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Japanese Baseball News
Archives: March 1999

March 7, 1999:

Finding more information...
1999 Japanese baseball guides

As teams move from their training camps and begin a month of pre-season games, this is also a time when several publishers release their player meikan (baseball guides). Already, three of these guides have gone on sale, including the Nikkan Sports '99 Pro Yakyu Senshu Shashin Meikan (a bare-bones 350 yen pocket book), Professional Baseball News '99 Year Book (a slick, neatly organized 900 yen guide which includes photos of all players, records, and maps to all the ballparks), and Home Run magazine's 12 Kyudan Zensenshu Hyakka Meikan (essentially the same as the PBN guide, 750 yen).
The drawback of these baseball guides, however, is that they're written entirely in Japanese, and are not very helpful to English-speaking fans. Moreover, they are generally hard to read, and do not offer individual player stats in easy-to-comprehend tables.
Fortunately, there is a remedy. Sort of.
Suguru Egawa's Scouting Report '99 (estimated price: 1,500 yen), the best guide to Japanese baseball you're likely to find, will go on sale sometime this month. Compiled by Egawa, a former all-star Yomiuri Giants pitcher who currently hosts a baseball program on Nihon TV, this guide features a layout that is very friendly to those not fluent in Japanese. For each team, there are one-page profiles of the their top 20 players, which include a picture, the name of the player in English and Japanese (a very helpful feature if you want to use the guide to translate scoreboards at a game), as well as position, height/weight, bats/throws, and other key info in English. Although the stats are listed under Japanese headings they are very easy to figure out.
In each pitcher profile, Egawa offers graphs and tables illustrating how each hurler performs in different pitch counts and with runners on base, what pitches they throw and how effective each one is. In addition to listing opponents batting average (hmm... righthanders hit .296 against Kintetsu's Motoyuki Akahori while lefties only batted .182), Egawa also list those hitters who were most and least effective against each pitcher (Lotte's Koichi Hori went 0-for-11 against Akahori but Seibu's Taisei Takagi was 5-for-9)
Ichiro Suzuki's page is typical of what information Egawa offers about each hitter. In addition to regular stats, you can see that Ichiro batted .339 against right-handed pitchers and .418 against lefties last year; that of his 181 hits last season, 75 were batted to right field, including seven of his thirteen home runs; that when he swings and makes contact on the first pitch, he gets a hit 44% of the time; that he was 12-for-22 against Nippon Ham's Tsutomu Iwamoto but 0-for-8 against Kintetsu's Akira Okamoto; and while he batted .402 against the Fighters, Lotte held him to a .286 average.
Hands down, Egawa's Scouting Report '99 is the most valuable resource available. While most of the information is presented in Japanese, learning just a few kanji characters will make this a highly accessible reference for just about anyone.

