May 22nd Messenger v Kaneko - On the edge

I wrote in my last blog post how the way things were going Tigers would manage to beat Buffaloes and no one else but even this was optimistic. Tigers couldn't even beat the Buffaloes and were shut out in a appalling display. Kataoka attributed this to swinging too soon and not waiting but whilst this is part of the explanation it is not the entire reason. For example batters getting out on their first pitch were surprisingly equal with Tigers having four and Buffaloes three. However, if we look at batters getting out in three pitches or under then a difference is notable. Seven of the Buffaloes batters fell this way but 11 of the Tigers batters succumbed. This makes it easier on the pitcher who doesn't have to work. I have mentioned how Fujii wastes pitches and if we look at the figures we see that Kaneko threw a total of 33 balls out of the 104 he pitched (this does not include strikes or swings). Over six innings he threw 26. Messenger by contrast in six innings threw 42 balls with Tsuru throwing 6 and Enokida throwing 6 as well. Tigers pitchers generated a grand total of 54 balls. So not only was Kaneko on target more often and his catcher better but he also had the benefit of the opponents swinging too soon. Fujii in the meantime wasted his pitcher's energy on useless calls and called unintelligently when Messenger was tiring. One also has to factor in batting or the lack of it. Tigers management team are proving to be out of their depth. Their training and lineup have demotivated the performers by favouring non performers and non-entities. We can only hope for a bounce back and maybe this defeat will prove the fuse but to repeat - restore Kanemoto to the lower order, drop Fujii to ni-gun and use Komiyama. Adding another thought we need to bring back Asai to centre and stop messing around with all the other rubbish that Wada has been doing. Asai wasn't pretty but he was making things happen where Shibata, Shunsuke and Yamato quite plainly weren't. Scores

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

Starting lineups

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

Starting Pitcher: Messenger

Buffaloes
1. Nonaka (Left)
2. Ohbiki (Short)
3. Baldris (Third)
4. Lee (First)
5. Gotoh (Second)
6. Takahashi (DH)
7. Kawabata (Right)
8. Suzuki (Catcher)
9. Nakamura (Centre)

Starting Pitcher: Kaneko

With four losses in a row Tigers could safely be said to be struggling. A win against the weaker Osaka team would restore pride and give them a kick start. They were also facing a rather uninspired Kaneko and so must have entertained high hopes. Things didn't quite work out. Tigers first started quietly with the batters falling in order. They tried to hit and two lined out. Messenger's start was inauspicious with him dead balling Nonaka. Ohbiki flew out to right and a nice piece of fielding by Murton saw Nonaka stranded off base. Finally Baldris flew out to centre. Kanemoto led off Tigers second with a single to right. He was forced out by Arai's ground out to second. Brazell struck out swinging and then Wada signaled a steal. Arai tried but was tagged out - he is fast round the bases but doesn't necessarily have the acceleration and Buffaloes were waiting for the steal. Very poor tactics by Tigers. Lee drew a walk to lead off Buffaloes second and one out later was forced out by Takahashi who grounded out to short. However, Kawabata also grounded out to end the innings. In Tigers third Shibata singled with two out. Once again the steal call was made and this time Tigers were successful with Shibata taking second. However, Toritani struck out to end the innings. The third was the innings that actually caused Kaneko the most trouble otherwise he was pretty untroubled. Buffaloes third saw Nonaka pick up a walk with two out but Ohbiki flew out to right.

Tigers fourth saw their first hit - a lead off line drive to left from Hirano. He was immediately out when Murton hit into a standard 6-4-3 double play. Kanemoto struck out looking - he has added this way of getting out to his repertoire recently. Buffaloes then had their first major chance to score. With one out Lee singled to centre. Gotoh also singled to set up runners on first and second. Takahashi grounded out which moved the runners round to second and third - a very good chance but Kawabata flew out to right. Still his chance would come. Tigers fifth was quiet with Arai and Brazell striking out and Lin grounding out. Buffaloes fifth started with two ground outs but Nonaka singled and then stole second. Once again Ohbiki failed to do anything and grounded out. Tigers needed to get something going but with Fujii leading off the sixth there was very little chance of this and the three batters fell in order. So to the crucial innings. Messenger still had some gas in the tank but Fujii's calling was as poor as ever and he would waste that. Baldris led the innings off with a single. Then Lee walked. Next to walk was Gotoh and the bases were loaded with no outs. Tigers were in trouble. Takahashi grounded out to short and no run resulted. This brought up Kawabata whose moment had come. Fujii called for a low fork which Messenger delivered - it was a poor pitch and an abysmal call and Kawabata hit it hard into the left upper stand - a grand slam 4-0 Buffaloes. Suzuki flew out and then Nakmura struck out swinging to end the innings. A killer blow.

Tigers needed to respond but were by now totally cowed and their seventh was a joke. No one got on base and the innings ended with Kanemoto striking out swinging. Tsuru took over from Messenger for Buffaloes seventh and once again we saw that Fujii had learned nothing. It started well with two outs but then Baldris hit a two base to left having figured out that left was the direction to go. He was pinch run for by Yamasaki which proved academic. The interesting thing about Baldris is that Tigers rejected him and let him go. As he was always one of Okada's favourites he found a home at Orix and had proved quite useful in his time there. Just a little bit of further proof that Tigers management are clueless. Back to the game - Tsuru faced Lee who slammed a straight ball into the centre stand for another home run 6-0 Buffaloes. Now would have been the time to replace the catcher but the current options aren't that good and bringing Komiyama back up would only reveal how poor Fujii actually is. Gotoh flew out to end the Buffaloes seventh. Tigers really needed something and Arai singled to lead off the eighth. He then fell to a Brazell double play. Lin swung at his first pitch and grounded out to end the innings. Enokida pitched Buffaloes eighth and retired the batters in order though he did struggle with Suzuki as the final out. Now the only question was would Kaneko get his complete game shutout. He faced Imanari (pinch hitter for Fujii) who struck out swinging. Then Shibata who also struck out swinging and finally Toritani who struck out looking. A suitable end given the Tigers inept performance. Buffaloes victory.

Tigers had been outplayed. There was a reason for Fujii being let go by Golden Eagles which Tigers are discovering. There is also a reason why Kanemoto was dropped from the No. 4 position which Wada doesn't seem to understand. Buffaloes aren't exactly a great team but they put together a good performance against a lamentably bad Tigers outfit who have know lost five in a row - the first time this has happened since August 2009. As Tigers fans we need to hope that this is the bottom and that the next game will see the upswing.