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Japanese Baseball News
Archives: April 1998

April 7, 1998:

Every year there's a foreign player no one expects anything from, but who ends up surprising us. Last year, there were two. Prior to the 1997 season, both Dwayne Hosey and Domingo Martinez were rumored to be a few strikeouts away from earning their release. But Hosey eventually won the CL home run crown while Martinez clubbed 31 roundtrippers and batted .305 with 103 ribbies.

On the Rise: Travis Driskill may turn out to be this year's rags-to-riches player. A career minor leaguer who helped lead the AAA Buffalo Bisons to a rare championship in 1997, Driskill surrendered twelve earned runs in his first two outings and ended the '98 pre-season with an 8.31 ERA -- higher than any other imported hurler. That explains the chopping block rumors.

But a closer look reveals a player with considerable potential.

Forget his first two appearances -- his arm was cold and his nerves frayed. In his final three pre-season trips to the mound (March 17, 23, 26), Driskill pitched six innings of relief, allowing no earned runs, two hits, no walks while striking out eight. And on March 23, the right-hander used a 145 kph fastball and a wicked forkball to strike out five of six Daiei batters he faced. After the game, Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta summed up the team's change of heart: "We can use this guy."

Manabu Kitabeppu, commentator for Professional Baseball News, suggested that Yakult add Driskill to their starting rotation.

In his first regular season appearance (April 4), Driskie pitched two innings of middle relief, delivered a brush back pitched that dropped Yomiuri slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara to the ground, allowed three base runners (two hits, one walk), struck out one, and allowed no one to cross the plate.

If the Nebraska-native continues to improve the way he did during the pre-season, the Swallows will have themselves another ace starter.

When Hope and Reality meet: Opening day always offers cellar-dwelling teams and maligned players like Travis Driskill a new chance. Unfortunately for the Hanshin Tigers, it's not always easy to shed a losing heritage.

In their first game of the new season, the Tigers lost miserably to the BayStars. Yokohama starter Takeo Kawamura held the visitors to one hit while only surrendering three walks and no runs. During the off-season, Hanshin had bolstered its line-up with former batting king Alonzo Powell and slugger Yasuaki Taiho. But in the same deal, the Tigers sent strong-arm outfielder Koichi Sekikawa and vacuum-cleaner shortstop Teushoshi Kuji to the Dragons. With the new acquisitions failing to offer many fireworks, Hanshin dropped three-straight to Yokohama. The weakened Hanshin defense committed seven errors.

Defense also became a problem for the Yakult Swallows. Hit in the arm while trying to block a wild pitch, MVP catcher Atsuya Furuta sat out the next two games complaining of pain. Replacement backstop Susumu Aoyagi hit better than Furuta, who has gone through a severe batting slump since the beginning of the pre-season, but botched several crucial plays.

Hope also appears dwindling for former Seibu ace Hisanobu Watanabe. Though widely touted as the next player to be recycled by Yakult manager Katsuya Nomura, Watanabe allowed five home runs during the 1998 pre-season. On April 4, the 31-year old right-hander surrendered the lead to the Giants when Yomiuri catcher Naoki Sugiyama clubbed a ninth-inning game-winning solo roundtripper.

But if hope is dwindling for some, it's blossoming for others. Both Yokohama and Yomiuri opened the season with three-game sweeps. The BayStars have gotten great hitting from new import Jose Malave (batting .462 with one home run) and terrific pitching (0.90 ERA) from their rotation of young hurlers. For the first time in years, the Giants have started the season with a winning streak, thanks largely to great pitching from Masumi Kuwata, Balvino Galvez and Masaki Saito. Yomiuri's often erratic bullpen looked strong through the opening weekend, and the team got some great clutch-hitting from their second-tier players -- Sugiyama, lead-off hitter Toshihisa Nishi and rookie Yoshinobu Takahashi.

