Last PL Playoff Spot

I think it's going to come down to Orix and Seibu at the end. The Fighters are in a bit of a fade right now and they're almost 5 games behind third place. If I was to predict who would win, I'd probably have to pick the Lions - their starters might be enough to get them to the third spot.

It's still hard to get worked up over this race, though; it's like watching this year's NL West.

Today Orix droped one game behind, and I think it will stay like this until the last two games against Orix. At this point I would say that Matsuzaka and Nishiguchi should be able to take the Lions there and into the play-offs.

Orix just tied them.. Holy cow, what a race! My say is last series, but heck, they just beat Fukuoka for a for the 3rd time in as many games. Not bad Orix. Not bad at all.

Yeah, this could very well come down to the last two games of the season for these teams, which is Orix at Seibu. Should be interesting, even though they both have losing records, despite getting to play so many games against Rakuten.

Uhh, and what if it's a tie? How will the tiebreaker location be decided?

I don't know if anyone's seen this, check the Japan Times online's sports column, complete with outdated "standfirst" for "Hillman's Fighters Stand to Win it All." It's got me sold!

[by Editor: Note the date of March 26, 2005. This was a pre-season article.]

I thought the Fighters would be what the Marines have been this year, but obviously, that hasn't been the case. Their chances of catching the final spot is now slim at best.

As for Orix and Seibu, whoever wins that race will pose some threat for the second-place team.

The second-place team will almost certainly be Chiba Lotte. Transport access from my place to Chiba has just drastically improved and I can now get to Marine Stadium pretty easily.

The first-round of playoffs will all be held at the seond-place team's home ground. Does anyone know when tickets for the playoffs go on sale?

It looks like Fighters are finished. As I am living in the Tokyo area I'd like to see a Marines vs. Lions series so I could attend. Last year I was able to see a Nihon Series game, and it was fun.

As for the dreaded National League West, I could see how that's not interesting to most people, but as a San Diego native, I'm loving it.

I think Seibu is now 1.5 up on Orix. Go Lions - Lllllllions - Lions!

If, as expected, it is Marines vs. Lions in the 1st round, tickets will be extremely difficult to get at Marine Stadium at face value. Marines fans are as mad, or even more so, than Tigers fans, and will pack the stadium.

I strongly recommend trying to go, as I was able to go to 5 games (Nihon Series last year) and 4 from 2000 and it was an unbeleivable experience!

All this talk about who will earn the final playoff spot might possibly just be a moot point. With the Pacific League race getting tighter, if Softbank and Lotte finish with the same winning percentage at the end of the regular season, the Pacific League has an agreement stating that the first round of playoffs will not take place (3rd place team vs. 2nd place team). Instead, the playoffs will move directly to the two teams tied for 1st facing off against each other, for a best of 5 game series. The series will take place at the team that finished higher in the standings the previous year (Softbank), meaning the games will take place at Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome. [Original Article (in Japanese) - 2/3 down the page, in the first grey box.]

I'm not so sure this would be a good thing for the Pacific League, as the winner of this possible one round playoff series might just be too rusty when the Nippon Series comes around.

I think it's a good thing if the playoffs end up being just one round between the Hawks and the Marines. I mean, Orix and Seibu both have losing records (or barely above .500 if they keep on winning) despite getting to play the meek Eagles so many times this year. And yes, I am a Lions fan. But chances of this happening are still against it, as the teams have to finish with exactly the same winning percentage to force the 1-2 playoff.