It's been a long year: Norihiro Nakamura and the BayStars are trying to avoid another last-place finish. KYODOYokohama was not expected to qualify for the Central League Climax Series, but it was hoped the colorful first-year manager Kiyoshi Nakahata might lead the club out of last place (still a possibility, although unlikely). It does appear however Yokohama will win more games and slightly improve on the its 2011 record of 47 wins, 69 losses and 8 ties. With 40 victories through games of Sept. 12, the team needed to win just eight of its remaining 22 games in order to say at least it got a little better.However, the fans in the port city must be getting tired of the futility and seeing their boys come in dead last year after year. Yokohama has registered sixth-place finishes in eight of the last 10 seasons and four in a row. The only times the BayStars were out of the basement were in 2005 when they finished third, and 2007 in fourth place.One area where the club has not improved is in its foreign player roster. Seven non-Japanese guys have played for the BayStars this season, but you would not know it by looking at the team's lineup these days.Pitcher Clayton Hamilton was released earlier this summer, infielder Oscar Salazar and left-handed pitchers Brandon Mann and Wang Yi-cheng from Taiwan, and right-hander Gio Alvarado have spent most of their time lately in Yokosuka on the farm team.The same goes for a pair of players acquired since the season began; first baseman Randy Ruiz and southpaw hurler Bobby Cramer.In fact, during a recent series against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome the only non-kanji name in the BayStars lineup was that of left-fielder and cleanup hitter Alex Ramirez, who is actually counted as a Japanese player, having played 12 years in country."There's no doubt our foreigners have not worked out this season," said team general manager Shigeru Takada. "We need to do a better job of scouting in the U.S. so we can improve in this area next year."Lack of production by the gaikokujin has not been Takada's only problem, of course. The team desperately needs to improve its corps of catchers, add more power and acquire some strong-armed pitchers. Takada said he will work hard to eliminate some of the many weaknesses by drafting some good young talent in the upcoming amateur draft and by making some trades over the winter."It has been a long season for us, and I know the fans in Yokohama are frustrated, as am I. But we will do our best to complete our three-year plan to develop a pennant contender by 2014," he said.As documented by Kaz Nagatsuka of The Japan Times in a July 1 article and also pointed out in a recent (Aug. 29) New York Times article by Ken Belson, the BayStars front office, under new ownership, has tried a series of promotions to lure customers to the ballpark. There were also refunds offered to fans dissatisfied with their Yokohama Stadium experience, even when the home team emerged victorious.A change of atmosphere has indicated most fans are enjoying themselves at the stadium, though, and attendance is said to be up slightly over 2011.Nakahata, the former Giants star, has also been criticized for being a little too much of a comedian rather than a serious manager, but he does have his pride and has gotten tough at times. During that Giants series, he scolded and benched young centerfielder Sho Aranami for lackadaisical play.While the 'Stars go through the motions of finishing out the schedule, one highlight should be the pursuit of the 2,000-career hit total by Ramirez, and here is a check on the watch and hit count as he attempts to become the first foreigner to reach that mark in Japan. It will be, as the Japanese say, "giri, giri" or very close for him to do it this season.He can make if he stays healthy and can pick up the pace just a bit. Rami went into the year with 1,850 career knocks, needing 150 to reach the coveted milestone.Through Wednesday, Ramirez had 124 hits in the 'Stars 122 games played to that point. That puts his pace for the year at 146, and the key will be if he can get enough plate appearances, and that may depend on whether or not Yokohama is playing close games, as the tendency had been for Nakahata to sometimes remove Ramirez from games already won or lost in the seventh inning after his first three at-bats.More recently, though, the Japanese baseball veteran has been getting that important fourth at-bat after the team realized Ramirez can make it to 2,000 in October. Schedule-wise, and barring rainouts, the last three BayStars regular season games are set for the weekend of Oct. 5-7 at Tokyo Dome against the Giants. This includes a make-up and two games not on the original slate.That would be an appropriate time for Ramirez to bang out hit No. 2,000, as he played four seasons with the Giants (2008-2011) and remains a crowd favorite at the Big Egg, even in the uniform of an opposing team. If he falls short, he will then have to wait until the opening weekend of 2013.Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com
Showing posts with label BayStars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BayStars. Show all posts
Sunday, September 16, 2012
BayStars need major upgrades to roster
