June 3rd Standridge v Yamada - Failure in the fourth

Tigers spot on top of the Central League didn't last long and this drubbing should lay to rest any thought that Fujii is a suitable catcher for a top team. Never have I seen anyone look so out of his depth as he did this game. He was removed after the sixth not in a nice gambit to bring on a pinch hitter but because he was crap. One can attribute the mess in the fourth innings mainly to Standridge who even though he got zero support from his catcher generated most of the mess himself. But the mess with Tsuru was totally Fujii. He had no idea what to call and his throwing out of hand was a ridiculous joke. I have seen other catchers fail badly before but they have all retained an air of competence - not Fujii. Apart from that we saw Takayama who was traded for Kawasaki. He played left and was off the pace and frequently out of position. How anyone thought he was ready for the top team is beyond me. He certainly is no Fukudome. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E
Tigers  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  7 2
Hawks   0 0 0 6 4 2 0 0 X 12 10 0

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (DH)
5. Takahiro Arai (First)
6. Asai (Right)
7. Takayama (Left)
8. Ryota Arai (Third)
9. Fujii (Catcher)

Starting pitcher was Standridge

Hawks
1. Nakamura (Right)
2. Honda (Second)
3. Uchikawa (DH)
4. Matsuda (Third)
5. Hasegawa (Left)
6. LaHair (First)
7. Yanagita (Centre)
8. Imamiya (Short)
9. Hosokawa (Catcher)

Starting pitcher was Yamada

Wada's weirdness with the lineup continues. Why Ryota was dropped down to eight and two lesser batters inserted in the order is compeletely unfathomable. Ryota is fine at six or seven and a natural for those two positions but seven only if there is a better batter ahead of him. To put both Asai and Takayama - the former hasn't rediscovered his form yet and Takayama doesn't have any - in front of your team's top scorer is brainless in the extreme. No wonder Tigers wasted all the chances that fell their way. The game started wonderfully well when Yamato tripled to left centre with one out. It needed better work from Toritani who snatched and flew out to short - he really does need to look at his shot selection. Murton walked and Tigers were in with another chance. This was blown when Arai grounded out to third. Nakamura led off the game for Hawks singling to right. One out later he would try to steal and to the surprise of everyone actually be thrown out. Uchikawa then lined out to third. So far so good for Tigers but they needed to get the runners home. Asai led off Tigers second with a single long the third base line. He tried to stretch this into a double but it was a base too far and he was out. Takayama and Ryota did nothing and were both out. Standridge struck out Nakamura and Hasegawa then LaHair hit towards first. Arai positioned himself and allowed the ball to go between his legs without intercepting it. Poor fielding which allowed a runner on first. Standridge - and this is the surprising thing given what happened later - didn't let things get to him and struck out the next batter Yanagita to end the innings. Tigers third started quietly with Fujii grounding out to short. Nishioka doubled to left nicely and then Yamato walked. Once again Tigers were in with a chance. Once again they blew it. Toritani flew out to centre - a poor shot and Murton flew out to left. Two good positions wasted - these chances do need to be taken if Tigers want to win the pennant. Hawks third saw Hosokawa single left but then Nakamura hit to Arai at first. This time Arai fielded and threw to second for the force out. The ball came back in time for the double play and Hawks innings was over.

