September 18th Messenger v Bullington - The Grand Old Man does it

It seems strange calling Kanemoto a grand old man - after all he's only 43. Still this game belonged to him and his two home runs were vital in Tigers victory. Fujii also had a good day with the bat which was lucky as his calling was abysmal and he almost blew the game in the mid-innings stretch. Luckily Tigers were able to hang on. One of the nice side effects of Mayumi going would be Fujii going as well and then Tigers could get back to using their decent catchers. Kanemoto is likely to return next year on a one year contract though on a much reduced amount (40% salary reduction is the figure being bandied about). It's a bit too much for someone who can only contribute occasionally and symptomatic of the lack of management intelligence currently residing at the top of the Tigers organisation. Scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Carp
1. Higashide (Second)
2. Kimura (Short)
3. Matsuyama (Left)
4. Kurihara (First)
5. Maru (Centre)
6. Hirose (Right)
7. Ishii (Third)
8. Ishihara (Catcher)
9. Bullington (Pitcher)

Conditions in this game were not good. It was hot and humid and this no doubt contributed to both pitchers struggles. This series has been scheduled by morons - three games starting at 1:30pm during a heatwave. Postponing the games till 6:00pm would have been much more sensible. Once again Murton started at sixth but this has the hidden advantage that if HIrano gets on base it's Shibata doing the bunting and not Hirano. It's nice to see some use being found for Shibata's talents. However, in the first he managed to mess up even this task. HIrano hit to centre but then was forced out by Shibata's failed bunt. He tried to steal second but was thrown out and then Toritani grounded out. The first innings had been a bit of a mess for Tigers. Messenger started nicely and Carp's first was quiet with the three batters going down in order. Tigers then came alive in the second. They had beaten Bullington in the previous outing and the mystique had gone. Arai grounded out to second and Brazell flew out but Murton hit to left. This brought up Kanemoto who crushed the ball into the right stand for a two run home run 2-0 Tigers. Fujii obviously wanting to make an impression swung to early and flew out to Ishihara to end the innings. Kurihara led off Carp's second with a hit but then stayed on first. Maru lined out to third and Hirose flew out. Next was Ishii but he fell to a grounder to first. Tigers third was a quiet innings with no one reaching base. Shibata was the final batter and he struck out looking. Likewise Carp's third - Tigers had recycled their order better and Messenger was still facing the bottom of the Carp order. This did nothing and Higashide flew out in foul ground to end the innings.

Tigers fourth saw Toritani lead off with a walk. Bullington was not pitching well at all. Toritani stole second but the batting failed to move him any further. Carp fourth and Tigers were in a spot of trouble as Fujii's calling was rapidly recognised. Kimura hit to right and then Matsuyama hit to centre. This set up runners on first and third with no outs. A very dangerous situation. Messenger needed to do something to avoid the run and by pitching it up he got Kurihara to swing too soon and fly out to first. Then Maru swung and flew out to left, crucially in foul ground. Two outs, no runs. Finally, Hirose hit a grounder to third - Tigers had escaped a very dangerous situation. So to the fifth and Kanemoto led the innings off. To everyone's surprise the ball was again hammered into the right stand, this time for a solo home run 3-0 Tigers. Gen on Yakyu Baka has alll the records and milestones if anyone wants to look into this achievement further (and achievement it was). Then Fujii hit a two base to left - wonders never cease. He made third on Hirano's second ground out but Shibata flew out to left and the innings was over. Carp did need some kind of response and Ishii supplied it leading of their fifth with a three base hit to right centre. It was a nice piece of running by the Carp third base and once again Tigers were in a bit of a bind. This time they couldn't prevent the run. Ishihara grounded out to second which allowed Ishii to make home 3-1 Tigers. The next two batters, Bullington and Higashide fell to strike outs but one sensed that Messenger was tiring. Toritani led off Tigers sixth with a single to centre. Once again he stole second and then made third on Arai's ground out to second. This brought up Brazell who hit his first pitch to centre bringing in Toritani 4-1 Tigers, runner on first. Mayumi decided to bring Yamato on as a pinch runner - unnecessarily as there might well have been more runs from the bat of Brazell. Murton flew out to centre but then with Kanemoto next Nomura decided to switch pitchers. Bullington was replaced by Aoki who got Kanemoto to strike out swinging and end the innings. Kimura led off Carp's sixth, grounding out to third. Then Matsuyama hit to left. Kurihara hit right for a two base and set up runners on second and third with no outs. Maru grounded out to first which kept the runners on base and it began to look like the Tigers would escape. However, a combination of Messenger's tiredness and Fujii's ineptness would prevent this. With the count full Hirose hit nicely to left for a two base hit. This brought both runners home 4-3 Tigers, runner on second. Messenger was replaced here and Fujihara took the mound - a strange decision as he was not the pitcher I would have chosen for such a pinch situation. Ishii hit into centre and Hirose set off for home. The throw was good and Hirose was tagged out at the plate - a nice piece of work by Shibata and vitally important in preserving Tigers lead.

