A big mess

So far Fujinami has only been pitching to Fujii and this game we saw the full cost of using Fujii. To be honest none of the Tigers catchers have set the world on fire but Fujii is a catcher to be used with a limited range of pitchers not as your starting catcher. This game was meant to cement him in that role but he was abysmal and had to be replaced by Hidaka who was abysmal. Tigers ran out losing 9-1 and need to come up with an adequate strategy to use their catchers which involves Komiyama being the main catcher not the two others. Fujinami is rapidly losing confidence and at the very least needs to pitch to a different catcher or he will become another Tigers waste.

Lots of pressure on Fujinami. He's set to become the first pitcher drafted out of high school to start a game on opening weekend. Hope all goes well!

Hold on. Fujinami threw 5 innings allowing just 1 run on three hits and a walk while striking out 5 and you're calling this a "big mess." What, exactly, did Fujii do in the 6th inning to cause this disaster? It wasn't simply Fujinami running out of gas?

If you're going to disparage Fujii for the 6th inning, then shouldn't you praise him for the previous five?

Fujinami fell apart in the sixth because he was tiring and because Fujii's catching didn't take account of his condition. He also did this with Messenger in the first game of the series and Tigers blew a lead. If things are going well Fujii is a very useful catcher to have around but is far too rigid in his calling patterns especially when the pitcher starts to tire. He can also be wasteful calling too many unnecessary balls. Praising Fujii for his calling in the first five kind of reminds me of the situation - "Apart from that Mrs Lincoln - what did you think of the play?"