Money matters:
41 players now earn million dollar salaries

The publication of this year's baseball guides also offer the first full glimpse of player payrolls. Although marquee players like Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki have had their salaries blasted across newspaper headlines, this is the first chance to look closely at all the teams.
First of all, we can now see that there will be 41 players earning more than a million dollars (or the yen equivalent) this year. In addition to Sasaki and Ichiro, who will both earn an estimated US$4.2 million (500,000,000 yen), the top five breadwinners include three Yomiuri Giants players: first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara ($2.75 million), Masaki Saito ($2.42 million) and Hideki Matsui ($2.33 million). In fact, six of the top ten belong to the Giants.
Not surprisingly, the Giants will this year have the highest payroll, estimated at $26.64 million (3.20 billion yen). The other eleven teams' total payrolls are as follows (all in millions of dollars): BayStars ($22.91), Lions ($21.34), Dragons ($20.58), BlueWave ($18.34) Swallows ($17.74), Tigers ($17.26), Buffaloes ($16.56), Fighters ($15.19), Marines ($15.19), Carp ($14.56) and Hawks ($13.64).
The Giants and Lions are two of the wealthiest teams in Japan, so it's not surprising they top the list. The BayStars have a reputation for being one of the stingiest Japanese teams, but their 1999 championship was a rising tide that lifted all boats. Every Yokohama player, down to the lowliest middle reliever, showed up at contract negotiations last November demanding a raise. Most of them got one, including Sasaki, who eventually signed a $4.2 million deal; seven BayStars players are now members of the million dollar club.
The Hawks, on the other hand, have an unusually low budget because the team has not yet announced the signing of any foreign players. For the last year, Daiei's financial troubles have made headlines, leading to speculation that the department store chain may sell the Hawks as well as their interests in Fukuoka Dome and the adjacent SeaHawk luxury hotel. That they are dragging their feet picking up imports only reinforces the image.
Hiroshima, Japan's traditional yen-pincher, rarely signs free agents and they rely on their Dominican baseball academy to find low-cost foreign players. The Fighters reduced their budget by releasing Kip Gross, who earned an estimated $1.2 million last season, while the Marines unloaded Julio Franco ($2 million) and Mark Carreon ($1.3 million). Hanshin's 1999 budget, which ranks seventh, is bloated by high price-tag imports Mark Johnson ($900,000) and Jeff Blowers ($2 million). Only two of the team's other players, Japanese second baseman Yutaka Wada and naturalized citizen Yasuaki Taiho, crack the million dollar mark.
The amount of money paid to Blowers is disturbing in several respects. Though he hit 23 home runs for Seattle in 1995, he has no experience playing in Japan, and it's unknown whether he will be able to adapt. Many of the younger imports have yet to prove themselves, and they're hungry to succeed. Blowers will be 34 this season, and really doesn't have any long-term value, nor does he have much to prove. The Tigers, after all, signed former 34-year-old Boston slugger Mike Greenwell to a $3 million contract in 1997, only to have him show up a month after the season began, play one week, break his foot and return to America. That seemed to prompt the Tigers to shift course, and they signed seven low-price imports in 1998. But now, like a compulsive gambler, the Tigers are hoping that one big bet can erase an evening's worth of losses.
Despite Blowers and the prevailing misconception that foreign players are over paid and over-the-hill, only six of the top 41 money-makers are imports: Yomiuri pitcher Balvino Galvez ($2.08 million), Yokohama second baseman Bobby Rose and Hanshin third baseman Jeff Blowers ($2 million each), Kintetsu outfielder Tuffy Rhodes ($1.5 million), Chunichi's Korean relief ace Sun Dongyol ($1.42 million), and Kintetsu first baseman Phil Clark ($1.2 million). With only one exception -- Blowers -- each of these players have had a profound impact on their teams.

