Dead Ball (JPN Baseball Thread)

[Behan]

To balance out the (mis?)perception of FG players being violent, I wish incidents like Hoshino's attack on DiMuro, etc, would get more coverage here.
Taiho and Hoshino got away with physically abusing him. If I remember correctly, Taiho had already been ejected and then pushed the American umpire.
I think, in effect, Taiho got a free one because there was no more punishment like a suspension or fine. He was already ejected.
Just my two yen of whining...

[IkemenTommy]

Mariah Carey throwing the first pitch of last night's Gomiuri Giants game:drool:

[Behan]

Mariah Carey throwing the first pitch of last night's Gomiuri Giants game:drool:

Your post kicks my post's *ss.

[halfnip]

Mariah Carey throwing the first pitch of last night's Gomiuri Giants game:drool:

I love how she managed to keep her left hand so nonchalantly in her pocket while throwing the pitch. LMAO

[Gilligan]

Dice-K has been placed on the 15-day DL with a mild strain to his rotator cuff.

[gkanai]

Bloomberg has a long and interesting article on how MLB is draining the talent from the NPB: Fukudome in Chicago Dims Lights on Fans Ruth Inspired in Japan

[GuyJean]

.. Has there ever been a switch pitcher?..

Ambidextrous Venditte Creates a Stir
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080620&content_id=2969030&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

What happens when an ambidextrous pitcher faces off against a switch-hitting batter?..

Pitching right-handed, Venditte induced a pair of groundouts to start the inning, and Nicholas Giarraputo then singled to center field to keep the game alive. This brought switch-hitter Ralph Henriquez to the plate, and that's when the fun began.

Henriquez had been swinging left-handed in the on-deck circle, so Venditte switched his glove to his right hand in order to face the 21-year-old backstop. Seeing this, Henriquez instead came to the plate batting from the right side. So, Venditte switched his glove back to his left hand. Henriquez then decided to bat lefty, and Venditte switched his glove yet again.

And on and on it went. This rather absurd (and highly amusing) game of chicken ultimately led to a prolonged conference between the umpires and coaching staffs of both teams. After much debate, Manriquez was made to bat right-handed against Venditte throwing right-handed. Manriquez then struck out on three pitches to end the game..

GJ

[Gilligan]

Ambidextrous Venditte Creates a Stir
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080620&content_id=2969030&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
GJ

Interesting piece there GJ. What's more interesting is that the New York-Penn League had not anticipated this happening. I had thought that back when Greg Harris (another ambidexterous pitcher) was pitching in the majors, MLB had decided that the pitcher needed to say which hand he would use for a given batter prior to the batter coming to the plate and that he was subsequently not allowed to change that. A quick search of the MLB rulebook turned up no such rule]this article[/URL], which states the following:

There is no rule prohibiting a pitcher from switching hands from batter to batter. But under major-league regulations, he can't do it pitch to pitch; once he "declares" which hand he'll use for that batter, he has to stick to it.

[GuyJean]

Nice finds!..

.. What's more interesting is that the New York-Penn League had not anticipated this happening..

I was wondering the same thing..
[quote].. he can't do it pitch to pitch]That would be wild if he could..

GJ

[IkemenTommy]

She's back!

[IkemenTommy]

[kusai Jijii]

Jack must be poppin a nut as we speak...

[IkemenTommy]

Jack must be poppin a nut as we speak...

on that? you gotta be kidding me!

[Greji]

on that? you gotta be kidding me!

Ahhh, I don't want to cause any problems for Jack, so being the nice guy I am, I will do her instead....

[GomiGirl]

Am I the only one that can't see IkemenTommy's images? Am not sure what BB code you are using but they are not showing up for me.

[Greji]

Am I the only one that can't see IkemenTommy's images? Am not sure what BB code you are using but they are not showing up for me.

Ditto here and if they're what I think they are, I wants to see.....

[IkemenTommy]

I have no idea why the pictures didn't show up the first time. Probably because I chose to use the "manage attachments" but had that tab closed when I uploaded it.

Well I hope that made your day, Greji-san.

[kamome]

Am I the only one that can't see IkemenTommy's images? Am not sure what BB code you are using but they are not showing up for me.

I can't see them either.

[GomiGirl]

I have no idea why the pictures didn't show up the first time. Probably because I chose to use the "manage attachments" but had that tab closed when I uploaded it.

Well I hope that made your day, Greji-san.

Upload the photos, open a new window/tab -> go to your User CP -> Attchments -> Copy the entire field starting with [img] tags next to the file name that you want to show -> paste into the original text field of the post.

[Greji]

Dodgers beat the Angels, despite no hits!

[SIZE="4"]"No hits, no problem for Dodgers in win"[/SIZE]
The Dodgers have been trying to win without hitting all year and Saturday night they literally did.

They were held hitless by starter Jered Weaver and Jose Arrendano, but recorded a 1-0 win with an unearned run in the fifth inning. Chad Billingsley combined with Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito as the Dodgers recorded their second consecutive shutout against the Angels in the Interleague Freeway Series. More here.....

