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Foreign Bats Raking in Japan

Saturday, May 18th, 2013

It appears Japan has gone to a livlier ball after complaints from the players last year of a dead ball making their games from last year look more like soccer results. There are less 1-0 games and more games won by the opponent scoring double digits in the run figures. This has resulted in increased production by the foreign bats, some of the names recent additions while some of the names are familiar to Japanese fans. Who are the players enjoying All Star seasons in Japan now that more than a quarter of the season is almost complete?

Hector Luna (Chunichi Dragons) - Last year he was a back up to Ryan Howard with the Phils, eventually losing that job to Darin Ruf. This year he is in Japan, currently putting together a 19 game hitting streak to put his batting average at a Japanese high .415. Don’t know when the last time a player in Japan has hit .400, but after 42 games he has yet to hit a slump.

Tony Blanco (Yokahama DeNA Bay Stars) - Last time myworld saw him play he had trouble catching fly balls in the outfield for the Potomac Nationals. He still has trouble catching flyballs, but he can hit. In his fifth season in Japan, but his first with the Bay Stars Blanco is second in hitting with a .362 average and he clubbed homerun number 20 yesterday to lead all of Japan in homeruns. His previous high in homeruns was his first year in Japan when he hit 39. At his current pace he should have more than 60 homeruns. His 49 RBIs is also tops in the Central League and the NPB.

Matt Murton (Hanshin Tigers) - Matt broke a record for hits his first year in Japan when he ripped 214. His next two years he got progressively worse that there was talk this year not to resign him. Tiger fans are glad they did as Matt is hitting .352, which is third in the Central League. The only impediment preventing him from getting more than 214 hits this year is that he is no longer batting leadoff, but hitting fourth in the fighting Tigers lineup.

Jose Lopez (Yomiuri Giants) - He ran out of major league teams willing to sign him. His first year in Japan he has turned into a slugger, hitting .316 with 10 homeruns. His defense is still bad but the bat is hot.

Wladimir Balentien (Yakult Swallows) - Balentien has two years of 31 homeruns each, enough to lead the Central League and all of Japan in bombs. This year he was injured playing in the WBC and got off to a late start to the season. Blanco can see him in the rear view mirror now as Balentien has hit 14 homeruns in his 30 games, with a two homerun day yesterday. He is also hitting .290 with 31 RBIs.

Casey McGehee (Rakuten Golden Eagles) - Andrew Jones was the signing that got the most publicity but it has been the bat of McGehee that has made the most impact for the Eagles. He leads the Pacific League in hitting with a .353 average and has clubbed 8 homeruns with 25 RBIs in his rookie season. Milwaukee could use that kind of production at first base this year.

Michel Abreu (Nippon Ham Fighters) - Nippon gave the ex-Cuban a tryout this year. Major league teams could not find room for him even after impressive seasons in the winter league. He made the team and with his stick there should be no trouble staying on the team. Michel is hitting .269 but leading the Pacific League in homeruns with 12.

Dae-Ho Lee (Orix Buffaloes) - He was a leading homerun hitter in Korea. Those homeruns are not coming so frequently in Japan, but he is hitting .343, which is second in the Pacific League in homeruns. Last year he hit 24 and this year he’s blasted six, but more should come.

Aarom Baldiris (Orix Buffaloes) - He bats third to Lee’s fourth in the Buffaloe’s lineup. He didn’t have any kind of major league career but in Japan he is one of the killer B’s with Blanco and Balentien. He is hitting .328 with seven homeruns. His career high for homeruns is 18, which he did for Orix in 2011. In his first five seasons in Japan he has always just been a role player. This year he has added some pop to his stick and at 30 years old he is in his prime.

Bryan LaHair (Softbank Hawks) - Just like in the major leagues he started out strong, but trouble making contact has cause his average to drop like a stone. Bryan has slugged nine homeruns but his lack of contact (49 whiffs in 39 games) has resulted in his average fizzling to .255.

