2004 All Star Game 2

I got back from the matsuri late this evening, but just in time for the most amazing play of the game. Read on for the game transcript.

TRANSCRIPT generated on: 2004/07/11 21:30
CHATROOM: 2004 All Star Series/Game 2
MODERATORS: westbaystars

17:31: westbaystars: We're an hour away from game time and our local matsuri has taken a break for dinner.
17:32: westbaystars: We have all kinds of food layed out on mats on the road in front of the chonai kaikan (community center).
17:33: westbaystars: Deep fried unagi and vegitables, watermellon, eda mame, onigiri, and lots of beer and nihon-shu.
17:33: westbaystars: Wish you were all here.
17:33: westbaystars: And I've got to get back.
17:33: westbaystars: I hope to be back around the third inning or so.
18:18: jballfan: CL starters: 1. Fukuhara. 2. Yano. 3. Arias. 4. Imaoka? 5. Kokubo 6. Nioka 7. Taneda. 8. Rhodes 9. Fukudome
18:18: jballfan: and DH: La Rocca
18:18: jballfan: sorry, couldnt get the batting order. This is according to fielding positions
18:19: jballfan: and for the PL, I couldnt follow as much, but Shinjo, for some reason, is going to be starting at center...again
18:19: jballfan: i know he's a fan favorite but he's clearly one of the weaker players on either squad
18:20: jballfan: starting pitcher for PL: sophomore Wada of the Daiei Hawks
18:22: jballfan: for those of you who can't see this on TV, Nagano Olympic Stadium to me seems like one of the most beautiful stadiums in
18:22: jballfan: japan
18:23: jballfan: ...its a pity that the stadium is not being used to its fullest by being the home for some NPB team
18:28: jballfan: looks like the whole stadium is made of artificial turf, but nevertheless, a very beautiful stadium
18:28: jballfan: looks like the four "gaijins" on the CL squad are having a lot of fun
18:30: jballfan: Takahashi is starting at catcher for the PL (dont know which team)
18:30: jballfan: the camera just showed LaRocca, Beverlin, Rhodes, and Arias sitting together and enjoying the all star game
18:32: jballfan: "shikyuushiki": small fourth grader throws a wild throw and gets applauded
18:32: jballfan: Oh Sadaharu leads him off the field
18:33: jballfan: starters for PL: Wada, Takahashi, Fukuuru, Kaneko, Ortiz, Nakajima, Muramatsu, Shinjo, Isobe, DH: Ogasawara
18:34: jballfan: CL leadoff hitter strikes out on a fast pitch against PL starter Wada
18:34: jballfan: sorry...the hitter was Imaoka
18:35: jballfan: that's two down, with LaROcca up to bat
18:35: jballfan: Taneda fouls out to 3rd base
18:35: jballfan: ...Taneda fouled out to 3rd base before LaRocca came up
18:36: jballfan: ..it was just mentioned that LaRocca's 66 RBIs is tops in the CL
18:37: jballfan: LaRocca just hit a liner to left field for a single
18:37: jballfan: LaRocca lines a hit to left field from a full count
18:38: jballfan: up now is Kokubo
18:38: jballfan: Wada strikes out his former teammate on a high and away fast pitch
18:38: jballfan: -----
18:39: jballfan: end of top of the first
18:39: jballfan: ----
18:39: jballfan: bottom of the first
18:39: jballfan: ====
18:44: jballfan: Shinjo attempted to get safe at first on a bunt, but was out on a close call...right after he pointed to the outfield
18:44: jballfan: fence, like Babe Ruth did
18:45: jballfan: ...Muramatsu singles to center
18:45: jballfan: one down, runner on first
18:45: jballfan: Fukuura flies out to deep left. 2 down, runner still on first
18:49: jballfan: Ogasawara hits a single off of the leg of pitcher Fukuhara to put runners on first and second
18:52: jballfan: Ortiz goes down swinging on a low pitch
18:55: jballfan: ---top of 2nd---
18:55: jballfan: up to bat is single season HR record holder Tuffy Rhodes
18:55: jballfan: ...and he grounds out to second
18:56: jballfan: up to bat is George Arias
18:57: jballfan: up to bat is Fukudome...
18:58: jballfan: ...who strikes out on a low breaking ball
18:58: MHtrStevie: Thanks for coming in early, jballfan! I certainly appreciate it...
