2009 Interleague Madness: Rakuten vs. Yokohama in Sendai A.K.A. Totallly Owned

Hello again everyone. This past weekend, Saturday June 13^th and Sunday June, 14^th, I took a trip to Miyagi Prefecture in north Japan to see the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles take on the Yokohama BayStars at the ever famous Kleenex Stadium Miyagi. Now despite the name of the stadium as possibly being on of the worst ever, the stadium itself is a really nice place and Rakuten has done quite well in terms of marketing and really capturing the attention of the people in Miyagi and the surrounding areas. They drew 20,000+ crowds for the two games this past weekend and it was great to see people supporting the Eagles. The Rakuten eagles have only been in existence for about 5 years but already they are pushing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Pacific League and quite frankly, the team has gotten my attention and I’m listening. I can’t explain it but there’s a charm about the Eagles that makes them attractive in my opinion and I think I’ve somewhat become enamored with them as they are my second favorite team along with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Pacific League, who both are behind Seibu of course. Maybe it’s their young stud pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma and Masahiro Tanaka, or maybe it’s the manager, Katsuya Nomura (highly doubtful on this one), but I like the Rakuten Eagles and really when I can’t cheer for Seibu , I can see myself putting on some maroon and pulling for the Eagles.

This is MR.CARRASCO, one of Rakuten's many mascots. He is known for doing crazy things such as stunts on a dirt bike and literally climbing the very small wall in the outfield and jumping into the stands. He totally rocks.

But before I go on, I’d just like to say thank you to Michael Westbay from JapaneseBaseball.com for the camera advice he gave on one of my previous posts. I’m still learning the ropes with my new camera so to speak and hopefully, as time goes on, this blog can serve as sort of a personal history to showcase my improvement in picture taking.

But enough joking aside, this weekend totally sucked for Yokohama. Now we all know that the Stars aren’t having the best season this year but after this weekend series, I can now officially say that they are content to be bottom feeders in NPB. I mean seriously, totaling 7 hits and 0 runs in two games just means utter fail. Yokohama is serving up its fans a double order of fail fries with a triple order of weak sauce every time they take the field seriously. It’s gotten to the point where I just don’t care enough about the team enough to pay attention to them aside from reading the sports news everyday to see how they did. And while I will always be a BayStars fan as they got me though some hard times a few years back, I absolutely refuse to be “a carp in a pond that eats whatever is fed to him” and I feel that that’s what many BayStars fans are as they just keep blindly following the team and hope that the team can win. They could learn a thing or two from the Chiba Lotte fans. Yeah, believing in your team is one thing, but when your team is in a tailspin and going downward with no end in sight, surely you must question what can be done to fix the team right? As a consumer, I want to get the most bang for my buck and am using this as a chance to explore other teams and take my interest in NPB to the next level. So basically, I use Yokohama as an excuse to go on road trips as I’ll be going to Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium in late July to see the new stadium when the Stars have a series there.

Dan Johnson or "DJ" as he likes to be called. I don't know what happened but he isn't playing that well these days.

Yokohama centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjoh. Honestly, I like Kinjoh but it seems like this may be his last year in Yokohama.

New lead-off man Yuki Yoshimura. I admit, while the concept of Yoshimura as a lead-off hitter is intriguing, he strikes out way to much for my taste and shouldn't be batting lead-off in my opinion.

Seiichi Uchikawa trying to be gangster in left field before the game. All kidding aside though, I really like Uchi and honestly, I think that Tashiro-kantoku should give him a shot to lead-off again.

As for the games themselves, Yokohama was totally outclassed from the start. The starters for Game 1 were Ryan Glynn for the Stars and Satoshi Nagai for the Eagles. This was a typical start for Glynn as he gave up runs early in the game and didn’t receive any run support whatsoever from the offense. Rakuten needed little effort to win this game as they mainly used Glynn’s erratic control against him to do so.

