September 28th Standridge v Utsumi - More intensity please

We start with a few comments about writers on Japanese baseball. Mostly, the blogs are interesting and partisan. Fun to read and frequently irreverent. But Michael - please post something on the BayStars. I know that they've been terrible but your comments were always interesting and well informed. However, turning to the newspapers we encounter a genuine mixed bag. Jim Allen writes a lot of well informed thought provoking stuff admittedly with an MLB is better bias (the fact that Japan has been World Champion twice in a row beating MLB players doesn't seem to have registered). Other writers do not reach this level and really newspaper coverage of Japanese baseball in English is not up to much. A lack of knowledge of the market and assumption that MLB is automatically better in every respect mars the articles.
Take Jason Coskrey's recent comments in the Japan Times (28th September) about the end of season. He has some interesting points about the end of season but mars his presentation by implying that NPB would be automatically better off by adopting the way things are done in MLB. I am not convinced by this at all - Japanese baseball is Japanese, it is not a copy of MLB and should not be bound to automatically follow MLB slavishly. There is already too much of that in the Pacific League. If the Japanese are happy with their current way of ending the season then fine. Whilst there are things that need improving in Japanese baseball I would rather that the NPB finds its own solution and doesn't try and turn itself into a copy of MLB which will turn the fans off. However, the unreality of the article comes in the supposition that MLB is capturing more and more attention from the Japanese public. This is complete balderdash. About the only interest that MLB gets from the Japanese public is what is happening to Ichiro and Matsui. There is lesser interest in the other Japanese stars but MLB is irrelevant to the great majority of Japanese baseball fans. Last season's World Series was popular because Matsui played such a vital role and Ichiro's quest for as many hits as possible is also interesting but the rest of MLB passes most Japanese fans by. This is a pity in a way because where MLB does score is its TV coverage is clearly superior to the unimaginative and pathetic efforts of most Japanese TV stations. More exposure to MLB would force the Japanese stations to upgrade their laughable efforts but this isn't going to happen. MLB for a while was hugely popular in Japan and players like Bonds were big stars but this phase has long since passed and MLB occupies a place as a niche spectacle. In this it has to compete with other niche spectacles but Japanese TV could happily end all coverage of MLB except for Ichiro and Matsui and no one would notice or care. MLB is an American product for the American market but it is not a global product like soccer and one wishes that commentators in the newspapers would realise this.
Now after this long rant another one - Tigers once again allowed themselves to be overcome by the Giants who played with more intensity and passion. Standridge had another bad start at a vital moment and was so bad that he basically cost Tigers the game. However, one can't say that their pitching was impressive with the useless Fukuhara giving up a vital run again. As with the three game sweep at Tokyo Dome the Giants were more committed and even though the Tigers can still win the pennant and still have a magic number they have no margin for error. To be frankly honest I cannot see Tigers stringing together an eight or even seven game winning streak. They are just too fragile and the maxim that good pitching will always beat good batting looks to be clearly proved this year. Sugiyama is now back in the first team and one has to just stare open mouthed in horror and the bankruptcy of ideas that brought him back from the second team. One can only hope and pray that Kubo (pitching coach) does not survive beyond the end of the season. Whilst Mayumi hasn't been good it has also been Kubo's lack of ability in bringing pitching talent on that has created this situation. It is likely that Abe will be let go at the end of the season and this is a perfect illustration of the waste of good talent that goes on under the Mayumi/Kubo regime. Abe was talented but he was given almost no chance whilst the washed out Sugiyama gets chance after chance. Until Tigers find a pitching coach who actually understands and develops talent this kind of situation will recur. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Giants  3 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 10 0
Tigers  1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 5  7 1

Starting lineups

Giants
1. Sakamoto (Short)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Ogasawara (Third)
4. Ramirez (Left)
5. Abe (Catcher)
6. Lee (First)
7. Chono (Right)
8. Furuki (Second)
9. Utsumi (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Murton (Right)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Johjima (Catcher)
7. Sakurai (Left)
8. Shunsuke Fujikawa (Centre)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

