Pro Yakyu Live! PL Playoffs Stage Two

The Chiba Lotte Marines take the first round of Stage Two by a score of 4-2. Like Stage One, it all comes down to a single rally by a given team. You can download the full game as an MP3 here [48MB].

For the impatient, a quick game recap:

The Hawks struck first with a one-out solo home run by Cabrera off of starting pitcher Serafini in the bottom of the second inning, the ball just barely clearing the left field fense.

Lotte tied the game in the fourth inning when Ohtsuka singed to lead off the inning, moved to second on a hit-and-run by Hori, then came home on a double to right-center by Saburo.

It was Lotte who broke the 1-1 tie when Satozaki hit a line drive over the left field wall on the first pitch by starting pitcher Sugiuchi in the seventh inning.

But that lead didn't hold long. Daiei, I mean, Softbank tied the game back up in the bottom half of the seventh. Cabrera led off the inning with a double to left off of Ono, who came into the game with two down and two on in the sixth inning. Fujita came in and got Miyaji sacrificing Cabrera over to third, then struck out pinch hitter Ohmichi. Just when Marine fans thought they had gotten out of the jam, Hawk catcher Matoba drills a single through the left side, tying the game up 2-2. Matoba was then picked off of first two pitches later to end the inning.

Sugiuchi was getting up there in pitch count, Satozaki's seventh inning first pitch home run his 99th pitch of the game. Hori led off the eighth with a single to left, followed by Fukuura doubling off the left field fense. Fukuura had been totally fooled his first three at bats against Sugiuchi, so Oh-kantoku decided that he'd gone far enough. With runners at second and third and nobody out, Yoshitake came in to face Saburo. Saburo fouled out to Matoba, but Benny drove Yoshitake's second pitch off of the left field fense, plating Hori and Fukuura to take a 4-2 lead. All four runs were charged to Sugiuchi. The Marines loaded the bases after that, but failed to score any more.

M. Kobayashi pitched a perfect nineth for the save, his third this post-season, and the final stood at 4-2. Third Lotte pitcher, Fujita, got the win, Sugiuchi the loss.

Overall, 4 runs on 11 hits, no errors, and 8 left on base for Lotte. 2 runs 7 hits, no errors, and 3 left on base for Softbank.

While Benny was announced the Player of the Game for his two-RBI single, I had a different play as my favorite play of the game. With two down and nobody on in the top of the fifth inning, Nishioka hit a blooping single to left. Then, running on a 1-1 pitch to Ohtsuka, Ohtsuka grounded the ball to third base. While Batista was fielding the ball and throwing to first (not in time), Nishioka kicked second and headed into third base - taking two bases on an infield single! That was my play of the game.

I also noticed on the Yahoo! Scoreboard that there was a link to live video streaming of the game. Softbank owns Yahoo!, so there's a good chance that the remaining games will also be streemed. I'd advise those who want to check it out to do so.

Finally, I've read a lot of complaints about how the playoff system renders the regular season meaningless. Well, let me tell you, the Pacific League playoffs, both this year and last, have been one exciting game after another. This is great entertainment. It's moving. I can't think of a better way to generate interest in baseball than to provide match ups like we've seen (or listened to).

I can confirm that the Yahoo online broadcast works. I was watching it up until the 5th inning. As far as I know, they've been showing home games online all season.

And why have there been complaints about the playoff system? Other than a best of 3 first round seeming too short, I like it. It's definitely better than having no playoff at all (Central League).

Geez, my boys are already in trouble. The next game becomes a must win, but the Hawks have shown great resilience all year. I'll stop just short of predicting a victory, though.

You can define the difference between these two teams in terms of their offense, as their pitching is both excellent. For the Hawks, it's the long ball that they thrive on. For the Marines, it's the timely hit. To listen in, you can download the full game here [ 40MB MP3]. Feel free to redistribute to your friends and family.

Again tonight, it was a solo home run by Cabrera that started the scoring, this time on the first pitch to him by starting pitcher Shimizu with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. That put the Hawks up 1-0.

But the Marines weren't down for long. Nishioka led off the sixth inning with a double to the right field corner. Hori then drew a base on balls against starting Hawk pitcher Saitoh. After Fukuura popped out to shallow left for the first out, Saburo drew the second walk of the inning, third walk given up by Saitoh on the evening. This walk will cost Saitoh dearly.