The Yokohama BayStars lost their 69th game of the 2012 season on Sept. 5, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The BayStars thus sealed their 11th consecutive losing season, and it is safe to say the team's performance this year has been nothing short of disappointing.It's been a long year: Norihiro Nakamura and the BayStars are trying to avoid another last-place finish. KYODOYokohama was not expected to qualify for the Central League Climax Series, but it was hoped the colorful first-year manager Kiyoshi Nakahata might lead the club out of last place (still a possibility, although unlikely). It does appear however Yokohama will win more games and slightly improve on the its 2011 record of 47 wins, 69 losses and 8 ties. With 40 victories through games of Sept. 12, the team needed to win just eight of its remaining 22 games in order to say at least it got a little better.However, the fans in the port city must be getting tired of the futility and seeing their boys come in dead last year after year. Yokohama has registered sixth-place finishes in eight of the last 10 seasons and four in a row. The only times the BayStars were out of the basement were in 2005 when they finished third, and 2007 in fourth place.One area where the club has not improved is in its foreign player roster. Seven non-Japanese guys have played for the BayStars this season, but you would not know it by looking at the team's lineup these days.Pitcher Clayton Hamilton was released earlier this summer, infielder Oscar Salazar and left-handed pitchers Brandon Mann and Wang Yi-cheng from Taiwan, and right-hander Gio Alvarado have spent most of their time lately in Yokosuka on the farm team.The same goes for a pair of players acquired since the season began; first baseman Randy Ruiz and southpaw hurler Bobby Cramer.In fact, during a recent series against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome the only non-kanji name in the BayStars lineup was that of left-fielder and cleanup hitter Alex Ramirez, who is actually counted as a Japanese player, having played 12 years in country."There's no doubt our foreigners have not worked out this season," said team general manager Shigeru Takada. "We need to do a better job of scouting in the U.S. so we can improve in this area next year."Lack of production by the gaikokujin has not been Takada's only problem, of course. The team desperately needs to improve its corps of catchers, add more power and acquire some strong-armed pitchers. Takada said he will work hard to eliminate some of the many weaknesses by drafting some good young talent in the upcoming amateur draft and by making some trades over the winter."It has been a long season for us, and I know the fans in Yokohama are frustrated, as am I. But we will do our best to complete our three-year plan to develop a pennant contender by 2014," he said.As documented by Kaz Nagatsuka of The Japan Times in a July 1 article and also pointed out in a recent (Aug. 29) New York Times article by Ken Belson, the BayStars front office, under new ownership, has tried a series of promotions to lure customers to the ballpark. There were also refunds offered to fans dissatisfied with their Yokohama Stadium experience, even when the home team emerged victorious.A change of atmosphere has indicated most fans are enjoying themselves at the stadium, though, and attendance is said to be up slightly over 2011.Nakahata, the former Giants star, has also been criticized for being a little too much of a comedian rather than a serious manager, but he does have his pride and has gotten tough at times. During that Giants series, he scolded and benched young centerfielder Sho Aranami for lackadaisical play.While the 'Stars go through the motions of finishing out the schedule, one highlight should be the pursuit of the 2,000-career hit total by Ramirez, and here is a check on the watch and hit count as he attempts to become the first foreigner to reach that mark in Japan. It will be, as the Japanese say, "giri, giri" or very close for him to do it this season.He can make if he stays healthy and can pick up the pace just a bit. Rami went into the year with 1,850 career knocks, needing 150 to reach the coveted milestone.Through Wednesday, Ramirez had 124 hits in the 'Stars 122 games played to that point. That puts his pace for the year at 146, and the key will be if he can get enough plate appearances, and that may depend on whether or not Yokohama is playing close games, as the tendency had been for Nakahata to sometimes remove Ramirez from games already won or lost in the seventh inning after his first three at-bats.More recently, though, the Japanese baseball veteran has been getting that important fourth at-bat after the team realized Ramirez can make it to 2,000 in October. Schedule-wise, and barring rainouts, the last three BayStars regular season games are set for the weekend of Oct. 5-7 at Tokyo Dome against the Giants. This includes a make-up and two games not on the original slate.That would be an appropriate time for Ramirez to bang out hit No. 2,000, as he played four seasons with the Giants (2008-2011) and remains a crowd favorite at the Big Egg, even in the uniform of an opposing team. If he falls short, he will then have to wait until the opening weekend of 2013.Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com