18:59: jballfan: who grounds out to first for the third out
19:00: jballfan: -----------------
19:00: jballfan: bottom of second
19:00: jballfan: ------------
19:02: jballfan: Nakajima grounds out to third for the second out
19:02: jballfan: Isobe hits the ball deep...deep...deep...but not deep enough. Fukudome catches it a meter in front of the fences.
19:03: jballfan: no problem, MHTrStevie
19:04: jballfan: can't let Westbay-San do all the work....gotta let him enjoy that matsuri!
19:05: jballfan: Takahashi Shinji gets on base with a single
19:06: jballfan: Kaneko flies out to deep left...but again, not deep enough. That's three down, runner stranded on first.
19:06: jballfan: Top of third
19:06: jballfan: ---------
19:07: jballfan: --------
19:08: jballfan: now pitching is Taiwanese right hander Chang (Seibu)
19:11: jballfan: and batting for the CL team is Hanshin catcher Yano...who now has a full count
19:11: jballfan: and sees a high pitch for a ball to take a walk
19:12: jballfan: Nioka strikes out on a breaking pitch to make it 1 out with a runner on first
19:14: jballfan: Imaoka strikes out looking at a breakin pitch to make it two outs
19:15: jballfan: and Taneda goes down with a popup to shallow right to end the top of the third
19:16: jballfan: bottom of 3rd
19:16: jballfan: ---------
19:16: jballfan: --------------
19:17: westbaystars: Just got back. Looks like a 0-0 game. I like those.
19:17: jballfan: up to bat is "uchuujin" shinjo
19:17: jballfan: he's bound to do something crazy before he gets out
19:18: westbaystars: Uchuujin hit the ball to sachuukan (left-center).
19:18: MHtrStevie: Good morning/evening, Westbay-san!
19:18: westbaystars: The ball bounces in just before the center fielder gets over for a base hit.
19:18: westbaystars: And Shinjo slides into second just safe.
19:19: jballfan: ...well...he doesnt get out though. He turns a single into a double with some good baserunning.
19:19: westbaystars: The nex batter grounded out to first unassisted with Shinjo moving to third.
19:19: westbaystars: Next batter lines a sharp liner caught by the second baseman.
19:19: westbaystars: Two out runner at third.
19:20: westbaystars: Ogasawara at the plate.
19:21: MHtrStevie: *** The first out was Muramatsu from Orix.
19:21: westbaystars: Hi, all. Thanks for taking care of this while I was out killing myself, jballfan-san.
19:22: MHtrStevie: *** The second out was Fukuura of Lotte.
19:22: westbaystars: Shinjo steals home!
19:22: westbaystars: On the throw back to the pitcher, Shinjo breaks for home and is safe!
19:22: jballfan: haha, no problem
19:22: MHtrStevie: WOAH!
19:23: westbaystars: He beats the ground next to the plate like a bird in enjoyment!
19:23: jballfan: that was crazy crazy crazy
19:23: westbaystars: Jballfan was right, he did something crazy!
19:23: westbaystars: The next pitch is grounded out to second, but Shinjo just got himself the MVP award!
19:24: westbaystars: Shinjo comes out onto the field with a #1 sight on his right hand.
19:24: westbaystars: The fans go crazy greeting him to the outfield.
19:24: MHtrStevie: That was pretty amazing right there...
19:24: westbaystars: I must say, I got home just in time.
19:24: jballfan: amazing play by Shinjo. He keeps declaring that he wants the MVP. He just scored a run by himself there.
19:25: westbaystars: Was there any other such excitement in the first two and a half innings?
19:25: westbaystars: ---
19:25: westbaystars: Top of Fourth
19:25: westbaystars: ---
19:26: jballfan: In his first at bat, Shinjo points his bat to the left field. Then swings his bat wildly a couple of times.
19:26: jballfan: Well. As I've said in the scripts above.
19:26: westbaystars: The front of Shinjo's uniform is all full of dirt. A sign, as my father used to say, that you were in the game.
19:26: jballfan: Then he gets out on first trying for a bunt single...on the first pitch...leading off the game
19:27: westbaystars: The first batter pops out to right in foul terriroty.
19:28: westbaystars: I'm not very prepared with players right now. Sorry.
