Kawakami and Uehara in the USA Today List

Kenshin Kawakami was ranked #5 and Koji Uehara was ranked #18 in the top 100 names to watch for in the upcoming MLB season, according to USA Today. No new info here, and the writers are probably working just on info off sites like NPBTracker, EWC, and JapaneseBaseball, with doses of scouting input, maybe. Well, since they’re new mid-rotation projected starting pitchers, they should be interesting no matter how they turn out. Uehara’s had a better record considering the park factors between the hitter friendly Tokyo Dome, and more of a pitchers park of the Nagoya Dome, but Uehara’s fragile. I doubt that either pitcher will be able to handle the every 5th day rotation, and will face some injuries/fatigue midseason (a la Matsuzaka in his first year.)

Uehara signs with Orioles

A 2 year deal with details still to be hammered out. He’ll likely be their No.2 starter since the Orioles only have Gutherie in their vacant rotation.

Two industry sources have confirmed that the Orioles have agreed in principle on a two-year deal with Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara.

The deal is pending specific contract language and a physical, which is expected to occur possibly later this week, though an appointment in Baltimore has not been scheduled.

Uehara gets the starting job that he wanted, and the Orioles get their foot in the door in the Japanese market (though only superstars seem to matter in this regard, don’t see many Rays, Phillies, or Astros apparel around Tokyo.)

Osaka-Toin Wins Summer Koshien!

Congratulations to Osaka-Toin who won this summer’s 90th Summer Koshien tournament in a more than dominating 17-0 crushing of Tokoha-Kikugawa of Shizuoka.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H
大阪桐蔭 Osaka-Toin	4	0	1	0	1	6	2	0	3	17	21
常葉菊川 Tokoha-Kikugawa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5

Kikugawa started their injured ace Togari in a show of support even though he was barely throwing 120km/h (75mph) batting practice softies. It was painful to watch, but on this day, it didn’t matter who was pitching for Kikugawa, look at these ugly lines by each pitcher. Oh, and Toin’s Hagiwara hit homeruns in three straight games including this final, that’s a Koshien first or something as well.

	IP	BF	H	SO	BB	ER
	回数	打者数	被安打	奪三振	四死球	自責点
戸狩　聡希	3	18	9	1	1	5	Togari
野島　大介	2(2/3)	18	7	2	2	2	Nojima
萩原　大起	2(1/3)	11	4	0	1	2	Hagiwara
浅川　将輝	0(2/3)	6	1	0	3	1	Asakawa
戸狩　聡希	0(1/3)	1	0	0	0	0	Togari

And Kikugawa’s powerful bats were shutout completely by Toin’s ace Fukushima who had pitched the majority of innings in all 6 games it took to win the championship, capping it off with an unnecessary shutout in the final even though he had pitched a complete game the previous day in the semifinal. Hope his arm doesn’t fall off.

———-

And in Olympic baseball action Japan barely defeated Canada 1-0 on the back of Inaba homerun and more than solid pitching by Naruse (7IP 2H 0BB 10K 0R), as the lefty was pitted against the Canadian lineup featuring 8(!) lefties, and Hoshino’s plan worked perfectly as Fujikawa and Uehara shut the door in the last 2 innings with 1-2-3 innings. This is Canada’s 4th straight 1 run loss, and that’s gotta be heartbreaking, but the team has no plate discipline and seems to have serious problems laying off balls (very low number of walks and lots of strikeouts). While Japan’s problems have been the lack of clutch hitting which may or may not just be bad luck. Japan had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs late in the Korea game and came away with 0 runs, and the same lack of clutchness was on display against Canada late in the game again with a runner on 3rd and no outs.