Franco follows with a double to the left-center gap, scoring two - gyakuten! The Marines take a 2-1 lead. But it doesn't stop there. On Benny's ground out to third base, Saburo comes over for the third run of the inning. Marines up 3-1.

The Hawks, though, don't give up. With one down, Kawasaki hits a one-out solo home run to right on his first pitch in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the Marines' lead to 3-2.

But that was it for the Hawks offensively. They only got one more base runner after that, Matoba drawing a two out walk in the eighth inning off of Yabuta.

Game totals for the Marines were 3 runs on 6 hits, no errors, and 5 left on base. For the Hawks, 2 runs on 4 hits (2 home runs), no errors, and they stranded just two. It was home run or nothing for the Hawks, as it was in Stage One for the Lions.

The next game will be on Saturday at 6:00 pm JST. Hope you can make it Live!

Only a comeback of epic proportions is going to save the Hawks now. I'm refusing to throw in the towel, but you do have to like the Marines' chances of clinching at home.

I don't know if the loss of Johjima had anything to do with the losses, but we really have no excuses at this point. The Marines have been the better team.

[Editorial note: All games of Stage Two are at Fukuoka Dome, so there is no "clinching at home."]

Wait, all the games are at the Fukuoka Dome? That's the setup? I figured since they played two in Fukuoka, the next game or two would be in Chiba. That seems pretty unfair to me, but I think we'd take that.

- I figured since they played two in Fukuoka, the next game or two would be in Chiba.

I think all the games are at Fukuoka because the Hawks have the record advantage, by more than 3 games if I'm not mistaken. I just hope the Hawks start winning soon as are one game away from being eliminated. Go Hawks!

Please review the Pacific League Playoffs section of the Pro Yakyu Encyclopedia (here on this site). Scroll down to "2004 - Present."

The team that finishes the regular season with the better record hosts all for each given Stage (Lotte for Stage One, Softbank for Stage Two this season). This is to give incentive to finish higher in the standings. If the difference between the first place finisher during the regular season is more than five games over its opponent in Stage Two, the first place team recieves one free win to start the Second Stage.

I hope this straightens things out.

Anyone have any idea why Stage 2, as of games 1 and 2, haven't been broadcast on Japanese TV? It seems that the whole play-off idea was another ploy to give some attention to the Pacific League, but if the games aren't even televised, this obviously won't work.

- Anyone have any idea why Stage 2, as of games 1 and 2, haven't been broadcast on Japanese TV?

Yes, it's a pity they weren't broadcast, as they were exciting and drama-filled throughout. Luckily the games were on cable, so I got to see them!

At 9:00 pm, it looked like the Marines were on their way to the Nippon Series. At 9:50 pm, the Hawks' Kawasaki hit a single through the right side for a sayonara Hawk victory. Kobayashi Masahide, the Marines' closer, failed to hold a four run lead in the bottom of the nineth inning. While noone could have predicted such a finish 50 minutes earlier, the fans were glued to their seats through it all, the fans not giving up until the end.

After Arakaki retired the Marines in order the first two innings, Lee and Imae led off the third inning with back to back singles, Lee advancing to third on Imae's single to left-center. Lee scored when Hashimoto grounded out to second. Nishioka then singled Imae to third base, and Imae scored when Fukuura singled to right an out later. Lotte up 2-0 in the third.

The Marines added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning. Arakaki got Hashimoto striking out to lead off the eighth, then was chased from the game after giving up a single to Nishioka and walking Hori. The walk was his first and only base on balls given up this evening. Mise came in and immediately gave up a two run double to Fukuura to the corner in right (who was thrown out trying to streach it into a triple).

For the Hawks, they had runners on base every inning against starter Watanabe Shunsuke except for the fifth, but were unable to get that final hit. Yabuta pitched a perfect eighth inning, getting three fly outs to left. Then came Kobayashi Masahide to close.

