HR Suketto Set New Records

In the same game that Cabrera hit his 150th career home run, Ogasawara Michihiro hit his 150th as well. Hitting his after Cabrera, sparking a two-run seventh inning which tied the game, Ogasawara became the 127th player to hit 150 career home runs (doing his in 779 games).

Ogasawara went 3 for 4, walking and eventually scoring the winning run in the 10th, the fourth time he crossed the plate that game. For all of Cabrera's power, it goes to show that a steady hitter like Ogasawara (currently batting .364 with 29 HRs) is just as important for winning games. (Cabrera was on deck when Wada popped out to right to end the game.)

I would like to see Alex Cabrera in the Major Leagues. His talent is going to waste and he should be playing with the best. If he stays in Japan he will break every home run record there is to break and that 55 home run mark will become dust. The only reason he didnt break it in 2003 is because of his injury at the beginning of the season.

Now Kazuo Matsui is trying to enter the Majors. My question is, if Kaz is making so much noise being less of a hitter than Cabrea, why doesn't Cabrera try the Majors? If Matsui was Japan's best hitter, give Cabrera 5 years and you'll see another Matsui with more power.

Cabrera and Matsui are two different types of players. Power hitting first basemen are plentiful in the Majors, so it'll be hard for him to get a spot. Good hitting shortstops with speed and power, on the other hand, are rare. That's why Matsui is getting so much attention.

Cabrera got fed up with not getting a chance to make it in the Majors, and has expressed no desire to return.

The "foreign helpers" are making the Central League HR race very interesting, too, with Arias and Woods at 36, Ramirez at 35, and Petagine at 33. This race is fun to watch, with all the guys going for the bleachers on every swing.

Petagine's injuries might have cost him a shot at winning the title, but he has come back with a rush.

Placing Arias in the leadoff position was an interesting move on Hoshino's part, and he did homer in the first inning.

I find it interesting that Todd makes the remark "with all the guys swinging for the bleachers on every swing" I see that Ramirez has managed to keep his avg. at .325 with 111 RBI's while Arias is batting .272 with 101 RBI's, and Woods is at .263 with 80 RBI's. It looks to me like Ramirez is quietly having an MVP type of year.

There are some things that those numbers don't tell. Namely, that while Arias doesn't look that impressive compared to Ramirez, he has really come through when it counted the most this season. Time and again, Arias took the hero stage as he was the one to decide the game for the Tigers, often in the final innings, making it more dramatic. All the personal experience I have with Ramirez was the recent three game sweeping that the Swallows got while Ramirez hit out (I think) three to no result.

I'm still not sure about what to think of Woods. He's hit some monsters, but most without anyone on base. And hovering around .255 to .270 all season hasn't helped much. He does seem to be streaky, though. Woods will go on a tear for a few games, then go stone cold, grounding into a few double plays a game. It's really been all or nothing with him most of the season, where "all" is usually without runners on base. (I've confirmed that it's more than just a feeling as he's batting .250 with runners in scoring position going into today.)

- It looks to me like Ramirez is quietly having an MVP type of year.

Unfortunately for Ramirez, too many Tigers also had MVP type years, and they got all the press.

I do think that Ramirez is one of the more under-rated players. He's got that fan-appealing outgoingness that Hosey had, which gives him a good sized following at Jingu. But he was in Petagine's shadow the past couple of seasons, and the Tigers really dominated the press this season, not giving Ramirez much room to appeal to a larger audience.

It was fun to see Woods' bunt last night. With runners on first and second and no outs, Yamashita-kantouku asked Wood to sacrify, but failed. It is supposed that Woods needs to swing for any chance to get HR king. And he cannot bunt?