October 9th Iwata v Ishikawa - The final game

Tigers season is over with the loss to the Swallows at Jingu. They finished fourth B class which is the same as Hoshino's and Okada's first year. Tigers were unlucky and had some decisions go against them but really the Swallows were hungrier and wanted this victory more. They fought harder and this was visible throughout the entire side. Ishikawa didn't pitch particularly well but fought all the way. Swallows didn't hit too well either but came through with the vital hits when it was necessary. They were the better team on the night. Iwata was poor and this was a factor - he needed to pitch much better than he did.

Moves are already afoot to make changes for next year. There is no news yet on Mayumi but most of the press and fan base is calling for his blood. However, he will probably stay. Kataoka will be asked to become hitting coach once again though he has already turned down requests twice. Tigers want to exploit his ability to hit at the vital moment. Whether or not he accepts remains an open question. Imaoka's fate will also be decided - it's not looking favourable to him with trade or retirement the most likely offers. There is now open discussion about Kanemoto's replacement and both Yano and Shimoyanagi must also be candidates for similar treatment. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tigers    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 8 0
Swallows  1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 X 3 6 1

Starting lineups

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

Swallows
1. Fukuchi (Left)
2. Noguchi (Second)
3. Miyamoto (Third)
4. Aoki (Centre)
5. Hatakeyama (First)
6. Guiel (Right)
7. Kawamoto (Catcher)
8. Onizaki (Short)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

Tigers start was poor both with the bat and the ball. Hirano grounded out to Ishikawa - a trifle unluckily as his bounce hit almost cleared the pitcher. Sekimoto was out to a fine sliding catch by Guiel. Toritani then struck out. Iwata's control was very poor in the first innings. Fukuchi hit to centre, his bounce hit going over the pitcher. Iwata threw a wild pitch to Noguchi but quick reactions by Kanoh prevented the runner advancing. Finally, Noguchi was able to bunt Fukuchi to second. Miyamoto hit to short and only a fine dive by Toritani prevented the run and kept Fukuchi on second but Miyamoto was safe to first. Aoki was next and Iwata let lose another wild pitch which Kanoh couldn't stop and the runners advanced to second and third. Aoki battled Iwata for several pitches - Iwata did not look comfortable - before steering a hit nicely between third and short 1-0 Swallows, runners on first and third. Hatakeyama was next but he hit into a double play to end the innings. Swallows had the vital first run and the games was pretty much decided (of the 23 contests between Swallows and Tigers 20 had gone with the team who scored first). Kanemoto led off Tigers second with a foul fly and one has to say his batting was substandard in every respect. Arai hit nicely to left and then Brazell hit to set up runners on first and second. Sakurai grounded out but moved the runners round to second and third which brought up Kanoh. He was deliberately walked to get at Iwata who grounded out to end the innings. Guiel led Swallows second off with a two base hit which was just inside the right baseline. Kawamoto struck out and Onizaki's ground out took him to third. Ishikawa was next and he grounded out to end the chance. Hirano led off Tigers third with a hit and was bunted to second by Sekimoto. Toritani's hit cannoned off Ishikawa's leg and the Swallows pitcher was able to make the out. After a check that he was OK he got Kanemoto to ground out to first and end that innings. Iwata's control once again deserted him in Swallows third and he managed to hit Noguchi on the foot. Noguchi then stole second but the replay showed that Sekimoto tagged him out and the umpire had got it wrong. Aoki walked and then a wild pitch took Noguchi to third. Hatakeyama, though, can be relied on to get out and he duly did so, flying out to second.

Tigers fourth and Arai hit an enormous blow which just caught up in the wind and failed to cross the fence into the Swallows gaia. A nice piece of luck for the Swallows as Arai pretty much owned Ishikawa. Arai made second but then stayed there as the Tigers batters were unable to make anything of it. Kanoh picked up his second deliberate walk of the night as once again Swallows went for Iwata who grounded out to second to end the innings. Swallows fourth was quiet as Iwata retired the batters in order. This was the case in Tigers fifth as well. Swallows fifth followed the same pattern and Tigers sixth. Finally we arrive at Swallows sixth and Miyamoto starts it with a liner. Aoki picks up another walk and Hatakeyama grounds out. This took Aoki to second and brought up Guiel. He struck out but the plate umpire didn't give it. One has to ask what he was thinking as the ball was clearly in the zone. One that Mayumi should have argued but he stayed mute in his dugout. Guiel eventually walked and then Kawamoto hit his first pitch to centre. Aoki charged home as the throw came in but Kawamoto almost blew things by trying for second. He made it but it was a rash move which could ended the innings, 2-0 Swallows runners on second and third. Onizaki was deliberately walked to get at Ishikawa who grounded out to second and ended the innings.

Finally, in Tigers seventh they were able to string some hits together and had a piece of luck that went their way. Sakurai led off with a hit. Kanoh hit to Onizaki who completely screwed up the take and the ball cannoned into centre allowing Tigers to set up runners on first and third. Takahashi (pinch hitter) hit his first pitch to centre 2-1 Swallows, runners on first and second. Here though things unravelled. Mayumi in one of his characteristic mistakes signalled a bunt. It wasn't a good one and Kawamoto fired the ball to third to get the runner from second with ease. Tigers now had runners on first and second again but with one out. Sekimoto flew out but Toritani hit to load the bases. This brought up Kanemoto who swung at his first pitch and fouled out to Kawamoto to end the chance. This was a real waste and capped a poor night for Kanemoto. Atchison took over for Swallows seventh and wasn't at his best. He gave up a hit to Fukuchi who then stole second. The throw was poor and Fukuchi was easily safe. Noguchi then bunted Fukuchi to third and Miyamoto hit to drive in the run 3-1 Swallows, runner on first. Aoki grounded out to short but beat the throw to prevent the double play. He then tried to steal second but was thrown out to end the innings. Still the two run lead was restored. Once again Arai led off the Tigers innings with a two base hit. He made third on Brazell's ground out and Takada signalled that Lim would replace Ishikawa. Lim struck out Sakurai who displayed a level of brainlessness difficult to match in swinging at an obviously too low pitch and then got Kanoh to fly out. Atchison returned for Swallows eighth and retired the side in order, Hirano ending the innings with a superb diving catch. Lim returned for the Tigers ninth. He walked Katsuragi (pinch hitter) who was pinch run for by Shibata. Shibata made second on Hirano's ground out but then Hiyama (pinch hitter) struck out, as one expected him to do. Finally, it was all down to Toritani who hit to centre but straight into the glove of Aoki. Game over and Swallows victory.

Congratulations to the Swallows. They had deserved the victory and had played well. Of Tigers clean up only Arai had shown the application necessary. For the first time in a long time the Swallows side of Jingu was full of Swallows fans and the stadium itself was full with a fantastic atmosphere. Tigers had had their chances but failed to take them and the coaching team had once again shown itself to be inadequate. We must now wait and see how Hanshin management view the regime but there are already indications that the coaching team will be changed. One who should go is Kido who has demonstrated an unsuitability for his role and is a positvely demotivating influence on the team. He should go as a matter of urgency.