Korea’s had similarly difficult time scoring runs, and Cuba hasn’t been scoring boatloads either (except in the mercy rule win against the Dutch today), so this is a generally low scoring tournament so I guess the Japanese offense is not really an exception, maybe the Olympic baseball stadium is a pitcher’s park? USA and Japan look pretty set to grab the last 2 playoff positions, though Japan can’t cruise through tomorrow’s China game, as the upstarts have taken both the Taiwanese and Koreans to extra innings, beating the former. Taiwan lost a heartbreaker today against Korea as the team came back from an 8 run deficit to tie the game only to have Korea score the winning run in the 7th and shut them out for the rest of the game. Taiwan, and to a lesser degree Canada, being 1-4 at this point in the tournament is probably the biggest shocker, and fittingly these two teams face eachother on the final day of round robin play.

Cuba 5-0

Korea 5-0

USA 3-2

Japan 3-2

Canada 1-4

China 1-4

Netherlands 1-4

Taiwan 1-4

Looking back at how the pitchers have been used, it doesn’t seem like Japan has a rotation set up. Maybe this is intentional, or maybe emergency measures because the team looked close to falling out of contention. Anyways, here were the starting pitchers so far.

8.13 Darvish v Cuba (L)

8.14 Wakui v Taiwan

8.15 Sugiuchi v Netherlands

8.16 Wada v Korea (L)

8.17 off

8.18 Naruse v Canada

8.19 ??? v China

8.20 ??? v USA

8.21 off

8.22 Darvish(?) in Semifinal

8.23 ??? in Medal game

It seems impossible to predict the starting pitchers now, but a TV analyst (hope he had insider info) was saying Darvish in the Semifinal. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll see Darvish on a throw day tomorrow if Japan builds a big enough lead against China (IF that happens, Chinese managed to shut down both Taiwan and Korea, and the Japanese offense is equally anemic), I’m sure Hoshino will want him to face some live batters before the semis.

Koji Uehara at NPB Tracker

NPB Tracker has a good run down on the 33 year old Yomiuri Giants right handed pitcher Koji Uehara who announced in early April that he was going to the major leagues next season. This was a highly unusual move from Japanese players who are taught not to rock the boat, but not totally unexpected from this vocal character who had repeatedly declared his MLB ambitions while getting his posting requests denied by the team in the past. His career numbers from 1999-2007 are 106-57, 2.96 ERA, 1459.1 IP, 1304 K, 190 BB, and 172 HR.

He started off this season with an injury, which explains his record of 0-4, 6.75 ERA in 5 games started and 29.1 IP. He’s still rehabbing and hasn’t made an appearance in the minors yet, so his return is still a ways off (Edit: Uehara is back with the big club as of today without making a rehab appearance in a minor league game), and when he returns he’ll go to the Giants bullpen to setup for closer Marc Kroon if things go according to plan. He’s not getting any younger, but being an extreme control pitcher (never having walked more than 28 batters in a season, even though he’s pitched 200+ innings twice in his career and 160+ innings six times) in the mould of Greg Maddux, he could age well and can be a fine pick up for an MLB team as a #3 starter or so.

NPB Power Rankings 2008.4.28

I’m rather busy at the moment, so I’ll try to keep this entry short too. Previous week’s ranking in brackets.

1. Hanshin Tigers(1) 18-6-1 .750

Keeps on going strong, splitting the series against the Dragons (1-1-1) and taking 2 of 3 from the Giants with a dramatic game winning bases loaded walk against Yomiuri’s closer Kroon last night.

2. Chunichi Dragons(2) 15-8-2 .652

Couldn’t overcome the Tigers wall, but didn’t fare badly either. Ace Kawakami returned to the top team, made a relief appearance, but gave up a solo shot in 1 inning of work. He needs to return to form… by October.

