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 …
Tag: Chiba Lotte Marines
¡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 …
In the Realm of the Clutch Hitters
Friday afternoon I took a look at my planner to see what was on for the weekend. It was empty except for one item, in bold, underlined with a star next to it: 1. Baseball Mmm, home opener. Two years ago the home opener was in late March; it was stupidly cold and raining but …
Hit Hit and Run
Sunday morning: coffee and fresh sandwich in hand, listening to “Air on G String” for breakfast. Time is smoothly moving – I am enjoying this moment. The feeling is probably not the same if any of the above items are missing. Speed star Tsuyoshi and Ogino collided with each other in the last game. I am …
Advanced Statistical Analysis® and The Men of Lotte
I used Advanced Statistical Analysis® (ASA) to see into the Pacific League future. One cannot deny statistical trends – they are truth incarnate, as if history is already written. Here’s what we know after the first weekend of the Pacific League future; specifically, Our Marines’s Future: – We will win 96 games this year. – …
Street Fighting Days, Part 3
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 …
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 …
Live Blog: Lotte vs Nippon Ham, 13 Sep
It’s a lovely day, the sun is shining and Lotte has their first 4 game winning streak of the year. What the heck, let’s do another live blog! The starting lineups For Lotte: Tsuyoshi (short), Hayasaka (left), Fukuura (first), Iguchi (second), Ohmatsu (right), Hashimoto (DH), Imae (third), Satozaki (catcher), and Hayakawa (center). For Nippon Ham: …