Ichiro: a sneak preview

Another impact player is Orix BlueWave outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who is now training with the Seattle Mariners. Despite the Orix official line that they have no intention of allowing Ichiro to play in the major leagues until he becomes a free agent in November 2001, rumors have been buzzing of an imminent trade.
The five-time Pacific League batting champion has apparently impressed his hosts enough that manager Lou Pinella used Ichiro as the lead-off hitter in his first pre-season game, in which Ichiro reached base twice, on an hit and an error, stole a base and scored. Ichiro joked that he doesn't want to come back to Japan while Ken Griffey, Jr. said he hoped that Ichiro could stick around until the playoffs. An intenational liaison for the MLB players union, Tony Bernazard recently promised Ichiro that he'll have the organization's support should he decide to leave Orix before becoming a free agent.
Though Ichiro may be the BlueWave's main attraction, there are reasons to believe that the team would consider letting him go at the end of this season. It might, after all be the best thing for everyone.
The BlueWave's home attendance dropped from an average of 25,176 per game in 1997 to 20,075 in 1998 (the second largest drop in the PL). Since the fall was likely linked to Orix falling out of the pennant race, probably best way for Orix to reverse the trend is to concentrate more on winning pennants than on retaining Ichiro.
In an effort to keep Ichiro happy, the Bluewave last December offered him a one-year 500,000,000 yen (US $ 4.2 million) contract, making him the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history. To many folks familiar with Piazza-sized salaries, Ichiro's contract may seem like chicken feed since it's probably quite a bit less than he could fetch in the major leagues. But what does $4.2 million represent to Orix?
Orix will spend approximately 2,206,150,000 yen (US$ 18.34 million) on payroll this year, and Ichiro's contract represents almost 23% of their budget. In contrast, Yokohama will spend roughly 18% of their payroll on Sasaki but no other team will pay over 11.6% of their budget on any one player. Ichiro's contract may not be much of a burden on the BlueWave now, but what about next year when they have to pay him $5.5 or $6 million, and his percentage of the team's budget rises to 30%?
Is it going to mean that Orix will have to skimp on other players? His current contract hasn't inhibited the BlueWave from hiring more foreign players, but all of their seven imports combined only cost 397 million yen (US$3.3 million). If Ichiro's contract continues to rise, it may make it hard for Orix to build and maintain a well-rounded team. They may lose more of their players to free agency and they may not be able to attract free agents from other teams.
Now let's look at it another way. Suppose we project Ichiro's year 2000 contract to reach $5.5 million. If Orix let's Ichiro go, they'll be able to save that money or invest it in the team. Moreover, they will be able to pocket the bid money for him.
According to the current JPB-MLB agreement, the only way for a player who is under reserve by a Japanese team to sign with a major league club is to go through the established bidding system. Any major league team can submit a bid for a player, and the Japanese team can either accept or reject the highest offer. The bid is the total amount that the major league team will pay for exclusive negotiating rights to the player. For example, if Seattle wants to acquire Ichiro, they first have to submit a bid to the MLB commissioners office, and if it's the highest offer and Orix approves it, they can begin contract negotiations with Ichiro.
Last month, former-Hiroshima outfielder Alejandro Quezada went through this system and Cincinnati offered $400,001 for the right to negotiate with him. Ichiro would certainly command a far higher amount. Seattle Times sportswriter Bob Finnigan, who has been reporting on the Mariners' camp, was quoted in Nikkan Sports (March 5) as saying that Ichiro could draw a bid of $8 million -- just for the rights to negotiate with him. That might have been a somewhat hyperbolic estimate, but there's no doubt major league teams would be willing to pay $3 - 5 million in "trade money."
So, let's assume a major league team offers $3 million for negotiating rights with Ichiro. Including the $5.5 million we projected Ichiro to earn in 2000, Orix stands to gain roughly $8.5 million (102,000,000 yen) by cutting Ichiro loose.
Would it be worth it? Yes.
As pointed out above, the BlueWave have attendance issues to deal with, but keeping Ichiro is not going to prevent attendance from sliding even more.
Why did Yokohama have a record attendance in 1998? Some may have come to watch Sasaki, but would Yokohama Stadium have been filled to capacity every day if the BayStars had spent most of the season in last place, as Orix did? Unlikely. If you want to pack them in, you'd better have a championship team. That is what Orix lacks right now, and that's what's depressing their attendance.
By dumping Ichiro, the BlueWave would have at least $8.5 million to build a strong, balanced team. To replace Ichiro in right field, Orix could sign Hiroshima's Koichi Ogata (currently earning roughly 110,000,000 yen or US$920,000) and double his salary. Ogata is a gold glove right fielder who can probably bat between .290 and .310 while hitting 10-20 home runs and stealing 20-30 bases, and he'll be a free agent in November 1999. Then use another 210,000,000 yen (US$ 2.5 million) and sign a quality stopper like Kintetsu's Motoyuki Akahori, who will also be a free agent at the end of this season. Orix could use the remaining 500,000,000 yen (US$ 4,16 million) to buy a catcher and some quality starting pitching.
With all due respect to Ichiro, this kind of rebuilding would result in a much stronger and more well-rounded team than the one Orix has now. And if the BlueWave need some personality, maybe they can acquire Hanshin's failed outfielder (and pitcher) Tsuyoshi Shinjo. After all, some clown has to wear the Neppie costume.
Orix knows that Ichiro is going to go to the majors as soon as he becomes a free agent. But if they wait until the last minute to let him go, they'll lose a small fortune in bid money. The smart move would be to put him up for bid at the end of this season.
Given how weak the Major League and Japanese commissioners' offices are, no one can say how binding the current JPB-MLB agreement will be. A strong-willed player, in counsel with an unscrupulous agent like Don Nomura and a powerful major league team (with the backing of the MLB players union), would probably be able to find a way of getting around the agreement. All the more reason for Orix to talk to Ichiro and find a mutually satisfactory solution.

Pre-season notes:

BayStars: Bobby Rose surprised manager Hiroshi Gondo by joining camp on February 16 and hitting seven home runs in 37 swings. The Daily Yomiuri reported that Rose hadn't picked up a bat or ball since the end of the Japan Series. Nikkan Sports wrote last month that Arquimendez Pozo, the team's other foreign player, is the best non-starting player in Japan. Pozo will have a tough time finding day-to-day work in Yokohama's all-gold-glove infield.

Dragons: Manager Senichi Hoshino has been shooting verbal salvos recently at some of his top players, particularly 1998 Rookie of the Year Kenshin Kawakami. According to The Asahi Evening News, after Kawakami give up a home run in two innings of a February 21 practice game, Hoshino began squawking: "Kenshin was no good. He has to run more and throw more (if he hopes to make the starting rotation)." Though Hoshino has also lashed out at outfielder Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, he's had nothing but gushing praise for recently acquired free agent Kazuhiro Takeda.