Esteban German (Seibu Lions) - Not much of a homerun hitter, but in his second season in Japan his .326 average is sixth in the league. He has yet to hit a homerun and his 10 for 20 success rate in stolen bases is not impressive but he has a 27/15 walk to whiff ratio, showing everyone that major leaguers can do more than swing and miss or hit the big bomb.

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Japan/Korea All Star Game

Friday, May 17th, 2013

Japan is in discussions with Korea to have an end of the season All Star game.  The challenge is finding an acceptable date for the game.  Both the winners of the KBO and the NPB will be participating in the Asia Series in November, the same time frame they discussed having the All Star game.

You can read about the game here: http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2971547

Posted in Japan, Korea 2785 | No Comments »

Japan Update - Pacific League

Monday, May 13th, 2013

It is considered the more junior league.  Without the Hanshin Tigers or the Yomiuri Giants in the division it is not considered the more popular.

Chiba Lotte Marines (22-14)

The Chiba fans still love Bobby Valentine.  He brought them their first championship in thirty years in 2005.  They won another championship the year after he wore out his welcome in 2010.  On offense they are led by ex-major leaguer Tadahito Iguchi (.328,4,21).  He starred for the White Sox in 2005/6 where he hit 33 homeruns in two years.  He lasted only two years after that, bouncing between the Phillies and Padres.  In his second NPB season 2011 third round pick Daichi Suzuki (.308,1,11) is turning into a promising shortstop in the NPB.  His speed has not resulted in any stolen bases but it has gotten him four triples, three of those coming in three straight games.  Josh Whitesell (.200, 4, 14) has been their big foreign bat that has been more miss than hit.  Katsuya Kakunaka (.295, 1, 15) leads the team in stolen bases with seven.

Yoshihisa Naruse (4-0, 0.85) is replicating a season he had in 2007 when he went 16-1, 1.82.  He leads the Pacific League in ERA.  Rookie Yuji Nishino (4-1, 2.15) is another starter picking up the wins.  At 22 years old he does not have a car or a driver’s license so he relies on the train to get him from point A to point B.  He was not drafted by Chiba but signed as a Ikusei player.  They have also been getting starts from their 2011 first round pick Takahiro Fujioka (2-3, 4.54).  They have had trouble keeping their foreign pitchers Dicky Gonzalez, Carlos Rosa and Will Ledezma healthy, getting only four appearances between them.  Seth Greisinger has yet to appear in a game but he is close to ready.

Naoya Masuda (1-1, 2.04, 12 saves) leads the Central League in saves.  This is only his second year in the NPB after being a setup man last year.  He was a fourth round pick last year.  The set up man is their top pick in the 2012 draft Takahiro Matsunaga (1-0, 1.45, 9 holds).

Seibu Lions (21-16)

They would like to recapture their dominance from the 1980s when they won 11 out of 13 Pacific League divisions up to 1994.  Their last championship was in 2008.  Esteban German is having a good year with his .347 average second in the league.  He is only 10 for 19 in stolen base attempts.  Right behind him in the batting race is Takumi Kuriyama (.346, 2, 24).  The big RBI bat is Hideto Asamura (.312, 3, 25) who leads the team in that category.  Shogo Akiyama (.276, 5, 14) tops the team in homeruns but also leads the league in runs scored with 30.  He was a third round pick in a productive 2010 draft.  Jose Ortiz (.153) and Ryan Spilborghs (.185) have been disappointing foreign bats.

The Lions also have the second and third top pitchers in the ERA race in Yusei Kikuchi (4-1, 1.12) and Kazuhisa Makita (3-2, 1.65).  In 2009 Yusei had created controversey when he announced he wished to bypass the Japanese draft and play in the major leagues, the first such player to do so.  The Seibu Lions won the lottery for him and at 21 he is finally reaching his potential.  He has two shutouts and has already reached his career high for wins.  Makita was the Lions second round pick in 2010 and was their closer in 2011 before being converted to the starting rotation.  Ryoma Nogama (3-1, 2.21) and Ken Togame (4-1, 3.02) have also been providing solid starts.  Togame was a first round pick of the Lions in 2011.

