June 28th Standridge v Fukui - Try for a better endgame

The final two innings took the shine off what had been up until then a fine win. Was it really necessary to pitch Standridge into the eighth? Sure his pitch count wasn't that high but coming off a long complete game shutout it was more than a bit unthinking. Standridge would have benefited from the abbreviated outing and stopping after the seventh especially as a shutout had already been ruled out. Enokida too doesn't seem temperamentally suited to pitching the ninth yet and got flustered with two outs. The end result was that Carp picked up three runs and only their lightweight nature prevented them from picking up more. Mayumi still doesn't have a clue what to do with his pitching. On a hot humid day it would have been much better to replace Standridge after the seventh and give him a rest. Even winning Mayumi will find a way to make a mistake. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Murton (Right)
2. Hirano (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Takahiro Arai (Third)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Sekimoto (Second)
7. Kanemoto (Left)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

Carp
1. Higashide (Second)
2. Soyogi (Short)
3. Maru (Centre)
4. Kurihara (First)
5. Iwamoto (Right)
6. Kokubo (Third)
7. Amaya (Left)
8. Ishihara (Catcher)
9. Fukui (Pitcher)

Once again Mayumi started Kanemoto and one wonders when he will come to his senses (if ever) and realise that it is time for a change. Other people need a chance to get used to the role and Kanemoto is just hogging space. It was interesting to note that Uchikawa received the Inter League MVP - he could have been bolstering Tigers batting very successfully if Tigers had signed him. The game started quietly, Fukui retired the batters in order in Tigers first and then Standridge returned the complement. Tigers second saw the first score - Arai who was otherwise anonymous took a swing at his third strike which was a bit wild. Ishihara failed to field and Arai made first safely. Next was Brazell who hit his first pitch deep and straight and almost out of Toyama Stadium for a two run home run 2-0 Tigers. Sekimoto grounded out but Kanemoto walked. However, Fujii hit into a double play to end the innings. Standridge then kept the Carp batters off base in the bottom to ensure that the lead survived. Murton had a one out hit to right in Tigers third but neither Hirano nor Toritani could do anything and the innings was scoreless. Carp's third was also quiet and so far no Carp had reached base. A very good start by Standridge.

Arai struck out looking to lead off Tigers fourth but Brazell blasted a two base to centre. Fukui was not able to pitch a good line to the Tigers first. Brazell advanced to third on Sekimoto's ground out but next was Kanemoto who flew out to centre to end the innings. Standridge ran into trouble in Carp's fourth. It all started with a dead ball which put Soyogi on first with one out. Another out followed but as is often the case the third out proved elusive. Kurihara hit to short where Toritani was able to field but not to get the throw away in time. Then Iwamoto hit to left and Soyogi made home 2-1 Tigers, runners on first and second. Kokubo flew out to end the innings. Tigers response was encouraging, Fujii drew a walk - it was another of those strange affairs in which a pitcher manages to throw four balls in a row to a mediocre batter. One just wonders how they come about. Standridge bunted but Fukui messed things up and Tigers had runners on first and second. Murton hit to centre to load the bases - Fujii not trying for home. Hirano hit to right as Fukui's confidence and pitching disintergrated 3-1 Tigers, bases loaded. Toritani walked - oshidashi 4-1 Tigers, bases loaded. Here Nomura decided a pitching change was needed (and rightly). Fukui left the mound and was replaced by Ueno. He faced an uncomfortable situation - bases loaded no outs but Arai was induced to fly out to short for the first out. Brazell did better and banged a pitch deep into centre for a sacrifice fly 5-1 Tigers, runners on first and second. Then Sekimoto picked up a dead ball first pitch to load the bases. Kanemoto was next and of course he failed to do anything flying out to centre to end the innings. Tigers had built a commanding lead though. Standridge did well in Carp's fifth getting two outs before giving up a two base hit to Matsuyama (pinch hitter). However, the third out followed shortly after with Higashide flying out to Murton. Soriano replaced Ueno on the mound for Tigers sixth and Fujii hit a two base over right to lead off. No doubt it surprised him as much as everyone else. Standridge grounded out to second and then Murton grounded out to first. This latter took Fujii to third. Hirano hit a grounder to second which Higashide messed up and Fujii was able to make home 6-1 Tigers, runner on first. Carp's fielding was its usual slack self. Toritani hit to short but this time Soyogi was secure and the innings was over. Maru walked in Carp's sixth but nothing came of this.

