By the all-star break, the Dragons had tallied a 39-43 record, but the team was actually doing worse than appeared. While Chunichi had a 77 run deficit (318 runs scored, 395 runs allowed), fourth place Hanshin had a mere 27 run deficit and the last place Giants were only two points in the red. The way they were scoring and giving up runs, the Dragons should have been in last place.

Probably what kept Chunichi afloat so long was their bullpen, led by Dong Yol Sun. By late July, the Korean closer led the league with twenty-seven save points (runner up Kazuhiro Sasaki of the BayStars had 21). Sun was able to come into close games and protect Chunichi leads. When he didn't appear, the Dragons usually lost lopsided games.

In August and September, the Dragons gave Sun fewer save opportunities as they rarely entered the late innings with a close lead. Continuing to be outscored by opponents in roughly the same way they had been earlier in the year, the Dragons ended the season with a 134 run deficit, almost twice that of fifth place Hanshin. As a result Chunichi dropped to last place with a 59-76 final record.

Throughout the season, another disturbing trend emerged. In 1996 the Dragons did well both at home and on the road, and in their disastrous 1995 outing, the team actually had a winning record at home games (33-32) while being blown away on the road (17-48). 1997 became a mirror image of their 1995 season.

In 1997, Chunichi earned a 32-35 record on the road, rather consistent with their 1996 performance and far better than 1995. However, they compiled a 27-41 record at "home" games (both in Nagoya and on tours of the countryside), including a 26-37 record at the Nagoya Dome. If manager Senichi Hoshino and his coaches had devised a strategy for winning in their new home, the Dragons might have done better.

With Major League dimensions, a huge outfield wall and artificial turf, speed should have been one of the top ingredients in Chunichi's plan to win in the Nagoya Dome. Instead, they went with their collection of slow power hitters, making few substantive changes before the 1997 season.

Despite dumping Alonzo Powell and Yasuaki Taiho at the end of 1997, it still doesn't appear that Chunichi has figured out how to make use of their home field advantage.

Pitching: According to some, moving to the Nagoya Dome was supposed to help the Dragons pitchers. Instead, team ERAs rose from 4.05 in 1996 to 4.33 (worse than every pro team except the Carp). Since the Dragons had a nearly even record on the road and an abysmal one in the Nagoya Dome, it seems likely that Chunichi pitchers had the most trouble at home games.

There's a lot of unrealized potential on the Dragon's pitching staff. With two established starters and a lot of good young arms, the staff of hurlers should have done much better. Except for Dong Yol Sun and Masahiro Yamamoto, virtually everyone else had an off year.

Loaded with left-handed pitchers, one wonders why the Dragons signed southpaw pitcher Jimmy Williams (released at the end of the season). Did they need an extra arm on their minor league team that bad?

Offense: With the exception of third base man Leo Gomez, the entire Chunichi line-up went to hell in 1997. Compiling a worst-in-Japan .243 team batting average, the Dragons scored a mere 510 runs (fifth in the league) while collecting 1088 hits (sixth), 182 doubles (fifth), 1663 total bases (sixth). Only two teams in the CL (and none in the Pacific League) struck out more often than Chunichi (891). Though the Dragons failed to finish in the top third of any team offense category, they did compile 24 triples (fourth in the league), 115 home runs (fourth) and 55 steals (fourth) while earning 486 walks (third).

These are quite depressing results for a team that nearly won the 1996 CL pennant with a .278 batting average and 179 home runs.

Moving to the Nagoya Dome took a big bite out of everyone's batting average and home run production. And that probably should have been anticipated. But offense is more than swinging for the fences.

Playing in old Nagoya Stadium, where the shallow outfield fences increased home runs but cut down on extra base hits, speed may not have been that important. But in a dome that has major league dimensions, a huge outfield wall (almost five meters or fifteen feet high), and which is covered with artificial turf, speed counts. And that is where the Dragons really blew it.

Consider outfielder Daisuke Masuda who led the league in triples. Since he doesn't appear to have much power (two home runs and a .361 slugging percentage), he likely reached third by merit of his speed and base running skills. Yet he only stole eleven bases--more than any other Chunichi player.

On virtually every team, there's a designated base stealer (Ogata for Hiroshima, Matsui for Seibu, etc.), but there apparently aren't any on the Dragons staff. In 1996, part-time infielder Yusuke Torigoe led the team with eight steals, and second baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami only swiped ten the year before that.

