June 8th Messenger v Yoshimi - Body language

Firstly, we can't read too much into this victory - Yoshimi was abysmal and so poor that even Fujii was able to hit. Once he departed Tigers generated only four hits and no more runs. It was instructive to watch the dugout though and the TV coverage showed a fair portion of this. Mayumi and the players don't talk. He sits in the corner and occasionally talks to the coaches but not the players. Okada was always speaking with his team This was so noticeable that my wife was moved to ask, 'Is he really that arrogant?' I'm not sure that is the cause but there seems to be a huge chasm between him and the team. Fujii started his second game in a row - maybe Johjima is taking a rest but he was present in the dugout. Watching his performance, one can safely say he is not a first team catcher at all and he is also an outsider. Interaction between him and the rest of the team is minimal which is a pity to some extent as he does seem rather likeable. However, he is very much in over his head and not suitable for the catching role in this team. With the pitchers the only one he had any rapport or close contact with was Enokida. Messenger was brusque and frequently ignored Fujii's calls - a lot of the time he would reject four out of five options offered. When he did follow Fujii, a lot of the pitches were fouled off by the batters; this being especially prevalent in the fifth. Enokida, as I said got on well with Fujii - he chatted with him and even though he did reject one or two calls it was not too many. Kobayashi was totally disdainful - he barely nodded and threw what he wanted. He knew the batters and wasn't going to pay any attention to the catcher. He pitched excellently - but at the end of the innings when Fujii wanted to congratulate him all Kobyashi did was give a curt nod and walk away. There was no communication beyond that. Kyuji was also standoffish but a bit more approachable - frequently, going through his preparing to pitch routine when Fujii was making a call and then giving a nod and throwing what he wanted. He also pitched well and it was interesting to see that Fujii shook his hand at the end of the match. Kyuji accepted the handshake graciously but then that was it - no more interaction. Kyuji and Yano used to talk and walk off together, the same with Kanoh and with Johjima but not with Fujii. It was also noticeable that when Fujii scored on a wild pitch, the batter (Toritani) did not congratulate him or welcome him back but just stood away from the plate. What to make of this? It is painfully clear that Fujii shouldn't be playing in the top team - his batting is non existent and his calling is frequently wrong (otherwise why would pitchers reject so many of his calls?). Pitchers who do follow his calls find themselves being fouled off a lot and it takes too many pitches to do things. He is also slow round the bases and doesn't have Johjima's drive. Fujii doesn't seem a bad sort just put in a role for which he is not suitable by someone who set out to sabotage a brilliant young catcher's career. Actually, if I turned up at that game I would feel pretty annoyed to see Fujii instead of Johjima so one hopes that the latter is back soon. Scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers   2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 13 0
Marines  0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 3  7 0

Starting lineups

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

Starting pitcher: Messenger

Marines
1. Okada (Centre)
2. Imae (Third)
3. Iguchi (Second)
4. TaeKyun (First)
5. Ohmatsu (Left)
6. Fukuura (DH)
7. Satozaki (Catcher)
8. Kobe (Right)
9. Hosoya (Short)

Starting pitcher: Yoshimi

Mayumi's experimental lineup cannot really have been said to work - Sekimoto was totally off the pace and in fact was replaced by Shibata. Kanemoto was well Kanemoto and why it was thought appropriate to have Fujii bat ahead of Shunsuke is a mystery. However, Yoshimi stunk and was so hittable it didn't matter. Tigers started with a bang Murton - on what would be a very good night for him - leading off with a solo home run 1-0 Tigers. Hirano hit to centre but Toritani flew out. Arai drew a walk which pushed Hirano to second and then Brazell hit to right bringing home HIrano 2-0 Tigers, runners on first and third. Sekimoto in what would be his first failure hit back to Yoshimi for a force out double play - the throw going to Satozaki then first. Marines first was all Tigers could have wished for - Messenger retired the batters in order and one can see why Marines are bottom of the inter-league standings. They also have motivational issues. The Tigers second was a horror story for Yoshimi. Kanemoto grounded out (he and Sekimoto would be the only ones to miss out on the Yoshimi hitfest). Fujii was next and he hit surprisingly to left - more than a bit of luck with this. Shunsuke also hit to left to set up runners on first and second. Murton hit to right and here a run looked on but Fujii doesn't have the speed and stopped at third - bases loaded one out. Hirano flew out to centre but not deep enough for the sacrifice and two outs were down. Next was Toritani. Yoshimi let fly a wild pitch to left and Fujii was able to make home 3-0 Tigers, runners on second and third. Toritani worked the count full before hitting nicely to left centre bringing home two more runs and making third base 5-0 Tigers. This was the end of Yoshimi who was quickly replaced by Kawagoe. He faced Arai with Toritani on third and with three balls on the board sent a high pitch into the zone. Arai swung and the ball ballooned up into the outfield where it landed just in front of Ohmatsu coming in. This was really lucky as the hit had been caught by the wind but it brought Toritani home 6-0 Tigers, runner on first. Brazell also hit to right and Tigers had runners on first and third. Sekimoto was next and he struck out in a rather foolish fashion to end the innings. Still Tigers had a big lead and were in control. Messenger continued to pitch well in Marines second - once again no one got on base and this is where it became really clear that he was rejecting a lot of Fujii's calls. Tigers third was quiet - Kawagoe had to work hard though but got all three batters out. Marines first hit came in their third - a lead off centre hit to Satozaki. He stayed on first as the next three batters could do nothing to move him round.

