NPB Daily Results and Standings

The March 31, 2003 Japan Times [ Link] highlights yesterday's NPB games and current standings.

The Chunichi Dragons beat the Giants 10-9.

The Dragons, Tigers, and Carp have a three way tie for first place in the Central League.

The Buffaloes still lead the Pacific League.

[Fixed link messed up by Admin on Apr 1, 2003 12:51 PM JST]

The April 1, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights the previous day's games and current standings.

Kevin Bierne received the win and rookie Arakaki took the loss as the Buffaloes beat the Hawks 5-2.

The Buffaloes maintain a one game lean in the Pacific League.

The Dragons, Tigers, and Carp are still tied for fisrt in the Central League as no Central League games were played.

- The Dragons, Tigers, and Carp are still tied for fisrt in the Central League as no Central League games were played.

Yesterday morning the Daily Mats- I mean Yomiuri listed the top three teams as:

Team	Wins	Losses
Carp	2	1
Dragons	2	1
Tigers	2	1

Not that it matters much after only three games, but I wondered what it was that put Hiroshima on top and Hanshin third. Was it points? Nope, they're even. Runs scored? Surely Chunichi, with their two huge wins over the Giants, would be on top in that case. I wracked my brains. What on Earth could it be? It had to be some amazingly technical baseball statistic that I'd never even heard of; Cumulative Base Hit Velocity, or Most Hits Ricocheted off Umpire's Knee by Left-handed Catholics on a Friday or something.

And then it struck me: alphabetical order!

I just hope that doesn't still apply at the end of the season, in which case it'll be:

BayStars
Carp
Dragons
Giants
Swallows
Tigers

Or it could be:

Chunichi
Hanshin
Hiroshima
Yakult
Yokohama
Yomiuri

That's a bit better, isn't it?

The April 2, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights the previous day's games and current standings.

The Buffaloes have won all five games to open the season and lead the Pacific League by two games.

The Hanshin Tigers lead the Central League by one game with a 3-1 record.

YES! My late grandfather would be overjoyed! Hopefully the Tigers can stay in the top there longer than one week.

The April 5, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights the previous day's games and current standings.

Kazumi Saito threw a six-hit complete game to lead the Hawks win over the Fighters. This game was Nippon Ham manager Hillman's debut at the Tokyo Dome.

The Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers share a one game lead over the Youmiuri Giants in the Central League.

The Buffaloes continue to top the Pacific League with a two game lead in front of the Seibu Lions and Daiei Hawks.

Other games are highlighted in this article.

22-year-old catcher Masahiro Ishida agreed to join the Florida Marlins' minor-league system.

The April 7, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights the previous day's games and current standings.

Kyojin has a few percenatge points' lead over the Dragons and Tigers in the Central League.

The Buffaloes maintain the Pacific League lead by two games in front of the Seibu Lions and Daiei Hawks.

The April 8, 2003 Japan Times　[Link] has a report on yesterday's only game and current league standings.

Derrick May led the Chiba Lotte Marines over the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 11-3. May went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs.

The Buffaloes just acquired LA Dodger farm hand Brian Mallette to fill the closer role.

The Kintetsu Buffaloes saw their Pacific League lead drop. The Buffaloes now lead the Hawks and Lions by one and a half games.

The April 9, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights yesterday's games and current league standings.

The Chunichi Dragons beat the Hanshin Tigers in 11 innings 6-4.

The Yomiuri Giants lead the Dragons by percentage points and the Tigers by one game in the Central League.

The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes continue to top the Pacific League ahead of the Seibu Lions by one game.

The April 10, 2003 Japan Times [Link] highlights Wednesday's NPB games and current standings.

The Yomiuri Giants tied and beat the Yakult Swallows in the ninth inning. The final score was 9-8.

The Giants have a half game edge over the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers in the Central League.

The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes maintain their lead in the Pacific League. The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Seibu Lions are two games back of the Buffaloes.

The April 11, 2003 [Link] decribes yesterday's action and league standings.

The Yakult Swallows crushed the Yomiuri Giants 12-2. Ken Suzuki had six RBIs while going 4-for-5.

Central League
          W L T Pct. GB 
Dragons   8 4 0 .667 - 
Giants    6 3 0 .667 0.5 
Tigers    7 5 0 .583 1.0 
Carp      4 6 0 .400 3.0 
Swallows  4 7 0 .364 3.5 
BayStars  3 7 0 .300 4.0 

Pacific League
          W L T Pct. GB 
Buffaloes 8 3 0 .727 - 
Lions     6 5 0 .545 2.0 
Hawks     6 5 0 .545 2.0 
Fighters  4 5 1 .444 3.0 
Marines   4 5 0 .444 3.0 
BlueWave  2 7 1 .222 5.0

Not to nitpick, but I love picking on Yomiuri.

Anyway, why are the Dragons and Giants separated by 1/2 a game when they have the same winning percentages? CL did stop that stupid experiment with WINS determining leaders over WIN%, right?

No, they gave up that silliness last year. But wins are the secondary decisive key, so 8 and 4 is higher than 6 and 3. In general, though, the beginning of the season is the only time one can see this kind of situation.

Game differences are calculated:

x: Team 1's Wins - Losses: 8 - 4 = 4
y: Team 2's Wins - Losses: 6 - 3 = 3
z: (x - y) / 2: ( 4 - 3 ) / 2 = 0.5

If z is positive, then z denotes the number of games behind Team 1 that Team 2 is. Otherwise, |z| (the absolute value of z) is the number of games Team 1 trails Team 2.

Math is fun!

The April 12, 2003 Japan Times [Link] has highlights of Friday's Central League action.

The Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants ended their game tied 8-8 in 12 innings.

Alex Cabrera is expected to return to play from the disabled list on Monday.

Central League
          W L T Pct. GB
Dragons   9 4 0 .643 -
Giants    6 3 1 .650 1.0
Tigers    7 5 1 .577 1.5
Swallows  5 7 0 .417 3.5
Carp      4 7 0 .364 4.0
BayStars  3 8 0 .273 5.0

Pacific League          
          W L T Pct. GB 
Buffaloes 8 3 0 .727 -  
Lions     6 5 0 .545 2.0
Hawks     6 5 0 .545 2.0
Fighters  4 5 1 .444 3.0
Marines   4 5 0 .444 3.0
BlueWave  2 7 1 .222 5.0

The April 13, 2003 Japan Times [Link] reports on Saturday's NPB games and league standings.

The Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Seibu Lions 9-2. Kazuya Fukuura went 4-5 hitting and Rick Short hit a three run homer. Winning pitcher Naoyuki Shimizu has a 3-0 record this year.

Central League
          W L T  Pct GB
Dragons   9 5 0 .643 -
Tigers    8 5 1 .615 0.5
Giants    6 4 1 .600 1.0
Carp      5 7 0 .417 3.0
Swallows  5 8 0 .385 3.5
BayStars  4 8 0 .333 4.0

Pacific League          
          W L T  Pct GB 
Buffaloes 8 4 0 .667 -  
Fighters  5 5 1 .500 2.0
Hawks     6 6 0 .500 2.0
Lions     6 6 0 .500 2.0
Marines   5 5 0 .500 2.0
BlueWave  3 7 1 .300 4.0