June 3rd Messenger v Masaru Takeda - Four in a row

We saw the usual problems with the Tigers this game. Fujii was dismal and didn't communicate with his pitchers. When he did his calling was poor but at least we didn't get Okazaki. Kanemoto managed to hit but this wasn't surprising - he was bound to get lucky sometime. Fighters looked a competent outfit and much more comfortable than the Tigers who do not look happy. Messenger was unnecessarily pitched into the seventh which was more about Wada's ego than any consideration of pitching limits. It's later in the season when tired arms start to fail and pitchers start to struggle. Wada needs to think about this but a poor manager like him is not really going to think rationally. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers    0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3  9 1
Fighters  2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 X 7 12 2

Starting lineups

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

Starting pitcher: Messenger

Fighters
1. Itoi (Right)
2. Koyano (Third)
3. Tanaka (Second)
4. Nakata (Left)
5. Inaba (First)
6. Yoh (Centre)
7. Hoffpaur (DH)
8. Kaneko (Short)
9. Ohno (Catcher)

Starting pitcher: Masaru Takeda

Takeda wouldn't actually be that good today and would struggle. Messenger also was pretty poor but he did mostly follow Fujii's lead and that got him into trouble. Things started with Hirano hitting to left. Surprisingly Yamato didn't bunt but flew out to first instead - a failed bunt. Neither Toritani nor Kanemoto did anything and Hirano stayed on first. By contrast Messenger started by dead balling Itoi - what was he thinking? The obligatory pointless bunt was laid down and then Tanaka flew out to Fujii. Next was Nakata who hit his fourth pitch hard into the left stand 2-0 Fighters. Inaba singled but Yoh struck out swinging - he doesn't look particularly comfortable at the plate. Tigers second saw some poor pitching which couldn't be exploited. With Murton out Sekimoto took a dead ball. Then Brazell singled - it's nice that he does hit but you do feel it's like a 15 inch gun misfiring. Brazell should be hitting far and deep. Fujii grounded out to short moving the runners round but Ryota Arai struck out swinging to end the innings. Kaneko singled with one out and then tried to steal second only to be thrown out by Fujii. Ohno then flew out. Yamato picked up a one out walk in Tigers third but once again Toritani and Kanemoto failed to move the runner round. Itoi led off Fighters third with a single. The pointless bunt was laid down by Koyano and then Tanaka walked. Nakata struck out lookng and Inaba flew out to left.

Tigers fourth and Murton singled and then tried to steal second. He was thrown out as Sekimoto struck out. Brazell then grounded out. Yoh walked to lead off Fighters fourth and made second on Kaneko's ground out. Ohno also grounded out to end the innings. As I mentioned Takeda wasn't particularly good and things unravelled in the Tigers fifth. With Fujii gone, Ryota Arai singled left. Then Hirano singled left and Tigers had runners on first and second. Yamato hit to centre and flew out but Ryota Arai tagged up and took third. Next was Toritani who hit to right. Itoi came in and tried to make the catch but the ball was just in front of him. Ryota Arai was home 2-1 Fighters, runners on first and second. Next was Kanemoto who swung and connected hitting the ball to right where it landed just inside the baseline for a two base hit. Both runners made home 3-2 Tigers, runner on second. No doubt this will be used by Wada to justify his decision to put Kanemoto at fourth but it had taken him an awful long time to produce one lucky hit. Kanemoto still needs to be dropped from No. 4. Incidently it produced his 1500 RBI and he was presented with a bouquet to celebrate. Murton grounded out to end the innings. The lead didn't last long - the Messenger Fujii combination not functioning effectively. With one out Koyano hit a two base and then with Tanaka down, Nakata hit to left field bringing in the run 3-3 scores tied. Inaba would ground out to second and end the innings. Sekimoto led off Tigers sixth with a single. Brazell flew out to centre and then Fujii hit a shallow fly to left. Sekimoto had advanced all the way to second and was a bit slow getting back as Nakata's throw to second was good. Tanaka fired it to first and Sekimoto was out - a very good piece of fielding. Messenger did surprisingly well in Fighters sixth striking out Yoh and Hoffpaur before getting Kaneko to ground out.

Takeda returned for Tigers seventh and looked more comfortable than he had for a long time. Ryota Arai grounded out weakly to first and then Hirano hit to second. Tanaka fielded and threw to first for a simple out but Inaba missed the take and Hirano was safe. Here we had a super stupid bunt - with one out Wada had Yamato bunt Hirano to second. It betokens a mind berift of any tactical appreciation. Two outs and Toritani next. He hit high to left where Nakata was under it for the final out. Messenger pitched the seventh - more Wada stupidity. With one out Itoi hit to Sekimoto who fumbled and allowed the runner on. His general play this game was far too casual. Tanaka singled to set up runners on first and second with two outs but Nakata grounded out to third this time Sekimoto making no mistake. Masui pitched Tigers eighth and with two outs walked Sekimoto. Sekimoto had been lucky - he had swung and checked but not soon enough. However, the first base umpire had ruled him safe and so he walked. Brazell struck out swinging though and ended the innings. Fighters eighth and Tsutsui took the mound. I have written about how Tsutsui kind of drifts away from Fujii's calls and this happened again. Fighters were able to pounce on this miscommunication and on Fujii's general ineptness. Inaba led the innings off with a single to centre. Yoh bunted him to second and here Tigers decided to hold a conference. Wada came to the mound and it was decided to walk Nioka (pinch hitter) - a decision of exquisite stupidity but aimed at getting a double play. With a runner on first though you didn't need to panic. There was no guarantee that the next batter Kaneko would fall easily. The drift apart continued and Kaneko hit hard to left bisecting left and centre. The ball rolled away and stopped at the wall with both runners making home 5-3 Fighters, runner on second. Ohno struck out looking and then Itoi singled left to set up runners on first and second. This brought the end of Tsutsui who was replaced by Fukuhara. Things were if anything just as bad. Fujii's calls were abysmal and Fighters took full advantage. Koyano hit his first pitch to right, another run home 6-3 Fighters, runners on first and second. Then Tanaka hit a two base to right over Shibata (replacement right with Murton having moved to left) and Itoi was home 7-3 Fighters. Koyano also tried to make home but was tagged out at the plate to end the innings. Still the Fighters had struck at the perfect moment. Hisashi Takeda took the mound for Tigers ninth and actually made rather heavy weather of it but he had four runs to play with so he was entitled to take his time. With one out he walked Shibata. Then Hirano hit left to set up runners on first and second. Yamato flew out to right but moved Shibata round to third. Toritani was the final batter and he managed to misjudge one and strike out looking to end the game. Fighters victory.

Tigers had been out thought and out played. Using a poor catcher who does not communicate with the pitching had set them up to be exploited by a more coherent and superior team. Wada's management was inept and the sheer lack of necessity in walking Nioka just exposed the whole bankruptcy of Wada's tactical philosophy. Having Yamato bunt with one out was also another indicator of this inability to judge. The appearance of doing something was far more important than actually doing something.