3. Saitama Seibu Lions(3) 14-9-1 .609

Dropped both games against the Marines, then feasted upon the Buffaloes weak pitching to the tune of 29 runs in 3 games! The team gets on base (.324 OBP is 2nd in PL) and far outslugs anyone else (.432 SLG and 36 HR, no other team is above .374 and 27 HR). Pitching’s just mediocre though, and Watanabe’s questionable bullpen use (bringing in historically shaky Onuma or Mitsui into high leverage situations) doesn’t bode well for October (and the team’s slugging’s gotta come back down to earth sooner or later). Hiram Bocachica made a dramatic return to the top team, hitting 3 homers in the last 2 games, after a stint in the minors following early season struggles. He adds even more on base ability and power to the lineup, and Watanabe has a happy problem of having too many hot bats to fit into the lineup. If this were the majors, trading one or two hitters for good pitching would be considered, but alas..

4. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles(8 ) 16-13 .552

Had an undefeated week to jump up to 2nd in PL, thanks to complete game shutouts thrown by Nagai, Domingo, and Tanaka!

5. Chiba Lotte Marines(7) 17-14 .548

A great 4-1 week against the strong Lions and struggling Hawks, continuing its strong play.

6. Tokyo Yakult Swallows(4) 11-12 .478

Another 2-3 week. Though splitting the two games against the Carp, and taking 1 out of 3 against the Dragons is pretty much the expected result considering each team’s strengths.

7. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters(5) 15-15 .500

2-4 week. The team can’t score runs to save their lives with only 8 runs scored over 6 games, 6 of those against porous Buffaloes pitching. Fighters got swept by the rising Eagles.

8. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks(6) 14-17 .452

Continued its poor play, going 1-4 against key rivals Eagles and Marines. 

9. Hiroshima Toyo Carp(9) 9-13-1 .409

The same ol’ the same ol’, a 2-3 week against the Swallows and BayStars.

10. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants(10) 11-14-1 .440

Continues to struggle. A 4-2 week sounds good, until you realize that 3 of those wins came against the worst team in NPB, the Yokohama BayStars. Kroon blew a save and lost last night’s game against the Tigers. Uehara was sent down to the minors. The team is definitely much less than what the sum of their parts should be.

11. Orix Buffaloes(11) 11-20 .355

Lost 2 to the Fighters who can’t score, and got absolutely bombed by the Lions and got swept.

12. Yokohama BayStars(12) 6-17-1 .261

Won 2 games against Hiroshima! But the team’s winning percentage is still barely above .250.

Aaron Guiel Watch

23GP 95PA 16R 8HR 21RBI .277/.358/.639 9BB 2HBP 18K

Only 1 HR, 1 walk, and striking out 6 times in 5 games, our man may be in a mini-slump.

Pitchers Watch:

Koji Uehara (Giants) – sent down to the minors, there’s definitely something wrong with him physical or psychological, and he already let the team and the fans know that he intends on going to the majors next year in a major PR gaffe (not that he cares about these sorts of things) so his future is really unclear now

5GS 29.1IP 21/8 K/BB 5HR 22RA 6.75ERA

Kenshin Kawakami (Dragons) – Returned from minors and promptly gave up a bomb, we’ll have to see how he does when he gets a start.

4GS 17.2IP 15/3 K/BB 5HR 9RA 4.58ERA

Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka (Eagles) – a shutout

6GS 50IP 45/19 K/BB 2HR 12RA 1.80ERA

Shota Ohba (Hawks)

6GS 43IP 48/10 K/BB 8HR 18RA 3.77ERA

Yu Darvish (Fighters) – 9IP 2RA, allowed his first HR, and team lost in extra innings

6GS 52IP 51/7 K/BB 1HR 5RA 0.69ERA 3CG

2008.4.22 NPB Power Rankings

I’m rather busy at the moment, so I’ll try to keep this short. Previous week’s ranking in brackets.

1. Hanshin Tigers(1) 15-4 .789

Continues to roll right along with yet another 4-1 week. 4 of the top 7 in CL OBP with Akahoshi (.451), Arai (.415), Kanemoto (.413), and Toritani (.395) explain their position up top.

2. Chunichi Dragons(2) 12-6-1 .667

Can stake a claim for the top spot in the Hanshin series starting tonight.