Tigers seventh saw Brazell hit again with one out. He had collected a home run, two base and single and now needed a three base for the cycle. With two out Kanemoto grounded out to first but this was messed up Kurihara and Tigers had runners on first and second. Fujii grounded out to the pitcher to end the chance though. Carp's seventh was a little quieter. Standridge deadballed Ishihara with two out - a sign that he was tiring but nothing came of this. Carp's pitcher for the eighth was Kishimoto. He gave up a hit to Murton who was pinch run for and replaced at right by Asai. Maybe Murton needed a rest. Asai stayed on first and the next two outs followed quickly. Now we get to the controversial decision to pitch Standridge into the eighth. It wouldn't affect the result but to my mind is symptomatic of poor management and a massive lack of tactical awareness. What do you have a relief for? Higashide led off Carp's eighth hitting to centre. A wild pitch took him to second - it was fairly clear that Standridge's control was fading. Maru hit a three base to right centre after taking three balls in a row, Higashide was home 6-2 Tigers, runner on third. Kurihara grounded out to short but Maru was able to reach home safely 6-3 Tigers. Finally Iwamoto struck out to end the innings. Nagakawa pitched Tigers ninth and got Arai to fly out to centre. He then ran into trouble with Brazell who blasted his second home run of the game over the left centre fence for a solo home run 7-3 Tigers. Shunsuke (replacement left) hit a single to centre. He then stole second but Shibata (replacment centre) struck out and Fujii flew out. Mayumi then decided to use Enokida for the Carp's ninth. He doesn't quite have the temperament for this innings yet. Mayumi should know this. The first two outs were straightforward but then Enokida walked Ishihara. Akamatsu (pinch hitter) hit to short and then beat the throw to first - runners on first and second. Here Mayumi panicked and brought on Fujikawa. Higashide hit to left and the runner on second made home 7-4 Tigers, runners on first and second. However, Soyogi struck out swinging tryng to hit the ball deep to end the game. Tigers victory.

It would be nice to be 100% positive about this victory and I wish I could but I really can't. The giving up of unnecessary runs because of an inability to manage pitching is worrying. Knowing when your pitcher is tiring is an important part of the management task. You do need him later in the season and there are still 90 games to go. The save was Fujikawa's 16th and Standridge won his third in a row. Up until the seventh this was an excellent performance but the last two innings really did expose Mayumi's ineptness in a big way.

"It was interesting to note that Uchikawa received the Inter League MVP"

"Interesting" alright. He wasn't even the best player on his team in interleague. But to get back to your point, he would've definitely been a big upgrade in left field.

Of course I also wish we had made a go at getting Uchikawa, but really don't know what our chances would have been. Even though we are now the richest team in Japan, we can't automatically get anyone we want. Uchikawa is from Kyushu and I also believe Sadaharu Oh got involved in trying to woo him to the Hawks, so our chances wouldn't have been that great anyway. Still, we should be giving other players like Lin more starts in left to eventually phase out Kanemoto.

The thing about Uchikawa was that he was open to any offers. When he first announced his free agency Carp put in an offer. However, Uchikawa said he would like to hear from other teams. This brought the offer from the Hawks but not Tigers. I believe it was probably the Kanemoto issue which stopped them. It is true that he might still have gone to Hawks but then Oh wasn't able to persuade Johjima to return to Hawks. The really frustrating thing was Tigers didn't even try.

It was also a waste of Kyuji's arm, the 9th inning didn't start as a save situation. We need to keep him fresh for the big games, not when we're nearly screwing up a 4-run lead over Carp.

Great to see Brazell's back to his best form, and it's good timing with Arai going through a poor spell. Unfortunately his good form exposes Kanemoto even further. That he's still in the team, coupled with the fact we didn't even bother to talk to Uchikawa, is just astonishing