Cabrera led off the nineth with a single up the middle. Pinch hitter Batista flew out to second for the first out. Then, it happened. Pinch hitter Ohmichi grounded the ball back to Kobayashi on the mound; Kobayashi looked at second, then threw the ball away at first! Batista headed to third base on the bad throw, Ohmichi was safe at first. Ohmura, who came in as a pinch hitter in the seventh, singled in the Hawks' first run through the right side. Back to the top of the order in Kawasaki, and he loads the bases with a base hit to left.

That brings up pinch hitter Arakane with bases loaded and one out. He grounds the ball through the left side, two runs come in. We have a one-run ball game! Miyaji grounds out to first to move the runners to second and third with two down and 0 for 11 in Stage Two Matsunaka coming to the plate. With first base open, what do you do?

Valentine-kantoku elected to walk Matsunaka and pitch to Zuleta. So, Matsunaka is intentionally walked, loading the bases with two outs. Then, Kobayashi can't throw a strike to Zuleta, walking in the tying run! It's Cabrera who grounds out to short to end the inning.

The Marines get a two out base runner in the top of the tenth, but nothing to show for it.

Batista singles to open up the Hawks' half of the tenth inning. He's sacrificed on to second, then Ohmura singles him to third. Back to the top of the order in Kawasaki. Kawasaki gets his third hit of the night, a hit through the right side, sayonara! Batista scores from third to give the Hawks their first victory in Stage Two of the Pacific League playoffs.

You can listen to the game here [54MB MP3 - approx 3 hours 50 minutes].

We'll go to Game Four tomorrow (Sunday) at 6:00 pm JST. Hope you can tune in Live!

The Hawks rely on the long ball, and take Game Four! And a jinx is becoming apparent for the team that scores first, as the team scoring first in each of the six games from Stage One and Stage Two have lost.

To listen to the whole game and feel the "Exciting Pa," I welcome you to download the audio file [43MB MP3 file] and share it with your friends.

A quick recap of the scoring:

The Chiba Lotte Marines scored first in the first inning tonight. Nishioka let off the first drawing a base on balls off of starting pitcher Wada. After Ohtsuka struck out swinging with Nishioka swiping second on strike three, Fukuura grounded a single to second baseman Honma to put runners at the corners and nobody out. Saburo, though, struck out swinging to increase the out count to two. But where Saburo failed, Benny came through, lining a come backer up the middle to score Nishioka from third easilly.

With one out in the bottom of the second, Zuleta tied the game up with a solo home run to left.

Then, in the top of the fourth inning, Marine catcher Satozaki hit a one-out solo home run to center field to retake the lead. This was Satozaki's second home run of Stage Two.

But this lead wouldn't last long. Kobayashi walked 0 for 12 so far in Stage Two Matsunaka to lead off the bottom of the fourth. This walk will haunt him, as Zuleta followed with his second home run of the game, a huge shot to right to take a 3-2 lead. Interestingly, Zuleta was hitless against starting pitcher Kobayashi Hiroyuki during the regular season, but he really came through tonight.

Wada, while having the lead after four innings, was replaced in the fifth by rookie Takahashi. Wada's pitch count was way up there, surpassing 60 pitches through the first three innings, during which time the Marines fouled off 24 of his pitches. Lotte really made Wada work. In all, the Hawks sent five pitchers to the mound to hold down the one run lead.

Kobayashi Hiroyuki went the distance for the Marines in the losing effort. After the gyakuten home run by Zuleta in the fourth, Kobayashi retired the next 15 batters in a row that he faced. It wasn't an embarassing loss by any means, but I'm sure he'd like those two pitches to Zuleta back.

So, we go on to Game Five to decide the Pacific League tomorrow. Tune in at the same time, 6:00 pm JST. Hope to have you Live!

Eng-san sent me the Game Day Packet for Game Four [PDF file] before the game, but I didn't check my mail until after the game was over, so I'm a little late posting this. Nonetheless, I'd recommend downloading it and printing it out to follow the game should you download the Live! MP3 of it.

This is playoff baseball at its best. Much as I would like to see Chiba pull it out, the momentum now favors the Hawks. This series reminds me of the Dodgers-A's Series in 1988 when Kurt Gibson did the improbably and homered to win for the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. The A's collapsed after that. The Marines seem to be doing the same.

But if any coach can pull his team up by the bootstraps, it has got to be Bobby.

All I have to say is WOW! This has been one heck of a series - every game has been decided by one run or two runs - and a miraculous comeback by the Hawks in Game Three, to boot.

