May 18th Kubo v Ogura - Hawks fail to hold

Tigers wore their retro away uniforms for this game at Yahoo Dome. These are nice powder blue affairs with Hanshin in black (outlined in yellow on the chest) and the yellow and black diamond pattern piping. Kanemoto also returned to action as DH but surprisingly at No. 5 not No. 4. This was very good of him not to take the four slot away from Arai but it did mean that Johjima and Brazell were dropped down to sixth and seventh respectably. There have been some suggestions that Brazell should be batting four not six or seven. Whilst I have some sympathy with this view I do feel that a major impediment to this is that fact that he isn't hitting with runners on. Taking last nights game as an example Brazell struck out twice with runners on. Arai who is currently No. 4 and not batting well still managed to hit the winning run. This is what we do need from Brazell if he can legitimately be considered for the No. 4 position. He might indeed lead the side in RBIs but his last five runs have all been solo home runs and a sacrifice grounder. But in the same period he has failed to convert with runners on nine times. This may be a temporary blip or may be indicative of instructions to swing out but I would say as a manager I would want to see more evidence of consistent ability to drive runners home before I put someone in the No. 4 slot. Brazell is able to hit with runners on but at the moment isn't and this is a reasonable excuse not to move him. On another note it seems that Andoh is considered ready to return to the top team. If he is back to his reliable self this is a welcome move. Anyway on to the game. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Tigers  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2 4 8 0
Hawks   0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  0 2 7 0

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Murton (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Kanemoto (DH)
6. Johjima (Catcher)
7. Brazell (First)
8. Sakurai (Right)
9. S. Fujikawa (Left)

Pitcher was Kubo

Hawks
1. Kawasaki (Short)
2. Honda (Second)
3. Ortiz (DH)
4. Kokubo (First)
5. Tamura (Right)
6. Hasegawa (Centre)
7. Lee (Third)
8. Shibahara (Left)
9. Yamazaki (Catcher)

Pitcher was Ogura

Tigers would find it hard work against Ogura but would benefit from Hawks fallible relief. In their first they were retired in order with the first of Ogura's 11 strike outs coming being Murton. At the moment he is striking out more often, perhaps finding Pacific League pitching a bit more troublesome. Honda caused a bit of worry in Hawks first by hitting a one out three base hit. This could have been a big problem but Kubo who also pitched excellently was up to the threat and got Ortiz to hit to short. Honda tried for home but was tagged out by some fine play. With Ortiz on first Kubo then struck out Kokubo to end the innings. Tigers second was also quiet with no life from the batters. Tamura led off Hawks second with a hit and was bunted to second by Hasegawa, Hawks having figured out that this was going to be a close game. However, he didn't get any further as the next two batters flew out. Ogura then showed his first sign of weakness in Tigers third. With two out he walked Shunsuke Fujikawa who promptly stole second (Tigers were pretty much able to steal at will as Yamazaki's throwing was not good). Murton was next and he banged a three base hit off the right wall for a timely hit 1-0 Tigers, runner on third. Hirano was unable to convert and grounded out to second to end the innings. Kubo then held the lead very nicely by retiring the batters in order in Hawks third.

Tigers fourth saw Brazell fail to convert with runners on for the first time this game. With two strike outs to his credit (Toritani and Arai) Ogura was motoring along nicely and looked to be in control However, he managed to walk Kanemoto who promptly stole second (when was the last time you remember Kanemoto doing this?). Johjima walked to set up runners on first and second but Brazell struck out - this was really a wasted chance. Kubo then ran into trouble in Hawks fourth. With one out Kokubo walked. Tamura hit to right to set up runners on first and third but Kubo came through striking out Hasegawa to prevent the sacrifice fly. Lee though managed to draw a walk to load the bases and then Shibahara - a lightweight batter - surprisingly got one through the infield into left field. One runner was home 1-1 scores tied with the second runner making for the plate. Johjima took the throw and tagged him as he slid in for the final out - a fantastic piece of work to end the innings and prevent Hawks seizing the lead. Sakurai who had been quiet up until then led off Tigers fifth with a hit and was bunted to second by Shunsuke Fujikawa but then the next two batters struck out to end the innings. Hawks fith was quiet as Kubo pitched very well to keep the runners off base. Kanemoto picked up his second walk of the evening in Tigers sixth - the Hawks pitching to him was tentative and unsure and he took full advantage. However no one was able to convert. Hawks sixth was quiet as Kubo took care of the the clean up very efficiently.

