September 25th Kubo v Tateyama - The remains of the season

For Tigers this game had the end of the season feel. Younger players are tried out and experimental lineups trialled. Imanari made an appearance at catcher and wasn't much good, once again demonstrating that he may have been another waste of money. He has a good bat but not such good catching skills. Tateyama unfortunately had another good game and Tigers batting struggled against him. Kanemoto also made a start but like everyone else couldn't shine. Scores

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

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Uemoto (Second)
2. Yamato (Centre)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Ryota Arai (Third)
5. Kanemoto (Left)
6. Morita (First)
7. Itoh (Right)
8. Imanari (Catcher)
9. Kubo (Pitcher)

Swallows
1. Yuhei (Centre)
2. Fukuuchi (Left)
3. Tanaka (Second)
4. Balentien (Right)
5. Kawabata (Short)
6. Miyamoto (Third)
7. Takeuchi (First)
8. Nakamura (Catcher)
9. Tateyama (Pitcher)

Tigers couldn't figure Tateyama last game and they couldn't figure him this game. The first innings was quiet with no one getting on base. Swallows first already showed the problems Kubo would encounter later with runners getting on base. The first two outs were simple enough but then Tanaka singled to centre. Balentien walked to set up runners on first and second. However, Kawabata hit his first pitch to centre for the final out. Tigers second and the parade of outs continued. Kanemoto did at least work the count full but even he eventually succumbed. In Swallows second Takeuchi singled right with one out and then with another out Kubo managed to walk Tateyama. Not what the doctor ordered. However, he was able to strike out Yuhei to end the innings safely but you felt it was only a matter of time. Itoh led off Tigers third with a single. Imanari spoiled it all by hitting into a double play and Kubo struck out swinging. No joy there. Once again with two outs the third out proved difficult. The hitter in Swallows third was Balentien. Then Kawabata singled right to set up runners on first and second. Next Miyamoto hit a two base to right over a poorly positioned Itoh's head. This brought home Balentien 1-0 Swallows, runners on second and third. Takeuchi managed to ground out to second and spare Kubo further pain.

Tateyama, though, continued serenely on protecting the lead in Tigers fourth. Once again no runner reached base. The Swallows fourth was a strange innings to say the least. The sort of innings that only Swallows/Tigers games generate. Nakamura led off with a single to centre. Then Tateyama tried to bunt him to second. He directed his second pitch along the first baseline. This is always dangerous as the bunter runs the risk of getting in the way of the catcher trying to chase the ball down. This is exactly what Tateyama did and he was given out for interference. Yuhei hit his first pitch back to Kubo and the ball cannoned off his leg into the outfield allowing Nakamura to reach third with Yuhei on first. Fukuuchi hit to Uemoto who was standing close in and who tried to tag Yuhei going for second. This took too long and by the time the tag was made Fukuuchi was safe on first and Nakamura had made home 2-0 Swallows, runner on first. More was to come as Fukuuchi successfully executed a delayed steal to reach second. However, it didn't matter as Tanaka flew out to centre to end the innings. Tigers fifth finally saw a glimmer of hope with Ryota Arai leading off with a walk. However, the glimmer was quickly extinguished with the next three batters all flying out. Swallows fifth repeated the by now familiar pattern; two outs and then hits. Miyamoto singled right and then Takeuchi singled left to set up runners on first and third. This time Nakamura grounded out to second and there was no mistake. Imanari led off Tigers sixth by striking out. Hirano (pinch hitter) singled but then was forced out by an Uemoto double play.Fujihara took over for Swallows sixth, five undistinguished innings of Kubo being enough. Imanari perhaps fortunately stayed on as catcher. The Swallows sixth was a quiet affair and for the first time there were no base runners.

Tigers seventh saw more of Tateyama's dominance. The batters fell simply and in order. Watanabe pitched the Swallows seventh and with one out Balentien hit to third. Ryota Arai messed up allowing the runner to reach first. Kawabata flew out but then Balentien stole second. Imanari really must have been asleep. Miyamoto struck out swinging to end the innings though. Kanemoto led off Tigers eighth with a single to left and was pinch run for by Shunsuke. Morita grounded out to Tateyama moving Shunsuke to second and then Itoh struck out looking. Imanari walked - a sign that Tateyama was tiring but he did face the last batter of the innings Hiyama (pinch hitter). Hiyama would ground out and end the Tigers scoring chance. Katoh started Swallows eighth and with one out walked Nakamura. Miyade (pinch hitter) and as he did so Nakamura went for second. A bad throw enabled him to take third. This unsettled Katoh who then walked Yuhei on a full count. Fukuuchi took a dead ball to load the bases and this brought a pitching change with Tsuru taking over. Tsuru wasn't much better and walked Tanaka on a full count - oshidashi, 3-0 Swallows, bases loaded. Finally Balentien struck out swinging but Swallows were now very comfortable. They just needed to hold the lead. They very nearly blew it. Tateyama didn't pitch the ninth - he had just survived the eighth and so Barnette took over to close the game out. He started abysmally, Uemoto led off the ninth singling right. Then Yamato singled left - runners on first and second. Toritani walked to load the bases - with no outs a great opportunity. Tigers blew it. Ryota Arai struck out swinging again raising questions about his suitability for the position of No. 4. Then Murton hit his first pitch straight to third for a double play. Game over and Swallows victory.

Tigers hadn't performed well and had played without fire or ability. The use of Imanari can't have been said to have worked and one thinks that a conversion to the outfield is the best option. Tigers need to play with a bit more spirit but the season is basically over for them. One hopes that Wada can find some hitherto undiscovered motivational skills and actually lead the team to a series win. One hopes that is all.