June 9th Nohmi v Kaneko - I hate Nohmi

Firstly Okada's whine about the Tigers taking too long. This has been formally written up and presented to the NPB where it will no doubt disappear into a convenient waste basket. Quite frankly who cares about Orix's moans? The big incident was an after game interview in which Murton stated that because he hates Nohmi he let Orix have a run. Wow! Quite apart from the unprofessionalism if it is true it signifies serious rifts in the Tigers and that Murton is seriously unhappy and probably wants out. Nohmi wasn't exactly pitching well and once again Wada screwed up with the lineup including the worthless Shibata rather than Yamato. Tigers aren't driving in enough runs for Wada to leave RBI hitters out. Clueless to the last. Scores

           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Buffaloes  1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 6 12 0
Tigers     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 11 0

Starting lineups

Buffaloes
1. Gotoh (Second)
2. Nonaka (Centre)
3. Scales (Left)
4. Lee (First)
5. Baldris (Third)
6. Kawabata (Right)
7. Ohbiki (Short)
8. Saitoh (Catcher)
9. Kaneko (Pitcher)

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

Nohmi wasn't particularly good today and in fact might have been getting a bit snooty which would explain Murton's ire though not his actions. He started by giving up a single to Gotoh. Gotoh was stupid bunted to second and then made third on Scales ground out. All should have been OK but Lee walked to set up runners on first and third and then Nohmi gave up a hit to Baldris. This was a stupid pitch - the hard work had been done and Baldris whilst useful isn't exactly a certain hitter. However, he hit to centre 1-0 Buffaloes, runners on first and third. Then Nohmi struck out Kawabata - one out too late. Kaneko wasn't particularly good but Tigers wasted chances like anything. Hirano led off with a single to right. He was stupid bunted to second - a waste of an out. Toritani grounded out to Kaneko which kept Hirano on second and then Kanemoto walked. Murton struck out swinging to end the innings. Buffaloes second saw a nice start with two strike outs but then Nohmi gave up a hit to Kaneko. This was really poor - someone who bats during inter league only gets a hit. Gotoh though grounded out to second to end the innings. Arai led off Tigers second with a ground out to third. Then Brazell walked. Komiyama hit a two base to centre over Gotoh. Brazell went for home and buldozed his way into Saitoh who had the ball but as usual didn't apply the tag. He was ruled out. Nohmi struck out to end the innings. with one out in Buffaloes third Scales singled. Lee though hit into a double play to end the innings. Tigers third saw Hirano and Shibata go down but Toritani hit to centre. Once again Kanemoto walked and despite his recent flurry he is not a No. 4 batter anymore. Murton struck out looking to end the innings. So far Tigers had wasted chance after chance.

So to the top of the fourth and Murton's incident. Baldris led off the innings by striking out. Then Kawabata flew out to centre. Ohbiki singled to centre and was able to steal second. Then Saitoh hit to right and Murton by his own account made a deliberately poor throw allowing the runner to score 2-0 Buffaloes, runner on second. Kaneko struck out swinging to end the innings. Tigers fourth was quiet with Arai and Brazell striking out and Komiyama flying out. Everyone it seems was stunned. Nohmi it seems was stunned as well Gotoh led off Buffaloes fifth with a single. Nonaka flew out but then Scales hit hard to left for a two run home run 4-0 Buffaloes. Lee and Baldris both flew out to end the innings. Nohmi was pinch hit for by Imanari in Tigers fifth - he had another innings in him but really hadn't been cooperative with Komiyama. With two out Shibata walked but nothing came of this. Imanari had replaced Komiyama as catcher - a big mistake as it turned out. Tsuru was the pitcher. Kawabat led off Buffaloes sixth with a single and then Ohbiki hit to left for another two run home run 6-0 Buffaloes. The next three batters fell in order but Imanari had put the game beyond Tigers reach. In the old days Tigers could have overcome a six run deficit but not under Wada and not in their current demoralised state. Still they tried. Murton hit to centre with one out in the sixth. Then Arai hit right to set up runners on first and third. Brazell hit to centre to bring home a run 6-1 Buffaloes, runners on first and second. Hiyama though struck out and Imanari grounded out to second.

