The math is very simple; Our Marines really need to win these last three games of the season. I wrote and deleted a few posts in my head as my mood changed this week. First there was the thrilling end to the game three of the Lotte-Rakuten series in Sendai – I thought that might …
Author: Steve Novosel
I've gotta write, usually my voice is shot from yelling too much during Lotte games!
Circling
So I haven’t updated in ages. This is never a good thing – it COULD mean that I am just busy, or that I’m having so much fun celebrating Lotte victories – but alas, this is not the case. As I write this I am sitting in the stands at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi before the …
Modasho
As I have much lamented lately, the Lotte offense is just plain injured. Tonight’s starting lineup featured two batters well below .200 BA (Matoba at .172, Okada at .184 – the backup catcher and 6th outfielder, respectively) and had two more pinch hitters below .200 (Takehara at .145, Muniz at .136). But looky here – …
Righting Wrongs
So it’s just not possible to fix all of the world’s issues in a day. It’s not possible to right all of the wrongs in the Pacific League in a night either. But boy, Rakuten has sure been Kryptonite for our season and beating the stuffing out of them by the tune of 16-6 today …
Opposite Day(s)
I present you two pitching matchups: 27 August: Yoshihisa Naruse (LOT) vs Hiroki Yamada (DAI) 28 August: Yuji Yoshimi (LOT) vs Toshiya Sugiuchi (DAI) And I tell you that Our Marines lost one of those games in disappointing fashion while giving the starter in the other game an epic thrashing – you’d surely say we …
Back, In Black
In a move that’s been a LONG time coming – we are back in first. Who’d a thought that a little ways back this month? In a fortuitous confluence of events it was a) BlackBlack Towel Night (free towels, plus the team wore away blacks) b) Free Ticket Night from the Makuhari civic association c) …
Briefly: Lotte vs Seibu, 25 August
It’s really quite nice that a successful organization like the Seibu Lions allows older folks to work with the younger crowd, and in critical positions, too! I especially like it as a Lotte fan – nothing like a 47-year-old reliever, released last year after YOKOHAMA thought he was washed up, coughing up a fat pitch …
Six Inches
Here in late August it seems like Our Marines have developed some impeccable timing. The team has made a bit of an adjustment – offensively, defensively, and with the pitching – and the product on the field looks every bit as sweet as it did in April. Why “Six Inches”? Six inches to the left …
A (Baby-Faced) Killer Among Us
He’s ba-a-a-ck! Three months after breaking his hand in Yokohama Karakawa Yuki (who also goes by the names of “Baby-Faced Killer” and “My Favorite Pitcher”) slipped his way back into the Lotte starting lineup. For two games he’s been back now – both vs the Fighters – and he’s 2-0 with exactly one earned run …
Marine Warnings in Effect
I was poking around the Marine Museum after the game to see what new goodies they had in the shop. There was some interesting new items in there, and a bunch of stuff on clearance, so I scooped up a bit, paid my yen, and wandered into the humid evening. Lotte had just dropped the …