The bullpen has caused them a few problems with Tatsuya Oishi (0-2, 4.38, 5 saves) leading in saves but inconsistent in his outings.  He was a first round pick of the Lions in 2010.  Foreigners Randy Williams (0-1, 1.00, 2 saves) and Dennis Sarfate (2-0, 0.00) may start taking over those responsibilities.  Sarfate had 35 saves for the Carp in 2011.

Rakuten Golden Eagles (18-17)

The Rakuten Golden Eagles are the newest team in the NPB but they have already produced one major league pitcher in Hisashi Iwakuma and perhaps have the top talent in Masahiro Tanaka.  This year they are more than satisfied with their big foreign bat in Casey McGehee (.361, 7, 23) who leads the Pacific League in hitting.  The foreign bat that brought the most hype was Andrew Jones (.246, 5, 14) but he has been a little slow getting out of the gate.  Their best Japanese hitter is perhaps Ryo Hijirisawa (.273, 1, 14) who has been moved from the leadoff spot to the number three spot in the order.  Kaz Matsui (.274, 4, 20) was a star player for the Seibu Lions, had a disappointing major league career considering his hype and now is performing at a less than superstar status with the Eagles.

Masahiro Tanaka (5-0, 1.84) is probably the most coveted Japanese player by the major league scouts.  He leads the Pacific League in wins but is only fifth in ERA.  In 2011 he had 14 complete games, that dropped to 8 last year and this year he has yet to complete one.  2012 second round pick Takahiro Norimoto (3-2, 2.89) has been their only other effective starter.  Brandon Duckworth (2-3, 4.04) and second round 2010 pick Manabu Mima (4-2, 4.46) have struggled.

Koji Aoyama (0-1, 2.70, 8 saves) is in his second year of closer responsibilities.  Darrell Rasner (2.25) had that role in 2011 but now is better suited in a setup role.

Softbank Hawks (17-18)

The Hawks won back to back divisions in 2010 and 2011 but lost three pitchers to free agency (two to the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League and one to the Orioles of the major leagues).  Now they start from scratch to rebuld a winner.  Seiichi Uchikawa (.301, 3, 17) is their best hitter.  They were getting good production from Bryan LaHair (.269, 8, 26) early but his bat has slowed.  He still provides them with good power numbers but lots of whiffs (46), which leads the Pacific League.  Yuki Yanagita (.300, 3, 12) and Yuya Hasegawa (.294, 3, 13) are other productive bats.  Yanagita was a second round pick in the 2010 draft.  Wily Mo Pena (.211, 0, 6) has experienced another power shortage, which took him to Japan after it happened in the major leagues.  He hit 21 homers last year in the NPB.

Tadashi Settsu (4-1, 1.76) is their ace.  He is fourth in the ERA race and his 41 whiffs place him second in the Pacific League.  Last year he won 17 games with a 1.91 ERA.  Their 2011 first round pick Shota Takeda (2-2, 2.14) is pitching well, but last year he raised the bar going 8-1 with a 1.07 ERA.  Vincente Padilla only got one start before he got hurt.

From the bullpen Brian Falkenborg (0-1, 1.84, 8 saves) is their closer.  Sho Iwasaki (1-0, 1.59) and Kodai Senga (1-0, 1.14) are their top setup pitchers.

Orix Buffaloes (15-20)

The Buffaloes big bats are Korean Dae-Ho Lee (.341, 5, 25) and American Aarom Baldiris (.331, 6, 25).  Lee broke the world baseball record hitting homeruns in nine straight games while playing in the KBO.  He is a smaller fish now while playing in a bigger pond in Japan and hasn’t been as dominant with the power numbers.  Yoshio Itoi (.305, 3, 14) and Hikaru Ito (.302, 0, 9) are two other players hitting over .300.  Last year Itoi expressed interest in the major leagues and was traded by the Fighters to the Buffaloes.

