September 30th Kubo v Ohka - Drinking at the last chance saloon

The final game at Koshien and another winnable game thrown away. This time it was Kyuji Fujikawa who not only blew the game but pretty much Tigers chances of the pennant. Whatever his past performance this was an unacceptable display of poor pitching and raises serious question marks about his commitment and ability. Up until the ninth Tigers were in control and on their way to a comfortable win. BayStars had nothing with which to challenge the Tigers and were completely cowed. A straightforward run through the top of the BayStars order turned into a nightmare as Kyuji Fujikawa threw the ball everywhere but in the zone. His pitching was inexplicably bad and he hadn't even been overpitched recently. My personal opinion is that he is so full of his own legend that he forgets to focus on his pitching. However, every team has to be treated as serious opponents even though they might be inferior. One cannot blame Mayumi for this - he pitched Kubo for eight innings recognising the need to rest Kubota and then went to his star closer who let the team down. A fine pitching performance by Kubo and some hard work (though see my comments on Arai below) had been thrown away and the Dragons now have a magic of 1. Tigers need the Swallows to beat the Dragons on Saturday and to win all their remaining games as a tie would give the Dragons the pennant (the Dragons won the head to head series against the Tigers). Scores

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

Starting lineups

BayStars
1. Ishikawa (Short)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Uchikawa (Right)
4. Murata (Third)
5. Castillo (First)
6. Kita (Left)
7. Fujita (Second)
8. Takeyama (Catcher)
9. Ohka (PItcher)

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

We have Kanemoto batting No. 5 with an average of .237 and 40 RBIs ahead of a batter with a .299 average and 110 RBIs. The next batter has an average of .295 and 87 RBIs. What is the logic of this move - putting someone less likely to hit into a vital position? Can anyone explain the reasoning behind this prize idiocy? One cannot imagine that Kanemoto's pride is such that he has to go into a clean up position so why does Mayumi persist with this? The lack of logic seems to sum up the Mayumi regime perfectly.

Kubo started his session with a hit to Ishikawa but then struck out Matsumoto. This brought up Uchikawa who hit into a double play and ended the innings neatly. Murton started Tigers first with a fly out. Hirano hit neatly to centre but then Toritani flew out and Arai struck out. Kubo's nerves continued in BayStars second. With two gone Kita hit to left. Fujita picked up a dead ball on his elbow which didn't seem that painful but set up runners on first and second. This is as far as BayStars runners would get - no BayStar reached third all game. Takeyama struck out to end the innings. Kanemoto led Tigers second off with a hit but Brazell struck out. Next was Johjima whose out was interesting to say the least. He hit straight to third where Murata picked up to throw second to start the double play. This part worked well and Kanemoto was forced out but then Ishikawa's throw to Castillo was abysmal and the BayStars first couldn't take. Johjima rounded first and went for second but the ball bounced off the advertising board nicely into the path of Castillo who was able to make the throw to second for the tag of Johjima sliding into second. A stroke of luck for the BayStars here as they were rescued from their own incompetence. After that excitement Kubo was in control and BayStars third was quiet with Kubo pitching nicely to keep the batters off base. Ohka began to deteriorate and started Tigers third with a hit to Saka. Kubo laid down a nice bunt and then Murton grounded out to second which took Saka to third. Hirano was next and in his previous at bat he had hit to the right of Ohka. This time he went left into centre again for a timely hit 1-0 Tigers, runner on first. Toritani hit a grounder to second to end the innings.

BayStars fourth and Uchikawa struck out. Murata was next and Kubo was a bit too relaxed leaving one to be hit nicely into the stand for a solo home run 1-1 scores tied. Castillo grounded out and then Kita hit to Brazell who threw to Kubo for the final out. This had been a useful warning to the Tigers not to be too casual. Arai led Tigers fourth off with a two base hit. Kanemoto hit to left where a fine dive by Fujita made sure that the first out went down but couldn't prevent Arai getting to third. Brazell hit into right bringing home the run 2-1 Tigers, runner on first with one out. Tigers had a great chance but both Johjima and Saka took on their first pitches and were out. Not good follow up. BayStars fifth was quiet with Ohka providing the final out. He returned for Tigers fifth and continued to get into trouble. With Kubo out, Murton hit. HIrano sent a two base screaming down the third baseline past Murata setting up runners on second and third. Toritani followed and hit deep into right where Uchikawa took it by the fence. The sacrifice was a formality 3-1 Tigers, runner on third. Arai was next and hit to right where Fujita pulled off a fine diving catch to deny the run and get the final out. Arai was unlucky here. Brazell hit to left in Tigers sixth and then Johjima walked - runners on first and second. Saka hit into centre which got the crowd's hopes up but centre was always going to be able to track back and take the catch which Matsumoto did comfortably. The final batter was Kubo who struck out to end the innings and the chance.