Well I'm pulling for Bobby V. On the other hand, if the Hawks win, I might be able to watch more games online.

Oh, and I check in with your audio broadcasts from time to time, but I have to shut them off after a while. The reason is, your play by play is usually ahead of my online video feed.

All I have to say is that we lost a real heartbreaker tonight.

Good luck to the Marines in the Japan Series, and a special good luck wish to Iguchi and the White Sox also!

Another doki-doki game until the final out! The seventh post-season game to see a come from behind victory - out of seven games. I'm exhausted from announcing these games and need a week off to recover from Stage Two myself. Fortunately, the Nippon Series starts next Saturday.

You can listen to the full game in English here [53MB MP3]. Please feel free to share this with your friends, family, and on peer-to-peer networks. This was really an incredible series by the two teams, either one could have taken it.

For those of you who don't have broadband or the time to listen, here's the recap:

Zuleta drew a base on balls against starting pitcher Serafini to lead off the second inning. Cabrera followed with a double to the corner in left to put runners at second and third with nobody out. After Ohmura struck out swinging, Torigoe hit a sacrifice fly to left to score the first run of the game.

The Hawks added an insurance run in the third when Kawasaki led off the inning with a single to center, was sacrificed to second by Arakane, then driven in on a double to center by Matsunaka. Yes, Matsunaka, after an 0 for 14 streak, broke through with an RBI double in the third. It's been a long series for the 2005 Home Run/RBI King.

Nishioka led off the sixth inning against Hawk starting pitcher Sugiuchi with a base hit to left. He immediately stole second, and would have had third stolen had Hayazaka not fouled a pitch off. Nonetheless, after Hayazaka struck out, Fukuura came through with a double to center to plate Nishioka, cutting the Hawks' lead in half.

The Marines threatened in the seventh, but came up empty again. Tonight's big inning for them was the eighth. Mr. Lotte, Hatsushiba, led off the inning as a pinch hitter grounding the ball to the left side. Batista came in and over fielded the ball, and Kawasaki ran into him as he was making the throw. The throw was wide of first base, but Hatsushiba had the ball beat anyway. A lead off infield single for the dai-veteran. Fukuura followed with a line drive base hit to right, and Hatsushiba was almost caught off second rounding it. After Saburo fouled out for the third time tonight, Satozaki hit a double off the left-center field wall, scoring Hatsushiba from second easilly, and Fukuura all the way from first, sliding in just in front of the tag. Gyakuten! Lotte up 3-2.

After that, relief pitching for both teams held the game in place, Kobayashi Masahide chalking up his fifth post-season save (after walking the first batter).

So, it's the Chiba Lotte Marines playing host to the Hanshin Tigers next Saturday - right here on Pro Yakyu Live! Hope you all can make it.

Wow! What a nail biter, and a dream come true for fans of Bobby Valentine. He is the Larry Brown of baseball, somehow turning celler dwellers into competitive teams. Bobby denied the "Bobby Magic" title in his yusho speech, but he is something special.

Well, the nuts and bolts blue collar boys of Hanshin will play the no-collar boys from Chiba. Meanwhile the dreaded Tokyo Giants, with their bloated salaries and even more bloated line up, can only watch from their living rooms.

Figure Hanshin to take it in six, but all bets are off in this series. Better talent versus better coaching. We shall see!

If the Central League needed any proof about how exciting the playoffs can be, then they got it in a form of this gem of a series. Five games, all decided by one or two runs. A nailbiting finish in every game. Even though the playoffs have become somewhat of a curse for my team, I find myself really liking the idea.

These are as great as any games I have ever seen, and my team won! I'm actually expecting a Japan Series of nearly equal thrills, though I consider this Tigers team much the Marines' superior.

I watched most of the game on Fuji TV which, to its credit, stayed with the game till the end and the kantoku tossing. It was as exciting as the last Dragons/Tigers clash at Nagoya (Nakamura's home run) without the controvesy. A great game from a great series, though the playoffs are a logical absurdity. You play 140 games just to determine who gets home berth in a play off series? I'm glad the Central League is resisting this innovation.

Anyway the two best sets of fans in Japan will get to enjoy a really special Japan Series.