Murton led off Tigers fourth with a hit to right. Then HIrano tried to bunt and made a complete mess of it flying out to first. Toritani hit deep to left but was caught by the fence. Murton made second on a wild pitch. However, Arai grounded out to second and the innings was scoreless. Marines fourth was quiet with two Marines striking out as Messenger threw some very nice stuff. Tigers fifth was also quiet and it was Sekimoto's last at bat for the night - he flew out to centre and was replaced at second by Hirano, Shibata taking over centre. Marines fifth saw Messenger begin to tire and to follow Fujii's calling more. This meant more fouls and the Marines really worked this. Firstly though Ohmatsu led the innings off wtih a hit. Then Fukuura walked to set up runners on first and second. Things didn't develop any further, Satozaki flew out to Brazell, Kobe flew out to right - one that Murton almost lost in the wind and had to hustle a little to get and finally Hosoya flew out to Hirano to end the innings. Tigers lead was intact. The sixth saw Kawagoe replaced by Kobayashi (Marines version). He got the first two outs but Murton hit a rather nice two base. Hirano though banged a grounder to third to end the innings. Messenger fell apart in Marines sixth - there was nothing wrong with Mayumi asking him for another innings. He had pitched well and had gotten out of a jam in the fifth. He seemed to have another innings in him but no. It started with Okada driving a hit straight back at Messenger who got the tip of his glove on the ball but couldn't hold it. Then Imae hit to right. Iguchi went left and the bases were loaded with no outs - trouble beckoned. TaeKyun was next and he worked a walk for an oshidashi 6-1 Tigers, bases loaded. Then Ohmatsu hit his second pitch to left for another run 6-2 Tigers, bases loaded, no outs. Here Mayumi acted and pulled Messenger - a very wise move. His replacement was Enokida. He looked nervous and this was a repeat of the Nohmi situation a few years before. Enokida wasn't quite that proficient though. Fukuura lofted one deep to left for a sacrifice fly 6-3 Tigers, runners on first and second and a bit of breathing space. Then Satozaki struck out to a fine piece of pitching by Enokida. Finally, Ishimine (pinch hitter) flew out to right to end the innings. Tigers were out of the jam with some damage but a comfortable lead.

Itoh took over for Tigers seventh - he also had to battle and to be honest Marine's pitching didn't look particularly stellar. Toritani drew a walk leading off the innings. Then with Arai out Brazell also walked. This didn't help Tigers as Shibata flew out and Kanemoto hit a grounder to first. If anything he was even less use than Sekimoto but stayed in the lineup. Enokida had a very nice seventh innings - the batters fell in order and it was all most impressive. Carlos pitched Tigers eighth and he also had to work hard but retired the batters in order. So to Marines eighth and Kobayashi - this the best outing he has had for the Tigers. He knew the batters, he knew their weaknesses, he exploited these with style and not a little finesse. One outside slider left Iguchi at the last minute having him swinging helplessly. Ohmatsu was fooled by a deceptive fork - all three batters struck out. Tigers ninth added a bit of drama. Hirano hit to short and beat the throw with his usual head sliding dive. Two outs later Brazell hit a Yamamoto (the pitcher) who could only deflect it away from the fielder and Brazell was safe. However Asai (pinch hitter) flew out to end the innings. Kyuji pitched the ninth and gave up a lead off hit to Fukuura. But then he was also excellent striking out the next three batters, two of them looking. He did throw some wild stuff but was in control. Tigers victory.

Despite the victory, Messenger's third Tigers cannot view this as the start of anything. They had triumphed because they had been able to get to Yoshimi who was terrible. They didn't drive in any runs after the second and from the body language are not a happy team. They need to generate a winning streak and the next match is a good opportunity against a truely dismal marines. But they can't continue to use Fujii - they need to find a proper replacement for Johjima, a quality catcher not a makeweight.