Tigers had definitely had the better of the opening exchanges. Standridge was pitching confidently and it seemed only a matter of time before they would score. Omininously though the Tigers fourth was quiet with no one hitting or getting on base. Hawks fourth was anything but. It started in a rather silly fashion. Honda led off and he swung and bounced a ball weakly infield. Standridge chased it down with ease but didn't field it well and the ball bounced off his glove. By the time it was fielded Honda was safe. This should have been nothing to worry about but suddenly Standridge lost his rythym. Here a better catcher than Fujii would have paused the action and reassured his pitcher. Fujii did nothing and there followed a long battle with Uchikawa which was confidence draining and no testiment to Fujii's calling skills. Finally, Uchikawa singled the ball rolling along the ground and deflecting off Standridge into centre - runners on first and third with no outs. Once again a gentle word would have worked wonders and one could see Yano or Kanoh doing so but not Fujii. Matsuda worked the count full and then walked as the final pitch was too high bases loaded. Hasegawa was next and he singled to bring in a run 1-0 Hawks bases loaded. Next was LaHair who punched his second pitch into right bringing in two more runs 3-0 Hawks, runners on first and second. There were still no outs but third was clear. However, Standridge was by now incapable of focusing and drifitng all the tim. Yanagita hit left to bring in the fourth run 4-0 Hawks, runners on first and second. Then one of the strange incidents in the game happened. Yanagita had moved off first as a pitch flew into Fujii's glove. Fujii was up and threw to Toritani at second who was surprised to receive the ball especially as Yanagita returned to first. LaHair set off and stole third without any response from the Tigers fielders - runners on first and third. Imamiya was next and tried a bunt before giving up and hitting. His hit sailed up and over an out of position Takayama bringing in both runners 6-0 Hawks. Imamiya tried to take third but was a bit slow and was thrown out. Still the first out was enough to break the spell. Hosokawa struck out swinging and then Nakamura grounded out - it had been a nightmare for the Tigers. What could Tigers do in their fifth? The answer was not a lot with Takayama leading off - he hit to third grouding out. Fujii was next and he doubled along the third baseline. A good position but once again wasted. Nishioka and Yamato both grounded out to third. Tsuru took over for Hawks fifth and he is normally a reliable pitcher. However, Fujii's calling was abysmal. The innings started with Honda walking. Uchikawa flew out to right but then Honda went to steal second. Fujii made a total mess of the transfer of ball from glove to throwing hand not even getting the throw away. Then it was pick your hit time for the Hawks. Matsuda on a full count doubled over Takayama to bring in Honda 7-0 Hawks - runner on second. Next was Hasegawa who doubled to left centre to bring in Matsuda 8-0 Hawks, runner on second. Yamato might be fast but he can't cover both centre and left at the same time which is what he was needing to do with Takayama on the field. LaHair hammered the ball deep to right - it just died and hit the wall above Asai's despairing jump 9-0 Hawks, runner on second. Then Yanagita blasted the ball over the head of Yamato for another double 10-0 Hawks, runner on second. Tigers were reeling but Imamiya managed to ground out to Tsuru for the second out and there was a glimmer of hope. Hosokawa struck out and ended the slaughter. Tigers were out of the game but could still go down with honour except that they couldn't. Toritani woke up and singled left to lead off the sixth. He stayed on first as the next three batters failed to do anything. Tigers batters were rather shell shocked and incapable of any response. Tamaki took over the pitching duties for Hawks sixth and we also saw a change of catcher - Shimizu taking over. We saw a shot of Fujii in the dugout looking very displeased with thing. The change wasn't initially not much of an improvement. Tamaki walked Nakamura to lead off the Hawks sixth - he was all over the place. Then Honda flew out to right. Next was Uchikawa and once again Tamaki struggled leaving a very hittable pitch for Uchikawa to turn into the left stand for a two run home run 12-0 Hawks. Matsuda singled but then Hasegawa flew out to left Takayama having discovered where to stand. LaHair struck out to end the innings.

Tigers seventh and with Yamada still pitching Takayama walked. Here would have been a great time to replace Takayama with a pinch runner but this didn't happen. Ryota hit nicely to left but a good jump by Matsuda saw the ball caught. Then Shimizu singled to centre to put runners on first and second. Nishioka struck out swinging wildly and Yamato flew out to centre. Tamaki returned for Hawks eighth but with his nerves under control and he and retired the batters in order. Kayama took over for Tigers eighth and with Toritani out Murton drove the ball to short to take first safely. No one else got on base with Arai forcing out Murton and then Asai grounding out to second. Hawks eighth saw Honda walk with one out. He also stayed on first. To be honest the Hawks weren't really trying by now as the margin was insurmountable. Iwasaki pitched Tigers ninth and retired the batters in order to end the game. Hawks victory.

Tigers had been completely crushed. The irony was that they had their chances early in the game and if they had brought runners home the result might have been different. As it was they paid the price for their casual attitude. Whilst they lost the lead of the Central League they are only 0.5 games behind the Giants and well poised but they can't afford many defeats like this one. Standridge had gone to pieces and Wada was inclined to place the blame squarely on him but the lack of support and poor calling from Fujii is just as much to blame. Why Takayama was inserted into the side when he was so clearly not match fit is also a mystery and despite the fact that the players caused this defeat one must not neglect the incompetent decisions of the coaching team and manager. Wada should have a bit more humility and not pontificate like a pompous ass.