Tigers season - Pitching

Yabu made quite a nice job of his first season but suffered from some poor decision making by Tigers management who decided that he was also to blame for the failure of the side to perform. The real culprit of course remains in place and is free to wreak more damage next season. Tigers ni-gun pitching coach steps up to take the strain and Yabu moves down to the second team. The division is the usual starting and relief.

STARTERS

14. Atsushi Nohmi
Games: 29, Wins: 10, Losses: 10, ERA: 2.42
Better pitching this year from Nohmi didn't produce a better win loss ratio and like all Tigers pitchers he suffered from lack of run support. He worked very well with Fujii who was much improved and was not over-pitched. Better batting would have seen a greater number of wins.

16. Yuya Andoh
Games: 13, Wins: 3, Losses: 7, ERA: 4.05
Andoh lasted longer this season but after a while the drop off in performance was quite drastic and he ended up being unusable again. One thinks his days as a first team starter must be numbered.

17. Kazuo Itoh
Given a start very much to see how he would do. He wasn't that good at all and gave up runs and had to be taken out of the game. Still he's just starting on his career but one hopes he won't become a waste like Uezono.

18. Kazuhito Futagami
Games: 4, Wins: 0, Losses: 1, ERA: 4.38
He didn't prosper at all and didn't seem able to get over his nerves. A shaky start was prolonged and Tigers still need to work further with him. Injury issues suggested poor preparation as well.

21. Minoru Iwata
Games: 25, Wins: 8, Losses: 14, ERA: 3.52
Iwata had a tendency to blow games suddenly and despite working mostly with Komiyama couldn't really be said to prosper with either catcher. The expected improvement didn't really materialise. A real mystery and even flakier than Igawa.

26. Hiroaki Saiuchi
Games: 1, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 1.80
A very reasonable debut which made you want to see more but over-training caused him to pick up injuries and he didn't make another appearance. Interestingly, the coach responsible for this has been promoted to the first team.

27. Takumi Akiyama
Games: 2, Wins: 1, Losses: 1, ERA: 9.00
Still not showing the form he did previously and one is beginning to wonder if this is another young pitcher that Tigers have wasted.

34. Yasutomo Kubo
Games: 18, Wins: 4, Losses: 7, ERA: 2.33
Worked very hard again but wasn't over-pitched this season. He also suffered from lack of run support and some of his best performances were wasted. There was also a strategic disconnect and Tigers coaches were unsure how to use him. Maybe next season will be his last as there were signs age was beginning to catch up with him. He suffered from injury this season.

54. Randy Messenger
Games: 30, Wins: 10, Losses: 11, ERA: 2.52
Another good season and late-season some really excellent performances paired with Fujii. Good control and an ability to go the distance show how well Messenger has adapted. He will be asked back next season and should be even better.

55. Jason Standridge
Games: 25, Wins: 7, Losses: 12, ERA: 2.69
Standridge was not over-pitched and did well but lacked run support as everyone did. He threw some real gems and will be asked back next season.

59. Akira Iwamoto
Games: 3, Wins: 2, Losses: 1, ERA: 0.00
A stunning debut, coming on in the rubber game of a series at Nagoya Dome and winning not only his first start but the series for Tigers. Then a good game against a rampant Swallows. The third start was also good but Iwamoto works better with Komiyama. Worryingly Tigers coaches seem to want to wreck this talent and are already talking of changes to his motion and more work in ni-gun. This guy needs to be given as much first team time as possible and the coaches need to leave him alone.

RELIEF

12. Ryo Watanabe
Games: 50, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 2.06
A little more expensive than before but still good pitching by Watanabe. He also had a mid season rest and despite being nervy generally delivered when needed.

13. Daiki Enokida
Games: 48, Wins: 3, Losses: 3, ERA: 2.34
Had injury issues and still finds it difficult to deal with the third out confidently. There was talk of using him as a starter thankfully stillborn. Enokida has a bit to go before he is a wholly reliable reliever.

15. Masanori Fujihara
Games: 5, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 7.36
A regression - he was very poor and one thinks must be a candidate for a trade or even a pink slip.

20. Kazuya Tsutsui
Games: 58, Wins: 2, Losses: 1, ERA: 7.36
A fireball pitcher with genuine aggression. He progressed very well as the season continued and was able to get Tigers out of trouble on more than one occasion. He is in line to become Tigers closer when Fujikawa bolts to the USA.

22. Kyuji Fujikawa
Games: 48, Wins: 2, Losses: 2, ERA: 1.32
He didn't get so many opportunities to show his stuff this year as Tigers were so poor. Still 24 saves was pretty good. He will go to MLB and leave a huge hole in Tigers lineup. Was a bit wild this season especially with Fujii as catcher.

28. Shinobu Fukuhara
Games: 60, Wins: 2, Losses: 4, ERA: 1.76
Fukuhara's good work continued and he was solid and reliable. Surprisingly, he gradually became totally unusable with Fujii - at the start of the season they worked well together but as the season went on it got to the stage that Fukuhara could not be paired with Fujii and had to be used exclusively with Komiyama.

29. Tatsuya Kojima
Games: 4, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 3.32
Kojima got four games in relief and wasn't really any good in any of them. It seems his potential still has a long way to go to be realised.

30. Tomoyuki Kubota
Games: 4, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 6.00
He continued to decline and one feels he cannot continue with the team much longer. Kubota has unfortunately reached the end of the road.

40. Kai-Wen Cheng
Games: 10, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 2.45
Tigers dithering continued - should they use Cheng as relief or starter? He was used in relief and was quite good but the management were inept and despite some nice pitching he was given a pink slip. Another talent lost through Tigers ineptness.

46. Naoto Tsuru
Games: 43, Wins: 1, Losses: 0, ERA:1.89
A very reliable season in relief in contrast to his previous poor one as a starter, Tsuru proved to be very versatile and kept Tigers from bleeding runs when needed. Good work throughout the season.

63. Kosuke Katoh
Games: 41, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 0.83
A very big improvement and the surprise of the season. Katoh was aggressive and very useful to fill in gaps and winkle out diffiuclt batters. By the end of the season he had cemented his place as an essential part of Tigers middle relief.

64. Hirokazu Shiranita
Games: 2, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 3.38
Appeared in two games and didn't adjust well. Struggled with injuries all season.

95. Robert Zarate
Games:2, Wins: 0, Losses: 0, ERA: 9.00
The great hope of Tigers, snatched from under the noses of other teams. Zarate was abysmal and rapidly showed that far more work is needed. He didn't even look promising but the management seem to like him.

[Edited by: Christopher on Nov 16, 2012 1:14 PM]