Skipper Oya deserves credit for BayStars' surge

It looks like Graczyk-san and I actually agree on something, that Ohya-kantoku deserves the credit for the transformation of the BayStars this season. He says a lot of the same things I commented about in my Pro Yakyu Live! broadcast last week.

Still, Graczyk-san's "What the heck is going on here?" comment reflects Christopher's insistence that the BayStars are "mediocre," and even Nikkan Sports' wonderment that the BayStars could be in first place when they're 3rd or lower in the major offensive and defensive categories whereas the Giants are in first in all of them.

In my broadcast last week, I commented that Ohya-kantoku had built the BayStars the two years prior to their 1998 championship season that Gondoh-kantoku took over and didn't mess with. Graczyk-san puts it this way:

Give a lot of credit to manager Akihiko Ohya, who was surprisingly let go as the team's skipper following the 1997 season, when he led the BayStars to a second-place finish and seemingly had them poised to be pennant contenders the next year.

Yokohama went on to win its only Japan Series title in 1998, under manager Hiroshi Gondoh, Ohya's replacement, but it was really Ohya who had put the club together during his two-year stint as field boss in 1996-97. So says one ex-BayStar.

[Spelling of names updated to be consistent with this site and their uniforms.]

Why did the BayStars let Ohya-kantoku go at the time? Well, he refused to re-sign with them due to friction between the way he wanted to run the team and the way the front office (owned by Maruha at the time) wanted to. The same thing occurred after Gondoh-kantoku's two years were up. There seems to be a long tradition of Yokohama's front office wanting one style of play and the manager wanting another. That was what led to Mori-kantoku being signed, a manager known for the style they wanted, and that flopped. But I digress.

Graczyk-san finally gets to naming some names, like the home run twins from Fukuoka, Yoshimura and Murata, and veterans Nishi (aquired from the Giants), Saeki, and Suzuki. I commented quite a bit in my broadcast how much of an impact Nishi was having leading off, something I didn't really expect to happen at all (despite the fact that Nishi was one of my favorite Giants - because he was very un-Giant in his scrappiness). And I called Suzuki-kun the Comeback Player of the Year for the BayStars. I really thought his career was over several years ago. With the return of Ohya-kantoku, I mentioned in spring training that it was the first time I'd seen a smile on Suzuki's face since Gondoh-kantoku was in charge.

Before getting into any detail about the turn around the BayStars are having, Graczyk-san turned to MLB and ended his article with an advertisement. So I guess it's up to me to explain why we think Ohya-kantoku deserves the credit for the BayStars' surge.

First of all, let's look at the pitching staff. What's changed? Well, we got Kudoh from the Giants. But he hasn't factored into anything yet. Miura's shutout of the Tigers last week was the first complete game we got out of anybody, but he's constantly been the BayStars' only pitcher who can throw a complete game - so no real change there. Kroon's velocity is dropping and batters are starting to hit him (if sometimes just by sticking the bat out there and hoping for the best). Joselo has been a great pickup, with the bat as well as on the mound. There's a pitcher that can hit the ball as well! Counter that with Nasuno, who has yet to show why the BayStars paid him over the maximum allowed signing bonus, and the pitching staff doesn't really look much different from last year.

So, if the pitching staff looks pretty much the same as last year, what's different? The manager! Ohya-kantoku, a former catcher, spent a lot of time with the pitching staff during spring training. The BayStars are still ranked in 4th in the Central League in ERA, but those are the blow-out losses. It's the tight games (3 runs or less) that the 'Stars are holding onto with consistency this year. Ohya-kantoku is clearly using his pitching staff well when the games are close.

What about offense? How much has the lineup changed from last season? Well, Suzuki is the regular left fielder again. Saeki has returned to pinch hitting duty after being the main first baseman for several years. Yoshimura has taken over first base and the cleanup spot. Nishi is the leadoff man, and reached base in his first 28 games. Nishi's .397 OBP is probably the best for a BayStar leadoff man in recent history.

Still, the BayStars are allowing more runs than they're earning (mainly due to a few blowouts on the losing end). They're currently ranked 3rd in runs scored, but not much separates them and the three teams below them. So it's winning those close games (as mentioned above) that has the 'Stars in A-Class right now.

When a new manager comes in, it's usually the case that the status quo gets upset. This applies to both businesses and baseball. Hanshin is probably suffering the worst in the status quo department right now. Orix rose at the start with an injection of sweeping changes, but have started to revert to their old, losing ways. The BayStars' status quo appears to have reverted 10 years - to a more productive time.

Can they keep it up, or will the 'Stars fall to the Earth in the end? I believe in Ohya-kantoku. He built a winner before. So long as the new front office (TBS) keeps out of things, I believe that he can do it again.

Wait a minute, what about the addition of Hayato Terahara? He's been pitching surprisingly well. It's strange that nobody's mentioned this. At the time, I really thought Yokohama was getting fleeced in the Tamura-Terahara deal, but so far it seems to have worked out for them.

I have no doubt that Ohya's doing a great job, but yeah, Nishi's been surprisingly good as well - shame Takuro Ishii's been surprisingly bad. I hope he's just having a slow start.

True, I did forget about Terahara. Why? Simply because he seems to pitch on days that I can't get to a TV. I've read that he's done well, but I haven't seen (or heard on the radio) him pitch yet this season.

Conversely, I've seen Ishii's dismal offensive stats, but he seems to always contribute when I watch.

And talk about disrupting the status quo, Ishii wasn't at all happy about his consecutive full innings played streak being broken up a couple weeks ago. He didn't pull a Kanemura, but it was clear that he didn't like it. When a manager benches a veteran with such a streak going, the players pay attention. None of their positions are guaranteed.

Michael,

I think that Kroon has become a much better pitcher now that his velocity has dropped. When he was throwing the 161kph stuff he seemed to have trouble keeping it over the plate and would waste a lot of the pitches. Now at his lower speed (about 8 kph less) he has more control and is much more formidable. What do you think?

I think you're right. He's mixing up his pitches better, ranging from 143 to 156. And he's doing it according to batter, giving each batter a different pattern. For example, one batter will get everything 145 +- 2. The next batter will see nothing under 154. The third batter will get the whole spread.

The hits that I see many getting off of him are just little bloopers just over the infield. Nothing solid. And he's only walked one so far this season (in 8 2/3rds innings). Yes, he's definitely got better control this season.