Lazy Jim Finally Posts!
Discussion in the The SoftBank Source forum
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Re: Lazy Jim Finally Posts!
[ Author: Guest: Rob | Posted: Apr 29, 2008 2:31 AM
]
How's CJ doing in the minors? Any chance he'll be called up soon?
Re: Lazy Jim Finally Posts!
[ Author: NipponHam11 | Posted: May 12, 2008 6:32 AM
| SFT Fan
]
I have not heard anything from Nico-chan. He's toiling at ni-gun and he has not updated his blog since he lost those two games to the Chiba Lotte Marines. Coincidentally, his blog is the only way I know what's going on with him.
Since then, former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect DJ Houlton (who I believe replaced Nitkowski on the roster) has been very effective in relief, so unless an injury hits, we might not see Nitkowski again until the Olympics. I belive the Hawks are sending some talent to Beijing as part of the Japanese national team, so as a result the foreigner limit will be expanded.
On a personal note, I think that Nitkowski was unfairly sent down, and this must be grating on his nerves. People have bad outings all the time, and while throwing up two bad ones in a row is a cause of concern, I don't think that it's worth being sent down to ni-gun. For all the Hawks knew, he might've bounced right back when they let him pitch again.
I hope this answered your question.
Since then, former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect DJ Houlton (who I believe replaced Nitkowski on the roster) has been very effective in relief, so unless an injury hits, we might not see Nitkowski again until the Olympics. I belive the Hawks are sending some talent to Beijing as part of the Japanese national team, so as a result the foreigner limit will be expanded.
On a personal note, I think that Nitkowski was unfairly sent down, and this must be grating on his nerves. People have bad outings all the time, and while throwing up two bad ones in a row is a cause of concern, I don't think that it's worth being sent down to ni-gun. For all the Hawks knew, he might've bounced right back when they let him pitch again.
I hope this answered your question.
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Since my last post, when the Hawks won their 3rd straight game, they've had a hard time stringing wins together. In fact, they've lost four of their last five games with one rainout. The first loss was a pitcher's duel that saw Kenji Ohtonari on the losing end, 2-1. A rainout ended the Hawks series with the Buffaloes, that game will be made up at the end of the season.
The Hawks next stop was Sapporo Dome, where the Hawks ran into Yu Darvish and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, who shut them down and threw a complete game. Toshiya Sugiuchi, who has had up-and-down seasons throughout his career, took the loss despite throwing a complete game himself. The final score was 3-1 Fighters.
The second game in the 3-game series with Nippon Ham ended with the Hawks 3rd straight loss, and Shota Ohba being on the losing end, 4-2. Home runs by Terrmel Sledge and Satoh ended up being the straws that broke SoftBank's back. One thing of note: Rick Guttormson was moved back to the bullpen.
The Hawks finally broke through with their first win in 4 days, with Tsuyoshi Wada getting the win and looking stronger every start. Wada went 7 and 1/3 innings, getting pulled when giving up back-to-back home runs to Kensuke Tanaka and Atsunori Inaba. Ogura and DJ Houlton slammed the door shut for a 4-2 win.
The Hawks immediately regressed in their first game of a 3-game series against the Rakuten Eagles. Jeremy Powell got the start and was tagged with the loss, giving up all four runs that the Eagles would score in a 4-3 loss. The dynamic rookie duo of Ogura and Kume were able to hold the Eagles scoreless, but these two are on the road to being overworked. Matsunaka and Kokubo each hit home runs for the Hawks.
However, there is good news. Tsuyoshi Wada is healthy and looks better with every start, and the middle of the order, anchored by Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Hiroki Kokubo looks healthy and powerful. Hiroshi Shibahara is hitting like a fiend this year, and Nobuhiro Matsuda is getting better with every game.
However, things need to be shaken up at the top of the order because Munenori Kawasaki does not look good. He is batting only .259 and seems to miss not having Naoyuki Ohmura batting ahead of him in the lineup. Also, it seems the injury bug has hit OF Hitoshi Tamura again. Japanese teams are notoriously mum on injuries, and I may be mistaken that he's hurt, but Tamura did not play at all this weekend against Nippon Ham and hasn't played since the day before the rainout against Orix. The Hawks need his bat in a pretty weak lineup.