August 22nd Abe v Ohtake - A better performance

We start with a question - why is it that Mayumi, Kido and Kubo feel the need to use relief pitchers as starters? First was Kubota, then Tsutsui and now Abe. Other starting pitchers are ignored and Tigers don't have enough good relievers to convert these guys into starters. With Williams practically finished we cannot afford to play these silly games. Nohmi despite his troubles is at last beginning to show his potential and shows that with work a pitcher can be developed. If this is the case then what about Uezono, Ishikawa, Cheng or Kojima all of whom exhibited much more assurance at the plate then Nohmi? They should surely be in the rotation - I have asked the question before but what is it with our management that they cannot use these guys. Uezono was rookie of the year in 2007 for example. Jason Coskrey mentions in the Japan Times (23rd August) that Mayumi often looks out of his depth but to be honest he would out of his depth in a car park puddle. Still we had better get used to him. On another note, Kanemoto threw an enormous temper tantrum at Kyocera dome. Kicking the dugout, throwing his glove and smashing his bat. One undestands his frustration at his poor performance but one has to ask what is Wada doing? He should be working with the players to help them over difficult periods. This season Kanemoto has shown signs that age is catching up with him and he needs to deal with this issue not lose his temper in such a childish way. Maybe talking with Hiyama will help - the latter has made the adjustments that age brings and is still a valuable player. He is also very calm and collected and a great example. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R H E
Carp    0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1 8 1
Tigers  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1x 2 7 1

Starting lineups

Carp
1. Higashide (Second)
2. Akamatsu (Centre)
3. Phillips (Left)
4. Kurihara (First)
5. McClain (Third)
6. Amaya (Right)
7. Kokubo (Short)
8. Ishihara (Catcher)
9. Ohtake (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Hirano (Centre)
2. Yamato (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Arai (Third)
6. Katsuragi (First)
7. Sakurai (Right)
8. Kanoh (Catcher)
9. Abe (Pitcher)

Abe would be reasonable but not too impressive over his six innings. He did start earlier in the season against Marines and had pitched for undistinguished innings. Once again his performance against Carp was undistinguished and really he should stick to relief where he is excellent. His first innings against Carp showed the pattern of most of his pitching - giving up hits steadily but getting out of the innings without damage. This innings he gave up a hit to Phillips with two out. Kurihara flew out to Abe to end the innings. Ohtake would also struggle against the Tigers as they really failed to take advantage of their good fortune at times. In Tigers first he gave up a hit to Toritani and then walked Kanemoto but Arai grounded out. Abe's first challenge came in Carp's second with a one out two base hit to Amaya. This looked dangerous but neither Kokubo or Ishihara could advance Amaya beyond second and the innings was scoreless. In Tigers second Ohtake once again ran into trouble, with two out he issued back to back walks to Kanoh and then Abe. Hirano though flew out to end that chance. Abe then managed another one out two base in Carp's third - this time to Higashide. Phillips hit to left and the runner was home 1-0 Carp, runner on first. Kurihara hit to centre and Phillips moved round to third. However, Abe got McClain to ground out and end the innings. Yamato led off Tigers third with a ground out but McClain made a mess of it and he was safe on first. Kanemoto hit to right and Tigers had runners on first and third. However, Arai conveniently (for the Carp) hit into a double play to end the innings.

Carp's fourth was Abe's only quiet innings - the batters fell in order. It was also quiet for the Tigers as they were out in order as well. In Carp's fifth Akamatsu managed a two out hit but nothing came of this. Tigers fifth saw Ohtake's best pitching, striking out all three batters. In Carp's sixth Kurihara led off with a hit. One out later he tried to steal second which was a novel idea to say the least and of course was thrown out. Abe then walked Amaya but got Kokubo to fly out and end the innings. Tigers sixth was as quiet as the fifth with the batters falling in order.

Atchison replaced Abe for Carp's seventh which was just as well. Abe hadn't really been in control and even though he had managed to keep the damage to one run he wasn't really comfortable. He is a superb relief pitcher but needs considerably more work to become a good starter. Atchison was his usual supercharged self and retired the batters in order. Ohtake returned for Tigers seventh and at first it looked like Carp would continue to shut Tigers out. Katsuragi led off with a hit and then tried to stretch it too far and was out. Next batter Sakurai who changed the complexion of the game with one swing slamming a solo home run to left 1-1 scores tied. However, Ohtake pulled himself together and got Kanoh and then Mizuta (replacement second) to end the innings. Atchison pitched the Carp's eighth. Akamatsu led off and reached first on Mizuta's error at second. He then stole second but the next two batters did not advance him and he was out. Hirano led off Tigers eighth with a hit - he has the ability to hit just at the right time. He was bunted to second by Asai (pinch hitter) and then Ohtake walked Toritani. This was enough for Brown who replaced him with Schultz. Ohtake was obviously tiring and it was a wise decision to replace him. Schultz faced Kanemoto and induced him to hit into a double play and end the chance. This was the occaision of Kanemoto's temper tantrum. Fujikawa, of course, pitched the Carp's ninth and was very rapidly in trouble. He struck out Amaya but Kokubo hit a two base of his first pitch. Fujikawa then dead balled Ishihara. Kida flew out which luckily wasn't far enough to advance the runner on second to third but then Fujikawa walked Higashide to load the bases. Once again Kanoh's calling made the difference here and Akamatsu struck out to end the innings. Yokoyama pitched Tigers ninth and started with a hit to Arai. Katsuragi bunted and Yokoyama tried to pick off Arai going for second rather than Katsuragi. He failed with the result that Tigers had runners on first and second. Sakurai then bunted the runners to second and third and Mayumi sent Brazell (pinch hitter) to the plate. Carp decided to deliberately walk him as even a Brazell flyout would probably mean a sayonara run and the bases were loaded. Mayumi sent Hiyama next - all Tigers needed was a deep fly or difficult ground out to win but Hiyama hit sweetly to centre driving in Arai 2-1 Tigers sayonara victory.

This was a nicely worked victory in which Carp had blinked first. Tigers had remained in contention and had shown more application this game. They had scored the one or two runs but they had also restricted the Carp to just one run. Pitching Fujikawa had almost blown it but once again Kanoh had made the difference. Fujikawa picked up the win and maybe we will see Abe and Tsutsui back as relief pitchers and one of the younger pitchers brought up to start. It really is about time that Mayumi comes to his senses. Abe had done well but had not looked like a starter. This needs to be born in mind and really Tigers need to abandon the idea that you can convert excellent young relief pitchers into starters.

[Edited by: Christopher on Aug 24, 2009 10:02 AM]. Many thanks to the unnamed guest for the corrections on who pitched the eighth.