Base-stealing, it appears, is not something Manager Senichi Hoshino pushes his players to excel at, no matter how qualified they may be. Contrast that with the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Like the Dragons, the Buffaloes moved to a dome with Major League-dimensions in 1997.

The Buffaloes shifted strategy toward speed. Stealing only 66 bases in 1996, Kintetsu swiped 112 a year later. The Dragons, however, made few adjustments, going from 36 team steals to 55. And while the Buffaloes surged to a third place 68-63 record, the Dragons fell into the Central League cellar (after reaching second place in 1996). While the Buffaloes apparently planned a strategy for playing in a different environment, the Dragons did not. And that may have made the difference (along with Kintetsu's much higher team batting average and lower ERA).

Top Players: Masahiro Yamamoto and Leo Gomez. Yamamoto nearly won the Sawamura Award while leading the league in wins (an 18-7 record) and strikeouts (159) while posting a second best 2.92 ERA. Meanwhile, Gomez far surpassed all other Chunichi batters with a .315 average (second place Tatsunami had .269), 31 home runs (Yamazaki had 19), and 81 RBIs (Powell 56) while slugging .559 (Yamazaki .457) with a .407 on-base percentage (Tatsunami .372 ). Gomez also led the team in runs, hits and total bases while placing second in doubles and walks.

Surprise Player: Dong Yol Sun. After a terrible 1996 season, Korean ace pitcher Sun moved to the Dragons bullpen in 1997 and prevented the Dragons from being slain in the late innings. By the end of the season, Sun had compiled a 1.28 ERA and 39 save points in 43 games. Not bad for a guy who nearly everyone had written off.

Biggest Disappointment: Yasuaki Taiho and Alonzo Powell. Two probably victims of the move to the Nagoya Dome, both had miserable years. After winning three straight batting titles, Powell was released in August while hitting .253. Winner of the 1994 CL home run crown, Taiho finished the season batting .240 with 12 homers and was traded to Hanshin a few days after the end of the season. Taiho probably wore out his welcome when he gave the Dragons a black eye by first assaulting American umpire Mike Di Muro, then by throwing a bat at hecklers a few weeks later.

Most over-rated: Takeshi Yamazaki. Winner of the 1996 CL home run crown under dubious circumstances (Dragons pitchers walked runner-up Hideki Matsui throughout the last game to deny the Giants slugger a chance at the title), Yamazaki hit just eighteen home runs a year later. Along with the fact that almost every other Chunichi slugger slumped during their first year in the Nagoya Dome (1997), it appears that the left-fielder's 1996 home run production was made possible by the short fences at old Nagoya Stadium. It therefore doesn't seem likely he'll have another year like 1996.

New Faces: Koichi Sekikawa (catcher/outfield) and shortstop Teruyoshi Kuji joined the Dragons in a trade that sent Yasuaki Taiho and catcher Akihiro Yano to the Tigers. Shortstop Jeong Bum Lee, acquired from the Korean Haitai Tigers, has speed, power and good defense, three things the Dragons have in short supply. Tokitaka Minamibuchi, limited to only 35 games with the Marines in 1997, was sent to the Dragons.

Strongest area: Left-handed pitching staff: Masahiro Yamamoto was terrific and Shinji Imanaka is great when not injured. However, they don't have many credible right-handed counterparts since Ken Kadokura pitched so poorly in 1997.

Weakest area: Third base defense: Gomez is not terribly fast and led the CL with eighteen errors. Lack of speed: the Dragons really haven't figured out how to use the Nagoya Dome's spacious interior to their advantage.

Biggest question mark: Shinji Imanaka. The ace lefty pitched great in 1996, but missed a huge chunk of 1997, throwing inconsistently when he did climb the mound. Also Ken Kadokura, the big right-hander threw poorly in 1997, but has the potential to do much better. If both pitchers can get their careers back on track, the Dragons will have a good shot at climbing out of the CL cellar.

Secret weapon: On a staff dominated by southpaws, Ken Kadokura could potentially become the team's number one right-handed starter. He pitched great in 1996 (3.11 ERA, 7-3), but looked awful a year later (4.73, 10-12). At twenty-four, the 191 cm (six foot four) hurler has a good chance of being effective in 1998.

Fading star: With Yasuaki Taiho, the team's most obvious fading star, moving to Hanshin, the title best falls to catcher Takeshi Nakamura. Never a great batter, the backstop earned a .271 average with twelve home runs in 1996. A year later, Nakamura batted .232 with eight homers and a lousy .301 on base percentage. Since reserve catcher Akihiro Yano was sent to Hanshin with Taiho, Nakamura had better stay healthy in 1998.