Giants: In late February, left-handed reliever Takahito Nomura stated his goal of moving out of the bullpen and joining the Giants starting rotation. Just in time. A week later, right-hander Cho Sungmin was diagnosed with a ruptured ligament in his throwing elbow that will requires surgery and months of rehabilitation, effectively ending any hope that he will pitch this season. Also injured, is first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who hit a foul ball off his knee on February 15. Though wearing a cast, Kiyohara hopes to be able to play in the Giants exhibition game against the Seibu Lions on March 20. Since that will be the first game ever played in the newly completed Seibu Dome, Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima has proposed that Yomiuri rookie pitcher Koji Uehara face Seibu rookie hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Swallows: In addition to Atsunori Inaba who underwent surgery in December, the Swallows are having trouble with injuries. Regular second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi underwent knee surgery last month and is still rehabilitating while his replacement, Hatsuhiko Tsuji, is suffering from shoulder pain. Import Mark Smith broke a pinkie last month and is still sidelined. Meanwhile, Yakult manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu has penciled in his five-man rotation: Kasuhisa Ishii, Tomohito Ito, Kenjiro Kawasaki, Kazuya Tabata and Jason Jacome. Conspicuously missing from the list is Mark Acre. Is Wakamatsu hoping to use Acre to solve the Swallows' bullpen problems? It wouldn't be a bad move, assuming the five starters can carry their own weight. Meanwhile, Nikkan Sports reported that Wakamatsu will bench hot-hitting Roberto Petagine for the remainder of the pre-season, an effort to reportedly prevent opponents from looking too closely for weaknesses.

Carp: Little news has been drifting out of Hiroshima's camp, though new manager Mitsuo Tatsukawa appears determined to push his players harder than ever before. Their training looks less like camp and more like training for D-Day. Felix Perdomo has been moved from the mound to shortstop and Timoniel Perez returns for another season. While the Detroit Tigers last month acquired former Carp pitcher Robinson Checo, the Cincinnati Reds completed a minor league deal with Alejandro Quezada, the first player to jump from Japan to North America under the new JPB-MLB bidding scheme.

Tigers: The soap opera of the month has been whether low-average slugger Tsuyoshi Shinjo can effectively make the transition from center fielder to pitcher. At first it didn't look too likely, as Shinjo gave up several runs in his first three intra-squad appearances. But on March 5, he pitched one perfect inning, giving some hope to Hanshin manager Katsuya Nomura, who had been grumbling about Shinjo's lack of progress.

Lions: As far as the local sports press is concerned, the only Lions story of the pre-season is Daisuke Matsuzaka, the highly touted rookie who became a national celebrity when he led his high school to a championship last year. In early February, Matsuzaka was sidelined because of the flu, and after recovering, he was forbidden by manager Osamu Higashio to throw a slider. Despite being hounded by the press, Matsuzaka displayed remarkable poise last week when he pitched his first pre-season game, a tough loss. The Daily Yomiuri (Feb. 22) reported that veteran import Terry Bross, in an attempt to earn a spot on the team's starting rotation, has begun to voluntarily work out on his days off.

Fighters: Aside from pitcher Shannon Withem being hospitalized for a few days with an intestinal virus, it's been a rather uneventful month for the Fighting Ham. The Daily Yomiuri (Feb 25), reported that manager Toshiharu Ueda has begun screaming at his players for making mental errors. A week later, Ueda had apparently calmed down, as he was quoted in a Kyodo wire story as saying, "We accomplished nearly everything we wanted to in camp."

BlueWave: Last month, Orix announced that they would sign Robert Perez to a one year contract. Meanwhile, without team leaders Ichiro Suzuki and Nobuyuki Hoshino, the BlueWave have been knocked around during their few pre-season games. In Seattle, Ichiro Has been learning about more than just balls and bats. This note from The Seattle Times: "Seattle players are teaching Ichiro Suzuki how to cuss like an American player, and coaxed him to cuss at bench coach John McLaren. Asked what would happen if he tried that to a Japanese coach, Suzuki, grimaced and drew a finger across his throat."

Hawks: Daiei has not yet announced any foreign player selections for the season, guaranteeing that if they do bring over some imports, they newcomers will not have benefited from Spring training. The lack of initiative in this area does little to curb rumors that Daiei is thinking about selling the team. Meanwhile, rookie Ryo Yoshimoto appears destined to become the team's newest power supply.

Buffaloes: New import Fernando De la Cruz has recently impressed the Buffaloes with his 155 kph (98 mph) fastball. Next he needs to work on control. The Asahi Shimbun noted that the team will officially change their name to the "Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes" on April 1.

Marines: With a new mild-mannered manager, the Marines' camp has been about as placid as can be expected. Frank Bolick suffered a mild injury last month, but was quickly back in uniform. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka, who won the 1997 Rookie of the Year award, has been on a tear recently, offering some hope that Lotte will still have an offense now that Julio Franco is gone. Nikkan Sports reported (March 5) that former-Marines hurler Eric Hillman, who later signed a two year deal with the Yomiuri Giants but only played two Central League games because of shoulder pain, has undergone surgery and is hoping to try out for Lotte in August.