In the Pacific League, the Hawks and Buffaloes got off to strong starts. Though seldom cited for their strong pitching, Daiei held Orix to two runs in the same number of games. The Buffaloes swept their first two games against Lotte with a combination of good pitching (1.42 ERA), strong hitting (.286), power (four homers) and speed (four steals). Kintetsu's Tuffy Rhodes, the most likely MVP candidate should the bison seize the PL flag, clubbed a home run in each game.

But the season is still in its infancy, and at least four teams and even more players are hoping for a new chance. And this week they'll get it.

April 14, 1998

It's been a week of small news stories. Not surprisingly, the local media have filled the headline void by prominently featuring the Yomiuri Giants. The first "big" story was the Kyojin's five-game winning streak at the beginning of the season. But after the Giants dropped a game, the sports tabloids began writing front page stories about Yomiuri slugger Hideki Matsui's 0-for-33 slump.

Meanwhile a lot of interesting baseball news was either buried inside the Japanese sports tabloids or barely covered in the English-language press.

This local obsession with the Giants was one of the reasons I created this web site. So, I'm proud to state, from this paragraph on, I present to you 100% Kyojin-free Japanese baseball news.

Rolling out the first pitch: A team that seldom draws crowds, the Nippon Ham Fighters have tried every imaginable tactic to get fans to watch them at Tokyo Dome. They have Yankees Day promotions, hula dancers, and groundskeepers that dance to Y.M.C.A. during the seventh-inning stretch.

In response to the high interest in curling that the Nagano Winter Olympics inspired, the Fighters invited a member of the Japanese Olympic Curling team to roll out the first pitch on April 10. Groundskeepers with brooms were on hand to make sure the ball crossed home plate.

Two days later, the Japan Times (April 12) reported that Nippon Ham hurler Kip Gross had recently undergone surgery to remove a bone spur and bone chips from his right elbow. Though the Fighters had optimistically stated a month ago that Gross would be able to throw by early May, the pitcher's doctors now say he will need three months to fully recover. So how will this affect the Fighters?

Elbow room: With three foreign pitchers under contract, and a league-imposed limit of two imported hurlers on any team's active roster, Nippon Ham had faced a dilemma -- which of the two newcomers would join Gross on the varsity roster? But since the three-person crowd has been sliced down to two, both Eric Schullstrom and Rafael Orellano will have the elbow room to prove themselves.

Schullstrom pitched well during the pre-season, earning three saves in nine games with a 1.86 ERA. In his one appearance (April 11) since opening day, the good-natured right-hander entered the ninth inning and sent three straight BlueWave batters back to the bench.

Orellano has been perfect in two appearances. In addition to earning a win on April 12, "Raffy" has pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out seven without surrendering either a hit or a walk. Reportedly, Nippon Ham skipper Toshiharu Ueda is very pleased with Orellano.

All of which is bad news if you happen to be in Alabama recovering from elbow surgery.

The Fighters are also getting some great offense from several of their players. Compiling ten walks (tops in the PL) third baseman Atsushi Kataoka is really succeeding by not hitting the ball. And when he does apply lumber to cowhide, he's gotten on base over four times out of ten. His .421 batting average is complemented by a .630 on-base percentage (also best in the loop).

On the other side of the Nippon Ham infield, Hiromitsu Ochiai has squashed rumors that his neck is on the chopping block. Though the Fighters had been thinking of replacing the aging slugger, the competition apparently brought out the best in Ochiai. As of April 12, the 44-year old first baseman has hit .400 with a .538 OBP and one round tripper, bringing his career home run total to 509.

But the best Ham performance has come from second-year import Jerry Brooks. Leading the circuit with a .478 average, .913 slugging percentage and 21 total bases, the right-handed outfielder has clubbed a triple, two doubles and a pair of home runs while compiling seven RBIs.

Crashing 'Wave: But if things are looking up for the Fighters, much of the reason has to do with their opponents. Nippon Ham swept a three-game series as the BlueWave's record fell to 0-6. With the absence of first baseman Chris Donnels (recovering from a broken hand), the team's batting average has sunk to .217 and their once dominant mound staff has compiled a 5.30 ERA.

