  In 1998, there are again questions
about Yakult's chances of taking the Central League
pennant. Manager Katsuya Nomura, usually pessimistic, is
downplaying his team's chances of returning to the Japan
Series.
The
Swallows lost Terry Bross, who had a bad year in 1997,
and ace starter Masato Yoshii, now playing with the New
York Mets. Pitching appears to be the Swallows weak spot.
But
Yakult still features a pretty strong pitching staff,
even without Yoshii and Bross. Kazuya Tabata was one of
the league's best hurlers in 1997, and rehabilitating
lefty Kazuhisa Ishii had a great year. In addition to
no-hitting the BayStars on September 2, Ishii earned 120
strikeouts (fifth in the league, despite missing the
first two months of the season), and a 1.91 ERA.
Several
other Swallows hurlers have shown ability in the past but
have struggled in the last few years. Still, to bolster
the team's starting rotation, Nomura is planning on
shifting closer Tomohito Ito (19 saves, 1.51 ERA, 53
strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings in 1997) to the starting
rotation. Also, the Swallows have picked up two
hard-throwing foreign players, Mark Acre and Travis
Driskill, as well as former Seibu ace Hisanobu Watanabe.
It
may be popular to dismiss Yakult's chances of taking the
1998 CL pennant, but the team will still be strong
because their pitching staff remains one of the strongest
in the league. MVP catcher Atsuya Furuta appears healthy,
and will likely lead the pitchers behind the plate.
Top Player:
Atsuya Furuta. Among the awards Furuta picked up in 1997:
Central League MVP, Japan Series MVP and the Shoriki
Award (for outstanding contribution to baseball). The
Swallows top batter (.322 average) and a great clutch
hitter, Furuta's greatest asset is probably his defense
and handling of pitchers. When he's healthy, the Swallows
pitching staff is overpowering; when injured, Yakult's
team ERA soars.
Surprise
Player: Mitsuru Manaka. Though Dwayne Hosey might
also deserve the honor for proving all his pre-season
critics wrong, Mitsuru Manaka earns the honor by hitting
.338 while filling in for the injured Tetsuya Iida in
center field. A twenty-seven year old reserve outfielder
who only played nine games in 1996 and batted a paltry
.214 in '95, Manaka didn't have high expectations to
fulfill.
Top Comeback
Player: Kazuhisa Ishii. Japan's best pitcher in 1997,
Ishii didn't join the Yakult roster until the beginning
of June. Missing the first two months of the season while
rehabilitating from shoulder surgery, Ishii compiled a
10-4 record with a 1.91 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 117 2/3
innings after his return. Of all the pitchers in both
leagues who appeared in at least 110 innings, Ishii
struck out more batters (9.18) per nine innings, while
allowing the fewest hits (5.58), base runners (9.71) and
home runs (.382). If Ishii can keep up the same pace for
a full season, he'll be guaranteed the Sawamura Award,
quite an improvement for a pitcher who went 1-5 with a
5.23 ERA in 1996.
Biggest
Disappointment: Terry Bross. Posting a 2.33 ERA with
a 14-5 record, Bross had a great "rookie" year
with the Swallows in 1995 but slowed down the  following
year (3.61 ERA, 7-12). In 1997, the right-handed pitcher
compiled a 4.99 ERA while earning a 7-8 record. Because
of his poor performance, Bross spent some time on the
Swallows' minor league team.
In the pitchers'
defense, Bross complained that working on a seven-day
rotation instead of five screwed up his timing.
After trying to
adapt to the Japanese style of tricking batters, the
fed-up hurler told John De Bellis of the Asahi
Evening News, 'I am going to go back to my style of
being a power pitcher, rather than trying to finesse or
trick batters. Every time I try to become a pitcher and
not a thrower I don't do as well."
Bross was given
his release a few weeks after the Swallows won the Japan
Series. Several Japanese teams have expressed an interest
in acquiring him, including the Tigers and Hawks, but he
eventually signed a one-year deal with the Lions.
Most
over-rated: Dwayne Hosey. Usually, the term
"over-rated" carries a negative stigma. But not
with Hosey. At the beginning of the season, he started
out as the most-underrated import. Manager Katsuya Nomura
and Nippon Ham first baseman Hiromitsu Ochiai loudly
criticized Hosey, the latter calling him the worst
foreign player he'd ever seen in Japan.
By the all-star
break, both were eating a whole murder of crow as the
Swallows outfielder earned a spot on the all-star squad.
However, by August, the press had begun portraying Hosey
as a super-human home run hitting machine. Because of his
antics off the field, the Yakult outfielder made good
copy, and the press ate it up.