March 14, 1999

Preparing for the end:

As most readers of this site know, I will soon be changing the address of this web site. It is not by my choice. My Internet service provider, BayWell, has been exceptionally helpful in the past. Although they allow users to have up to 5 megbytes of space for personal home pages, they have allowed me to use nearly 20 at no extra cost. They have been very helpful over the last year, and I have appreciated their kind service.
However, one of their recent decisions is having a devastating effect on this site. BayWell will change their personal domain address from www.baywell.or.jp to www.baywell.ne.jp. That may not sound like a very significant change. However, because of the change in address, my e-mail address will soon change to drlatham@baywell.ne.jp . That again may not sound very significant. However, I have an e-mail link on all 250 pages, and those links must be changed. Therefore, I have spent the last three months doing virtually nothing except making one tiny, barely noticeable change.
As a result, I will be unable to change or update any of this site's content for the 1999 season (except for the 1999 schedules and weekly news page). Because of this problem and several smaller ones, I have concluded that the only solution is to demolish this site at the end of the 1999 baseball season. I have not yet decided how -- or even whether -- to build a new site to replace this one. But if I do, rest assured, there will not be an e-mail link on every page.
I ask for your patience because I will need time to resolve this problem and to make plans for the future. I will continue updating this news page every week until November, 1999. I will also post batting and pitching stats every two weeks. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but I will be happy to answer questions by e-mail.

Suntory Cup begins:

On March 13, the Suntory Cup pre-season tournament began, a tournament testing whether interleague play should be introduced during the regular season. The tournament will be held on three subsequent weekends, March 13-14, 20-21, and 27-28. The winning team will receive a cash prize as will the tournament's most valuable player.
For the last few years, the six Pacific League teams have been in favor of interleague play while their Central League counterparts have been united against it. While the PL teams favor the plan as a way to boost attendance, the owners of the CL clubs fear that interleague play would cut the number of games they play against the Giants, who always draw sell-out crowds.
Attendance does appear up from last week. Though they usually sell out during the regular season, the Giants game against the Hawks drew 21,000 fans to Tokyo Dome on March 13, while attendance at other ballparks ranged from 4,000 (Swallows vs. Marines at Chiba) to 12,000 (BayStars vs. Buffaloes at Yokohama). The Giants game was even televised nationally, though only the first 90 minutes.

Team notes:

Teams listed according to their pre-season standings (wins - losses - ties appear in parentheses) as of March 13.

Marines: (4-1) If three out of their first four pre-season wins hadn't come against the hapless Swallows, it would be much easier to claim the Marines were on a roll. Still, new manager Koji Yamamoto appears to be making all the right moves. The Marines have an enviable 3.19 ERA while their batters are hitting .289. With only three home runs, however, the Marines need their dormant power-hitters to join the game. Import Brent Brede answered with a solo shot on March 13, but designated hitter Frank Bolick has yet to get a hit of any kind. Meanwhile, 5'6" shortstop Makoto Kosaka went 4-for-5 on March 10 with two singles and two doubles, lifting his pre-season batting average to .563.

Hawks: (6-2) As usual, the Daiei's offense is keeping the team afloat. But while Hawks batters have been hitting .326, there's little hope their pitching will improve much over the team's current 4.38 ERA. Nikkan Sports reported on March 13 that top hurler Kimiyasu Kudo has recently suffered pain in his left leg and will sit on the sidelines for a couple of days. Infielder Hiroki Kokubo has been on a recent tear, raising his average to .500 with two hits on March 12.

Giants: (6-2) At this point, the only real problem facing the Giants is overconfidence. Yomiuri batters compiled a .320 team average with seven home runs in as many games, while their pitchers tallied a team 1.93 ERA. In the speed department, an area where the Giants are usually weak, Yomiuri baserunners are on top with ten stole bases. Kazuhiro Kiyohara has recovered from his knee injury and hit a grand slam in Yomiuri's 7-1 drubbing of the Hawks on March 13. In eight games, the Giants have outscored opponents 48-19.

BlueWave: (6-4-1) In his first at bat after returning from the Seattle Mariners camp, Ichiro Suzuki hit a single but has barely been seen or heard from since. Orix is getting a surprisingly good offensive performance from catcher Takeshi Hidaka, who was hitting .387 with one home run last week. The BlueWave have been in dire need of a reliable backstop since Satoshi Nakajima filed for free agency and jumped to the Lions after the 1997 season. If he Hidaka can grow defensively, one of the BlueWave's biggest problems may be solved.