Chihiro Kaneko (3-3, 2.35) leads the Pacific League in strikeouts with 52.  He is joined by Yuki Nishi (3-2, 2.40) as the two most effective pitchers in their rotation.  Brandon Dickson (3-1, 2.63) has also provided the Buffaloes with solid outings.  Italian Alessandro Maestri (1-1, 6.89) who pitched in the American minor leagues a couple years ago has disappointed after some nice outings last year in a late callup.  He is back pitching in the Japanese minor leagues.

Yoshihisa Hirano (1-0, 0.56, 6 saves) is the closer.  Tatsuya Sato (1-0, 2.45, 10 holds) is their top setup guy.  Sato was a 2011 third round pick.

Nippon Ham Fighters (14-22)

The Fighters won their division last year despite the departure of Yu Darvish.  This year they have not been so fortunate.  They gave Cuban Michel Abreu (.280, 11, 25) a tryout this year and he made the team.  Now his 11 homeruns are tops in the Pacific Division.  Sho Nakata (.333, 9, 26) had a three homerun game.  His .333 average is fifth in the Pacific League.  Last year’s big foreign bat Micah Hoffpauir (.208, 4, 13) has struggled.  Dai-Kang Yang (.265, 3, 14) is another foreign bat (Taiwan) whose 12 stolen bases leads the Pacific League.  First round 2012 pick Shohei Otani (.286) has been showing a good bat even though he was drafted as a pitcher.  He had originally announced his interest in playing in the major leagues but the Fighters convinced him to sign with them.  He is pitching in the minor leagues while the Fighters use his bat in their Ichigun major league.  He hit 99 miles per hour in the Koshien high school tournament.

The pitching has not been good with Mitsuo Yoshikawa (3-3, 3.55) and Hiroshi Kisanuki (3-2, 3.86) the best alternatives.  Brian Wolfe (2-3, 3.82) is a foreign alternative.  They keep waiting for Yuki Saito their top 2010 pick who is still one of the more popular pitchers in Japan.  He has been ineffective in his appearances in the Ichigun, last year going 5-8, 3.98.  2009 first round pick Masaru Nakamura (0-4, 5.84) has been a bust in his fourth attempt in the league.

Hisashi Takeda (1.42, 5 saves) has taken over the closer role from Hirotoshi Masui (0-1, 4.50, 4 saves), who is sharing a setup role with Yuya Ishii (2-0, 0.71).

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Pitchers from Asia Finding Success in the Major Leagues

Saturday, May 11th, 2013

There seems to be an Asian flavor with the success of pitchers in the major leagues this year, from Yu Darvish, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Wei-Yen Chen and Hisashi Iwakuma.  These are pitchers from Japan, Taiwan and Korea who jumped their professional leagues in an attempt to find success and riches in the major leagues.

Normally, these Asian pitchers bring a certain style major leaguers are not yet used to and after their second year in the major leagues they need to adjust in order to have success.  Except for Ryu who is in his first year the three other pitchers are having better years in their second year with Darvish being in the conversation as one of the top pitchers in the game.  You can see an analysis of these Asian pitchers and their numbers here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/maybe-its-time-we-stop-underrating-pitchers-from-asian-countries/#more-123666

The next big Asian pitcher to make the jump will probably be Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, once a teammate of Iwakuma with the Rakuten Golden Eagles and a rival of Yu Darvish when discussions occurred over who was the best pitcher in the NPB.  Tanaka has broken a number of records in high school once held by Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Whenever he pitches there are scouts from a number of teams with radar guns in hand to measure his fastball.  The Yankees are the one team that shows a particular interest in him.

Hiroki Kuroda is having another strong year for the Yankees and Junichi Tazawa, who bypassed the NPB draft to jump to the major leagues has worked himself into the closer conversation with the Red Sox.  His Red Sox teammate Koji Uehara has some of the best walk to strikeout numbers in the major leagues and when healthy is considered one of the top relievers in the game.

Major league scouts may find their bats in the Caribbean but their arms appear to be located in Asia.  Perhaps it is those 150 pitch counts when in high school that help strenghten those arms.

