This week Lotte went to Tokyo Dome to avenge the loss (and tie) against the Kyojin at Chiba Marine Stadium Field presented by QVC. It wasn’t the most elegant of set of victories but victories they were, as Our Marines came back at the last possible moment in both games to sweep the 2 game …
Category: game report
Suddenly… Smashers
A slump defined: I went to 11 consecutive home games at the lovely QVC Marine Stadium Field Thingy without seeing a single game where Lotte didn’t have to bat in the bottom of the 9th. And nary a sayonara celebration in extra time, either. Yup, that’s 0-9-2 in 11 home games. I skipped the game …
A Midwinter Night’s Dream
April baseball is great, but cold at Chiba Marine Geez, QVC Marine Field*. It’s usually nice and windy, temps in the low teens or single digits, vendors selling shochu and hot water instead of cool, fruity Chu-Hi. It’s definitely more a time for the hardcore fan than the casual fan as even hardy members of …
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2011 Chiba Lotte Marines
Really, I do still exist. This blog has been adrift somewhere between the afterglow of the stunning run to the 2010 Nippon Series title, the disaster in Tohoku (and Kanto), and the first 36 games of the 2011 season. I’ve been quiet far too long! I haven’t taken so many pictures yet this year due …
Nippon Series Game 7 – Nippon Ichi!
It took seven games, and 12 innings in the seventh game to decide a winner – that winner, finally, decisively, is Our Marines. Can you believe it? This was just an amazing game (and I am not saying that just because of the result) – it was truly an epic way to end the series. …
Nippon Series Game 6 – A Whole Lotta Nothin’
Lotte and Chunichi liked playing this game so much they decided to play 6 more innings! They liked THOSE extra innings so much they decided to replay the game tomorrow. Yup, game 6 was a nearly 6 hour, 15 inning, finish-after-last-train 2-2 tie. Pretty much everybody played. Relief pitchers batted. Stupid decisions abounded. Clutch catches …
Nippon Series Game 5 – One More to Go
Today was the last home game of the season for Our Marines, and they made the most of it. Lotte batters bashed 15 hits and hung 10 runs on the “best pitching staff in NPB” en route to a decisive 10-4 victory and a 3-2 series lead. Since Nishimura-kantoku made a surprise move in starting …
Nippon Series Game 4 – Wasted Chances
Much as I really didn’t want to, I’m going back to Nagoya. Despite a huge chance in the bottom of the 9th and as big a chance as you can get in the bottom of the 10th Our Marines couldn’t get it done tonight. Instead Game 4 of the Nippon Series went to Chunichi in …
Nippon Series Game 3 – Masterpiece Theater
Masterpiece Theater was on tonight. Did you catch it? Venue: Chiba Marine Stadium. Cast: Shunsuke Watanabe (complete game on 97 pitches, 5 Ks, 0 walks, 1 ER), Ikuhiro Kiyota (2-3 with a bases-loaded triple – the winning runs), Tadahito Iguchi (2-4 with an RBI double), Saburo (2-3 with an RBI and a run scored), Toshiaki …
Nippon Series Game 2 – Shortest Post Ever
We needed to win one this weekend; we won one. 12-1 Chunichi.