19:29: jballfan: in Fukuhara's interview, he seems pretty disappointed that the only run he let in was on a such a play by his senpai
19:29: westbaystars: Kokubo strikes out swinging at a high offering from Chang.
19:29: MHtrStevie: *** Kanemoto from Hanshin, I think...
19:29: westbaystars: Rhodes comes up next.
19:29: jballfan: Okada seems to be giving Hanshin players all the chances. LaRocca only had one at-bat, and Kanemoto came to hit for him
19:29: westbaystars: It was a Tiger. I didn't have my glasses on at the time.
19:30: westbaystars: Rhodes hits the ball deep.
19:30: westbaystars: Shinjo goes over, at the warning track,
19:30: westbaystars: And makes an unnessary jumping catch before throwing the ball into the stands.
19:31: westbaystars: The Central League went down in order.
19:31: westbaystars: ---
19:31: westbaystars: Bottom of Fourth
19:31: jballfan: ..and i dont recall LaRocca playing much yesterday either, and Kanemoto had plenty of playing time.
19:31: westbaystars: ---
19:32: westbaystars: LaRocca batted twice yesterday, if I recall correctly. So that was at least three innings.
19:33: westbaystars: Giants' Kudoh comes in to pitch for the Central League.
19:33: westbaystars: Otis (Orix) leads off flying out to Fukudome in right.
19:34: westbaystars: Wada (Seibu) comes up to pinch hit.
19:34: jballfan: ok, didnt catch that.
19:35: westbaystars: Wada grounds out to third for two quick outs.
19:37: westbaystars: The next batter lifts a high fly to center.
19:37: westbaystars: Rhodes lunges for the ball at the last second to make the catch.
19:37: jballfan: ok Westbay-San, I've gotta get going. Good luck with your chat, and thank you for all the work.
19:37: westbaystars: He game Kudoh a scare, there.
19:37: westbaystars: But the side is retire.
19:37: westbaystars: Before you go, LaRocca did only pinch hit yesterday.
19:38: westbaystars: And thanks a lot for taking care of the play by play for the first part.
19:39: MHtrStevie: Thanks, jballfan! Your early work helped me a lot...
19:39: westbaystars: Catch you later.
19:39: westbaystars: ---
19:39: westbaystars: Top of Fifth
19:39: westbaystars: ---
19:40: jballfan: no problem
19:40: westbaystars: Lotte's Kobayashi Hiroyuki (?) is on the mound.
19:40: westbaystars: And Alias grounds out to short on the first pitch.
19:41: westbaystars: That brings up Fukudome, who appears to be batting in the #7 slot this evening.
19:42: MHtrStevie: *** That last batter in the 4th was Hiroyuki Nakajima from Seibu.
19:43: westbaystars: Fukudome, after a couple of foul balls with two strikes, goes down swinging for out number two.
19:43: westbaystars: Hanshin's Yano is next.
19:43: westbaystars: Confirmed that it is Hiroyuki on the mound: http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=958
19:44: westbaystars: There do seem to be a lot of Tigers out there this series.
19:44: westbaystars: Yano works the count full.
19:45: westbaystars: He holds up on a high and inside pitch for his second walk of the evening.
19:46: westbaystars: That brings up the Giants' Nioka.
19:48: westbaystars: Nioka goes fishing for a pitch way low and outside, and the side is retired.
19:48: westbaystars: ---
19:48: westbaystars: Bottom of Fifth
19:48: westbaystars: ---
19:50: westbaystars: Furuta comes in to catch for the Central League, taking Yano's #8 spot in the batting order.
19:50: westbaystars: Nippon Ham's Takahashi leads off.
19:51: westbaystars: I've at least recognized all of the Pacific League players up until now. But I'm not familar with Takahashi.
19:51: westbaystars: Kudoh strikes him out swinging, so I guess I won't see what he can do here.
19:52: westbaystars: Another Fighter comes up, Kaneko.
19:52: westbaystars: He flied out to left his first at bat.
19:53: westbaystars: And Kaneko goes down swinging on a high pitch.
19:53: westbaystars: Two strike outs in a row.
19:53: westbaystars: Kudoh smiles, and Kinjo steps in.
19:53: westbaystars: Sorry, Shinjo stands in.
19:54: westbaystars: Shinjo lines the ball over the third baseman's head and into the let field corner.
