October 3rd Andoh v Gonzalez - A dismal performance by the relief

Andoh did everything right - he got out of jams, he pitched well. Batters performed, fielders performed but the relief failed. What kind of rubbish did Kubota, Williams and Fujikawa think they were serving up. Are their heads so swollen that they can't apply themselves. Swallows are B class and Tigers had a 5 run lead going into the seventh. How they managed to blow this is incredible. At this stage and against this team this performance is trash. Lightweight batters were allowed to hit at significant moments and non of the relief put in the effort required. Line scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers   0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 5 11 0
Swallows 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 X 7 11 1 

Starting lineups

1. Akahoshi (Centre)
2. Hirano (Right)
3. Arai (First)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Imaoka (Third)
6. Toritani (Short)
7. Sekimoto (Second)
8. Yano (Catcher)
9. Andoh (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Aoki (Centre)
2. Kawashima (Short)
3. Fukuchi (Right)
4. Hatakeyama (Third)
5. Iihara (Left)
6. Takeuchi (First)
7. Tanaka (Second)
8. Kawamoto (Catcher)
9. Gonzalez (Pitcher)

The game started well for the Tigers. Gonzalez was not secure at all. In fact he had to fight hard to get Akahoshi out. Arai hit and then Kanemoto followed and Tigers had runners on first and third with two outs. This time Imaoka grounded out to Gonzalez and the innings was over. Swallows first was quiet with the batters grounding out in order. The whole second innings also turned out to be quiet with no one getting on base. In the third Andoh hit but then Akahoshi managed to ground him out but was safe on first. Hirano then hit into a double play and the innings was over. Swallows third started with their first hit - to Tanaka. Next was Kawamoto who hit a lucky two base along the third baseline but it counted - runners on second and third with no outs. Here Tigers relief should watch the video. Andoh got Gonzalez to fly out but close enough to stop the run. He then struck out Aoki with a superbly deceptive outside ball before finally getting Fukuchi to fly out - end of innings no score.

Tigers fourth started with an Arai hit. This was followed by a Kanemoto hit and Tigers had runners on first and second. Imaoka struck out but Toritani hit and the Arai hustled home to score 1-0 Tigers runners on first and second and nice running. The next two batters did nothing and the innings ended. Andoh kept the Swallows under control in the bottom of the fourth retiring the side in order (relief take note). Tigers fifth started with another Andoh hit (amazing) - this one to centre. Once again Akahoshi managed to ground out Andoh but then Hirano made first on a Fukuchi error. A wild pitch took the runners to second and third but then Arai struck out. Kanemoto walked to load the bases which brought up Imaoka. He was calm and when Gonzalez unleashed a wild pitch he motioned the runner home 2-0 Tigers. Then he hit to left bringing both runners home 4-0 Tigers. Toritani flew out and the innings was over. In the Swallows fifth Tanaka hit but then next was Kawamoto. He hit to right but Hirano took an awesome diving catch and then was up to release the throw and keep the runner on first. The next two batters were out easily and the Tigers preserved their lead. Tigers sixth was pitched by Oshimoto who ran into problems very quickly - Sekimoto led off with a hit. He was followed by Yano who profited from poor Swallows fielding. Runners on first and third and Andoh next. You expected a squeeze from him and indeed his bunt was perfect for a squeeze - along the first baseline but Sekimoto stayed rooted on third - what happened? Akahoshi was next and he hit - this time Sekimoto was home 5-0 Tigers - runners on first and third. Hirano flew out to left and this time Yano didn't go for home - what was galling was Kawashima dropped the relay - another lost chance. Finally, Arai flew out and the innings was ended. Andoh returned for the Swallows sixth and was very good retiring the batters in order. He had pitched very well and had left with a five run lead.

Tigers seventh was quiet. Kubota took the Swallows seventh. He gave up hits to Iihara, Guiel (replacement right) and then Tanaka to load the bases. He then struck Kawamoto out. Here Okada panicked and replaced him with the useless (in this game) Williams. Shida grounded out which scored a run 5-1 Tigers runners on first and third. Then Aoki hit 5-2 Tigers runners on first and second. Here was Williams greatest mess up - he gave up a three base hit to Kawashima 5-4 Tigers runner on third. Williams - your stupid failure blew a comfortable lead for your team. You are paid a lot not to do this - get your act together! Atchison was brought in and struck out Fukuchi to end the innings. Swallows could sense something was on and for the Tigers eighth brought in Kida to pitch. He wasn't so good and walked both Yano and Akahoshi but got the three outs. Atchison returned for the Swallows eighth and didn't pitch well. He gave up a two base to Hatakeyama to start. Then he got the first out - Iihara grounded out but Yano got Hatakeyama going for third and Swallows had a runner on first with one out. Guiel walked and then Tanaka hit to load the bases. Once again Okada panicked and summoned Fujikawa to the mound. Amazingly he was abysmal. He unleashed a wild pitch which took the runners to second and third but then gave up a hit to another lightweight - Kawamoto 7-5 Swallows. Unbelievable - Kawabata (replacement third) struck out and then Aoki was deliberately walked (why?). Finally, Kawashima struck out and the innings was over. The Tigers ninth was pitched by Igarashi who gave up a lead off hit to Arai. This was extinguished by a Kanemoto double play and then Katsuragi (pinch hitter) grounded out - Swallows victory.

