2002 Nippon Series Game 4

And that situation didn't last long.

Matsuzaka came in to pitch the 6th inning. He hit Yoshinobu Takahashi on the top of his back (left) foot to start things. That's never a good sign. Takahashi was taken out of the game in a great deal of pain.

But Matsuzaka settled down and struck out Matsui and Kiyohara back to back. Things were looking up. But...

Matsuzaka then hit (brushed) Abe in the gut to put runners at first and second. (Actually, pinch runner Suzuki had already stolen second. And he did it on a kind of pitch out at that!)

Saitoh then singled Suzuki-kun home from second with a line drive base hit to left. Any BayStar would have been thrown out at home on that play, but Suzuki made it less close than I was expecting, as the ball was played rather quickly. Nonetheless, the Giants retook the lead.

Then Gotoh came through with a bases clearing triple to right. He got up after sliding into third with a big "guts pose!"

That was all the scoring for the inning, but it put the Giants up 5-2.

And the celebrations are getting ready on the third base side of the stadium as Matsuri Otoko Kiyohara drives Shimizu home from second with two down and two on in the top of the seventh. That increases the Giants lead to a comfortable 6-2.

As we head to the bottom of the seventh, I'm relieved to know that we won't be insulted with bizarre attempts at stirring up patriotism. (Did anyone else watching the World Series wonder what they were doing playing patriotic songs before "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"? I'm sorry, but it's looking more and more like the U.S. is resorting to "Red" tactics to keep its citizens content, lately.)

On the down side, TBS is off at commercial beyond the start of play. NTV and TV Asahi did a great job getting back in time the first three games.

> As we head to the bottom of the seventh, I'm relieved
> to know that we won't be insulted with bizarre
> attempts at stirring up patriotism. (Did anyone else
> watching the World Series wonder what they were doing
> playing patriotic songs before "Take Me Out to the
> Ball Game"? I'm sorry, but it's looking more and
> more like the U.S. is resorting to "Red" tactics to
> keep its citizens content, lately.)

While I won't dispute the general truth of what you say, with the World Series it was basically MLB trying to cash in on the (slowly vanishing) patriotism of the past year. Especially considering that American baseball already has the tradition of playing the Star-Spangled Banner before games, most MLB fans I've talked to have gotten a little tired of it. Particularly since they keep singing "God Bless America". "America, the Beautiful" once in a while might be nice. But man, I'm sick of "God Bless America"...

Going to the bottom of the ninth, it's the Lions last chance as they trail 6-2. They haven't shown that they can score four runs in an inning, yet. So will they break down this wall?

On the mound in place of Takahashi is Kawahara.

And Takahashi strikes Cabrera out on three pitches!

Wada then lines out to left for out number two. Hara-kantoku and the Giants are up on their feet, ready to run out there.

But they'll have to wait as Shibata hits a come backer up the middle for a base hit.

After a short conference between the infielders on the mound, Evens comes to the plate. And Shibata steals second without a throw on the first pitch. With two strikes and a ball, the Giants' fans are on their feet. And the pitch, is swung on and missed! Strike three!

The Giants are Nippon Ichi for the 20th time in their franchise's history!

We are celebrating in NYC!!!!

> The Giants are Nippon Ichi for the 20th time
> in their franchise's history!

- All right! This gives me great naches. Congrats, Giants.

- Simon

While he didn't do much this final game, the MVP goes to Nioka. Going into this game, he had three hits in each of the first three games, and hit a grand slam last night.

Even with the lack of offense this game, I'm in full agreement with this choice. Nioka was by far the key player of the Series.

Just like last year, this year's No. 5 hitter for the Pacific League put up a very disappointing performance. In last year's Japan Series, Isobe of the Buffaloes played far below his high expectations and may have proved to be a tough blow for the Buffaloes.

This year, similarly, No. 5 hitter Wada was held hitless throughout the whole series. It is an interesting fact that these two players were ones who weren't expected to do much once the season started. However, they cruised through the season once it began. And when the Japan Series came along, the pressure for them to play well may have been too much for them, as both put up performances that got fans shouting and screaming (and this year, of course, also Cabrera)...

I wonder if this sweep help strengthen the superior pitching of Central League theory. Looking at the numbers, Seibu's batting lineup is supposed to be the strongest they've had in over 10 years, and they couldn't do anything against the Giants. This compounded with the excessive homerun numbers in the past 2 years really makes you wonder.

Another comment I want to make is about the dissapointing debut of Matsusaka (and Chang for that matter) in the Japan Series. Not being in Asia, I didn't get to see the games, but could someone comment on his stuff after all those arm troubles? He's not the same guy who threw regularly in the 150s and dominated as a rookie anymore is he?

He certainly didn't look like a wunderkind last night. With the Giants up by 2, and everyone in a "here we go again" mood, along comes former Hanshin Tiger Tom Evans and pow!... evens it up. From that point on, things were definitely going the Lions' way. H. Takahashi struggled to complete the inning, which lasted quite a while after Evans' HR.

Then out came Matsuzaka, and to my amateur eye, he seemed to obliterate any kind of momentum and positive atmosphere that the Lions had built up. Firstly there was the "dead ball" to Y. Takahashi, and secondly, it looked to me (again with my not-exactly-qualified eye) that he was daunted by the Giants' line up that blew him off the field in game 1, and treated every other Lions' pitcher, in generally, the same way after that.

Does this decisive loss mean Kazu Matsui will hold to his newspaper quote that he will stay put, and not be posted?
I'm sure this came up during post game sound.

Little Matsui stays. Big Matsui goes.

> Little Matsui stays. Big Matsui goes.

- Both Matsuis will help the teams they end up with greatly. If the Giants don't end up signing Hideki, they'll lose a massive force in their lineup. There's intermittent speculation over here in New York that the Yankees are interested in Big Matsui, but much of it seems to be merely speculation so far. If that becomes fact, the Yanks will have a good chance to find themselves atop the AL East division again.

- Simon

> Little Matsui stays. Big Matsui goes.


Is this your opinion, or have you heard this for certain? (I'm dying to know because I drafted Kazuo Matsui in my Fantasy League last season...)