Posted in Japan, Korea, Taiwan | No Comments »

NPB Attendance Totals

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Attendance for NPB games is up slightly in the Central League and down slightly in the Pacific League.  You can see those comparisons here: http://yakyubaka.com/2013/05/08/582013-npb-attendance-totals-through-the-first-go-around/

Central League:

Yakult Swallows (2012 average attenedance - 14,907), (2013 ave attendance - 19,177) - +28.6%

DeNA Yokahama Bay Stars (2012 - 15,898), (2013 - 17,747) - +11.6%

Hiroshima Carp (2012 - 17,395), (2013 - 19,269) - +10.8%

Hanshin Tigers (2012 - 37,409), (2013 - 36,732) - -1.8%

Yomiuri Giants (2012 - 40,109), (2013 - 38,719) - -3.5%

Chunichi Dragons (2012 - 30,919) (2013 - 27,546) - -10.9%

Total Central League (2012 - 26,408), (2013 - 26,801) - +1.5%

Pacific League

Orix Buffaloes (2012 - 17,466), (2013 - 20,737) - +18.7%

Softbank Hawks (2012 - 29,238), (2013 - 30,957) - +5.9%

Seibu Lions (2012 - 18,737), (2013 - 17,856) - -4.7%

Nippon Ham Fighters (2012 - 25,565), (2013 - 24,304) - -4.9%

Chibba Lotte Marines (2012 - 16,289), (2013 - 15,074) - -7.5%

Rakuten Golden Eagles (2012 - 16,362), (2013 - 15,002) - -8.3%

Total Pacific League Attendance (2012 - 20,807), (2013 - 20,783) - -0.1%

It doesn’t appear the high profile signing of Andrew Jones is building the attendance that the signing of Manny Ramirez did for Taiwan.

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Japan Update - Central League

Saturday, May 4th, 2013

Myworld begins with an update of the Central League.  We hope to be in Japan in September to watch a few games in the NPB.

Yomiuri Giants (20-8-2)

The defending champion Giants are having another stellar season.  They continue to be led by their captain, catcher Shinnosuke Abe (.310, 9, 29).  Only Tony Blanco in the Central Leage has more RBIs than Abe.  Hayato Sakamoto (.339, 4, 18) has been their most consistent hitter.  He is fourth in the Central League in batting average.  Jose Lopez (.310, 7, 15) and John Bowker (.296, 7, 21) provide productive foreign bats.

Their 2012 first round pick Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1, 2.57) is making a big impact for the Giants.  The Giants tried to select him in the first round in 2011 but the Nippon Ham Fighters won the lottery pick.  He didn’t sign with the Fighters because he wanted to be a Giant and was again selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2012 draft.  Ex-Hawks Toshiya Sugichi (3-0, 1.89) and Dennis Houlton (3-1, 3.55) have gone from leading the Hawks to the Japan Series championship to trying to make it two in a row for the Giants.  Hirokazu Sawamura (2-2, 3.56) a number one 2010 first round pick and Tetsuya Utsumi (2-0, 2.23) round out the rotation.

Kentaro Nishimura (1-1, 0.98, 11 saves) leads the Central League in saves.  Scott Mathieson (0-1, 2.19) is one of the top setup men.

Hanshin Tigers (16-13-1)

They have resurrected themselves by signing a couple Japanese free agents from the major leagues.  Tsuyoshi Nishioka (.311) has been a success from the leadoff spot.  Kosuke Fukudome (.170, 4, 20) who they spent a lot of money for has been a big disappointment.  His hits have at least been productive as he leads the team in homeruns and RBIs.  After a disappointing season last year the Tigers have to be happy with bringing back Matt Murton (.378, 2, 18) who is second in the league in hitting.  In 2011 Murton broke the NPB record for hits in a season.  Another foreigner Brooks Conrad (.180) has been a major disappointment.  When they signed him they expected him to drive in close to 100 runs but in 19 games he is still looking for his first RBI.