But when Hosey
slumped toward the end of the season, and when he
committed a few errors during the Japan Series, the press
had a field day. Nikkan Sports, one of the leading
Japanese sports tabloids, taunted Hosey with a story he'd
soon be fired if he continued making errors. Building him
up just so they could later tear him down while selling
more newspapers, the pack journalists got their money's
worth out of Hosey.
New Faces:
Lyle Mouton, a 28-year-old Chicago White Sox infielder,
signed a 127 million yen ($1 million) one-year contract
with Yakult. In 1997, Mouton played 88 games for Chicago,
batting .269 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. In his
three year Major League career, he's compiled a .287
average.
Hisanobu
Watanabe, a career 124-105 hurler who has struggled in
recent years, was picked up to help fill the hole left by
Major League-bound pitcher Masato Yoshii. The Swallows
also signed right-hander Mark Acre, a reliever in the
Oakland A's minor league system, who has compiled a 9-6
Major League record with two saves, and Travis Driskill a
right-handed minor leaguer in the Cleveland Indians
system who can pitch around 145kph (90mph) and reportedly
has a good curveball. Also, Yakult picked up high school
pitcher Shinji Mikami, their fall 1997 first-round draft
pick.
Strongest
area: Catcher. Probably the only genuine all-star on
the team, Atsuya Furuta has been called by many the best
player in Japan. When he's healthy, he brings out the
best in an otherwise ordinary pitching staff and carries
one of the most reliable bats in the Central League. When
he missed large chunks of the 1994 and '96 seasons, the
Swallows dropped to fourth place. Coincidence or not,
when he's played the entire season (1992-93, '95, '97),
the Swallows have gone on to win the CL pennant.
Weakest area:
Left field arm. In 1997, Dwayne Hosey proved himself one
of the best sluggers in the league and a decent, if not
graceful, defensive outfielder. But his throwing arm had
manager Nomura worried enough to use Shinichi Sato as a
ninth-inning defensive replacement for Hosey throughout
the season. Had the Swallows been able to ink top college
star Yoshinobu Takahashi (who eventually decided to join
the Giants) after the 1997 season, Yakult would likely
have made room for the outfielder by releasing Hosey. As
such, unless the imported left-fielder has another great
year at the plate in 1998, he may not be wearing a
Swallows uniform in '99.
Biggest
question mark: Catcher Atsuya Furuta's currently
unbroken bones. If the all-star catcher can survive the
1998 season uninjured, the Swallows will have a better
than even chance of returning to the Japan Series. But
unless new hurlers Hisanobu Watanabe, Travis Driskill and
Mark Acre excel, Furuta won't have much of a pitching
staff to direct. Though the suspension of shortstop
Shinya Miyamoto (for tax evasion) will likely be filled
by either Toshifumi Baba or Katsuyuki Dobashi, injuries
to other starters could cause a lot of problems.
Secret weapon:
Mitsuru Manaka. Jim Tatum might have been the best
candidate (in 51 games and 139 at bats, he hit .309 with
thirteen home runs, 25 RBIs and a whopping .640 slugging
percentage) but  was released at the end of the season so
that the Swallows could make room for newcomer Lyle
Mouton. Part-time center fielder Mitsuru Manaka batted
.338 with a .384 on base percentage. If the Yakult
outfield weren't so crowded, Manaka could easily take
over as the starting center fielder. And if Atsunori
Inaba is not ready to start in right field at the
beginning of the season, Manaka will fill the hole.
Fading star:
Hatsuhiko Tsuji. Despite batting .333 in 1996 (second
best in the CL) Tsuji sat sidelined for a third of the
1997 season because of injuries and a lukewarm bat. When
he did play, the thirty-nine year old second baseman
batted .262. Though he could certainly rebound, Tsuji
will have to fight for playing time. Journeyman Katsuyuki
Dobashi (who batted .301 during the 1997 season and .428
during the Japan Series) has apparently taken over second
base.
Next player to
be recycled: Hisanobu Watanabe. Yakult manager
Katsuya Nomura has a reputation for acquiring players
other teams have discarded and giving them another
chance. The list of such players include Masato Yoshii,
Kazuya Tabata, Takehiko Kobayakawa, and Tetsuhiro Nonaka.
Watanabe has compiled a career 124-105 record with a
lifetime 3.65 ERA but hasn't really been effective since
1990 when he posted a 2.97 ERA while leading the league
with 18 wins. Because he's only 32, Watanabe may be able
to turn his career around, but since the Swallows are the
only team that actively sought to sign him, not many
people think he has much of a chance.
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