This for Tigers fans was really disgusting. A five run lead had been blown by supposidly elite pitchers against lightweight batters. Complacency and stupidity had combined to hand the victory to the Swallows. Did Tigers relief expect the Swallows to give up and march tamely to defeat? The Magic Number is now switched off again and Tigers and Giants are level. This is due to Williams and Fujikawa though Atchison and Kubota were also poor. None of these pitchers earned anything but contempt with this performance and no excuse is acceptable.


[Edited by: Christopher on Oct 4, 2008 11:08 AM]

Christopher,

Do you attend all these games or do you get your information from newspapers? Have you ever even played the game of baseball before? Cause one would assume that you never made it past little league with how you explain these games. You arent there, and if you can do better then why rent you playing hotshot? You are nonsense and everything you write is terrible. You are not a tigers fan you are a fan of the tigers when they perform poorly so that you can talk **** about them. Say some of your comments to players faces instead of talking trash behind their backs. You should probably find something better to do

[Edited by: Christopher on Oct 4, 2008 1:56 PM]

I note guest that you hide behind anonimity but I will respond. Firstly Okada himself is very angry at this display 'masakayo' was his response (it means unbelievable and not in a good way). Blowing a five run lead with pathetic pitching is not acceptable. It short changed the fans.

I will remind you that fans spend a lot of money on Tigers and deserve better. I watched the whole game and the performance by Tigers relief was lazy and complacent. Now I assume that you are linked with a player in some way in which case remember this - fans pay the players wages. Fans have the right to comment on players performances and to get angry. Fans also have the right to expect that players do their best and do not fail miserably like last night. Remember this point it is important.

The final comment on your ignorant and incoherent post - any player can read this blog and can if they want comment on it. This is not behind their back at all - it is out in the open. The dismal performance of Tigers relief cost them a game and might have cost them a championship. We fans have every right to be angry and critical. Think about this before you post.

I agree with you that last nights performance with not good. But what I am saying is it seems like all you talk about is the bad things. There is never comments on how well a guy plays. If a pitcher gives up a run then he did a poor job that night according to you. Maybe the hitter ht a good pitch so on and so forth. All I am saying is that not all comments have to negative. You arent out there playing the game. If you can do better than by all means try out.

Often when we comment we forget what has gone before. I clipped the paragraph below from the September 29th match. I would hardly say its negative - in fact its fair. Sometimes my comments are critical but that is where criticism is deserved.

"Carp's seventh was pitched by Williams - here you expected Kubota especially against the bottom of the order but Williams wasn't a bad choice and he has been pitching superbly of late. He started in the same vein striking out his first two batters. Then he faced Ogata (pinch hitter) and ran into problems finally walking him. This in itself wasn't a problem but Williams found he couldn't get the final out. He would get two quick strikes and then have difficulty with the crucial pitch. Alex was a case in point - two quick strikes and then a struggle with Alex finally getting a lucky swing and driving the ball into left field for a two base hit - runners on second and third. Next was Kurihara and he hit between third and short for a single 3-3 scores level - runners on first and third. Shima was next and he flew out to short to end the innings. One can't really say that Williams reverted and really like everyone else he suffered from the conditions."

Likewise from September 26th concerning Fukuhara

"Fukuhara returned for the BayStars sixth and gave up a home run to Uchikawa. This wasn't a power hit but a perfectly timed swing depositing the ball into the left stand 4-2 Tigers."

The extract praises Uchikawa for a fine hit.

As for your final comment - the great majority of people who write about baseball (Japanese or American) are not 'out there' playing the game but there is nothing to stop them commenting or being knowledgeable. So the idea that you have to somehow be 'out there' is pure rubbish. Tigers fans are passionate and they do speak their minds - read the Tigers chat boards sometime after a bad defeat. You will soon find out what negative really is.