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02/19/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Aloha Bobby Rose; Nomura Nearly Becomes Steve Yeager"
Team Reports
Yomiuri Roberto Petagine had another tough time in right today, as he played "I got it, you take it" with second baseman Toshihisa Nishi, resulting in a popup falling in. Coaches, though, think the Venezuelan slugger will work out the kinks before it counts....Rookie righty Hiroshi Kisanuki threw 68 pitches in the bullpen today from the set position....Masumi Kuwata will start against Yokohama at Ginowan, Okinawa in an exhibition game on the 24th....Injured first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara mashed 22 homers in batting practice today in 61 swings while taking more advice from Hiromitsu Ochiai....Kimiyasu Kudoh, who has a calf problem, played catch today....Takayuki Saito and rookie shortstop Masahiro Nagata, who was working out at second again, took 200 ground balls in a special defensive drill in the rain off the bat of manager Tatsunori Hara.
Yakult Rookie Yuhei Takai has been sent down to the minors to rehab what has been diagnosed as a sprained muscle on his left side. Doctors told him not to throw for three days. Coaches said that they will bring their prize first year lefty along slowly and that he may not come back up with the big club until after the all star break....Bad news for southpaw Shugo Fujii, who has come down with a minor case of arthritis in his elbow. It is unceratin as to when he will be able to resume throwing.
Chunichi Officials of the Dragons issued an apology to fans of the team the other day. "We know you were looking forward to having Kevin Millar as our cleanup hitter," it began, and they vowed to do their best for the faithful this season. Still no word from Japan, though, on Chunichi having received an official apology from Millar for his antics....Chunichi faced the LG Twins in a practice game today and Kenta Asakura dominated them during his one inning on the mound with a 92mph fastball. Asakura will start an exhibition against Yakult on the 23rd....Daisuke Yamai went four innings of two hit ball, striking out six, as he continues his bid for a rotation slot....The Dragons were hitless in that contest until the fifth, when rookie Yoshimi Sakurai leadoff by banging a slider between third and short for a single. He finished the day 1-2 with a walk. Despite amassing only three hits, Chunichi prevailed 2-1.... According to Hochi Sports, the Dragons have offered outfielder Kazuki Inoue and/or infielder Junichi Jinno to Kintetsu in exchange for reliever Akinori Otsuka. Furthermore, Chunichi would be willing to post Otsuka once the season is over. The debt-ridden Buffaloes, though, are looking for cash....Closer Eddie Gaillard threw batting practice today. Gaillard was reportedly not happy with his outing, but coaches were far more complimentary.
Hanshin First baseman George Arias had a 115 swing special hitting session today, working on taking the ball to all fields. The ex-Angel and Padre, who powdered 18 homers, including one that travelled in excess of 480 feet, while in the cage this time out, said afterward, "I did what I'm supposed to do. I just want to be careful not to get injured"....Hideki Irabu threw 72 pitches today, the most he has delivered in a workout this spring so far, mainly using his fastball, though he mixed in some changeups and curve balls. The erstwhile Chiba Lotte Marine said that he was throwing at about 80% of full speed. He will toss batting practice on the 21st. In addition, according to Nikkan Sports, manager Senichi Hoshino will limit Irabu to seven innings during his starts. Team owner Masatoshi Tezuka was at the camp watching Irabu....While waiting on the on deck circle during a simulated game in the Tigers' minor league camp today, backup catcher Katsunori Nomura was stabbed by a flying piece of a broken bat in his right thigh and required four stitches to close the wound. Even after being hit by the bat, though, Nomura still walked up to the plate and hammered a double before going off to hospital. Nomura says that he will be back working out with the team tomorrow....Centerfielder Osamu Hamanaka looked terrible in his 155 swing batting practice session today. He revealed afterward that he is feeling tired....Both Jeff Willams and Lou Pote had a no throw day. Each man will be on the hill in tomorrow's intrasquad game. Ace Kei Igawa and sidearming righty Tetsuro Kawajiri will make the start for their respective sides....Second year hurler Yuya Ando threw 68 pitches in the bullpen, as he is working on a shuuto.
Hiroshima Jimmy Hurst was sawed off in batting practice today by a fastball from veteran Ken Takahashi.
Yokohama Righthander Takeo Kawamura, who had liposuction in the offseason, threw 80 pitches in a bullpen session today. He is hoping to return to the form that helped him win 17 games in 1999. Last season, however, he was only in three games for a total of 10.1 innings, finishing with an 0-1 record. Right now, he says he is at about 70%.
Seibu Shortstop Kazuo Matsui got some hitting instruction from Shigeo Nagashima today, working on how he uses his weight on his back foot. Matsui said that the former Yomiuri third baseman put things in terms that were easily understandable....Daisuke Matsuzaka started an intrasquad game today and got hammered for five runs on six hits and two walks and unleashed a wild pitch in just two innings. The reason? Matsuzaka says he was opening his shoulder too early. He was clocked at 92mph. The righthander then headed for the pen and threw 67 pitches.