Though the absence of relief ace Takahito Nomura (traded to a Central League team) may be part of the problem, Orix apparently lacks a reliable backstop. During the April 12 game, middle reliever Taira Suzuki repeatedly shook off 23-year old catcher Mitsuhiro Kubo's signs. During the off-season, Orix lost both of their top catchers, Satoshi Nakajima (signed with Seibu as a free agent) and Takashi Miwa (suspended for tax evasion). Their lack of confidence in third-string Kubo may be what's ailing the BlueWave mound crew.

The team that picked up Nakajima, however, hasn't fared much better. The Lions are currently 2-and-5. Though much of Seibu's problems stem from a late-blooming offense, 1997 MVP and Sawamura Award winner Fumiya Nishiguchi has gotten off to a shaky start (4.91 ERA with 13 hits and two home runs in twelve innings).

Terry Bross climbed the hill for Seibu on April 12, and pitched great for six innings before getting giving up three earned runs in the seventh (on a single, a walk and a home run). In an article for the March 30 Daily Yomiuri 1998 Pro Baseball Preview, Harry F. Thompson writes that Bross has been assured he will pitch every five days. Considering they took seven games before they handed him the ball, it will be interesting to see if manager Osamu Higashio keeps his promise.

Rolling up their sleeves: In Japan's Senior Circuit, the Dragons may be en-route to a sensational turn-around. Last year's cellar-dwellers, Chunichi has shifted the team's strategy toward speed. New lead-off hitter Jeong Bum Lee has already stolen four bases (best in either league) while batting .323 with nine walks for a .500 OBP.

Chunichi also got a good pitching debut (April 8) from lefty Shigeki Noguchi and newcomer Kevin Jarvis, a Kentucky-native who turned down an offer to attend medical school when drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. In seven innings, Jarvis struck out three and allowed just one run on three hits and three walks to pick up the win. Noguchi, an erratic pitcher who threw a no-hitter two years ago, has pitched two games (17 innings) without yet giving up an earned run.

The Dragons are also hoping that a slightly new image will give the team a boost. On April 12, the team entered Nagoya Dome wearing their new Sunday home-game uniforms. Similar to the duds worn by the Anaheim Angels, the blue-pinstripes on sleeveless white jerseys feature a red number on the front along with a big "D." Their matching pinstriped hat features a blue bill.

But Chunichi's spring fashion show was soon overshadowed by Yakult's Kenjiro Kawasaki. Throwing a no-hitter until the seventh-inning, the 1993 Japan Series MVP picked up the win while only allowing two hits and two walks over nine innings. And with that, the week finally ended with a legitimate big news story.

April 21, 1998

It's not even May Day yet, but the Red Army must be feeling good. So named because of their team's red on white uniforms, the Carp oendan often resemble a military institution in the unity and intensity of their cheers. And in the last week, it looks like their enthusiasm has finally been rewarded.

Ten days in April: Though they only won two of their first seven games, the Carp quickly turned things around. In the ten days since April 11, Hiroshima has won eight straight games, surged to first place (10 - 5) and outscored opponents by a 50-24 margin while slugging five home runs and stealing eleven bases. In the same period, Hiroshima's batting average climbed from .242 to .283 and their ERA dropped from 5.11 to 3.74.

Oddly, the Carp surge began on they same day they dropped 21-year-old import Timoniel Perez from the line-up and installed Itsuki Asai at first base. Since Perez is a high-quality, very aggressive player with a lot to contribute, it appears he was simply the victim of bad timing. Though he batted over .400 for most of the pre-season, Perez stalled at the plate after opening day. When his average dropped to .261, the team benched him. In his place, Asai has batted .429.

With the exception of Nate Minchey, who pitched April 15, the Carp have featured an all Japanese squad led by all-star shortstop Kenjiro Nomura (.317, one home runs), third baseman Akira Eto (.288, 3), right fielder Tomohiro Maeda (.338, 1) and left fielder Tomoaki Kanemoto (.224, 1 -- up from .087 ten days earlier). But the team's spark plug has been center fielder Koichi Ogata.