The Tigers have put their 2012 number one pick Shintaro Fujinami in the starting rotation and he has not disappointed (3-1, 1.67).  Daiki Enokida (2-3, 1.57) has been their top starter.  He is third in the league in ERA.  Enokida turned into their top first round pick alternate selection in 2010 after they lost out on Oishi Tatsuya.  This is his first year in the starting rotation after pitching in relief his first two years.  Foreign contributions have been a hit and a miss.  Jason Stanridge (2-2, 2.01) has been a hit while Randy Messenger (4-0, 4.62) has been a miss, though the offense has scored enough runs to keep him undefeated.  Randy has one of the two Tiger complete games.

Yasutomo Kubo (2-1, 0.64, 4 saves) has been moved from the starting rotation and has been successful as their closer early in the season.  He has been set up by Yuya Ando and Shinobu Fukuhara who each have not given up a run in 16 appearances between them.

Hiroshima Carp (13-15-1)

Yoshihiro Maru (.308, 1, 10) is the only Carp hitting over .300.  His ten steals are tops in the Central League.  Because the Carp do not have any big bats they rely on the stolen base.  Ryosuke Kikuchi (.271, 2, 12) has eight stolen bases.  Jun Hirose (.420, 2, 15) is getting more playing time after breaking an NPB record of getting on base in 15 consecutive at bats.  Despite his lack of playing time he leads the team in RBIs.  Shota Dobayashi (.225, 1, 13) has been a big disappointment.  Since he struggles on defense he needs to hit to get his bat in the lineup.  His 31 whiffs put him at the head of the class in that category.  Two big foreign disappointments are Brad Eldred (.242, 2, 9) who is out with an injury and Fred Lewis (.247, 1, 5) whose bat has been quiet.

Kenta Maeda (3-0, 0.30) has been battling shoulder soreness, but he is one of the best pitchers in the Central League.  The Carp need him in the rotation to even have a hope for making the playoffs.  Bryan Bullington (2-1, 2.22) has been a solid foreign presence in the starting rotation.  Kan Otake (2-1, 2.03) has been their other reliable starter.

Ex-Oriole Kam Mickolio (1-1, 1.80, 5 saves) has filled the closer role.

Yakult Swallows (13-17-0)

The Swallows lineup should be rejuvenated with the return from injury of last year’s homerun champ Wladimir Balentien (.317, 8, 23).  They need Lastings Milledge (.254, 2, 11) to hit a little more like last year.  His .326 OBA has been an anchor from the lead off spot.  Their only Japanese bat worth mentioning is Kazuhiro Hatakeyama (.216, 4, 20) for his RBI production.  His low average and 28 whiffs are rally killers.

Their top starters are Ryosuke Yagi (1-2. 2.59) and Masanori Ishikawa (2-3, 3.06).  The Swallows have been getting some unexpected production from their 2012 second round pick Yasuhiro Ogawa (3-0, 2.08).  He leads the team in strikeouts with 22 despite throwing fewer innings than the other starters.  Foreign starter Orlando Roman (1-2, 4.67) has struggled and been moved to the bullpen.

Tony Barnette (0-1, 7.50, 5 saves) has closed out the most games.  He has 11 whiffs in his six innings of work, but he has also given up two bombs.  The Swallows have also turned to Tetsuya Yamamoto (0-1, 2.08, 4 saves) for the closer role.  He also leads the team in holds with six.

DeNA (Yokahama) Bay Stars (13-17-0)

They have traditionally anchored the bottom of this division.  Their new ownership DeNA has vowed to make the Bay Stars more competetive.  Free agent Tony Blanco (.339, 16, 37) was signed away from the Dragons and leads the Central League in homeruns and RBIs.  The park he plays in has always enhanced offensive production.  The other foreign bat Nyjer Morgan (.125) has been a big bust.  Norihiro Nakamura (.298, 4, 9) is a veteran bat that should show better production as the season progresses.

Their starting pitching is bleak.  Shugo Fujii (2-0, 2.15) has been their most consistent starter.  Daisuke Miura (1-2, 4.03) can no longer be counted on as an ace.  Enyelbert Soto (13.76) has been a disaster, giving up 26 runs in 17 innings.