[Behan]

Poor Jered and Jose. Sounds like a great pitching duel.

BTW, what's up with all the people getting caught doping? Didn't they test before in NPB?

BTW+1, how long do you have to stop taking steroids to get a negative result? I guess it would depend on the drug of choice but eventually it should stop showing up. And shouldn't these ball players know they are going to get caught?

[Greji]

Poor Jered and Jose. Sounds like a great pitching duel.

BTW, what's up with all the people getting caught doping? Didn't they test before in NPB?

BTW+1, how long do you have to stop taking steroids to get a negative result? I guess it would depend on the drug of choice but eventually it should stop showing up. And shouldn't these ball players know they are going to get caught?

Most tests to date have been done on a random basis and just like a lot of places, there are those who say "they won't catch me!". The players are now finally learning that they mean what they say now.

[Gilligan]

Most tests to date have been done on a random basis and just like a lot of places, there are those who say "they won't catch me!". The players are now finally learning that they mean what they say now.

Only players too cheap or stupid to pay for the best get caught. And I've got no sympathy for stingy idiots.

[maraboutslim]

I've always found it weird that even though one has an "unearned" run scored against him, like what happened to Jered Weaver, he still gets stuck with the loss on his record!

[Captain Japan]

I've always found it weird that even though one has an "unearned" run scored against him, like what happened to Jered Weaver, he still gets stuck with the loss on his record!

Who should they give it to?

[Gilligan]

This article from a couple days ago claims that

Hiroshi Yamauchi, retired head of the game company Nintendo, is looking to get out of the baseball business and is intent on selling his controlling share of the Mariners.

It also repeats what Greiji said in a different thread about Johjima's extension.

One source close to the Mariners says that the club's decision to award catcher Kenji Johjima a three-year, $24 million contract in April was based solely on the Japanese ownership group's desire to take care of him before getting out, and that the baseball operations people wanted no part of extending Johjima.

Of course that little fact didn't help Bavasi keep his job. Personally, I'll always think well of Bavasi because without him, the O's never would have gotten Adam Jones, George Sherrill and change for Erik Bedard.

[Behan]

And one incredible pitching performance by Hiroki Kuroda later they were tied for first at 44-45, having won eight of 11 games, the last a history-flirting 3-0 victory over the road-scarred Atlanta Braves. Kuroda, a 33-year-old rookie strike-thrower from Japan, took a perfect game into the eighth inning and settled for a one-hitter after Mark Teixeira stroked a two-strike double down the right-field line to lead off the inning.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AuPQ2k1KEKfR1dOvHUDzY8M5nYcB?slug=ti-dodgers070808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Behan]

Writer takes memorable trip to Victor Starfin Stadium in Asahikawa


By WAYNE GRACZYK
ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido — Last week I had the pleasure of attending a regular-season baseball game in the central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa, as the Yomiuri Giants played the Chunichi Dragons at the 25,000-seat Victor Starfin Stadium. It was the first appearance by the Giants in 16 years at the ballpark named for one of the most colorful characters in Japanese baseball history.

Victor Starfin (sometimes spelled Starffin) was an ethnic Russian whose parents came to Japan after the Russian Revolution, settling in the town where the young Victor would attend Asahikawa High School and become a star pitcher on the baseball team.

He went on to achieve stardom as a professional, playing for the Tokyo Giants in the 1930s and early '40s during the beginning days of pro ball in Japan, before the outbreak of World War II disrupted the game's schedule and seasons. He resumed playing post-war in 1946 at the age of 30 with the Shochiku Robins and wrapped up his career with the Takahashi Unions in 1955.

A hulk of a man at 193 cm tall and weighing 104 kg, Starfin had several nicknames. One was the "Blue-eyed Japanese," because he took the name Hiroshi Suda during the war years when foreign words, including baseball terms such as "strike," "ball," "safe" and "out," were banned from the Japanese lexicon.

Another was "Victory" Starfin, as he was one of the winningest pitchers in Japanese baseball annals, compiling a career mark of 303-176, including a Japan pro record 42 wins in 1939 when he was just 23 years old. He also won 38 in 1940. Starfin is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, having been inducted posthumously in 1960.

Born in the Ural Mountains of Russia on May 1, 1916, Starfin died on Jan. 12, 1957, at the age of 40 when the car he was driving was hit by a train. But his memory survives at the stadium, built in 1983, in Asahikawa.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/sb20080720wg.html

[Gilligan]

Sounds like Lou Piniella and Cubs fans aren't too happy with Fukudome's struggles at the plate.

[Greji]

Sounds like Lou Piniella and Cubs fans aren't too happy with Fukudome's struggles at the plate.

People foget that Chicago fans are identically to fans in NYC. You do well and you're the hero of the city. You miss one high curve ball and they heat up the tar and breakout the chicken feathers...