This is it – my last game of 2009. Sad. I can’t make the 6 October grand finale and the Seibu games are all mid week and far away. So – fin. The blog’s not done for the year by any means but I won’t even be able to watch the last 3 games live …
Tag: Bobby V
Street Fighting Days, Part 2
The second game of the final Orix-sen showed up on a lovely – but hot – late September day. It was a festival day, with much singing and dancing both inside and outside the stadium. The game itself was spirited as well – both on and off the diamond. The balls were flying out of …
Street Fighting Days, Part 1
It’s been a while since I’ve posted (ahem! again.) At least I have a good excuse – I was on the road last weekend for the Sendai series and on holiday after that, so blogging fell a bit by the wayside. I’ve also got – no joke – 4000+ pictures to go through from the …
Immovable Force vs Movable Object
Lotte starter Yoshihisa Naruse as of late has been The Feared One. He has not been the man lurking in the shadows, sneaking up on poor, unsuspecting Pa-League batters. Oh no. He’s been the crocodile in the pond, chomping everything in sight and leaving nothing but tears and woe. Let’s look at the evidence – …
Live Blog: Lotte vs Seibu, 22 August
This blog should be renamed “We Love Marines, but We’ve Spent Almost no Time at Home Lately and Haven’t Had a Chance to Blog in Ages.” Catchy, no? In honor of a baseball watchin’ weekend and to make up for my busy work week-induced silence, it’s live blog time! Today is Lotte on the road …
A Ham-Free Weekend, Part 1
On an unseasonably cool summer night the relief from the recent Lotte troubles showed up at Makuhari (the moon really was that beautiful tonight – that’s an actual picture from the game). Over the last three weeks Lotte has dropped 14 or 16, including 9 in a row to Nippon Ham, but tonight good ol’ …
Game Report: Fighters vs Lotte, 28 July
I took a bit of a break when the team did for the All-Star break, so everyone involved needs a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. The first game after the break started a lot like the last few games as visiting Nippon Ham jumped on Lotte starter Kobayshi in …
Home Is Where the Victory Is
Just as there’s nothing quite like home cooking, there’s nothing like coming home after a 7-game losing streak on the road to get your team back in the win column. Hot on the heels of road sweeps at the hands of Nippon Ham and Orix, Lotte returned to the welcoming arms of Chiba Marine Stadium …
Interleague Game 20: Chiba Clutch City
Wow, what a well-played game for both teams! The final game of 2009 between Lotte and Hanshin (barring a 2005 Japan Series rematch) had it all – a pitching duel, great defense, unexpected plays, and best of all – a clutch hit to drive in the winning run in a 4-1 Marines victory. Lotte starter …
Interleague Game 18: We Shall Fight on the Beaches
Before tonight’s game vs Hiroshima at Chiba Marine – the last game between Lotte and Hiroshima in 2009 – I imagine Bobby Valentine gave our Marines a pep talk. I think it might have gone like this: “My fellow Marines. We have seen much together these past years. These last few weeks – the battles …