Pro Yakyu Live! April 11, 2007

Four hours and thirty seven minutes.

This was a marathon of a game. Just the first inning alone lasted close to 40 minutes. The third inning lasted less than 10 minutes (total for both sides). I think Fujikawa is an exciting pitcher to watch, but it seems to take minutes between deliveries. Whereas I could hardly give scores from other games while the game was going on with other pitchers, he allowed more than enough time during just one at bat.

Okay, okay. I'm hung up with the time tonight. Still, it was an exciting game, with the Tigers constantly playing catch up and matching the Dragons. They played to a 6-6 tie, but both teams played well. There were a number of "what ifs" for both sides. What if the wind hadn't blown Woods' sacrifice fly back? What if Nori's liner hadn't been miraculously caught by an airborne Fujimoto? What if Tanishige had actually been able to put wood on the ball for any of his five swinging strike outs? (Gee, it looks like all the "what ifs" belonged to the Dragons.)

Well, listen for yourself [64MB MP3] to the marathon stale mate. I hope you enjoy the game.

[Fixed link on Apr 12, 2007 9:41 AM JST]

What if Imaoka's double off the wall in the first had gone over? What if Kanemoto's long foul in the eighth (or ninth - I can't remember) had stayed fair instead of curling out of play. And what if Hamanaka's screaming liner, again in the first, hadn't been caught, turning a possible run into a double play?

It was a close game. The Tigers also had their chances.

The link is not working. I would love to listen to the game while I am watching Matsuzaka v. Ichiro

Jim