I’m in Nagoya now, awaiting the first game of the Nippon Series. Back in Chiba it’s 14 C/57 F and a typhoon is on the way; here it’s just cloudy and cold. Good thing the game today is in Nagoya or else there wouldn’t be a game 1 today. I’d like to take a quick …
Tag: Yoshihisa Naruse
Climax Series Final Stage Game 6 – The King of Chiba
I will freely admit it – sitting in the second deck behind home plate at Chiba Marine Stadium, watching game 6 – the decisive game of the Climax Series Final Stage, cheering loudly with my friends and fellow fans, seeing Ohmatsu golf a ball from Brian Falkenborg deep and high, being unable to tell whether …
Climax Series Final Stage Game 1 – Aces High
Climax Series Final Stage Game 1 is in the book – right under the chapter heading and introduction the book says “Lotte takes the first game of the series 3-1.” It’s a nice book so far. Everybody loves an ace battle, and tonight was a great one – Toshiya Sugiuchi for the Hawks versus Our …
Climax Series 1st Stage Game 1 – Never Say Die
‘‘This is what happens when you never give up,’’ said Fukuura, who pumped his right fist as he rounded the bases. – Kyodo News on Saturday’s Climax Series First Stage Game 1 If you were to make a time capsule for sports – a representative collection of the appeal of sport and the significance to …
Yatta! Look Out Seibu, The Marines are Invading
The wait is over – it’s been a long season, a stress-filled September, and it went right down to the last possible pitch. The three-year wait is over: Tonight, Our Marines clinched the final spot in the climax series by the slimmest of margins, taking a tight 5-4 victory from visiting Orix, and seizing the …
Modasho
As I have much lamented lately, the Lotte offense is just plain injured. Tonight’s starting lineup featured two batters well below .200 BA (Matoba at .172, Okada at .184 – the backup catcher and 6th outfielder, respectively) and had two more pinch hitters below .200 (Takehara at .145, Muniz at .136). But looky here – …
Opposite Day(s)
I present you two pitching matchups: 27 August: Yoshihisa Naruse (LOT) vs Hiroki Yamada (DAI) 28 August: Yuji Yoshimi (LOT) vs Toshiya Sugiuchi (DAI) And I tell you that Our Marines lost one of those games in disappointing fashion while giving the starter in the other game an epic thrashing – you’d surely say we …
Marine Warnings in Effect
I was poking around the Marine Museum after the game to see what new goodies they had in the shop. There was some interesting new items in there, and a bunch of stuff on clearance, so I scooped up a bit, paid my yen, and wandered into the humid evening. Lotte had just dropped the …
Sweet Vengeance: Lotte vs Yomiuri, Interleague Game 16
Late in Tuesday’s game with Los Gigantes del Yomiuri I had a chat with one of the Chiba Marine security guards I know in passing. Him: “This feels good.” Me: “Yeah, yeah it does.” Him: “I went to both of the games in Tokyo Dome. Bad, very bad.” Me: “Mmm.” Him: ((pauses)) “This feels REALLY …
Unofficial Scoring: Lotte vs Yakult, Interleague Game 7
Thou shalt get caught up on posting, Steve! Actually, I have a great excuse – I love love love, love Marines so much I was out of town on a road trip. So even though I went to both of the Lotte games versus Yakult last Friday and Saturday — and took way, way too …