19:54: westbaystars: And before the ball can come back in, Shinjo has his second double of the night.
19:54: westbaystars: Furuta looks up at the sky.
19:55: westbaystars: BlueWave's Tani comes up next.
19:55: MHtrStevie: Shinjo's playing inspired ball tonight...
19:55: westbaystars: He's pinch hitting for team mate Muramatsu.
19:57: westbaystars: Tani fouls off a number of pitches with the count 2-2.
19:57: westbaystars: Tani lifts the ball to shallow right.
19:57: westbaystars: With two outs, Shinjo is on the run.
19:58: westbaystars: The ball falls in between the second baseman and right fielder, both sprinting to the ball.
19:58: westbaystars: The throw home from right is not in time, home in!
19:58: westbaystars: Shinjo scores the second Pacific League run from second on a bloop single to shallow center.
19:59: westbaystars: Daiei's Matsunaka lifts a high fly to shallow left.
19:59: westbaystars: The shortstop is under in within the infield side of the infield/outfield line.
19:59: westbaystars: And he makes the catch.
19:59: westbaystars: but Shinjo has sparked a second run for the Pacific League, who now leads 2-0.
20:00: westbaystars: ---
20:00: westbaystars: Top of Sixth
20:00: westbaystars: ---
20:02: westbaystars: First up for the Cenral League is the Giants' Nishi.
20:02: westbaystars: There also appear to be a lot of Giants in this one, as well as Tigers.
20:03: westbaystars: Today is election day here in Japan, and the main part of the TV screen is now election results.
20:04: westbaystars: Nishi grounding out to short is in a small window on the right.
20:04: westbaystars: Giants' Takahashi Yoshinobu comes up to pinch hit.
20:04: westbaystars: He hits the ball deep.
20:04: westbaystars: The left fielder looks up.
20:04: westbaystars: Haittaaaaaa.
20:05: westbaystars: The Central League just cut the Pacific League's lead in half, and now trail 1-2.
20:06: westbaystars: Yakult's Iwamura bats next (pinch hitter)?
20:06: westbaystars: But lines to left on the first pitch.
20:06: westbaystars: That's the second out.
20:06: westbaystars: Kokubo (Giants) is up next.
20:08: westbaystars: That one hits Kokubo in the helmet..
20:08: westbaystars: Kokubo is down.
20:08: westbaystars: Kobayashi goes to the plate to see what kind of damage he's done, as does the Central's trainer.
20:08: westbaystars: Kokubo stands up and is walking, but he looks hurt.
20:08: westbaystars: The fork ball got away from Kobayashi.
20:09: westbaystars: Kokubo is walked directly to the dugout, and Hiroshima's Kawauchi (pitcher?) comes in to run.
20:09: westbaystars: Rhodes stands in next.
20:10: westbaystars: Ane we get the full screen for baseball again.
20:10: westbaystars: Rhodes is swinging for the fense.
20:10: westbaystars: But fouls the ball off.
20:11: westbaystars: He fouls a few off after taking the first pitch for a ball.
20:12: westbaystars: Now he goes down swinging on a pitch in the dirt.
20:12: westbaystars: Guess that fork went where Kobayashi wanted it.
20:13: westbaystars: We had a home run and an accident this inning, resulting in just one run.
20:13: westbaystars: Going to the bottom of the sixth, the Pacific now leads 2-1.
20:13: westbaystars: ---
20:13: westbaystars: Bottom of Sixth
20:13: westbaystars: ---
20:15: westbaystars: Yakult's Beverlin takes the mound for the Central League.
20:15: westbaystars: He'll face pinch hitter Zuleta (Daiei).
20:15: westbaystars: Zuleta hit a home run last night to put the Pacific League up 3-0 at the time.
20:16: westbaystars: Buffaloes' Nakamura is warming up on deck.
20:17: westbaystars: Zuleta lifts a high fly ball to the right side of the infield.
20:17: westbaystars: Well within fair territory, the first baseman calls it, waits for the ball to come down, and makes the out.
20:17: westbaystars: That brings up Nakamura.
20:18: westbaystars: Ball three looked pretty good to me, but Nori walks on four pitches.
20:19: westbaystars: Wada, who came in as a pinch hitter earlier, comes up.
20:20: westbaystars: Wada grounds the ball to third.
20:20: westbaystars: The throw to second gets one.
