Hospital, Dome, Hospital

After the game where he was ejected Tuesday night, Ohshima-kantoku suddenly felt ill, and went to the doctor's office at Tokyo Dome. There wasn't much they could do there for him, so they called an ambulance, and Ohshima-kantoku was sped away to an emergency center in Tokyo where he was diagnosed with gastritis.

...

Despite being admitted to the hospital, and against protests from his family and the Ham's front office who all advised him to take care and rest, Ohshima-kantoku left the hospital at 3:00 yesterday (6/21) afternoon and took a taxi to Tokyo Dome.

He made no hint that he was having any kind of trouble in the dugout before his team. The only thing that was unusual was that he didn't feel up to drinking his coffee, which he usually drinks throughout the game.

Kataoka was one team member worried about his manager, and just to set his mind at ease, hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to give Nippon Ham an early lead, which they never gave up as they won the game 5-2 over Lotte. (That brings their record to 11-1 (and 1 tie) against the Marines. Ouch. The only other similarly dominating matchup is the Giants' 10-2 regard against my 'Stars.)

After the game, Ohshima-kantoku took a taxi back to the hospital to be reinstated. But he plans on being at the Dome come game time again tonight.

So, what brought this sudden gaseous attack on? Was it the argument that he had with third base umpire Yamazaki on Tuesday night? The protest in question was that Yamazaki called a foul ball (by about a meter on the replay) off the bat of Ohzuka a home run. Ohshima-kantoku argued, without the use of foul language, and without any physical contact. He urged the umpire to confirm his call with the other members of the umpiring crew, which seems like a reasonable request. But the umpire wouldn't do it. 21 minutes later, the umpire tossed Ohshima-kantoku on the grounds of delaying the game.

There have been a number of repercussions, besides Ohshima-kantoku's sudden illness. Pacific League Chairman Harano issued a warning to the umpire crew that they should have gotten together to discuss the call (and not make Ohshima-kantoku sick). To Ohshima-kantoku, he stated that no argument should be carried on beyond 5 minutes. That goes for the umpire crew to carry out as well.

I understand that there's an oen-dan for the umpiring crew at Tokyo Dome Fighters' games. I wonder how they're taking this. Personally, some of the worst calls I'd ever seen were at Fighters' games in Tokyo Dome, and all of them against the home team. I wonder why that is.

[Updated layout format on Feb 14, 2005 9:24 PM JST]