After a fly out to left by Daisuke Kusano to start the bottom of the 2^rd, Tsuchiya Teppei walked and then advanced to third on a single to right by Kenshi. Yosuke Hirashi also walked to load the bases and then Rakuten catcher Motohiro Shima walked to make it 1-0 Rakuten with the bases still loaded. Then, leadoff hitter Naoto Wantanabe singled to center to make it 3-0 Rakuten and that’s where the score stayed until the bottom of the 8^th where Daisuke Kusano would add another run on an RBI double to make it 4-0 Rakuten. Again, Rakuten didn’t need all that much to win the game as they only had 6 hits total and 5 of them were singles.

But Satoshi Nagai on the other hand, totally handcuffed Yokohama by throwing a complete game while allowing 2 hits and striking out 8 while walking 4. Perhaps this will make Rakuten manager Katsuya Nomura appreciate what pitching he has instead of grumbling about how Iwakuma and Tanaka ore the only good pitchers there are and how he can’t send them out everyday to start. I guess I’m a spoiled Yakyu fan as earlier in the week, I saw Hideaki Wakui of the Lions also go the distance against Hanshin. Two complete games in one week is a great thing.

But to Yokohama’s credit I did see some things I liked. While I get on Ryan Glynn a lot, he did pitch great after giving up those 3 runs there’s no denying that. And also, I like what Tashiro kantoku did in mixing things up with the starting lineup. Now frankly, while having Yuki Yoshimura lead off and Dan Johnson bat second is not such a good thing in my opinion, he did something different and I think that deserves a little credit. But even that is stretching it out and can’t hide that fact that things were not so good in Sendai this weekend for the Stars.

Now, I had hope for Game 2 to be honest with you because Yokohama’s ace, Daisuke Miura, took the mound for Game 2 against the brick wall known as Hisashi Iwakuma. But alas, even “Hama No Bancho” was not enough to overcome defeat as he got hammered. Miura wasn’t his normal self as his control seemed a bit off and besides that, one of my friends told me that he hurt his leg or something during his last start so it’s also quite possible that he has been playing hurt as well.

Yokohama Ace Daisuke Miura warming up before starting the 1st inning.

Miura just before throwing his first pitch of the game.

Miura looking cool in his shades and practice uniform before the game.

Hisashi Iwakuma right before throwing a pitch.

Hisashi Iwakuma right after throwing a pitch.

Hisashi Iwakuma yet again.

Rakuten exploded and did most of their damage in the 5^th and 6^th innings by scoring 7 runs and totaling 9 hits in those two innings as well. Rakuten DH Takeshi “Hulk Smash” Yamazaki went 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored and catcher Akihito Fuji went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Seriously, if the Japanese were to ever make their own version of “The Hulk”, Takeshi Yamazaki would be the perfect guy to fill the role as he’s not only a decent sized guy, but he has the temper to boot.

Rakuten outfielder Teppei touching up first base during a pickoff attempt by Ryan Glynn during Game #1.

Teppei advancing to third on a single by Rakuten first baseman Kenshi during Game #1. It was the same play as the picture above too ironically.

Catcher Akihito Fuji standing on first base after recording his third hit of the day during Game #2.

Rakuten left fielder Masato Nakamura just after hitting a single in the 5th inning of Game #1.

Daisuke Kusano stealing second base.

But despite Yokohama continuing its losing ways, Sendai was great as always. Kleenex Stadium Miyagi is a gorgeous stadium and Rakuten has done a lot to improve it, although those Lawson “Group Seats” in the right field stands are totally stupid and messed up part of the charm of the stadium which were the little hills in the outfield where you could sit and lay your blanket out just like in the countryside stadiums (left field still has the hill where people sit). So, if you ever get the chance to go, please do as you won’t regret it.

http://www.rakuteneagles.jp/game/scoreboard/index/2009061401.html#5

http://www.rakuteneagles.jp/game/scoreboard/record/2009061301.html

http://bis.npb.or.jp/eng/2009/games/s2009061400792.html

http://bis.npb.or.jp/eng/2009/games/s2009061300781.html

And finally, I leave you with this photo:



BayStars veteran pitcher Kimiyasu Kudoh. When it comes to this season, the look on Kudoh's face pretty much sums up how I feel when I think about the BayStars. I think this is going to be my mandatory introduction photo for all BayStars related posts this year.