Yokoyama took over for Tigers seventh and faced Fujii. The Tigers catcher hit a three base shot into centre. Next was Lin (pinch hitter) who walked and was pinch run for by Uemoto. Uemoto stole second and Tigers had runners on second and third with no outs. HIrano was next and hit deep to right for the sacrifice fly 5-3 Tigers, runner on third. Then came Shibata who followed Hirano's example and also hit deep to centre. Uemoto tagged up and was home 6-3 Tigers and a good piece of work. Finally Toritani struck out swinging but the margin was restored. Watanabe pitched Carp's seventh but immediately ran into trouble. Amaya (pinch hitter) walked and then Matsumoto hit right to set up runners on first and second. Higashide bunted the runners to second and third and this was the end of Watanabe. Enokida was called for and had a piece of good fortune. The first batter he faced, Akamatsu (pinch hitter) grounded out straight to Enokida which allowed him to lock the runners on base before getting the out. Then Mukae grounded out to short and Tigers had escaped the danger. Umetsu pitched Tigers eighth and dead balled Arai first pitch. Yamato bunted Arai to second and Murton lined out. Kanemoto was deliberately walked, Carp were scared of him which brought up Fujii. Whatever, his feats in hitting extra bases this game he didn't drive in runs and this at bat was no exception - he flew out to left. Fukuhara took over for Carp's eighth and he too had trouble with Fujii's calling. Kurihara led off with a single to right. Then Maru hit to centre. Hirose took a dead ball and the bases were loaded with no outs. At the very least starting another catcher than Fujii for this series would have been a really good move. Anyway Ishii hit to left for the sacrifice fly but the throw from left was very good and Kurihara was blocked at the plate and out. Then Amaya flew out to left as well and Tigers had escaped. Hiyama (pinch hitter) led off Tigers ninth with a single. He was pinch run for by Kanoh who tried to steal second but was out. Shibata hit to centre and Toritani hit left and Tigers had runners on first and second with two outs. The final batter was Arai who flew out in foul ground. Carp's ninth was pitched by Fujikawa. He had no problems with the calling or the batters retirng the Carp 1-2-3 to end the game. Tigers victory.

Both sides had wasted chances but Carp had lacked the men to drive in the runs when they had some very good chances. Fujii's calling was abysmal but his blocking and hitting was first rate. Likewise Shibata had a good game at centre which is a relief as he wasn't good in any of the other areas. Messenger picked up his eleventh victory - he is Tigers top pitcher and fully justifying the decision to give him another chance. Kyuji picked up the 34th save and is on his way to 40 saves again. The problem for Tigers is Fujii's calling - Carp do have it figured out and despite being the lesser team this makes Carp a dangerous opponent.

I was worried Kanemoto might get a contract offer after his recent hot streak. I hope at least he has the sense to take a reduced role to go along with his reduced salary. He's my favorite Japanese player of all time, but he should not be an everyday player. This year was a good chance to finally give someone like Lin a chance and see what he has, but he got infrequent chances and seems to have lost motivation. It isn't really fair to judge him on his limited opportunities.

This is precisely how they will judge Lin though. Mayumi persists in using second raters who may be fast but lack the perception of Akahoshi. Shibata is a case in point - he is a good candidate (like Akamatsu) for a pickup because he does not belong to the protected squad. Someone like Lin who needs a decent run to prosper doesn't get the time. The talk about Nashida is interesting but I am hoping that if he does come he imposes conditions and that he refuses to work under Mayumi.