BayStars seventh and Tigers had a comfortable lead and were actually very nicely placed. They could have done with more runs but they were in control. Kubo pitched well finishing with an excellent strike out of Kita. That would be the end of his session it seemed. Terahara pitched Tigers seventh and controlled the innings nicely retiring the batters in order. Then the big surprise - Kubo returning for the eighth but Mayumi felt he could handle the bottom of the BayStars order and rest Kubota. Kubo started by getting Fujita to ground out to Toritani. This was nice fielding and in fact Toritani was superb all game. Then Shimozono (pinch hitter) hit to centre. Kinjoh flew out which brought up Ishikawa. Two strikes followed and then Kubo released an inside straight which he thought was a strike and had to pull himself up as he left the mound. The umpire thought it was a ball. He didn't let it affect him and threw a fork for the final strike and the out. Great pitching by Kubo who had given up one run on four hits and completely dominated the BayStars. Ushida pitched Tigers eighth and faced Arai. Now for whatever reason Arai did not try and play at all but stood looking as he was struck out in three. This is not the attitude that Tigers No. 4 batter should have and one hopes that Mayumi has words with him. Shunsuke Fujikawa (replacement centre) grounded out and Brazell flew out to end the innings. So to the fateful innings. There were calls from the fans for Yano but with the margin as it was there was no way he would be given the catching duties - the game was too close for that indulgence. It was obvious that Kyuji Fujikawa would pitch it and he faced Matsumoto. He got the first two strikes quickly and then proceeded to try and get the strikeout. Kubota would have just gone for the out no matter how. The end result was Matsumoto walked. This brought up Uchikawa who received a barrage of balls as Kyuji couldn't locate the zone. A gentle chat from Johjima didn't help either and BayStars had runners on first and second. There was no excuse for this substandard pitching. Murata was next and received two balls which brought Kubo (pitching coach) out to the mound for another chat. This didn't help as a couple of balls later Kyuji let fly a high straight ball which Murata latched onto using his considerable power to put it into the left stand for a three run home run 4-3 BayStars. Kyuji had messed up very badly. This of course meant a ninth innings for Tigers which was pitched by Yamaguchi. Here Tigers batting was stupid. Johjima struck out to a low outside pitch which he should have left because he would have walked. Hiyama (pinch hitter) followed and he flew out to third - he needed to wait as well. Sekimoto (replacement first) hit to left and Mayumi replaced him with one of his pointless pinch runners but at least he didn't ask for the steal. Murton also hit to left and Tigers had runners on first and third. Hirano who hit his second pitch to short for the force out and final out when he should have waited. BayStars victory.

This was a completely unexpected and unheralded victory for the BayStars. Tigers had outplayed the BayStars and outhit them 11 to 5 but the BayStars had won. The television cut to the news and I don't know if Murata had a hero interview but he certainly deserved one as he had been the only bright point in the BayStars performance. Before Yano's fairwell ceremony the Tigers lined up to salute the fans and were greeted with silence. When the stadium announcer asked the fans to salute the team they didn't. The significance of this cannot be underestimated. The fans are not happy. Yano's farewell was much better with the crowd in full voice. The Toritani counter now stands at 2 RBIs to go and the Murton counter is 4 hits to break the record. Tigers must win all their remaining games and hope that the Swallows beat the Dragons on Saturday to win the pennant. I suspect that Tigers are going to drop another game and that the best they can hope for is second. If this leads to the end of Mayumi and Kubo then it will have been worthwhile but I doubt that desirable outcome will arise.

Kind of hard on Fujikawa, aren't you? Everyone has a bad day. This was his. He settled down after the home run.

And talk about somebody not hitting in the cleanup spot? Yokohama's Murata has been exactly that all season. Just as Fujikawa had a bad day, though, Murata had an unusually good day at the plate. It happens.

It is more likely to be a flaw in Fujikawa's character. If he has a flaw it is that he expects teams to fold up before him and frequently doesn't concentrate on the work of getting batters out. It was a problem with him last season as well when he wouldn't listen to Kanoh at first. This season has been similar which is why I prefer Kubota. Kubota might be flakey but he is not an arrogant pitcher and he will work to get the outs. Fujikawa deserves all the praise he gets but that shouldn't spare him from criticism when he gets things wrong and this is the second time he has blown Tigers chances of a trophy (the first was against Tyronne Woods).

You are definitely too hard on Fujikawa. He has never struck me as an arrogant player, and he is so consistent for us usually - no player can be perfect. If anything the flaw is not mixing up the pitching more with more curves, but then that is Johjima's choice.