Their one bright spot has been their bullpen with Shun Yamaguchi (4-1, 2.87, 5 saves) accounting for more than half of their wins. Jorge Sosa (2.19) has been successful in the setup role, even picking up one save.

Chunichi Dragons (13-18-0)

The Dragons are used to looking down on the division and not up. They can’t blame free agent acquisition Hector Luna (.405, 4, 25) for their plight.  He leads the NPB in hitting in his first year in Japan. At some point the pitchers may get used to him. The other big foreign bat Matt Clark (.209, 3, 11) has been rather quiet. Kazuhiro Wada (.210, 4, 24) has been the most productive Japanese bat, though he needs to get that average up. Motonobu Tanishige (.301, 2, 14) creeps closer to 2,000 hits. He needs three more as of this writing. Yohei Oshima (.282, 0, 4) has scored 24 runs from the leadoff spot.

Daniel Cabrera (3-1, 1.09) has been a pleasant surprise, especially with his 10/25 walk to whiff ratio. He never sniffed those numbers even in the minor leagues. Those numbers are good for second in the league in ERA. Bradley Bergesen (1-1, 4.43) has been moved to the bullpen. They have been getting some promising starts from Kenichi Nakata (1-0, 2.33).

The closer continues to be Hitoke Iwase (1.86, 6 saves). He has had 30 or more saves for eight consecutive seasons. He needs a more consistent bridge to get him to the saves.

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Balentein Slugging Swallows to Victory

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Wladimir Balentien got off to a late start to the season as a result of injuries he suffered playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.  Now that he is healthy and bashing balls out of the park the Yakult Swallows have moved themselves from the basement of the Central Division with a six game winning streak.  Part of that six game winning streak was a sweep over the first place Yomiuri Giants.

After beating the Giants in the first game 4-2, Balentien drove in all four of the runs in the second game in the Swallows identical 4-2 win.  His big hit was a 3-run homer in the sixth, his fourth of the year.

In the third game to complete the sweep the Giants held a 1-0 lead going into the eighth.  They brought in Scott Mathieson, a fireballing Canadian to protect the lead.  Balentien took him deep for a 2-run homerun to give the Swallows a 2-1 win and a sweep over the Giants.

Balentien made it three straight homeruns in his first two at bats in the opening game the next day against the Yokahama Bay Stars, then hit his third homerun of the game in his fifth at bat, after a fly out and a walk intervened to end his homer streak.  The three homeruns gave the Swallows their sixth straight win 12-3.

Balentien is now hitting .333 with eight homeruns in his 15 games he has played.  During that time he has driven in 22.  The homerun leader in the Central League is Tony Blanco of the Bay Stars.  He hit his 14th homerun in his 27th game, but he will have to be more prolific if he expects to stay ahead of last year’s homerun champ.

With the six game winning streak the Swallows have moved to third place in the Central with a 13-14 record, five games behind the Giants.  It would not surprise me if some of those players are looking in the rear view mirror after they were ambushed by the Swallows in their three game series.

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Fujinami Creates Milestone; Other Japan Notes

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

The Hanshin Tigers Shintaro Fujinami picked up his third win today in the Tigers 5-3 win over the Yokahama Bay Stars.  The third win set a record for most wins by a rookie drafted out of high school for April.  Fujinami gave up three runs in his six innings of work, the first time he has given up more than one earned run in four starts.  After losing his opening start he has won his next three.  This was his second start against Yokahama.

Kosuke Fukudome signed a big contract with Hanshin after major league teams showed no interest in him.  He has not been living up to that contract, rooted forty points under .200.  Last night he slugged a 2-run homer to get the scoring started for the Tigers, but it was his only hit of the day.

Another ex-major leaguer Tsuyoshi Nishioka is struggling.  He went 0 for 5 from the lead off spot for the Tigers dropping his average to .314.

In other Japan News, the 15 consecutive on base streak by the Hiroshima Carp’s Jun Hirose ended the next day with a 0 for 4 day.  That dropped his average to .471.