One of the fastest Japanese players, Ogata is currently leading the Central League with a .382 batting average, 14 runs, eight doubles, 35 total bases, and a .636 slugging percentage. Both he and Chunichi's Jeong Bum Lee have stolen four bases.

Although the Carp have had a strong offense for years, their pitching always seems to lag behind. But in addition to 42-year-old Yutaka Ono (best 1997 CL ERA), Makoto Kito and relief ace Shinji Sasaoka, the Hiroshima pitching staff now includes several strong young arms: 1997 Rookie of the Year Toshikazu Sawazaki, Ryuji Yokoyama (2.19 ERA in 1998), and rookie Kanei Kobayashi (currently 3-1, 1.62 ERA, 22 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings). Hiroshima's post-season hopes hinge on how consistent these young arms remain for the next five months.

While the yen-pinching Carp have invested their meager funds in developing young players, other teams have already tried to patch up holes by bringing in more foreign players.

One head must roll: The Chunichi Dragons announced on April 14 that they intended to acquire Korean lefty Sang Hoon Lee from the LG Twins. With a bewildering fastball, Lee led the Korean leagues in wins (1994-95) and later became an ace reliever.

Since Chunichi already has two foreign pitchers (the league limit), if the Dragons intend to use Lee on their varsity team, either Kevin Jarvis or Dong Yol Sun will have to be demoted.

By leading the CL with 38 saves in 1997 while compiling a 1.28 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings, Sun has proven himself indispensable. Currently, the Korean closer is looking to improve on his previous outing, so there's no way Sun will get sent down to the farm team. That means Lee and Jarvis will be competing for the other foreign pitcher spot.

Though Jarvis had pitched well during the pre-season and delivered a gem in his first regular season outing (allowing three hits and one run in seven innings), his second game didn't go so well. At about 11:00 PM on April 14, the night before Jarvis was scheduled to pitch, the Dragons informed him that they were going to acquire Lee. With his mind clearly not on the game the following day, Jarvis gave up four earned runs in 1 1/3 innings before leaving the mound.

Two weeks before that, however, the Tigers announced they would acquire former Anaheim pitcher Darrell May -- bringing to seven the total number of foreign players employed by Hanshin.

With four pitchers, it's unclear what plans the Tigers have. Since Taiwanese hurler Tateo Kaku-ri pitched fewer than five innings last year, it seems unlikely his role on the team will grow in the future. Ben Rivera has been rather successful as a one-inning closer this season. Despite getting shelled in his last two outings, Doug Creek pitched exceptionally well in his first start of the year, striking out seven Yokohama batters while allowing just one run on five hits. Since May has served as both a reliever and a starter, he could work as a back up for either one.

But that assumes the Tigers have a clear idea what they are doing, a theory which looks increasingly unlikely. The team appears to have little confidence in any of the foreign players they have signed -- why else would they keep making so many acquisitions?

Jerked around: Meanwhile, three-time batting champion Alonzo Powell appears destined for a slow death. After batting .103 in the first two weeks of the season, the Tigers have relegated the former Chunichi outfielder to pinch-hitting, a role in which he will unlikely survive for long. Hanshin appears willing to give their Japanese outfielders (Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Shinjiro Hiyama, Katsuhiro Hiratsuka and Akihiro Yano) a chance to prove themselves before promoting former AAA gold glove outfielder Desi Wilson from the Hanshin minor league team.

But Powell and Perez are not the only players to be jerked around. With Chris Donnels suffering a broken hand, the BlueWave are in dire need of good offense. But manager Akira Ogi has been reluctant to give James Bonnici (1997 Western League triple crown) much of a chance on the varsity squad. Likewise, the Lions need a reliable second baseman who can hit, but skipper Osamu Higashio has only recently given Brian Raabe a chance to play nine innings. Yomiuri's Mariano Duncan and Yakult's Lyle Mouton have both been benched for a few games because of their low batting averages.

Along with Donnels, a few other players are currently on the DL. Yomiuri's Toshihisa Nishi broke a bone in his hand and will miss at least a month. Yakult's Dwayne Hosey, who crashed into the Fukuoka Dome's outfield wall last week and dislocated his shoulder, probably won't play for at least a week.