Fighters: (4-3) The Fighters have gotten off to a powerful pre-season start, clubbing twelve home runs and compiling a team .327 batting average in their first six games. Leading the blitz are Yukio Tanaka (batting .500), Michihiro Ogasawara (.455), Tatsuya Iide (.348, three home runs) and newcomer Micah Franklin (.429). While Nippon Ham's offense is firing on all cylinders, their pitchers, who have compiled a team 4.59 ERA, may need some time to settle down. Despite pitching four solid innings in his Japan debut, Shannon Withem gave up two runs en route to the Fighters 5-3 loss to the Chunichi Dragons on March 10. Although manager Toshiharu Ueda had earlier mentioned the Fighters bullpen as a weak spot, closer Erik Schullstrom picked up his first save on March 9.

Tigers: (4-4) Though their .239 team batting average is about the same as last season, the Tigers' pitching appears to be improving (3.25 team ERA). Darrell May, however, got off to a rough start by allowing five earned runs on six hits and four walks in his three-inning March 10 debut. Meanwhile, Mark Johnson, who is alternating between first base and left field, is batting .412. Former Oakland A's slugger Jeff Blowers has hit two home runs but is having trouble reaching base (.231 average).

Dragons: (3-3-1) It's the same old story with Chunichi... solid pitching but no offense. Leo Gomez clubbed two home runs for the Dragons on March 11, pulling his batting average up to .500, but almost no one else on the team is hitting. The Dragons won that game 3-0 behind the solid pitching of 29-year-old right-hander Yasushi Tsuruta, who allowed just three hits and one walk in five innings. If Tsuruta can hold it together for a few more months, he could add balance a lefty-dominated starting staff.

Buffaloes: (2-3) Despite their losing record, the Buffaloes are looking very balanced -- team 3.34 ERA, .285 batting average with four home runs and six steals in their first four games. As of March 11, Tuffy Rhodes and Phil Clark were both batting .500 while lead off hitter Naoyuki Omura and first baseman Yuji Yoshioka were hitting .455. Newcomers Carlos Valdez and Fernando De la Cruz have been nearly perfect in all of their relief appearances, but the Buffaloes need the most help in their starting rotation.

BayStars: (3-6) Though the BayStars have gotten off to a slow start, their 14-7 victory over Kintetsu on March 13 saw the team's "machine gun" offense come back to life. Their starting pitching difficulties (team 5.93 ERA) may get worse since lefty starter Hiroki Nomura is now complaining of pain in his throwing arm.

Carp: (2-4) Though their starting pitching continues to be Hiroshima's weakest point, the team's batters have been having a tough time recently. As of March 12, they had compiled a paltry .205 team batting average with just one home run. Third baseman Akira Eto may be hitting .444, but no one else is hitting over .250. The Carp are continuing to experiment with Eddie Diaz at second base and Felix Perdomo at short.

Lions: (2-4) After months of relentless hype, it had to happen eventually. Seibu' 19-year-old pitching prodigy Daisuke Matsuzaka, who's face has been a regular feature on the covers of Japan's sports papers since he led his high school team to a championship last season, surrendered eight earned runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings against the Yomiuri Giants on March 11.
In the same game, first-year import Archi Cianfrocco, who has been shuffled around an already crowded infield, became the first and only player this year to strike out in four at bats during a single game. Cianfrocco redeemed himself the following day by hitting two singles, lifting his pre-season batting average to .267, with four hits, six strikeouts and one walk in 15 at bats. Teammate Greg Blosser, meanwhile, is batting just .143 with one home run.

Swallows: (0-6-1) The only team that has not yet won a pre-season game, the Swallows are continuing to have bullpen problems. On March 10, the Swallows entered the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead over the Daiei Hawks when Yakult import Jason Jacome allowed the tying run to score on a walk and three hits. The following day, the Swallows took an early 4-2 lead against the Hawks until pitchers Hirotoshi Ishii and Shigeru Matsumoto allowed Daiei to score four runs in the seventh inning, on two walks, a hit batter and three hits. Nearly the same thing happened on March 13, when the Swallows rallied for a 5-4 lead over Lotte at Marine Stadium, only to surrender two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. To their credit, Jacome is no reliever and Ishii spent all of last season on the Swallows farm team. Yakult has several quality starters and some fine middle relievers, but unless they can find a consistent arm for the late innings, it's going to be a long season.

March 21, 1999

Team and player notes:

Since wins and losses are meaningless, pre-season games usually allow the spotlight to fall on individual players. So, without delay, let's take a look at how the teams and players have been doing this week.
Teams are listed according to their pre-season standings (wins-losses-ties appear in parentheses) as of March 20.