Michel Abreu, who got a late tryout from the Nippon Ham Fighters and “made the team” hit a homerun for his fourth straight game to drive in three and lead the Fighters over the Orix Buffaloes 4-3.  His nine homeruns now lead the Pacific Coast League and he is hitting a respectable .302 with a slugging percentage over .600.

The Korean slugger Dae-Ho Lee drove in two runs for the Buffaloes in the loss and is now hitting .380.  The Buffaloes were hoping for a little more than three homeruns from him at the end of April, but he has a .568 slugging percentage with eight doubles.  His 17 RBIs is second to Aarom Baldiris, who has 18 RBIs with three homeruns.

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Jun Hirose Breaks NPB Record

Friday, April 26th, 2013

Jun Hirose is not one of the top name players in the NPB.  He has been playing for the Hiroshima Carp for 12 years, putting up modest numbers, with a batting average settling around .270.  His best year was in 2010 when he hit .309 with 12 homeruns.  It is the only season when he has hit double digits in homeruns.

He is 34 years old, probably too old now for any major league team to be interested.  This year he has done what no hitter in NPB history has done, even Ichiro Suzuki.  He has gotten on base in 15 consecutive at bats.  The previous NPB record was held by three players, Tokitaka Minamibuchi (Lotte, 1993), Yoshinobu Takahashi (Yomiuri, 2003) and Michihiro Ogasawara (Nippon Ham, 2003).  The major league record for most consecutive times on base is held by Frank “Piggy” Ward with Cincinnati in 1893 when he got on base 17 consecutive times with eight hits and eight walks and one hit by pitch.  Ted Williams has the modern day record when he reached base in 16 consecutive plate appearances with Boston in 1957 when he recorded six hits, walked nine times and was hit by a pitch.

Jun started his streak rather modestly with a single in the eighth inning of a game against the Yomiuri Giants.  The game went into extra innings and he was hit by a pitch in the tenth inning.

In his second game playing against the Yakult Swallows he was hit by pitch in his first at bat and walked in his next three.  In the second game against the Yakult Swallows he stroked two singles, a double, walked and was hit by a pitch.

Yesterday against the Chunichi Dragons Jun went 4 for 4 with three singles and a double.

Jun has not been a regular player to start the season but with .533 batting average in 40 at bats, playing in only half of the Carp’s 25 games he may start to see a lot more playing time.  He has a chance to surpass the major league record in his next couple at bats when his manager has the motivation to put his name in the lineup card.  If Juno keeps getting on base and hitting over .500 Juno can create his own motivation.

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Luis Terrero Raking Again in Mexico

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

In 2011 Luis Terrero almost won the triple crown in the Mexican League.  His 38 homeruns were just one homerun shy of the league lead with Jorge Guzman hitting 39.  His 110 RBIs led the league but his .390 batting average was second, trailing only Barbaro Canizares who hit .396.  He was voted the MVP of the League.

Those kind of numbers got the attention of the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, who invited Luis for a try out.  The Golden Eagles were mining the Mexican League for foreign players.  They had earlier signed traditional homerun leader Luis Garcia to a contract.  Terrero survived only 34 games in Japan, hitting just .153 with one homerun.  He struck out 30 times in just 121 plate appearances.  Garcia also struggled in Japan, hitting just .227 with seven homeruns.

Luis Terrero has returned to Mexico for the 2013 season and after the first 24 games of the season his numbers are triple crown eligible.  His .411 average is second in the league, but his 11 homeruns and 30 RBIs both lead the league.  He also has five stolen bases in six attempts.

Luis played five seasons in the major leagues from 2003 - 2007 as a fourth/fifth outfielder type before his Mexican League heroics, signed originally by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic in 1997.  He never played a year in the major leauges where he got more than 230 at bats, finishing with a career .234 average.  His last season for a major league affiliate was with AAA Louisville in 2010 at the age of 30.  The next year he played in the Mexican League where many ex-major league AAAA players go to die.

You can follow all the Mexican League action here: http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l125

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