In an interview last year, Hosey mentioned that consistency leads to good baseball. When managers shift their line-ups every day, or too quickly pull players out of games, it messes with the team's consistency and its ability to succeed. If he's right, the Kintetsu Buffaloes are one team destined to succeed.

Consistency wins games: With few major line-up changes, the Buffaloes have been strong since opening day. While 22-year-old lead off hitter Naoyuki Omura leads the PL with a .410 batting average and five steals, Phil Clark (.375, 3 home runs) and Tuffy Rhodes (.390, 3) have produced consistent and powerful offense. Not surprisingly, the Buffaloes have compiled a higher batting average, more home runs and steals than any other PL club.

Kintetsu has also got some great pitching from Akira Okamoto (2.38 ERA, 1-1), Isao Koda (2.92, 1-1) and Hideo Koike (3.29, 2-0). Though he didn't pitch until April 17, import Phil Leftwich won his first game after allowing just two hits and one earned run in eight innings.

Tied with the Buffaloes for the PL lead, the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks have also gotten some great pitching from veteran Kimiyasu Kudo (1.15, 2-0), 23-year-old Shintaro Yoshitake (1.83, 2-0), and Kazuhiro Takeda (2.08, 1-0). Though the Hawks have a powerful offense, they'll get a big power boost in June when Hiroki Kokubo returns from his two-month suspension for tax evasion. But whether they are still competing by then strongly depends on whether Daiei's pitching staff can stay consistent.

If the two teams with the worst pitching in 1997 can turn things around, we might see the Red Army invade Hawks Town this October.

April 28, 1998

The Dragons had just defeated the Swallows 7-0. Surrounded by reporters and television cameras, Yakult manager Katsuya Nomura walked along foul territory from his dugout to the team's clubhouse, located near the Jingu Stadium right field foul pole. A voice from the bleachers interrupted the somber stroll:

Nomura, you idiot... take your son and leave!

A man who once described himself as a "night flower," the gruff Swallows manager has never attracted much fawning devotion. Nor has much goodwill been extended to his son, Katsunori, currently a backup catcher for the Swallows and a career .258 hitter. While most fans grudgingly accept Nomura's reputation as the best skipper in Japan, they are also quick to blame him when things go wrong.

And with a 3-13 record as of April 27, almost everything has gone wrong for Yakult this year.

Sidelined starters: One reason for the team's migration south in the standings is their loss of several key players. While Masato Yoshii left to join the New York Mets, both pinch-hitting outfielder Shinji Hata and gold glove shortstop Shinya Miyamoto were suspended for the first month of the season because of their participation in a tax evasion scandal.

The team has also suffered a flurry of injuries. Right fielder Atsunori Inaba had shoulder surgery during the off-season and probably won't be ready to play until June. And in the past two weeks, left fielder Dwayne Hosey dislocated his left shoulder crashing into the Fukuoka Dome's outfield wall and center fielder Tetsuya Iida broke a finger diving into first base. Though Hosey will return in a few days, Iida will be sidelined for a month. At the moment four of the team's nine regular position players are unavailable to play.

Untimely hits: On the surface, Yakult's offense appears fairly solid. They have a .259 team batting average (fourth in the CL) with twelve home runs (third) and eight steals (fourth). But the team has only managed to score 63 runs (fifth). And while they have two of the league's top batters, both Mitsuru Manaka (.373) and Hirofumi Watarai (.333) have had a lot of trouble hitting with runners on base (.143 and .167, respectively). And though his bat has warmed up considerably in the last two weeks, 1997 MVP Atsuya Furuta is still only hitting .250. The Swallows just aren't getting hits or scoring runs when they need them most.

Yakult has twice been shutout, and seven times the Swallows have been defeated after holding an early lead. Six of their losses have been by a one-run margin. Opponents are currently outscoring Yakult 93 to 63 -- the largest runs deficit held by any Japanese team.

