamoru Kishda, have been inconsistent both recording records of 2-3, with ERAs over 4.70. The Swallows have feasted on the Buffaloes compiling a 18-6 record against them in Interleague play, never failing to win the season series.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The always strong Hawks come into Interleague play with a record of 24-17-1, with a record of 6-3-1 over their last 10 games. The defending Interleague Champions, along with the Marines, are a half a game back of the league leading Seibu Lions, and are looking to use Interleague play as a springboard to the top of the league. The Hawks feature strong bats with Jose Ortiz leading NPB in homeruns with 13, and Munenori Kawasaki leading the Pacific League batting race with a .358 average. Hiroki Kokubo is also having a good season, hitting .300 with 8 homeruns. The Hawks are also aggressive on the basepaths leading the league with 59 stolen bases. In terms of pitching, Toshiya Sugiuchi just can’t seem to lose, racking up 7 wins in 8 starts, and closer Takahiro Mahara has saved 12 games while giving up only 1 earned run. In Interleague play the Hawks hold a 15-9 record over the Swallows.

Saitama Seibu Lions
Coming into Interleague play the Lions sit atop the Pacific League with a 25-16 record, with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games. The Lions sit atop the league on the strength of their pitching staff that boasts a league leading team ERA of 3.62. The rotation features Kazuyuki Hoashi with his league leading ERA of 1.27, 2009 Sawamura award winner Hideaki Wakui, and the reliable young Takayuki Kishi. Brian Sikorski leads the league with 13 saves. The Lions batters aren’t too shabby either, with sluggers Takeya Nakamura, Hiroyuki Nakajima, and Dermal Brown. The Swallows hold a 14-10 record over the Lions in Interleague play, but have split the season series every year over the last 3 years. Also, the Swallows have met the Lions in the Japan Series 3 times, coming away with the title twice, in 1993 and 1997.

Chiba Lotte Marines
The post-Bobby Valentine Marines came out of the gates swinging, opening the season with a 9-2-1 over their first 4 series. They’ve cooled down somewhat since then, mostly by being confounded by the Hawks, but they are still feature a dangerous team with a 23-15-1 record. The Marines feature a very robust offensive attack with 5 of the top 10 batting leaders wearing Marine colours. The Marines are the only team with a team OPS over .800, .820 to be exact, the next closest team is Seibu with a team OPS of .752. In layman’s terms, the Marines are patient at the plate, hit for average, and power. Former Major Leaguer Tadahito Iguchi is arguably having the best season out of the Marines batters, leading the league in doubles, walks, and OBS. Although hard slugging Kim Tae-Kyun, young captain Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and team batting leader Takashi Ogino, all have cases to make. The pitching hasn’t been too shabby either, with a team ERA of 3.97. However, beyond young ace pitcher Yoshihisa Naruse, all the other Marines starters have been somewhat inconsistent. Historically the Swallows hold a slight edge over the Marines in Interleague play with a record of 13-11.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Last year’s Pacific League Champions have hit a serious snag in their quest to repeat, and are currently sitting at the bottom of the Pacific League standings with a record of 14-25-1. Things have started to look up for the Fighters as they have won 6 out of their last 10, and are on a 3 game winning streak going into Interleague play. The Fighters feature all-world pitcher Yu Darvish, who is leading the league with 78 strikeouts and who sports a health 1.79 ERA. Beyond Darvish, however, the Fighters have had trouble finding consistency in their starting pitchers. The Fighters feature 3 batters with .300+ batting averages in Kensuke Tanaka, Yoshio Itoi, and Tomohiro Nioka, but are having problems plating runners with only 145 runs batted in. The Fighters have only managed to hit 18 homeruns in 40 games, and their leading homerun hitter is former Swallows favourite Atsunori Inaba with just 4. The Swallows hold a 12-12 record against the Fighters in Interleague play, but that is distorted by the 5-1 record we recorded in the inaugural season of Interleague play.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
After losing manager Katsuya Nomura, last year’s Pacific League runner up are reverting back to their losing ways with a 16-23 record. Momentum is also not on the Golden Eagles’ side, with a 4 game losing streak coming into Interleague play. The Golden Eagles are like the Fighters in many ways, except instead of having one über pitcher in Yu Darvish, the Golden Eagles have three good, but sometime inconsistent, pitchers in Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Satoshi Nagai. Those three pitchers combine for 9 out of the Golden Eagles’ 10 league leading complete games. Unfortunately the Golden Eagles’ haven’t been able to score any runs just like the Fighters. But whereas the Fighters had three batters hitting .300+, the Golden Eagles only have one, Yusuke Takatsu. Catcher Motohiro Shima is the only other regular hitting above .300, but he hasn’t had enough at bats to qualify for the inclusion on the leaderboard. Veteran Takeshi Yamasaki, who lead the league in homeruns in 1996 and 2007, leads the team in homeruns with 4. Overall, the Golden Eagles have hit an anemic 16 homeruns in 39 games, and feature a league low .653 team OPS. The Swallows hold a 17-7 lifetime advantage of the Golden Eagles in Interleague play.

How do you think the Swallows will do in Interleague play?

I think if our pitching stays strong and our bats wake up like we saw in the last series, I think we have a decent shot at coming out of Interleague play with a winning record. If we can get lucky with some pitching matchups, I can see us going 14-10 by beating up on Orix, Nippon Ham, and Rakuten. But then again, seeing the kind of season we’ve been having so far, I can also easily see us going 10-14 or worse. I’m also curious to see how Takada will rejigger the lineup when we have the DH available.

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 4

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 11

Best of 3 Series: Fukoka 0 – 1 Tohoku

(Kleenex Stadium)

The Eagles absolutely destroyed the visiting Hawks in the first game of what could be an abbreviated series up in Sendai.

Iwakuma pitched a complete game for the home side, and the Tohoku offense pumped out four home runs on their way to a good ‘ole ass-whupping.

Fukuoka starter, Sugiuchi, found himself in trouble very quickly as he gave up a lead-off home run to start the game, and ended up surrendering a total of seven earned runs in an outing that lasted an out shy of three full frames.

Importantly, three of the four walks drawn by Tohoku batters either crossed home plate or factored in a run being scored. Also, all nine of Tohoku’s starters recorded at least one hit. Second baseman, Takasu, and left fielder, Nakajima, both had two-hit games including a home run each. First baseman, Seguignol, also hit a home run and recorded three of the team’s rbi’s.

Iwakuma allowed four runs (two earned) off of six hits in game one. He lasted a full nine innings and threw 132 pitches. He struck out seven and walked two.

Game two is slated for tomorrow evening at 1 PM and we should be seeing Fukuoka’s Houlton square off against Tohoku’s Tanaka.