3. Saitama Seibu Lions(3) 14-9-1 .609

Went undefeated in 3 games (2-0-1) in a short 4 game week that got reduced to 3 games by rain. Outslugging the rest of the league with its 26 homeruns, 7 ahead of the nearest competitor.

4. Tokyo Yakult Swallows(4) 9-9 .500

Continues to slip with a 2-3 week. Saw the 2-1 win on Tuesday against Yokohama, but that’s not much to write home about. Lim continues to look fantastic, not allowing a run in 7 appearances while only allowing 5 baserunners. He may return to the setup role when/if Igarashi returns from injury, in which case the duo could become the Betancourt-Borowski of Japan, at the very least.

5. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters(6) 13-11 .542

Another smallballrific week with game scores being 3-3, 2-4, 3-1, 4-2, and 2-4. I saw that last game on Sunday up in Hokkaido, great crowd and a funky dome in the great white north of Japan. Winning record but currently being outscored 69-77. Could they repeat Hanshin’s success last year as a playoff team with a negative run differential? Maybe.

6. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks(5) 13-13 .500

Dropped 2 out of 3 against perennial playoff rivals Fighters for a 2-3 week.

7. Chiba Lotte Marines(8 ) 13-13 .500

Went 3-2 against the Eagles and the Buffaloes to bring the record up to .500.

8. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles(7) 11-13 .458

A 1-3 week against the Marines and Lions. Iwakuma is in top form as he battles Darvish for the ERA lead with miniscule 0.46.

9. Hiroshima Toyo Carp(10) 7-10-1 .412

Won 2 of 3 against the ever slumping Giants as the teams swap spots.

10. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants(9) 7-12-1 .368

Lost both series against the Dragons and the Carp, losing both of Uehara’s starts as the ace gave up 10 runs in 9 innings over two starts.

11. Orix Buffaloes(11) 10-15 .400

Hitting bombs (19 HR is 2nd in PL) but unable to get hits with any regularity (.219 BA is only 1 point better than league worst Fighters, and probably the worst once adjusted for park factors), and league worst pitching staff sporting 4.10 ERA means the team’s at the bottom of PL.

12. Yokohama BayStars(12) 4-13 .235

Going 1-3 this past week actually raised the team’s winning percentage, can’t get much lower than that.

Aaron Guiel Watch

Still batting over .300, expect that to come down to his more typical 260-280 range though. A relatively quiet week with 1HR and 4RBI as he gave up his CL lead in the latter category, but earned his first HBP of the season in the game I saw at Jingu last Tuesday.

18GP 74PA 13R 7HR 19RBI .313/.392/.734 8BB 1HBP 12K

Pitchers Watch:

Koji Uehara (Giants) – 2 painful starts giving up 10 total runs

4GS 25IP 19/8 K/BB 5HR 17RA 6.12ERA

Kenshin Kawakami (Dragons) – back with the big club yesterday after a short spell in the minors for an unspecified ailment, not scheduled to start in the Tigers series though

2GS 15.2IP 13/1 K/BB 4HR 8RA 4.60ERA

Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka (Eagles)

5GS 41IP 38/15 K/BB 2HR 12RA 2.20ERA

Shota Ohba (Hawks) – the rookie continues to serve up the long ball

5GS 30.2IP 35/4 K/BB 8HR 10RA 3.44ERA

Yu Darvish (Fighters) – yet another CG victory

5GS 43IP 42/5 K/BB 0HR 3RA 0.46ERA 3CG

2008.4.14 NPB Power Rankings

Previous week’s ranking in brackets. Still tight as ever in the PL with the 5 teams (except Orix) within 2 games of the league leader. And thanks to westbaystars’ pitching game scores comment at EWC, we know whose been rocking early this season.

