Swallows Need to Boost Offense

If Yakult is to make a serious run at the Giants, it's going to have to make some changes in order to improve its offense. As the Hanshin Tigers, who are second in the Central League in team ERA but last in the league standings, are showing, you can't try to do it all with pitching. The Swallows moundsmen have allowed just 3.8 runs a game, but are in second place in the pennant race, two games behind the Yomiuri squad.

A big problem for the Swallows all season, who are averaging exactly four runs a game, has been their number two hitter, Katsuyuki Dobashi, who, as I write this, is batting .205 with no homers, just 11 RBIs, and has struck out 33 times in 183 total plate appearances, a bit on the high side for someone with no power. He has an abysmal on base percentage of .283 and a slugging percentage of .243 (his only extra base hits being six doubles) He does have ten sacrifice bunts, but is only hitting .245 with runners on and a horrid .225 when they get into scoring position. With nobody on, he's put up a .176 average and isn't doing anything against either lefties or righties. He's never been much of a base stealer. A firestarter he is not thus far.

To illustrate just how bad a year Dobashi is having, he's a .270 lifetime hitter and his career high in strikeouts is 51 in 1995, but that was in 459 at bats. At the pace he's going this year, he will whiff about 75 times. And the same year he had the 51 strikeouts, he drove in 54 runs, which he will not come close to at his current clip.

So basically what is needed is a shakeup in the lineup and either dropping the 12 year veteran Dobashi to the number eight slot or giving Tory Lovullo a shot. Here is the batting order I think that manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu should put forth:

CF	Manaka	(.283 4 HR 18 RBIs .292 with runners in scoring position)
C	Furuta	(.304 8 HR 32 RBIs .264)
LF	Takahashi	(.318 7 HR 23 RBIs .305)
1st	Petagini	(.319 13 HR 39 RBIs .306)
3rd	Iwamura	(.273 5 HR 25 RBIs .346)
SS	Miyamoto	(.259 O HR 22 RBIs .303)
RF	Satoh	(.227 7 HR 16 RBIs .163)
2nd	Dobashi	(see stats above)

What a lineup like this does is that it would put more pressure on the opposition at the top of the order, who are going to have more at bats in a game anyway. Manaka would get better pitches to hit with Furuta behind him, as would Takahashi with Petagini following him. Dobashi has been a sure out, a bit of breathing space for the other team's hurlers. Furuta also is an atypical catcher in that he does have decent speed, allowing the team to maybe go for more double steals. And his occasional power could lead to Yakult getting off to quick 2-0 leads before the enemy has had a chance to get warmed up.

Also, look at Iwamura if he hit behind Petagini: he's been great in the clutch with a robust bat already when his fellow Swallows are waiting to come home. Moreover, he eats Chunichi Dragon starters for breakfast.

Miyamoto, not shabby in the clutch either, with Satoh after him, may be the beneficiary of the threat of Satoh's sock by seeing better pitches and hopefully then being able to push his average with men in scoring position even higher. However, Satoh may also find himself being pitched around more with Dobashi behind him. However, if Satoh walks more, that gives Dobashi more RBI opportunities, too.

A shakeup in the Yakult offense like this could be the eye opener that the team needs and the headache the opposition doesn't. All they have to do is get a lead and hold it for eight innings then its Takatsu time, also known as lights out for the team's opponents. This will hopefully help Takatsu boost his save total and thus enable more Swallow victories.

[Format edited by: westbaystars on May 30, 2002 7:29 PM JST]