2009 Interleague Madness: Yokhama vs. Saitama Seibu @ Seibu Dome 5/22 & 5/23 A.K.A. "When Worlds Collide"

Yokohama first baseman Takahiro Saeki on the ground after committing an error in the 7th inning of Saturday's contest. Seriously, why is Saeki even still in the lineup? And yes, Saeki's 2 run home run in the game STILL doesn't change the fact that he's atrocious on defense. This is kind of what I feel like after I watch a BayStars game nowadays to be honest with you.

Hello all. It's been a little while I know but I've been feeling under the weather for a few weeks and am now just starting to get better. Honestly, I thought I had caught the "新型インフルエンザ" or "New Type Influenza" (Swine Flu as some of you may call it) but it turns out that I may have just had a really bad cold and sore throat that hit due to the season changing. I have like 6 games I need to write up and hopefully all of them will get posted this week so I will most definitely get caught up with things here. But anyways, on to the recap shall we?

On Friday May 22nd and Saturday May 23rd, I went to see the Yokohama BayStars do battle with the Saitama Seibu Lions. Now, these games were important for a number of reasons:

1. I decided that I was going to cheer in the outfield for the BayStars. Prior to that, it had been quite sometime since I actually cheered for the BayStars (the opening series in Nagoya doesn't really count as I was mainly talking with my friends from Kansai in the back and only glancing at the game). But I decided that no matter how bad they would be, that I'd cheer for them the entire game. But, since I remembered that I now have a "Yakyu Blog", I did split my time on Saturday between the right field cheering section and my field level seat to get some great pictures too by the way as you will see in a minute or so.

2. These match ups were between my 2 favorite teams from the Central and Pacific Leagues respectively. Now, it wasn't that hard to make up my mind who I was going to cheer for but it did feel awkward going to the Dome and cheering against the Lions this time around. I would be lying if I didn't say it wasn't. With me it's always the BayStars first and the Lions second whenever they play each other, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

3. I got to see "Tashiro's BayStars" first hand for the first time. Now, I'm sure you are all aware that former manager Akihiko Oya was replaced by former Shonan SeaRex manager Tomio Tashiro before interleague play began last week. Now that I've had some time to dwell on the move, I'd like to state how I feel about it.

I think the move is good but it came a little to late if you ask me. I feel that Ohya should have been let go at the end of last season which would have given Tashiro the chance to choose his own coaching staff and what not (had management decided to promote him at that time). So if Tashiro fails. I'm not going to blame him because he was thrust into this situation. Also, while I've stated that I do feel bad for Ohya, at the same time, I am disappointed at him and the BayStars management also because he failed to own up to his part of of the team's bad start and should have officially stepped down. But instead, he let management put him on "rest" and therefore, he'll probably slip out the back door unnoticed while the team goes in a different direction. I really can't buy into this whole "sabbatical" thing to be quite honest with you and still, there's a chance he could come back if the team improves (albeit a slim one).

Game #1 on Friday was a match up of aces so to speak as the pitching match up was Hideaki Wakui going for the Lions against Daisuke Miura of the BayStars. This was my second time seeing Miura this year and he wasn’t that much better than when I saw him on Opening day to be quite honest with you. But, it didn’t matter how good or bad Miura was because the story for this game was Yokohama’s offense. Now, for a good chunk of this young 2009 season, the BayStars have done NOTHING on offense. They’ve repeatedly failed to drive runners in let alone get on base. So, it came as quite a surprise to me when they hammered Wakui. It was like they were taking out the past month and a half on Wakui and it felt pretty good even though I felt bad for Wakui at the end of the night as well. Almost each starting member of Yokohama’s starting lineup had at least one hit with Shuichi Murata being the lone exception as he struck out 4 times in the contest (seriously, is anyone else getting sick of Murata’s all or nothing uppercut swing because I know I sure am). Also too, Yokohama’s new American slugger, Dan Johnson, hit a triple in the first inning which was really cool and kind of funny seeing him leg out a triple because Johnson is a really big guy I would assume that he hasn’t hit that many triples in his career (2 to be exact). Johnson seems to be finding his groove here in NPB which can only be a good thing and I wish him all the best and hope that he can continue producing for the BayStars.