1. Hanshin Tigers(3) 11-3 .786

Went 4 – 1 last week, and big bro “Aniki” Kanemoto got his 2000th hit to ensure his place in the Meikyukai (the old boys club version of a hall of fame).

2. Chunichi Dragons(1) 8-5-1 .615

A tough week going 2 – 3 losing close fought games to Hanshin, then beating up on Hiroshima. Losses were by 2 runs or less though.

3. Saitama Seibu Lions(4) 12-9 .571

A win some, lose some 3 – 3 week. But Brazell is absolutely smokin’ right now, he already has 8 homeruns which is 3 more than anyone else in the league, smashing one of them in a 15-5 win over Chiba.

4. Tokyo Yakult Swallows(2) 7-6 .538

An even tougher week going 1 – 3, a loss to the Carp sandwiched by rainouts, and losing the series against the Giants. Losses here were also by 2 runs or less.

5. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks(6) 11-10 .524

Dropped 2 games against Orix, but won 2 against Seibu. Hitting just fine, but not getting consistent pitching performance with their super staff, on paper, allowing 4.2 runs per game, the second worst in the PL.

6. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters(7) 11-9 .550

A 4 – 2 week where 1 win was by 2 runs, and all remaining games were decided by 1 run, including a 1-0 nailbiter shutout win by Darvish over Iwakuma’s Eagles. Being a fighters fan must do bad things to your heart.

7. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles(5) 10-10 .500

Swept Orix, but got swept by the Fighters. Two great pitching performances with a 0-1 complete game loss by Iwakuma, and a 3-0 shutout by Tanaka.

8. Chiba Lotte Marines(8) 10-11 .476

A Jekyll and Hyde week slugging it out in the Seibu series (18 RS – 19 RA), then a series of pitching duels against the Fighters (6 RS – 5 RA). 

9. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants(10) 5-8-1 .385

The sleeping Giant half awoke, going 3-1-1 against the crosstown Swallows and the lowly BayStars.

10. Hiroshima Toyo Carp(11) 5-7-1 .417

Rain washed away 2 games, 2 gritty wins, and 2 blowout losses to Chunichi last week.

11. Orix Buffaloes(9) 8-13 .381

Starting to slip from the PL pack with a 2-4 week. Getting swept by the Eagles, including a brilliant 10K shutout performance by Tanaka, is not a good sign. 

12. Yokohama BayStars(12) 3-10 .231

A 1-3 week where they offered a helping hand in reviving the Giants, and they also played the Tigers. You can’t win games when you score 2.8 runs per game in a hitters park (and allow 5.3 runs per game). 

Aaron Guiel Watch

The man keeps on slugging, in fact he managed to raise his slugging percentage over the past week, amazingly enough.

13GP 54PA 11R 6HR 15RBI .340/.426/.830 7BB 0HBP

(CL leader in HR, RBI, SLG) 

 

For good measure, let’s keep an eye on some pitchers: 

Koji Uehara (Giants)

2GS 16IP 17/2 K/BB 4HR 7RA 3.94ERA

Kenshin Kawakami (Dragons)

2GS 15.2IP 13/1 K/BB 4HR 8RA 4.60ERA

Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka (Eagles)

4GS 32IP 30/12 K/BB 1HR 9RA 1.97ERA

Shota Ohba (Hawks)

4GS 30.2IP 35/4 K/BB 6HR 10RA 2.93ERA

Yu Darvish (Fighters)

4GS 34IP 32/5 K/BB 0HR 2RA 0.53ERA

Granted, he plays in the pitchers park of NPB, Darvish continues to dazzle, all this only in his 4th year and as a 22 year old.

2008.4.7 NPB Power Rankings

I was never really fond of power rankings for sports leagues since they’re so arbitrary. When Aaron Shinsano at EWC asked me to do NPB power rankings, I was hesitant. Not only was I busy with my new job, the task of ranking teams fairly seemed like too much work. But after a while, I suddenly realized that it doesn’t have to be fair, power rankings are always arbitrary anyways. But there’s certainly demand for them as every sports publication, on or offline, seem to indulge in these things. So I’ve decided to join the ranks of the arbitrary rankers! (And hey, what great timing, EWC’s Korea League Rankings have just gone up!)