Watanabe pitched Buffaloes seventh and struck out Nonaka looking - an auspicious start. This continued with Scales grounding out to second but Lee hit a triple to left centre. Baldris grounded out to third to end the innings. Hirano led off Tigers seventh with a single and stole second on Shibata's strikeout. Toritani's ground out took him to third which brought up Kanemoto. He really needed to bring the runner in to cement his credibility in this spot but struck out looking. For Kanemoto to remain at No. 4 he does need to drive in these runs. Buffaloes eighth was quiet with a nice strike out of Ohbiki. Hirano took over for Tigers eighth and allowed a two out single to Brazell. Nothing came of this as Sekimoto grounded out to third. We then saw more of Wada's stupidity with the return of Katoh to the lineup pitching Buffaloes ninth. He gave up a two out single to Nonaka but as Buffaloes were on cruise control they didn't bother too much and Scales grounded out to third. Tigers ninth was pitched by Kishida who struck out Imanari. Then Hirano singled to centre. Tagami (pinch hitter) singled to centre - runners on first and second. Toritani singled to centre but Hirano was held up on third - Tigers were five runs down and they weren't throwing caution to the wind? This is really rank stupidity. Bases loaded and Kanemoto struck out swinging. Then Murton hit a grounder to short to end the innings. Buffaloes victory.

A total of 11 hits and 4 walks produced one run for Tigers - really this is pathetic batting. One can see why the team is demoralised. They should have had more and Kanemoto does need to be removed from the fourth spot. On current form Brazell should be No. 4 with Arai at No. 5. Makeweights like Shibata need to be dropped and those who drive in RBIs like Asai and Yamato be in the team. Tigers need runs and I have the suspicion that Wada wants everyone to be equal. If someone starts to excel he his taken out of the line up to allow the favourites and time servers to catch up. Even if this isn't true Sakai-owner needs to think about sacking Wada.

Did anyone actually see the Murton interview? It sounds like a sarcastic remark--something an athlete would make to disregard a stupid question from a reporter. However, I didn't see the interview, so I don't know what Murton's tone was. He doesn't seem the sarcastic type; and if he is, he should know by now that sarcasm doesn't translate well in Japan. Anyway, was surprised as everyone to see this story, so was just looking for more details or context.

The interview wasn't televised unfortunately and there is a possibility that it was a sarcastic remark. However, it's kind of a gift to a reporter (I don't even have to come up with a headline) and it's a great story. There are tensions within the Tigers and whilst I wouldn't want to say who hates who (I don't know) I am sure that Murton is not immune. His denials are just that - denials but one cannot assume that these are true.

I bit more English coverage on the Murton incident in the Japan Times today:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sb20120618j1.html#.T97qa1JhMQE

The Japanese Baseball podcast had an interview with Murton. He is toast. Hitting .222 this year and spouting off without thinking to the press, then naturally blaming the press for what he said (in jest but he should know better) adds up to the end of his Japanese career. He did not want to play in Japan this year but MLB had no interest, so he could not have been very happy to start.
I am sure his faith, which he talks about endlessly, is being tested now.

Did he say in the interview that MLB had no interest? I was surprised that he re-signed with the Tigers well before free agent signings in MLB were in full swing. I think he might have had a chance, as his name was out there. When he was given the chance to play in MLB, he did perform.

Gotiger,

What I recall is that he announced his interest in playing back in the MLB but no teams showed interest so he jumped back here. His BA in the MLB was not bad but not good enough to keep him from bouncing up and down from AAA. I would guess the book on him is that he is a minor leaguer in the US..

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sb20120326j1.html#.T-Bh8xxRqs4

I thought someone would give Murton a chance after what he had done the last two years. I think he got a bit of a raw deal in MLB. The one time he played a full season he nearly hit .300. But after the Cubs signed Cliff Floyd, he became expendable. After that, he never really got enough at bats.

With Hanshin, I think they need to stop fooling around and put him back in the line-up. He has looked bad this year, but he also got off to a slow start last year and then nearly won a batting title. Just about everyone on Hanshin is hitting below their career average right now, so don't single out Murton. Look at all the chances Kanemoto got last year. They're paying Murton way too much to be a pinch hitter. I think if they stick with him he'll come around.

At least that audio interview sets things straight. It was pretty obvious that it was a flippant snarky reaction to a dumb question. Can't believe the clown blogger who updates this site (is it Chris someone??) thought it was intended.

Well that is the official line and an easily defendable one and might even be the reality but it also might be a red herring. We all know that it is not always harmony and light in a team and that brotherly love is not always prevalent. Players have been known to say such things when they want out and this may be Murton's purpose. They have also been known to blurt out true feelings on occasion. One shouldn't read too much into this but also one shouldn't discount it.

Murton should know better than to use sarcasm like that in Japan. On the other hand, people should be aware that sports reporters the world over ask really dumb questions and any responses to them should be taken with a grain of salt.
Apparently the plan is to put Murton back in the lineup, so hopefully this non-story will be a thing of the past once he starts hitting again. And I think he will.

It's basic PR - a reporter is never your friend and if you don't make it clear that you are speaking off the record, it's on the record. A microphone is always live. And 'No comment' is always the safest answer.

One other factor is salary, Murton is making long green here compared to what he would make back in AAA in the USA.

Of course it would be great for Hanshin and for Murton if he was able to turn around his season, but I think that is unlikely. My read is that he is done and next season he may have to be back in the USA in the minors again.