20:20: westbaystars: The relay to first is well in time, double play.
20:20: westbaystars: That retires the side.
20:21: westbaystars: ---
20:21: westbaystars: Top of Seventh
20:21: westbaystars: At the end of six complete, the Pacific League continues to lead 2-1.
20:21: westbaystars: ---
20:22: westbaystars: Daiei's Arakaki takes the mound for the Pacific League.
20:23: westbaystars: The first batter he'll face is Arias.
20:24: westbaystars: A foul ball hit the catcher on the inside part of his ancle, it looks like.
20:25: westbaystars: He's in pain, but some cold spray is all it takes to continue.
20:25: westbaystars: Ah, Nippon Ham's Takahashi is the catcher.
20:25: westbaystars: Arias grounds the ball weakly to short.
20:26: westbaystars: Nakajima throws a one bounder that Nakamura plays well for the out.
20:26: westbaystars: Nakajima says "gomen" to Nakamura for the throw.
20:26: westbaystars: That's the first out of the inning.
20:26: westbaystars: Fukudome grounds the ball to deep short.
20:27: westbaystars: Nakajima is up and throws a strike to first this time for out number two.
20:27: westbaystars: Welcome, Habs-san.
20:27: westbaystars: A quick recap: Shinjo stole home for the first run of the game.
20:28: westbaystars: Shinjo scored from second on a bloop single with two outs a couple innings later.
20:28: westbaystars: Then Takahashi (Giants) hit a solo home run to make the game 2-1 in favor of the Pacific.
20:28: westbaystars: Live, Yakult's Furuta flies out to left to retire the side.
20:28: westbaystars: ---
20:28: westbaystars: Bottom of Seventh
20:29: westbaystars: ---
20:30: MHtrStevie: Greetings, habs!
20:31: westbaystars: Yakult's Igarashi, who hit 157 kph earlier this year, comes in to pitch for the Central League.
20:32: westbaystars: Igarashi strikes out the first batter on three pitches.
20:32: westbaystars: ... swinging.
20:33: westbaystars: Next up is Takahashi (Fighters).
20:33: westbaystars: Igarashi hits the high speed of the evening to the thrill of the fans.
20:33: westbaystars: But I didn't catch what it was. And the announcers say that the speed gun here is low.
20:34: westbaystars: Takahashi breaks his bat into at least three pieces.
20:34: westbaystars: The ball does't make it out of the infield, a second fly.
20:35: westbaystars: Daiei's Iguchi is next.
20:35: westbaystars: That was the Lions' Nakajima who batted first, by the way.
20:35: MHtrStevie: *** Was it the pitch Takahashi hit that they say was fast?
20:36: westbaystars: Igarashi strikes out Iguchi swinging.
20:36: westbaystars: It was registered at 144 kph, but I'm sure Iguchi thinks it was faster.
20:37: westbaystars: No, it was one of the other pitches.
20:37: westbaystars: ---
20:38: westbaystars: Top of Eighth
20:38: westbaystars: ---
20:38: westbaystars: Matsuzaka goes to the bullpen, it looks like.
20:38: westbaystars: Araki is still on the mound.
20:38: westbaystars: Giants' Nioka at the plate.
20:39: MHtrStevie: *** Yahoo! reports the highest pitch speed in that at-bat was 151km/h.
20:39: westbaystars: In an interview on the radio, he said it was 152 kph.
20:39: westbaystars: Nioka grounds out to short.
20:40: westbaystars: Giants' Nishi comes up to the plate.
20:40: westbaystars: Daimajin is warming up in the bullpen for the Central League.
20:41: westbaystars: Arakaki walks Nishi on a pitch high and tight.
20:41: westbaystars: Daimajin comes back into the dugout from the bullpen.
20:42: westbaystars: Another Giant, Takahashi Yoshinobu, stands in.
20:42: westbaystars: Takahashi is looking to take that MVP award away from Shinjo.
20:42: westbaystars: And the second offering from Arakaki is swing on big and missed for strike two.
20:43: westbaystars: The next pitch, swung on and missed, strike three on three pitches.
20:43: westbaystars: Nice slider.
20:43: westbaystars: Had Takahashi fooled.
20:43: westbaystars: That brings up Iwamura (Yakult).
20:44: westbaystars: Arakaki gets two quick strikes on Iwamura, too.