To say he has blown Tigers chances for a trophy twice is ridiculous. I comment on my own blog that this happened last season with Woods, but these single incidents don't matter as much as the consistent mistakes from Mayumi throughout the season.

Supporting your team requires actual support - when things aren't going as you'd like. I think you should rethink your attitude.

Perhaps you haven't seen Fujikawa as much as I have. I've followed his whole career with Tigers and have seen a change in his pitching. He does rather expect batters to fold before him and has no answer when they don't. There are also problems with Johjima which I will cover in my next blog on the Hiroshima game. But yes Fujikawa has blown Tigers chances for a trophy twice - the first was in the Climax series facing Tyronne Woods after Iwata had pitched eight scoreless innings n 2007. Woods hit a two run home run which won the game for the Dragons. The second was against the BayStars when he gave up that three run home run. His pitching to that stage was very poor and not what it should have been. Fujikawa is paid a lot of money to perform. If you want an example of a closer who does perform look at Iwase. He does blow games but he does not blow vital games like that one. Supporting your team also does not require slavish adoration but a willingness to criticise when its due and I believe in this situation it is due.

Yeah, a little rough on Kyuji. His numbers over the past few years definitely put him way up there among the elite closers. Elite closers, however, often have a very small window, as it's inevitable that batters will find ways to beat them. Even Mariano Rivera has blown his share of big postseason games.
I have to admit, however, that Kyuji's track record in high pressure games is not the greatest. Let's see how he can do in the Climax Series this year until we pass too much judgment on him.

I have to admit, however, that Kyuji's track record
in high pressure games is not the greatest.

This is just the issue - he is paid to handle these games in particular. It's not your ordinary or lesser pressure games which show that you are among the elite but the really high pressure games. So far his performance doesn't indicate an ability to deal with these yet.

Hopefully we'll eventually get to see how Kyuji performs in a Japan Series. As far as I know, the latest he's gone into the postseason is Stage 1 of the Climax Series. I don't remember if he pitched in the 2005 series. If he did, I know he wasn't the closer then.

Yes he pitched in 2005. He gave up four runs in 3 innings work facing 13 batters. Three of the runs were earned and he ended up with an ERA of 9.00.

Not a good performance in 2005, but he wasn't quite the Kyuji we know now yet. The Marines killed all our pitchers that year.
Anyway, hope he gets the chance to redeem himself and save some big games before he eventually bolts for MLB. After his incredible performance as a closer, I would hate to see him become one of those guys known for not getting it done when it really matters.

Wow, I usually find your negativity comical but I have to concur with all of the other posters. You are way out of line here.

Fujikawa has a flawed character? He is arrogant? He is full of himself?

How do you know all this? I think it's safe to assume you don't know Fujikawa personally, right? Because the guy couldn't find the plate the other night, it's because he's arrogant? Please!

As others have noted we enjoy the rants and the negativity if only for a laugh. While not incredibly insightful, I do enjoy your posts and find them novel with your quirky British vocabulary but please don't enter into trashing a player's character when you know nothing about them.

Watch the pitcher, watch how he responds to the catcher's calls. Watch what he throws. These will tell you. I've seen a lot of Fujikawa ever since he started his career. He was a good relief pitcher when Kubota was closer but Kubota suffered from nerves and frequently blew games. This is why Okada - the manager at the time switched to Fujikawa. He started well but he also had the relief team of Williams and Kubota in front of him to prepare the way. As he has progressed his pitching has lost something of its quality. He does expect batters to give up before him - watch his body language. It's not entirely his fault, the fans and the team also expect perfect performances from him and its good psychology - you project an image of superiority to overawe your opponents. However, in the end he still has to deliver and he has to deliver at the vital moments. This is what he is paid to do and what he failed to do. Its not negative to point out that he failed and why he failed. It is also not negative to criticise him for this failure - he did not do his job. His actions cost his team a trophy. The measure of a great sportsman is not that he dominates but that he overcomes his problems and overcomes adversity. Fujikawa has yet to reach that stage - he is a very accomplished pitcher but has yet to show that he can be relied on when everything is down to him. If you had a 1-0 situation for the championship with a choice of closer (Iwase or Fujikawa) who would you choose? I would choose Iwase every time. You see negativity because you look for negativity - sometimes critcism is justified. To leave you with a final thought - my expert friends actually thought that Fujikawa shouldn't have been pitching the ninth at all. They thought that Mayumi should have put Kubo in for the ninth but that this was too bold a move for him. We shall never know whether this would have worked.

Jumping the gun, but really curious to see your summary of yesterday's game. Was Messenger lifted because of injury? I've only seen the box score, but can't figure out why he was taken out after 4 innings and why Nohmi was put in in a relief role again. Waiting for more information.

Messenger was lifted because Mayumi wanted to get the runs not because of injury. It worked out but was hard on Messenger.