Ogura retired at the end of the sixth having pitched very well and given up only one run on two hits but with four walks. He was replaced by Kattoh. He walked Sakurai who was bunted to second by Shunsuke Fujikawa but Murton failed to convert. Kubo returned for Hawks seventh and why not - he had pitched well. The first two outs went down easily but then he ran into trouble. Shibahara hit to left and then Yamazaki hit to left as the Hawks threw everything into attack. With runners on first and second Kawasaki also went for it and hit a two base 2-1 Hawks, runners on second and third. Honda then flew out to left to end the innings but the Hawks had the lead. Tigers eighth was pitched by Falkenborg who is quite fast and he retired the batters easily in order. Kubo didn't return for Hawks eighth - he had pitched very well also and for the second start in a row had lacked run support from his batters. Watanabe was the pitcher and he seems back on form now - he retired the batters in order. The ninth innings had arrived and Tigers final chance. Hawks closer Mahara was at the mound and he can be fragile. This would be such an occasion. He started with a hit to Johjima who was pinch run for by Yamato. Johjima seems to have accepted that he can't expect to play in every innings of every game and any switches are not meant to devalue him. He seems to be more comfortable with this now. Yamato then stole second but Brazell flew out. The next out followed - Sakurai grounding out and it began to look like Tigers would fail but Mayumi sent Hiyama to the plate. He hit nicely to left bringing Yamato home 2-2 scores tied, runner on first. Murton grounded out to end the innings but now Hawks needed a sayonara. Egusa took the mound - one of Tigers elite pitchers but who was the catcher? It turned out to be Kanoh who was excellent directing Egusa's pitching with a sure hand the final out being a superb pitch which struck a befuddled Shibahara out looking to end the innings.

The game went to extra innings and Hawks pitcher was Settsu. He didn't look comfortable in this situation. He battled Hirano who then hit to left. Toritani shaped to bunt and made several attempts before switching back to hitting with the count at 2-2. He hit to right and Hirano dashed round to third with Toritani safe on first and no outs. The sacrifice fly was on. Next batter was Arai and Settsu let fly an inside head high pitch to unsettle him. Arai went to ground and then settled into his stance with a look of determination on his face. The next pitch was hit nicely and deeply to right where centre took it but easily enough time for Hirano to make home 3-2 Tigers, runner on first. Kanemoto followed and hit to right to set up runners on first and third again - Toritani having shown great speed round the bases. Yamato followed and there was another sacrifice fly on. Yamato hit to right and once again it was deep enough for Toritani to make home 4-2 Tigers, runner on first. The final batter was Brazell who struck out but Tigers had a nice lead. Of course Hawks 10th was pitched by Kyuji Fujikawa. He started well striking out Tanoue (pinch hitter). Then his control wandered and Kawasaki walked. Kawasaki stole second and then Tamura walked - runners on first and second with one out. Fujikawa and Kanoh responded well - Fujikawa struck out Ortiz for the second out and then Kokubo flew out to centre to end the game. Tigers victory.

This had been a better performance in which Tigers had had some good pitching. Hawks had cracked first and Tigers had made good use of the 10th innings. It was nice to see Kanoh behind the plate again and one hopes that he is used as the regular reserve for Johjima more often. The victory went to Egusa and the save was Fujikawa's eleventh.

I almost turned this off when the Hawks took the lead, but was great to see the Tigers fight back. Definitely one of their better wins of the year--a gutsy win against a tough team.
I do understand both sides to the Brazell debate. He obviously has a lot more power than Arai, but has not been good with runners on. So, it's a tough decision whether to move him up and try to give him more chances to drive in runs. Despite last night's big sacrifice fly, I still don't see Arai as a legitimate #4 batter.
So the coaches have turned on Uezono yet again? I don't have his stats handy, but seems like he was having a decent year.

Arai may indeed be fading but he was Carp's No. 4 batter before he joined Tigers so he does have the experience. Mayumi wanted to use his foreign pitchers but with Standridge needing more time to become effective he has to rely on his Japanese starters. However, Tigers do have a long history of misusing Uezono.

I think Mayumi should shuffle with this line up. I think Brazell should be the number 4 hitter as he is leading the league in home runs. That should be a good enough reason. Arai on the other hand does not have as much power. I am seriously starting to think that Arai has peaked and has now stagnated. I don't see Arai producing the same types of numbers as he did when he was playing for Hiroshima. However Arai has potential to be hitting 300. If he could hit at the thrid spot ahead of Brazell, we could see Arai hitting more for average. He did well the year he was hitting ahead of Kanemoto for Hanshin. Though his home runs dropped he was getting lots of extra base hits into the outfield gaps. Toritani is an another player who is underperforming. His average should be somewhere around 300. Since he is not performing I think he should be hitting at the bottom of the order,maybe 7th. Both Murton and Hirano is hitting the ball well so they should be left where they are now. Kanemoto, Jojima should be hitting 5, 6.

I agree about Arai. He had those huge numbers with Hiroshima when he was playing in their tiny old ballpark. He should bat 3rd or 5th or 6th, where he can just try more to hit for average and occasional power. I don't think he can take the pressure of batting 4th for the Tigers.

As Christopher has noted, Brazell has struggled with men on base, but he still should be given the chance to bat 4th. His lack of speed results in double play threats, but Arai is pretty slow too. Not only does Brazell have a lot more power than Arai, but he also hits for decent average. Like any power hitter, he strikes out a lot, but he's still the better option at 4th.

I like the spark Murton gives the team at lead-off, but I'm starting to think he would make a great 3rd batter. If Hirano keeps hitting like he has, maybe he could hit lead-off. With his speed, Toritani is another option, but needs to get his average up a bit.

Anyway, our manager is a moron and I'm not expecting any major changes soon.

I guess Mayumi has been reading our posts, haha. He finally shuffled the line-up last night, with some of the changes exactly as we had suggested here. Good results last night, with a barrage of hits. Kubo blew it, but fortunately we could score in the 9th and win it. Despite the home run last night, I still don't like Arai as a #4 hitter.