20:44: habs: Greetings. computer problems
20:44: westbaystars: The next pitch is a one bounder, bouncing well in front of the plate.
20:45: westbaystars: The runner at first heads to second on the wild pitch, which is kept in front of the catcher.
20:45: westbaystars: But got a bit away.
20:45: westbaystars: The next pitch, a slider, is taken outside for ball two, 2-2.
20:46: westbaystars: The next pitch is high and outside but the third base umpire says Iwamura failed to hold up.
20:46: westbaystars: Strike three.
20:46: westbaystars: That retires the side.
20:46: westbaystars: The Cenral League got a runner as far as second, but failed to bring him in.
20:46: westbaystars: With one chance left to go, they still trail 1-2.
20:46: westbaystars: ---
20:47: westbaystars: Bottom of Eighth
20:47: westbaystars: ---
20:48: westbaystars: Daimajin (Sasaki - Yokohama) stands up on the mound.
20:48: westbaystars: The first batter he'll face is the wild and crazy Shinjo.
20:49: westbaystars: Shinjo lifts Sasaki's second offering to right, but within Tani's range.
20:49: westbaystars: That's one out.
20:50: westbaystars: Tani lines a base hit to left, after Sasaki shook off the first sign from Furuta.
20:50: westbaystars: No, that's Abe (Giants) behind the plate now.
20:50: westbaystars: Daiei's Johjima comes up to pinch hit.
20:51: westbaystars: The two catchers (Abe and Johjima) exchange some smile filled words between pitches.
20:51: westbaystars: This game is all about having a good time between all the teams.
20:52: westbaystars: Daimajin strikes Johjima out on four pitches, the last two forks balls swung on and missed.
20:52: westbaystars: That brings up Zuleta (Daiei).
20:53: westbaystars: Sasaki now has 10 consecutive all star innings with a strike out, if I heard that correctly.
20:54: westbaystars: On a fork ball that goes to the backstop, Zuleta fails to check his swing, but doesn't run until it's too late.
20:55: westbaystars: He's called out.
20:55: westbaystars: And the side is retired on a rather strange note.
20:55: westbaystars: Not the most satisfying of strike outs.
20:55: westbaystars: ---
20:55: westbaystars: Top of Nineth
20:55: westbaystars: ---
20:56: westbaystars: The Central League is down to their last chance.
20:57: westbaystars: Nippon Ham's Yokoyama comes in to close for the Pacific League.
20:58: westbaystars: Hiroshima's Shima (aka Aka-Godzilla) comes up. He came in defensively earlier.
20:58: habs: How fast does he pitch?
20:58: westbaystars: He lifts the ball deep to center.
20:59: westbaystars: Shinjo goes over a little, does a little skip as he catches the ball, and makes the out.
20:59: westbaystars: Rhodes swings big at Yokoyama's first pitch for strike one.
20:59: MHtrStevie: Nobody's as happy as him this game... =)
21:00: westbaystars: 145 kph range.
21:00: westbaystars: Change up at 134 kph is swing on and missed, two strikes, one ball.
21:00: westbaystars: The fourth pitch is grounded right of the second base bag and into center field for a base hit.
21:01: westbaystars: It looks like Rhodes is arguing with Johjima at first. I wonder what about.
21:02: westbaystars: That brings up the Giants' Abe, who had been nursing a fracture (I believe) up until the All Star break.
21:02: westbaystars: Some were worried he wouldn't be ready.
21:02: westbaystars: Abe goes down swinging, though.
21:02: westbaystars: Two outs, runner at first.
21:03: westbaystars: Fukudome (Chunichi) comes up next.
21:04: westbaystars: The count is 2-2.
21:04: westbaystars: The next pitch is up high, full count.
21:05: westbaystars: Fukudome swings and misses, strike three.
21:05: westbaystars: That's the ball game.
21:05: westbaystars: The announcers are already announcing Shinjo as the MVP.
21:06: westbaystars: ***
21:06: westbaystars: Game Final
21:06: westbaystars: Central League 1 - 2 Pacific League
21:06: westbaystars: ***
21:08: westbaystars: The MVP is...
21:08: westbaystars: Shinjo!
21:08: westbaystars: "Yea!"
21:09: habs: Why is there more than one all star game?
21:10: westbaystars: I don't know why. But it's always been a series.
