May 9 (Daily Yomiuri):
In his essay, Neel slugs homer in 1st at-bat for
BlueWave, Ken Marantz brings us up to date on the
popular Orix designated hitter who was released after a
disappointing 1997 season, but quickly re-signed when the
BlueWave produced no offense in the first month of the
1998 regular season.May
2: The Daily Yomiuri reports that
Hanshin Tigers pitcher Toshiro Yufune will miss at least
two months because of broken bone in his left foot.
May
1: In an Asahi Evening News article,
Three CL rookies stand above the rest of the pack,
Koichi Nakagawa introduces the top candidates for the
Central League's 1998 Rookie of the Year Award:
Hiroshima's Kanei Kobayashi, Chunichi's Kenshin Kawakami
and Yomiuri's Yoshinobu Takahashi.
April
30: The Asahi Evening News reports that
Nippon Ham hurler Kip Gross, who underwent elbow surgery
on April 10, may be ready to pitch again in mid-June.
Also, Hawks ace Kimiyasu Kudo has taken himself out of
the the Daiei pitching rotation because of an
inflammation in his pitching elbow.
April
28: Two articles appear in the Daily Yomiuri.
Matsui may lose cleanup spot points the finger of
blame at Hideki Matsui, the most recent poor sucker to go
through a natural slump and emerge as the Kyojin
scapegoat. Matsui is currently batting .179, and Yomiuri
skipper Shigeo Nagashima is thinking of moving him out of
the cleanup spot.
Given
chance, Raabe helps Lions roar back, written by Ken
Marantz, describes Seibu Lions second baseman Brian
Raabe, his failure to find a secure position on a major
league team even after two-straight seasons batting .350
at the AAA level, and his successful attempt to earn a
regular role in the Lions line-up.
In
Kaoru Chonabayashi's High-stakes money game spells
disaster for Yakult, vice president, the Asahi
Evening News reports of the dire financial
situation facing Yakult Honsha, the company which owns
the Swallows.
April
26: After several days of rumors, the Daily
Yomiuri reports that the Orix BlueWave have
reacquired Troy Neel. The previous season, Neel had been
released after leading the Pacific League in strikeouts.
With the BlueWave in last place while newcomers Harvey
Pulliam and James Bonnici have been struggling at the
plate, Orix evidently had a change of heart.
The Daily
Yomiuri also notes that the Chunichi Dragons
signed a two-year contract with Korean lefty hurler Sang
Hoon Lee.
April
25: The Daily Yomiuri prints an
analysis piece by Takashi Nakamura, Hapless BlueWave
awash in wasted chances, claiming that the main
reason for the team's slow start is their lack of
clutch-hitting. In particular, the author notes that
Ichiro Suzuki has been batting .531 with the bases empty
but only .077 with runners on base.
April
22: In the Mainichi Daily News, Dave
Wiggins devotes his SportScene column to Yomiuri
shortstop Mariano Duncan: Freedom from King George
[Steinbrenner]. Next week, Wiggins will print more about
Duncan.
April
21: The Daily Yomiuri reports that the
Hiroshima Carp have released infielder Alfonso Soriano. A
week earlier, Soriano's plea for a salary increase had
been rejected by an arbitration panel.
April
20: In a special feature appearing the Asahi
Evening News, Hansen, Tigers finally finding
their groove, Harry F. Thompson describes how the
Hanshin foreign players are getting along.
April
17: Two articles by Ken Marantz appear in the Daily
Yomiuri: Dragons' Korean ties throw off hurler
Jarvis and Hillman not planning U.S. return.
The first piece describes how the Dragons informed Jarvis
that they would acquire a third foreign pitcher (who
would be competing for his spot on the Chunichi roster)
the at 11:30 p.m., the night before Jarvis was scheduled
to pitch. Rattled by the news, the Kentucky-native gave
up four runs in 1 1/3 innings. The second article
all-but-declares Hillman will never again pitch in Japan
-- the pain has not gone away, and can only be relieved
by an operation that will leave the six-foot-ten hurler
sidelined for eighteen months.
In Nomura
doesn't disappoint fans, Asahi Evening News
reporter Koichi Nakagawa writes about the state of Giants
affairs, particularly in regards to newly acquired
reliever Takahito Nomura who has gotten off to a strong
start.
April
16: In an Asahi Evening News piece entitled
Japan shuts its doors to Cuban Toca, Harry F.
Thompson discusses the (unlikely) possibility of Cuban
defector Jorge Luis Toca playing in Japan. Japanese
officials are apparently afraid that signing Toca might
sour relations with Cuba.
April
15: Appearing in the Mainichi Daily
News, Dave Wiggins devotes his SportScene
column to Hideki Irabu's control problems -- both his
pitches and his temper
April 12: The Japan
Times reports today that Nippon Ham hurler
Kip Gross had elbow surgery the preceding Friday (April
11) and probably won't be able to pitch for three months.
April
8: Dave Wiggins' SportScene (Mainichi
Daily News) discusses Chunichi third
baseman Leo Gomez, his views on the Dragons and the
differences between Japanese and Major League Baseball.
April
7: Asahi Evening News
runs a column by Koichi Nakagawa: Tigers in the tank
-- already. Nakagawa quotes Hanshin manager Yoshio
Yoshida as saying, "The success or failure of out
team will depend on if we can learn from the three
straight losses [on Opening Day weekend]." Already,
the team's defense looks very weak (seven errors in the
first three games) and their big bang offense has yet to
come alive.
April
7: Daily Yomiuri
-- In keeping with the newspaper's relentless
self-promotion, the Yomiuri ran
a sidebar article on Giants rookie Yoshinobu Takahashi.
The recent draft pick is described in such fawning terms
as "sparkling" and "flawless."
April
4: A day after his piece on Bobby Rose, the Daily
Yomiuri's Ken Marantz offered another
glimpse in the life of a gaijin ball player. In an
article entitled "New Giant Duncan already getting
weary of media here," Marantz reports that import
Mariano Duncan has already had a few disputes with the
tabloid press: they have implied that he was having an
affair (when in fact the "pretty woman" Duncan
was seen with was actually his wife), and they misquoted
him as saying he wanted to start a brawl on the field.
Marantz quoted Duncan as saying, "They [the sports
tabloids] want to make me look like a bad guy."
April
3: In a Kyodo wire story, the Daily
Yomiuri reports that
highly productive BlueWave infielder Chris Donnels has
fractured his left hand and will be out of the line-up
for up to five weeks. Surgery is needed to remove bone
particles.
Also,
Ken Marantz follows up the Daily Yomiuri's
excellent eight-page 1998 season preview (March 30) with
an piece on Yokohama's Bobby Rose. In addition to Rose's
views on living and playing in Japan, article mentions
that he and his wife are expecting their fourth child,
due in July. Though Mrs. Rose will return to the states
for the delivery, Bobby stated that he would probably
stay in Japan.
April
2: Mainichi Daily News
columnist Dave Wiggins came out with his 1998 CL
predictions yesterday. Among the gems are his remarks
about "ethnic cleansing" on the Hiroshima Carp
roster and his insights on Yomiuri Giants skipper
"Shigeo 'The Nutty Professor' Nagashima."
Also,
the Asahi Evening News
published a story entitled Tigers 'celebrate' CL
pennant on April Fool's Day. Jun Saito writes that
the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan hosted
Hanshin skipper Yoshio Yoshida in Tokyo. Few sports
pundits believe Hanshin will place higher than fourth
this season. The tongue-in-cheek celebration coincides
with the Year of the Tiger.
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