Even though it’s a real logjam in the PL with only 3 games separating the 6 teams, without further ado, here’s the NPB power rankings for 7 April 2007, a little more than two weeks and one week into PL and CL seasons, respectively.

1. Chunichi Dragons 6-2-1 .750

After a lackluster first year in NPB (batting .261 after a .312 career in the KBO) Byung-kyu Lee has awoken with a .314/.351/.486 line 9 games into 2008. Woods, Nakamura, and Morino(!) are supplying the power, so Kosuke Fukudome is not being missed thus far. Team pitching is absolutely shutting down the opponents with a 1.95 ERA, almost 1 full point lower than the next team in the league.

2. Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6-3 .667

Sweet revenge in the home opener Tokyo derby where the team swept the crosstown rival Giants who signed away the birds top pitcher, Greisinger, and one of the top hitters, Ramirez. The team has continued its hot play, but the lineup cannot be expected to keep on slugging .450 (it was .409 last season), and team ERA of 4.04 doesn’t bode well for the future, but things are looking good at the moment. Losing closer Igarashi to injury after the first game may have been a blessing in disguise as import Chang-Yong Lim has wicked stuff, mid-90’s fastball with late movement from a deceptive submarine delivery, and he has probably won the closer’s job (though using him in the most high leverage situations before the 9th would probably be better for the team than a strictly 9th inning closer role, and the birds’ pen is not exactly awash with talent so the return of Igarashi would help.)

3. Hanshin Tigers 7-2 .778

The cats feasted on weak opposition in Yokohama, Hiroshima, and the slumping Yomiuri to their current record. Real test starts tomorrow with the series against the mighty Dragons. 

4. Saitama Seibu Lions 9-6 .600

Getting it done with both hitting (18 HR is more than twice the second place team in PL, and .418 SLG also leads the league) and pitching (2.77 ERA leads the league). Brazell has been a pleasant surprise (.276/.323/.603 and his 6 HR leads the league) and Takeya “Okawari” Nakamura is showing a return to his 2005 debut year form with 4 HR and .296/.367/.630 after two disappointing years. Rotation has been absolutely solid, with a couple of surprise veterans, one being Nishiguchi’s slow start (is this the beginning of the end for this vet?) and Kaz Ishii’s gems (3GS 3W 1.67ERA). 

5. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 7-7 .500

Started the season ice cold with 4 straight losses, then went on a tear winning 7 in a row, then got swept in the most recent series against the Lions. Enigmatic, you could say. But the team took hold of first place in PL for the first time ever in its short franchise history last week. Starters “Ma-kun” Takana, Iwakuma, Nagai, and Asai have been solid, and 40 year old slugger Yamasaki continues to defy father time leading the league in hitting with .390/.490/.707 overshadowing Fernandez who is also off to a hot start with .352/.367/.611.

6. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 8-7 .533

54 RS and 58 RA, makes sense being stuck in the middle of the table despite superb performances by everyone’s coveted rookie Ohba who pitched a 16K 0BB shutout on Saturday (1 strikeout shy of tying Hideo Nomo’s NPB record for rookies) against the Marines.

7. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 7-7 .500

37 RS and 48 RA, yet the team is doing it again, somehow being kept afloat with a .500 record. Yu Darvish didn’t allow a run until his 3rd start of the season (0.72 ERA in 25 IP) so that certainly helps. But their chronic inability to score runs (though they play in an extreme pitchers park) will come back to haunt them this season, finally. Terrmel Sledge (.236/.340/.457) is needlessly being bashed by the fans because of his low BA, but he’s doing about as well as expected otherwise, as indicated by his numbers in the minors (.309/.401/.490) and majors (.247/.327/.418). Something needs to be done about the league worst .279 OBP.