Marines: (7-1-1) Last April, the Marines were one of the hottest teams in Japan. Then after a summer punctuated by a 19-game losing streak, they finished the season in the Pacific League cellar. Given that experience, it might be a little premature for the Marines to get cocky.
But there they are, in first place. Their offense has been on fire recently -- Lotte's team .319 average is better than any of the remaining eleven teams -- and lead-off hitter Makoto Kosaka is a big reason why. In addition to batting .457-- the second highest figure in either league -- he has stolen six bases, hit five doubles, and scored ten runs in nine games.
Their pitching, which has been Lotte's strongest area the past few years, remains strong (team 3.79 ERA, second best in Japan). The Marines' weakest area continues to be power-hitting. With only three home runs (only the Carp have hit fewer), Lotte's offense has been tied directly to their hit and run strategy.

Fighters: (8-3) For the last two years, one of the weakest parts of Nippon Ham's game has been their lack of speed on the basepaths. Their ten steals in eleven pre-season games, however, suggest a welcome change. In fact, six of those bases were stolen against a pair of Yakult back-up catchers en route to a 12-3 victory over the Swallows on March 20. Two days earlier, the Fighters used eight left-handed batters in their starting line-up to defeat the Hawks 7-3.

Hawks: (8-5-2) The big news for the Hawks last week was the acquisition of their first foreign player, 28-year-old switch-hitting outfielder Melvin Nieves (ESPN profile), who appears to be a good prospect for Japan.
Although the Cincinnati right fielder only hit two home runs with a .252 average in 1998, he clubbed 24 home runs for Detroit in 1996 and 20 in 1997, but his plate discipline may be an issue since he's collected 136 major league walks against 483 strikeouts.
Despite his talent, Nieves may still have some trouble adjusting to Daiei, a team that has never been particularly adept at getting the most from their imports. While the acquisition of Nieves may help produce more runs, that is really not where Daiei needs the most help. If only Nieves could pitch...

Giants: (8-5) Pitching now appears to be an issue troubling the Yomiuri braintrust. On March 17, shortly after Cho Sung Min was diagnosed with a season-ending elbow injury, import Jose Parra gave up three runs in five innings before Yomiuri left-hander Hitoshi Ono allowed six runs in the next inning.
The following day, reliever Takahito Nomura, who had been hoping to move into a starting role, had to be carried off the practice field after being struck in the face by a Yoshinobu Takahashi line drive. Although no bones were broken, the accident was enough to give the Giants a sobering scare.
With the loss of Cho and Parra's apparently slow start, the Giants may be looking for another imported arm if they can open a roster spot.

BlueWave: (8-6-1) Now that Ichiro is back in Japan until at least the end of the season, the BlueWave can concentrate on building a contender. Their hitting has been strong -- as indicated by a .313 team batting average with 15 home runs in as many games -- and now their pitching seems to be coming around as well (team 3.98 ERA).
Nobuyuki Hoshino, who was last seen giving up nine runs in a relief stint at the Seattle Mariners' camp, allowed just one unearned run in his four-inning pre-season debut with Orix on March 17. The next day, Masafumi Hirai pitched six shutout innings against the Dragons, allowing just two batters to reach base.

Tigers: (5-6) Except for their record, most of Hanshin's team stats are consistent with their performance during last year's pennant race: 4.55 ERA, .242 batting average, 14 home runs and six stolen bases.
Part of the pitching problem -- if it can be called that -- is manager Katsuya Nomura's determination to let his pitchers twist in the wind. On March 14, Tetsuro Kawajiri allowed eight earned runs in five innings while reliever Ben Rivera blew a save attempt two days later by allowing seven ninth-inning earned runs.
Except for outfielder Tomochika Tsuboi (.293 average -- he went 5-for-6 on March 14), first baseman Mark Johnson (.357) and shortstop Makoto Imaoka (four home runs), the Tigers don't have a very reliable offense.

Dragons: (4-5-3) One might be tempted to say that without third baseman Leo Gomez (.448, six out of Chunichi's nine home runs), the Dragons would have no offense at all. And it wouldn't be much of an overstatement. Left fielder Koichi Sekikawa is batting an impressive .667 (but in only a handful of at bats).
The biggest disappointment so far has been the failure of highly-touted rookie shortstop Kyosuke Fukudome (.128, no extra-base hits) to lend a hand.
Those games Chunichi has won have mostly been low-scoring affairs, where their pitchers have been able to control the game. Samson Lee (2-0, 2.70 ERA) has been unusually self-controlled recently while starter Shigeki Noguchi (0.75 ERA in three games) continues to look strong.
But two aging stars are struggling: Masa Yamamoto (0-1 in three games with a 11.00 ERA) and Shinji Imanaka (who gave up two runs in two innings in his first appearance on March 17). Kazuhiro Takeda, recently acquired as a free agent, got bombed by Daiei, his former team, by giving up five earned runs on seven hits March 14.