Daiei Nagisa Arakaki went three shutout innings today in an intrasquad game, striking out three, but also walking a similar number.The rookie righty, who was clocked at 93mph, indicated that he was fatigued and that his balance on the mound was off....Matt Skrmetta permited just one hit in two scoreless innings in that game and struckout three to position himself for the closer's job. He was clocked at around 96mph. When comparing Skrmetta with previous closer Rodney Pedraza, skipper Sadaharu Oh offered that Skrmetta has far better mound presence....Rookie southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada played catch for the first time in three days after sustaining an injury to a shoulder muscle.
Kintetsu The Buffaloes reportedly still have two roster spots open and they are looking for a foreign shortstop to fill one of them, According to Hochi Sports.
Nippon Ham Today's scheduled intrasquad game has been moved back to tomorrow.
Lotte Well, here we go again. Tomohiro Kuroki is complaining of discomfort in his shoulder and will be sidelined for a while.
Orix There is some talk of Makoto Suzuki becoming the closer since Masanobu Okubo is injured.
Miscellaneous According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the SF Giants were indeed interested in Hideki Matsui and Matsui was interested in them, but the Bay Area club never came across with a formal offer....On competing with Matsui, Tsuyoshi Shinjo told Newsday, ""He's probably going to have better statistics than me. But I'll try my best not to be worse than him"....According to Chunichi Sports, Matsui may bat fifth in the Yanks' first intrasquad game on the 24th. More than 2500 came by to watch today's workout at Legends Field, almost double that at the same time last year....The black eyes for baseball continue, as Jose Canseco (really big muscless, really small brain) gets locked up for a probation violation.....USC was supposed to play Rikkyo University today in L.A., but it was cancelled for undisclosed reasons....It's nice to see former Lions slugger Orestes Destrade getting some ink. He did a great job in 2000 as part of an ESPN broadcast team at the NPB-MLB all star series and I'm sure he will do equally fine for his new employer....Barry Bonds, in an MLB.com interview, had the following to say about playing in Japan: "I love Japan. I just love the country -- I love it to death. I have the most fun. They treat me great. It's just the time of my life. Hopefully, I'll have the chance to go there every year doing some promotional things with them. I enjoy there. It's great, a great country"....Seattle will play the KBO's Lotte Giants Tuesday at the M's spring training facility in Peoria, Arizona.... Ichiro is fooling with his grip on the bat to help him turn better on inside pitches ....Yankees batting instructory Rick Down told Sankei Sports today that he doesn't see a lot of wasted motion in Hideki Matsui's swing and that he doesn't try to do too much in facing pitchers....Mariners reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa threw 40 pitches during batting practice yesterday against some of the club's minor leaguers and then another 55 in the bullpen. "It was alright," the former Orix righty commented. I'm just about ready. I was throwing nice and easy"....The Japanese Olympic Baseball Player Personnel Committe came out today with an edict banning dyed hair and facial hair. That means that players such as Kazuo Matsui and Norihiro Nakamura will have to change their appearance to play in zone tournaments and at Athens (though if Matsui goes to MLB this coming offseason, he won't be part of that team).
Today's Pictures
Tsuyoshi Shinjo Makes Flashy Entrance
Hideki Matsui Smashes a Pitch from Mariano Rivera Back Up the Middle
Kenta Asakura Delivers to the Plate
Nagisa Arakaki Throws a Four Seamer
George Arias Pings One to Right
Arias Goes the Other Way Again
Trey Hillman and Reporters Get Out of the Rain
Matt Skrmetta During Today's Workout
Bobby Rose Hangs It Up
All my best to Bobby, who I liked with the Angels before he went to Japan. See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
See related story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Heyman: Matsui a Lead Pipe Cinch
See story at: Greenwich Time Article
Matsui Continues to Make Good Impression
See story at: CBS Sportsline Article
See related story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
See another related story at: Staten Island Advance Article
See yet another related story at: MLB.com Article
And finally, this story at: Hartford Courant Article
Destrade: Matsui Like Edmonds
See story at: NY Times Article
Shinjo Makes Elvis-Like Arrival
See story at: Newark Star-Ledger Article
See related story at: Sebastian Sun Article
Mister Adds Special Touch to Spring
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Replies: 2 comments
Hats off to Bobby Rose if his retirement is real. It takes a man to admit that he has lost it. Better he decide now so that the Marines still have time to go out and bring in some foreign help. There should be some quality players out there who have fallen through the cracks in the U.S. Or they can wait for some of them to get sent out of big league camp.
Either way, they should have no trouble filling that hole that Rose left with his departure.
Hammer
Posted by Hammer @ 02/20/2003 10:01 AM EST
Hey Kintetsu, Need a shortstop and for cheap........ Check out Clay Bellinger, he can do the job and if his track record keeps pace, you will get that elusive championship ring. (Bellinger was in the Yankee organization when they won four championships and was with the Angels last year..... Go figure)
Hammer
Posted by Hammer @ 02/20/2003 09:53 AM EST