8. Chiba Lotte Marines 7-8 .467

Rotation’s having a shaky start beyond the Naruse, Watanabe, and Kobayashi trio. But the team’s 50 RS and 59 RA means they’re in the thick of things in the PL.

9. Orix Buffaloes 6-9 .400

League worst .211/.281/.322 and 61RA puts a shudder in their coaches and fans (and probably themselves too). Tuffy Rhodes (.952 OPS) is playing like himself, but Greg LaRocca (.526 OPS) and Alex Cabrera (miniscule .356 OPS!) need to wake up if this team is going to go anywhere, as they’re dependent on the import cleanup.

10. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants 2-7 .222

Best NPB on paper got swept by the Swallows in the opener, and hasn’t recovered since, despite having a great array of pitchers and sluggers. Though opening the season against scorching Swallows and always tough Tigers and Dragons couldn’t have helped. If the team doesn’t right the ship in the upcoming Yokohama series, it’s tough going again with consecutive series against the Swallows and Dragons after that. Koji Uehara declaring his MLB intentions in this midst doesn’t help him or the team, he truly shot from the hip. This team will surely climb up through these rankings as the season progresses. Oh yeah, and .284 team OBP is by far the worst in the CL.

11. Hiroshima Toyo Carp 3-5-1 .375

36 RS and 30 RA, have the Carp been unlucky? Nah, the run differential is skewed by the 17-3 win over the BayStars on Sunday. Arai was no Godzilla, but losing him certainly hurt the lineup. And losing Kuroda to the Dodgers have been extremely painful as 25 year old former 1st round pick Kan Otake has been the only good starter (3RA in 16IP) at this early point in the season.

12. Yokohama BayStars 2-7 .222

 

Rather hopeless start to the season, scoring only 29 runs on .677 OPS while allowing by far the league worst 57 runs on 6.37 ERA. And unlike the Giants, there aren’t huge improvements in sight. Team’s lone slugger Murata is off to a slow start (.216/.275/.432) but starters Terahara, Wood, and Miura are off to solid starts with ERA in the 3s. But the bullpen’s been absolutely disastrous in the first week of the season.

 

Aaron Guiel Watch

 

The underappreciated (many Swallows fans were hoping he wouldn’t return to the team this year) Canadian slugger (his fight song is great, starting out with a long Oh Canada! introduction, which the cheer squad can play because he’s a patient hitter) is the NPB King of Three True Outcomes (HR, K, BB) in the mould of Adam Dunn but not as extreme as Jack Cust. He hit .245/.381/.493 last season with 35 HR (2nd in CL). But incredibly enough, many fans can’t see past his low average. Anyways, this JHB blog will track his year.

 

Guiel also has a reputation for bending the space-time continuum (one example being his inside the park homerun during playing manager and Swallows legend Atsuya Furuta’s retirement game), but this requires an entirely separate entry  😛

 

Aaron Guiel (as of 2008.4.7) – the whole team’s off to a hot start and Aaron’s no exception

9GP 37PA 8R 3HR 12RBI .344/.432/.781 5BB 0HBP

(CL leader with 12RBI) 

 

For good measure, let’s keep an eye on some pitchers:

 

Koji Uehara (Giants)

1GS 9IP 7/2 K/BB 2HR 4RA 4.00ERA

Kenshin Kawakami (Dragons)

2GS 15.2IP 13/1 K/BB 4HR 8RA 4.60ERA

Masahiro “Ma-kun” Tanaka (Eagles)

3GS 23IP 20/9 K/BB 1HR 9RA 2.74ERA

Shota Ohba (Hawks)

3GS 25IP 29/2 K/BB 3HR 5RA 1.80ERA

Yu Darvish (Fighters)

3GS 25IP 26/4 K/BB 0HR 2RA 0.72ERA