Shell-shocked hurlers: While untimely hitting has certainly played a part, the Swallows currently hold the highest team ERA (4.99) in either league. Certainly the loss of Yoshii has played a part, but even aces Kazuya Tabata (5.87 ERA) and Kazuhisa Ishii (3.71, but 18 walks in 17 innings) are struggling as much as second tier starters Kenjiro Kawasaki (3.15), and Futoshi Yamabe (5.40). All have had at least one good start and one appearance where they got pounded.

Tomohito Ito's move from the bullpen (where he compiled 19 saves and a 1.31 ERA last year) to a starting position may have put more pressure on Yakult's relief staff. Closer Shingo Takatsu has blown two of his six save attempts and with the exception of Koji Takagi, the rest of the middle relief staff have compiled ERAs ranging from 5.00 to 8.00. Nomura's latest recycling project, former Seibu ace Hisanobu Watanabe gave up the game-winning home run to Yomiuri's Naoki Sugiyama on April 4 and hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Part of the problem for Yakult's pitchers has been the weather. Five of their games have been rained out in the last three weeks, forcing Nomura to juggle his starters. Ace Ishii has appeared in one game as a long-middle reliever, while Travis Driskill and Ryuji Miyade have both appeared in a variety of roles. Once those roles become more defined, the Yakult mound staff should improve.

Rookies: There is even more cause for hope. Third baseman Watarai, outfielder Kota Soejima and pitcher Miyade are all reasonable candidates for the Central League's Rookie of the Year Award. While Miyade has made two strong appearances, Watarai (.333, 2 home runs, and Soejima (.370, 2) are currently among the top batters in the league.

The media fixation with Yomiuri's Yoshinobu Takahashi -- alternately described as "super" or "golden" rookie -- has no doubt got a lot of anti-Kyojin baseball fans wondering what players can wrest the CL Rookie of the Year Award from the Chosen One. The two likeliest candidates are Hiroshima's Kanei Kobayashi (currently 4-1, 1.25 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings) and Chunichi's Kenshin Kawakami (2-0, 0.90 ERA).

On April 24, the Nikkan Sports listed the CL's top rookies which, in addition to the ones listed above, includes Hanshin outfielder Tomochika Tsuboi and pitchers Eiji Shotsu (Dragons), Yukiya Yokoyama (BayStars), and Sung Min Cho (Giants). Cho is an odd choice for two reasons.

Foreign Players: First, this will be Cho's third professional year -- evidently, he did not compile enough innings pitched the previous two seasons to disqualify him from receiving the award this year. Also, he is Korean. Should he be selected as the CL's top rookie, it would be the first time a foreigner has received the award. Which certainly brings one question to mind -- if Cho is eligible, why aren't all the other foreign players who come to Japan?

Since 1950, roughly 500 foreign players have appeared in Japanese uniforms and the number is growing. This past week, the Dragons officially signed and welcomed Korean lefty Sang Hoon Lee. Meanwhile, the Orix BlueWave have re-signed infielder Troy Neel, who the team released last year after leading the Pacific League in strikeouts.

Discouraging stats posted by Harvey Pulliam (.203, 2 home runs) and James Bonnici (.000, 0) has apparently given Orix a new perspective on Neel's value. It probably helped matters that Neel had made good friends with outfielders Ichiro Suzuki, So Taguchi and others in the BlueWave organization. (Reportedly, Neel and others took Ichiro bar-hopping in in Tokyo's Roppongi district and kept him from getting mobbed.)

Though Bonnici earned a triple crown on the BlueWave's farm team last year, manager Akira Ogi has never given him anything more than pinch-hitting opportunities. Pulliam started off strong, but has languished the last few weeks. Both will likely be pushed back to the farm team as Neel arrives and Chris Donnels, currently recovering from a broken hand, returns from the disabled list.

Ogi seems to be hoping that Neel and Donnels can jump start the Orix offense, which is currently even more lethargic than Yakult's. Both teams have played sixteen games, but the BlueWave have only compiled a .231 team batting average and scored 46 runs. Unless the BlueWave start gaining momentum, the Orix manager may soon hear hecklers urge him to leave too.

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