Carp: (4-6) Usually it's Hiroshima's pitching that causes problems, but during the first three weeks of the pre-season, their bats have been unusually quiet. As of March 20, the Carp have a .201 batting average with just two home runs, the lowest figures posted by any team. Apparently manager Michio Tatsukawa is unconcerned about the numbers.
Before the Carp went to Kumamoto for their March 19 game against the Hawks, according to a Sankei Sports article the following day, Tatsukawa directed team leader Tomonori Maeda to stay in Hiroshima. Maeda, who had been hitting .500 earlier in the week, had agreed to stay behind and practice on his own, allowing Tatsukawa to try out different outfielders in Kumamoto.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bad publicity move since Kumamoto is Maeda's hometown. NHK radio commentator Tetsuro Kawakami, a former Yomiuri manager, was highly criticial of Tatsukawa's lapse in thinking the following day. "Maeda should train in a real game -- that's why the Carp are no good," said Kawakami. "Fans in Kumamoto come to the stadium only to see [Kumamoto native Koji] Akiyama and Maeda, and they look forward to seeing how much they have changed from last year."
Kawakami may have been particularly irritable after Tatsukawa, attempting to flatter the old man, pointed to the Kumamoto Stadium outfield and asked, "Didn't you hit a home run here [when you were a high school player]?"
"This stadium," Kawakami replied, "hadn't even been built then."

Lions: (4-6) The Lions have displayed some very good and bad pitching recently. 1997 Sawamura Award-winner Fumiya Nishiguchi, gave up nine earned runs on March 15, but only allowed one run to score in four innings later in the week. Starter Takashi Ishii combined with four other Lions pitchers to hold the Buffaloes to one run on four hits March 16, and Hisanori Yokota allowed a single run and struck out five in as many innings the next day.
Although Ken Suziki had compiled a .481 batting average while working as a designated hitter (when not playing the corners), few others on the team have been providing much offense

BayStars: (5-8) Manager Hiroshi Gondo is apparently unconcerned with his teams wins and losses. As long as his players get warm, he appears satisfied.
And one of the warmest of his players is temporary designated hitter (the team can only use the DH during the pre-season) Arquimedez Pozo, who has hit safely in every game this week, lifting his average up from .292 on March 13 to .368 a week later. His batting is now ranked ninth in the combined-league standings, higher than any other Yokohama player.
The challenge now for the BayStars is to find a spot for him to play during the regular season. Yokohama has an all gold-glove infield, but if Pozo can play right field, there may be a spot for him.

Buffaloes: (3-7) Despite falling to the bottom of the standings, the Buffaloes appear to be slightly improved.
Left fielder Tuffy Rhodes, who was plagued with a minor knee injury last season, has been healthy enough to swing a hot bat (.483, five home runs) and Phil Clark was having a slow week until he went 2-for-3 on March 20, lifting his pre-season average to .273. But nearly everyone contributed on March 17 when the Buffaloes when Rhodes and third basemen Norihiro Nakamura both went 4-for-4 in Kintetsu's 17-hit, 12-1 drubbing of the Giants.
All of Kintetsu's foreign pitchers have pitched well, including knuckleballer Rob Mattson (1-0, 1.00 ERA in two games) and Fernando De la Cruz (1 save, 0.00 ERA in five games), who allowed just one hit in 5 and 2/3 innings against Chunichi on March 20.

Swallows: (2-8-2) Shortly after the Swallows won their first pre-season game, on March 14, manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu said that he was relieved because he would be able to see some good news in the next day's newspaper. Then a reporter reminded him that March 15 was a "newspaper holiday" -- in Japan, news carriers are given one day off and no papers are published that day.
"I don't have any luck," replied Wakamatsu.
But that changed the following day, when the Swallows won their second game in a row. If things are looking up for the Yakult skipper, it may be in part because reliever Shingo Takatsu's recent success. He pitched two strong games last week, indicating that he may have resolved the control problems he had last year.
An additional good sign came when Kazuya Tabata, who has been ineffective ever since being bombed out game two of the 1997 Japan Series, pitched five strong innings as a starter on March 17 -- one day before lefty starting-candidate Futoshi Yamabe gave up eight earned runs in one inning.
Atsuya Furuta missed a few games last week because of pain in his legs, and the weakness of his backups became readily apparent when the Nippon Ham Fighters -- a team rarely displays aggressive baserunning -- stole six bases in one game.
Meanwhile, first-year import Roberto Petagine has been on a hot streak recently, improving his batting average to .609.

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