21:10: MHStevie: Maybe to let each league get a chance to be the "home" team?
21:10: westbaystars: They reduced it from 3 games to 2 for Olypic years to not conflict so much.
21:11: habs: It makes it interesting.
21:11: westbaystars: That's the only "reason" for anything I'd heard.
21:13: habs: Any other teams talking about merging?
21:13: westbaystars: It allows more players to play.
21:14: westbaystars: Also, they usually do two normal home stadiums and one out "in the country."
21:14: westbaystars: That brings All Stars to more people.
21:14: habs: How many players on each team.
21:15: westbaystars: There are a lot of people who critisize Japanese baseball (rightly) for their lack of thinking of the fans.
21:15: MHStevie: That's also true... that fits with the philosophy of having some regular games in the rural fields...
21:15: westbaystars: But playing many games, including at least one all star game, at third party stadiums is a great service.
21:16: westbaystars: I'm not sure of the number of players. You can check out the voting site. It was mentioned from the forums before.
21:16: MHStevie: The one aspect of the merger situation I like is the idea of a second level of minor leagues...
21:16: MHStevie: That way having pro level players playing at more fields around Japan...
21:17: westbaystars: It's said that two other Pacific League teams are discussing merging, but not even the team representatives know about i
21:17: westbaystars: ... know about it.
21:18: MHStevie: I've been hearing those rumors too...
21:19: westbaystars: The players are now using the word "strike" when they speak to the press, something unheard of until now.
21:20: MHStevie: It seems like the players and fans are not up for these mergers...
21:20: westbaystars: One rumor is that they may strike during the Olympics if they don't get the owners to at least listen to them by then.
21:21: MHStevie: How did Orix and Kintetsu get into their financial mess, though? Was game attendance good?
21:21: westbaystars: Orix attendance dropped after Ichiro left.
21:22: habs: Was wondering the same thing.
21:23: westbaystars: Kintetsu had some fan surge when they won the Pennant and Rhodes went for the record.
21:23: westbaystars: But a lot of their most ardent fans don't like the sterril Osaka Dome compared to Fujidera Kyujyo.
21:24: westbaystars: After winning it all, Kintetsu started spending more on player sallaries than they did in the past.
21:24: MHStevie: Does Osaka Dome have more capacity?
21:24: westbaystars: And it eventually got a bit out of hand.
21:25: westbaystars: Yes, Osaka Dome has much more capacity. And taller and deeper walls.
21:26: MHStevie: But did Kintetsu have enough fan support to require the larger capacity?
21:26: westbaystars: But less personality.
21:26: MHStevie: I'd assume yes, at least during Rhodes' run...
21:26: MHStevie: I was just trying to understand the dynamics at work here...
21:27: MHStevie: Ack... our network's shutting down... will be forced off... bye!
21:27: westbaystars: Rhodes' run was at Osaka Dome.
21:28: habs: Well I'll go to I'm sure you had a long day today.
21:29: westbaystars: I need to go take a bath.
21:29: westbaystars: Recuporate from the day.
21:29: westbaystars: It's been fun.
21:29: westbaystars: See you next all next week.

Westbay's description of the food at the matsuri makes it understandable why it is a difficult choice to make to see a baseball game. If you ever go to Japan, plan to experience a matsuri. The last time I was in Japan, in October 1999, we planned our trip around two matsuris. First Saturday, we visited my mother's hometown "Otsu Matsuri" in Shiga-ken, then we joined a friend the following weekend for the "Kawagoe Matsuri" in Saitama-ken. Maturi also take on a different look during the day and evening. Fun-fun-fun!

I just watched the All-Star Games (sent to me from Japan) and I'm not sure if I'm a fan of Shinjo anymore. I sort of liked his enthusiasm, but I think it was the "unnecessary jumping catch" (which Ichiro tended to use a bit, though not as deliberately) that has made me wonder, even though he's from Fukuoka (as am I). Is Shinjo that charismatic now as a Fighter? I don't remember him being like that with the Tigers.

It also made me realize how much of an exhibition the games are, and everyone knows it. I, for one, didn't go ballistic and think it was the end of baseball when the MLB All-Star Game in 2002 ended in a tie, because it ends in ties all the time in Japan. There were also signs that some players weren't trying as hard. I'm not criticizing it, in fact, I wish that the MLB would make up their minds about it.