Tigers lineup certainly showed more power with the return of Sakurai to the side but fielding in the unfamiliar to him left field position. However, it wasn't to prove helpful as Tigers pitching let them down and Standridge couldn't pitch at his best. His positioning was poor and the Giants batters were able to hit into the central field with ease. This started with Matsumoto and continued with Ogasawara - runners on first and third. Then Ramirez threaded one through into centre for a timely hit 1-0 Giants, runners on first and second. Just to show how poor his control was Standridge dead balled Abe to load the bases. Lee struck out but Chono hit to left but Giants were only able to bring home one runner 2-0 Giants, bases loaded. Then Standridge dead balled Furuki - an oshidashi dead ball 3-0 Giants bases loaded. Finally Utsumi struck out to end the innings and realistically this should have been the end of Standridge. It wasn't so much the runs though given his previous meltdowns these should have been an indicator but the dead balls that were the concern. His control just wasn't there. Utsumi wouldn't pitch well either but was better than Standridge. Still Murton led off Tigers first with a hit to right - his 204th tying the Central League record (held by Ramirez). Hirano bunted him to second which made it Hirano's 56th sacrifice bunt of the year. Toritani flew out to right - a very deep fly out but still out. Next was Arai who worked the count full and then hit very nicely to right centre for a timely two base hit 3-1 Giants, runner on second. Brazell followed but hit straight to first for the final out. Still Tigers had reduced the deficit and were nicely poised to score more. Giants second was quiet as Standridge retired the top of the batting order. Tigers second was also quiet Utsumi striking out more than he deserved and unusually getting Sakurai looking (Sakurai normally goes swinging). Standridge ran into trouble in Giants third. With two out Lee walked. Chono hit to short and was safe on first and then Furuki walked to load the bases. This was no problem as Utsumi was next but Standridge's pitch was so bad that Utsumi had no trouble hitting into left field. Two runners were home 5-1 Giants and the third out coming when Furuki failed to make base in time. A disaster for Tigers and the end of Standridge. If he gives up runs early he tends to give up runs in multiple innings. Tigers third was quiet as the batters once again struggled against Utsumi which was all the more surprising as he wasn't that great. Giants were the ones with the spirit and will to win.

Watanabe pitched Giants fourth and was rapidly in trouble. Matsumoto hit and made second on a wild pitch. Ogasawara hit to centre and the speedy Matsumoto was able to make home safely 6-1 Giants, runner on first. No one converted Matsumoto but the Giants lead was commanding. Tigers cleanup was miserable in the fourth, falling in order. Brazell is apparently working on his swing which has gotten a bit late. He needs to improve in this area. Lee led off in Giants fifth and hit to Arai who fluffed the take - runner on first. Chono hit to left and Giants had runners on first and third. Furuki flew out to third and this brought up Utsumi. Whatever Watanabe was going to do he wasn't about to allow Utsumi to hit and the Giants pitcher grounded out to Watanabe. Lee went for home but the plate was blocked by Johjima who took the throw nicely for the third out. Tigers fifth was quiet for the first two outs and then Shunsuke Fujikawa hit a two base. Nothing came from this though as the pinch hitter Sekimoto grounded out to end the innings. This signalled a new pitcher, Fukuhara, Mayumi obviously believing that Tigers had no real chance. Fukuhara retired the batters in order to and the innings. Murton led off Tigers fifth with a hit - his 205th and the highest ever hit total in the Central League. Hirano was next and Utsumi was clearly tiring. His pitches were getting higher and higher. Still he let go one which was low and which Abe couldn't hold. Murton took second as Abe scrabbled around in the dirt for the ball and this was ruled a wild pitch whereas it should have been a delayed steal. Hirano then swung nicely through the pitch for a three base hit into the right centre sweet spot 6-2 Giants, runner on third. Next was Toritani who hammered his first pitch into the centre stand for a two run home run 6-4 Giants. Utsumi's control had gone and he was very hittable. This was the end of his session and he was replaced by Kubo. At this stage Tigers had no outs but Kubo soon redressed that retiring the next three batters in order. Another run would have been nice but Tigers were in with a chance.

Unfortunately, they blew it the very next innings. Mayumi once again sent Fukuhara to the mound and he didn't do the job. Ramirez he struck out but then Abe hit a solo run to right 7-4 Giants restoring a three run margin but importantly taking the momentum away from the Tigers - this run would ensure that the Tigers were always chasing. The next two batters fell and it was time for Tigers seventh. Kubo returned but saw his first pitch hit into the left stand by Sakurai for a solo home run 7-5 Giants. Shunsuke Fujikawa lined out to short and Yamaguchi took the mound. He retired the next two batters and Giants retained the two run lead. Kubota pitched Giants eighth and was excellent showing an application lacking from other pitchers. He retired the batters in order comfortably. Unfortunately so did Yamaguchi in the bottom and now the game was beginning to slip away from the Tigers. Kubota returned for Giants ninth and once again sailed through the batters. Kroon of course pitched Tigers ninth and faced Brazell. He swung at a pass ball and then set off for first which he made safely. He was pinch run for by Saka who was able to take second but this was as encouraging as it got for Tigers. Johjima flew out to left, Sakurai struck out swinging and Lin (pinch hitter) grounded out - game over. Giants victory.

This victory put Giants back in second place but Tigers retained their magic number. Giants had played with more purpose and fire and had deserved their victory. Tigers fightback whilst encouraging had never been enough and they had never been able to get going. Neither Brazell or Johjima had shone and with the poor pitching this had doomed the Tigers. Why Mayumi kept Fukuhara in for a second innings is difficult to say but his handling of pitching has always been poor. The Toritani counter now stands at 3 RBIs to go to 100 and there is a new Murton counter. This is how many hits he has to go to pass Ichiro which is now 6. One hopes that Japanese pitchers will let him try for the record and not perform the farce they have done with Oh's false home run record.