So it has begun. Our Marines are off and running this 2014 NPB season – a season filled with high hopes of a PL flag, if not an NPB title – and they are getting it started in the home of arguably our biggest rival, Softbank. A good start would be a very welcome sight.
2014 Season Preview: Position Players
We just took a look yesterday at the pitchers for the 2014 version of Our Marines. The pitching situation is pretty straightforward with a lot of depth both in the rotation and in the pen. The situation for position players is a bit different, though, with lots more variables to consider.
2014 Season Preview: The Pitchers
The preaseason is over, the 2014 NPB regular season kicks off this Friday! Let’s take a look at the players who will be starting the season at ichi-gun for Our Marines. First, the pitchers.
I Just Cannot Stop Talking About Aja Inoue!
I wasn’t sure what would be the most interesting aspect of Spring Camp in Ishigaki this year. Typically I’ve enjoyed watching the pitchers the most as their performance is probably closest to what we’ll see from them in a real game. So I suppose I was mostly interested in seeing how our new pitching acquisitions …
Ishigaki Spring Camp – 12 February 2014
It finally hit me – I mean really hit me – that the 2014 NPB Season is coming so very soon sometime around 11am on 12 February. Sure, Spring Camp has been open for almost two weeks now, but at that time I was able to stand next to the bullpen in lovely Ishigaki and watch some of our best pitchers…
Introducing Your 2013 Chiba Lotte Draft Picks
Look at those finely attired gentlemen on the left – that, ladies and gentlemen, is your 2013 Chiba Lotte Marines draft class. 6 men were chosen with regular draft picks (that is, players to be added to the 70 man roster) and one Ikusei player
Spring Camp 2014 – Schedule and News
This weekend, Spring Camps open for all NPB teams. Needless to say I have been waiting very impatiently for this time since October. We’ve got a lot of baseball ahead of us – camp in February, open-sen in March, the start of the Pacific League Season, Interleague play, the rest of the PL season, and inevitably a return to the Climax Series (and the Nippon Series) for Our Marines. It’s almost 10 months of baseball, and on 1 February 2014 it all kicks off.
Retro Photo Gallery: Spring Camp, 2012
I had most of a post written here way back in February 2012, but I never got around to posting it or the pictures associated with it.
Memories of 2013 – Honorable Mentions
Happy New Year everyone. Considering Steve posted the official We Love Marines Memories and Best of 2013 blog, I figured it’s a good time to for me to weigh in with my first post of 2014. Here’s a mishmash some of my top memories from 2013 that didn’t make it into Steve’s post.
Memories of 2013 – Great Players, Thrilling Moments
Happy 2014 from We Love Marines! Now that the 2013 season is officially in the books with Rakuten as champs and Our Marines in a strong second place1, it’s time to review some of the players and moments that made this season so memorable.