I come home from work, turn on the Lotte game, and see Naoyuki Shimizu on the hill in some strange uniform with a “B” on it. Towards the end of the game out trots Daisuke Hayakawa; he too has that strange uniform. It’d be really weird if someone like Tasuku Hashimoto was wearing one of …
On the First Quarter of 2010
Every once in a while I try to fake being a Real Baseball Writer – I’ll whip out a stat or two, try to argue a point, basically do something other than waste a whole bunch of bandwidth with obsessive amounts of photos and snide comments. (OK – you are now thinking “Yeah right, when …
Moon Shots
Today I want to celebrate the big send-off for the first part of the season that our boys in black and white prepared for us! They brought everything; my favorite pitcher (The Baby-Faced Killer), a goregeous sunny-but-not-too-sunny, warm-but-not-too-warm day, and big fistfuls of offensive goodness. They even brought the return of the 52 yen Lotteria …
For The Love of 52 Yen Burgers
If you look back at my recent postings you’ll see a criticism of our new Korean slugger Kim Tae Kyun. To quote myself: Some trends are bothering me a bit – the main one is Kim Tae Kyun’s issues in the cleanup spot. He’s played nice defense and is second in the league in walks …
Stop the Madness: Live Blog, Lotte vs Seibu, 29 April
I went to the Seibu/Lotte game in Tokorozawa last night but I was in a foul mood after the game, so I didn’t blog. After a nice run in first, Lotte has lost 6 of 8 (4 of the last 5) including a close one with Seibu last night. Lotte got on the board first …
Forget Last Week, This One’s Better
Last week certainly was a week to forget – a rainout in Sendai, losses at home to Orix and two to Daiei, and a Tokyo Dome loss to Rakuten. Thank goodness for the win in Koriyama! Lotte really only got manhandled in one of the games, the loss to Rakuten on Tuesday. I didn’t get …
On the Impermanence of Baseball
Or, perhaps more fittingly, the permanence of weather variations in Chiba – the more things change, the more they stay the same. Tickets in hand for tonight’s game with Orix – looking forward to the first home game in a week. Weather: temps dropping. People supposed to go to the game with me: dropping out. …
All Kinds of Ways to Win
There are two basic kinds of blowouts. There’s the sort where one team beats the crap out of the other in the first, then sits in the dugout drinking wine and relaxing for the next day’s game. I went to the quintessential example of this sort of game two years ago in Nagano – Seibu …
¡Ouenka!
As you are quite likely aware ouenka are supporters’ songs in Japanese baseball. These are the songs that are sung by the fans throughout the game, designed to inspire the team on to victory. Lotte had a nice, complete set of ouenka last year for all of last year’s players (and Bobby), but with the …
Fast Out of the Gate
The first series of the 2010 season vs Orix is in the books, and it was a GREAT one for Lotte. Three games in Osaka, 3 wins for the Marines. 25 runs scored on 43 hits. Last year Lotte didn’t win their first game in Osaka until August, this year the guys took the first …