The Lions too, weren’t that bad either as they scored in consecutive inning in the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th innings. But, it didn’t really matter as Yokohama’s bats couldn’t be stopped. My friends and I agreed that this was the best game for Yokohama this year so far as Tashiro kantoku seems to be getting settled in as the manager of the BayStars. The starting lineup was evidence of this as he had Seiichi Uchikawa batting leadoff. This was the first time in a long time (if ever) that I had seen Uchikawa batting leadoff and surprisingly, it makes sense I think.

Miura picked up the win for Yokohama and Wakui took the loss for Seibu. It was really good to actually cheer for the Stars again as I got many blank looks when I came to the Dome with my Lions bag that had all my cheer towels and whatnot in it. But I assured all my friends that the Stars are still my #1 team in NPB. Stats in English and Japanese can be found below:

Japanese

English

Yokohama Ace Daisuke Miura warming up before the game. He's my second favorite Japanese player right after Takuro Ishii.

Miura again. Even if the Stars don't come close to winning anything in the next few years, at least (and I hope) "Bancho" will get to retire in a Yokohama uniform.


But before that, I have to say that I spent Game 2 going back and forth between my field level seat and the outfield. It was my second time sitting in the new field view seats @ Seibu Dome and I’ve got to say that the view was a lot better on the 1^st base side as the seats seemed a lot closer to the action than the 3^rd base ones did. But anyways, onto Game 2 of the series and here we go…

To put it bluntly, all good things must come to an end as Yokohama’s momentum from Game 1 didn’t last. Game 2 was the exact opposite of Game 1 as Seibu struck first in terms of scoring and didn’t let up. The starters for the game were Ryan Glynn for Yokohama and Kazuyuki Hoashi for the Lions. Now for Ryan Glynn this season, things haven’t been going so well for him. As it stands now, he’s 2-5 with a 3.99 ERA through 8 games this season. Now granted, not all of this is his fault mainly because of the lack of run support he's gotten in his starts, but performances like this game don't really help him. 8 of Glynn's 9 hits he gave up in the game came in the first 2 innings he pitched plus he gave up 6 runs (5 earned). But, to Yokohama's credit, they did manage to fight back by scoring 2 runs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. So, maybe Tashiro kantoku is indeed having an effect on the Stars as I can't even remember when they tried to comeback in a game under Ohya's watch.

Saitama Seibu starter Kazuyuki Hoashi.

Hoashi delivering a pitch.





Yokohama starter Ryan Glynn. I swear that Glynn is going to cause me to short circuit by the end of the season.

An early conference on the mound in the 2nd inning.

Anyways, what really impressed me with Seibu is the performance of starter Kazuyuki Hoashi. To be honest, what's been killing Seibu this year is their pitching (the bullpen mainly in my opinion). Yes, their offense has been streaky at times too, but the pitching worries me more. So, the Lions needed a pitcher to step up and Hoashi did just that. He went out and dominated for six innings and pitching until the 8th while giving up 4 runs and striking out five. Although, he gave up 2 runs a piece in the 7th and 8th innings which makes me question how long he can actually go. But all in all, a great performance by Seibu and a tough loss for the Stars. At least it was better than last year when they got swept by Seibu at the Seibu Dome and had to deal with Kaz Ishii, who is a BayStars killer in my opinion because every time I've seen him face the Stars, he dominated them to the point of humiliation.

As always, the box scores from the game are below and after that, you can view some of the the many photos I took and because these were special games, I've posted many of them.

Japanese

English



Guess who?



Yokohama relief pitcher Yuya Ishii.



Yokohama left fielder and WBC star Seiichi Uchikawa. Hard to imagine that only 2 seasons ago, hardly anybody knew about him.



Yokohama relief pitcher Atsushi "Wildman" Kizuka.



Yokohama rookie Hitoshi Fujie. I actually like him a lot and think he's gonna be a great pitcher.



Yokohama second baseman Toshiyuki Kitagawa attempting to tag Hiroyuki Nakajima out at second after Nakajima hit a double to center field.




Yokohama third baseman Shuichi Murata hits a single to right in the top of the 7th.




Yokohama center fielder Tatsuhiko Kinjoh reacts after grounding out to short.



Saitama seibu second baseman Yasuyuki Kataoka.