Overall, the series was a great series, and like Valentine-kantoku said, it was a shame a team had to lose. Anyway, best of luck to the Marines in the Nippon Series. I'm rooting for the Marines to win.

Also, here [so-net] is the photo galleries of the 2005 Pacific League Champion Chiba Lotte Marines.

Indeed, the Japan Series is going to be a cracker! The pride of the Kansai vs. the down-too-long Chibans, what a matchup.

I'm lucky enough to live within a reasonable commute of Chiba Marine Stadium. Does anyone know if there are still tickets left? I know there was an advance sale round "in case the Marines made it." I missed it, but is it worth having another go?

BTW FWIW - what sort of MLB matchup would parallel this? Maybe Cubs vs. Orioles?

I'd say Houston/Chicago may come pretty close to being its equal, but I have no emotional stake at all in either team, unlike loveable Lotte and lively Hanshin (both my second-favorites in their leagues.)

- ...the playoffs are a logical absurdity.

They are most certainly not an absurdity - if done right. A team's performance over the regular 140-game season should count for something, of course, and I'm certainly with you on that point. And I even believe the PL has the balance about right, giving the top team at each stage home park advantage, plus the one-game start for a team with a five-game lead at the end of the season.

If the CL had the same system as the PL, then this year Yokohama would have beaten Yakult to a place in the playoffs by half a game, battling Chunichi in the first stage at Nagoya Dome. The likely winner, Chunichi, would have challenged the Tigers at Koshien. With the home team's one-game start, the Tigers would have only needed to win two games out of five, which would have been a fair reward for their magnificent performance over the regular season.

What an exciting finish that would have been! Crucial games deciding places at every level, but still with the Tigers dominating the standings and most likely going on to the Nippon Series. Instead, we had a fairly limp finish. The Tigers ended up 10 games ahead, with nobody except the fanatical torakichi really caring what happened towards the end.

Playoffs are definitely a good thing, but the teams finishing first should receive more of an advantage than they do under the current MLB system.

I agree that playoffs are important and necessary in certain circumstances, for example to determine progression to a higher level or which of equal candidates (if there are enough) is able to enter a restricted competition. However the Pacific League playoffs are neither of these and, as such, qualify as unnecessary.

The system is a logical absurdity because the effort and work over 140 games is nullified by a system which would allow the third place team to become champions if they had a good spurt (even if their record was below 50%). Why have a league if this is going to happen? There are not enough teams in the Pacific League to justify the playoff system. More leagues would be needed to do so. As it stands the Pacific League system is able to rob the rightful champions (who have proven their right over 140 or so games) of their rewards for rather spurious reasons (a little extra excitement).

The Central League was much more genuine in this respect and Tigers got their fair reward by winning the league without playoffs.

Yes, well of course having the third placed team in there is problematic, but restricting it to the top two teams in each league (as I have suggested elsewhere on this site) is probably the way to go. You wouldn't agree to that? This year that would have pitted Chunichi against Hanshin and Lotte against Softbank - making for two wonderful series before the main event.

The main problem with the current setup is the long layoff the Central League team has to endure. So the sooner the CL comes in line with at least some form of playoff system, the better, in my view.

Two ideas that I think would solve the playoff "problem":

1. Top two teams only. This one is self-explanatory. A team hovering around .500 honestly should have no place in the playoffs.
2. Extending the playoff series to seven games. Not only would this add to the excitement and anticipation it has already built, but having that format would determine, once and for all, who the best team in the league is.

Third option would be to abolish the playoffs period, but I won't go as far. I like the idea, even though the Hawks have pulled an Atlanta for two years running.

I still remain to be convinced as to why a play off is needed. Why should Chunichi get another chance to play the Tigers when they finished 10 games behind? What might be interesting is a kind of semi final in which the top Central League team played the second place Pacific League Team and vice versa with the winners going to the Japan Series.

Maybe it's a good way to determine which "A class" team is good in a short series. Then again, luck is a major factor in a short series for a sport like baseball. What NPB really needs to do is to go to one league with 12+ teams in 3 divisions, or something like that. Inter-league games are a good start. Perhaps holding a Cup championship that is separate from the pennant (like in soccer) would also be a viable solution. But having separate cup and league play is not in baseball's tradition.