It's been a long year: Norihiro Nakamura and the BayStars are trying to avoid another last-place finish. KYODOYokohama was not expected to qualify for the Central League Climax Series, but it was hoped the colorful first-year manager Kiyoshi Nakahata might lead the club out of last place (still a possibility, although unlikely). It does appear however Yokohama will win more games and slightly improve on the its 2011 record of 47 wins, 69 losses and 8 ties. With 40 victories through games of Sept. 12, the team needed to win just eight of its remaining 22 games in order to say at least it got a little better.However, the fans in the port city must be getting tired of the futility and seeing their boys come in dead last year after year. Yokohama has registered sixth-place finishes in eight of the last 10 seasons and four in a row. The only times the BayStars were out of the basement were in 2005 when they finished third, and 2007 in fourth place.One area where the club has not improved is in its foreign player roster. Seven non-Japanese guys have played for the BayStars this season, but you would not know it by looking at the team's lineup these days.Pitcher Clayton Hamilton was released earlier this summer, infielder Oscar Salazar and left-handed pitchers Brandon Mann and Wang Yi-cheng from Taiwan, and right-hander Gio Alvarado have spent most of their time lately in Yokosuka on the farm team.The same goes for a pair of players acquired since the season began; first baseman Randy Ruiz and southpaw hurler Bobby Cramer.In fact, during a recent series against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome the only non-kanji name in the BayStars lineup was that of left-fielder and cleanup hitter Alex Ramirez, who is actually counted as a Japanese player, having played 12 years in country."There's no doubt our foreigners have not worked out this season," said team general manager Shigeru Takada. "We need to do a better job of scouting in the U.S. so we can improve in this area next year."Lack of production by the gaikokujin has not been Takada's only problem, of course. The team desperately needs to improve its corps of catchers, add more power and acquire some strong-armed pitchers. Takada said he will work hard to eliminate some of the many weaknesses by drafting some good young talent in the upcoming amateur draft and by making some trades over the winter."It has been a long season for us, and I know the fans in Yokohama are frustrated, as am I. But we will do our best to complete our three-year plan to develop a pennant contender by 2014," he said.As documented by Kaz Nagatsuka of The Japan Times in a July 1 article and also pointed out in a recent (Aug. 29) New York Times article by Ken Belson, the BayStars front office, under new ownership, has tried a series of promotions to lure customers to the ballpark. There were also refunds offered to fans dissatisfied with their Yokohama Stadium experience, even when the home team emerged victorious.A change of atmosphere has indicated most fans are enjoying themselves at the stadium, though, and attendance is said to be up slightly over 2011.Nakahata, the former Giants star, has also been criticized for being a little too much of a comedian rather than a serious manager, but he does have his pride and has gotten tough at times. During that Giants series, he scolded and benched young centerfielder Sho Aranami for lackadaisical play.While the 'Stars go through the motions of finishing out the schedule, one highlight should be the pursuit of the 2,000-career hit total by Ramirez, and here is a check on the watch and hit count as he attempts to become the first foreigner to reach that mark in Japan. It will be, as the Japanese say, "giri, giri" or very close for him to do it this season.He can make if he stays healthy and can pick up the pace just a bit. Rami went into the year with 1,850 career knocks, needing 150 to reach the coveted milestone.Through Wednesday, Ramirez had 124 hits in the 'Stars 122 games played to that point. That puts his pace for the year at 146, and the key will be if he can get enough plate appearances, and that may depend on whether or not Yokohama is playing close games, as the tendency had been for Nakahata to sometimes remove Ramirez from games already won or lost in the seventh inning after his first three at-bats.More recently, though, the Japanese baseball veteran has been getting that important fourth at-bat after the team realized Ramirez can make it to 2,000 in October. Schedule-wise, and barring rainouts, the last three BayStars regular season games are set for the weekend of Oct. 5-7 at Tokyo Dome against the Giants. This includes a make-up and two games not on the original slate.That would be an appropriate time for Ramirez to bang out hit No. 2,000, as he played four seasons with the Giants (2008-2011) and remains a crowd favorite at the Big Egg, even in the uniform of an opposing team. If he falls short, he will then have to wait until the opening weekend of 2013.Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Yamamoto, Donoue lift Dragons over BayStars
Masahiro Yamamoto turned in a vintage performance on the mound to lead the Chunichi Dragons past the Yokohama BayStars 1-0 on Monday at Nagoya Dome.
There it goes: The Eagles' Luis Garcia hits a solo homer in the seventh inning on Monday. KYODOThe 46-year-old Yamamoto (2-0) allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none over seven shutout innings against the last-place BayStars.Setup man Takuya Asao worked the eighth and closer Hitoki Iwase nailed down his 11th save of the season in the ninth.Takehiro Donoue provided the offense with a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh.Swallows 7, Carp 1At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Tokyo Yakult posted back-to-back three-run frames in the sixth and seventh innings to help make a winner out of starter Shohei Tateyama (3-0).Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto finished with a pair of hits, bringing his career total to 1,996, and drove in two runs.Tigers 0, Giants 0 (11)Hanshin reliever Daiki Enokida allowed Yomiuri to load the bases to begin the ninth then got out of the jam with three straight outs.PACIFIC LEAGUEEagles 2, Fighters 1At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Luis Garcia led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer and an error at third by Hokkaido Nippon Ham's Eiichi Koyano allowed Tohoku Rakuten to score the go-ahead run.Takahiro Shiomi (3-2) tossed seven innings of one-run ball to pick up the win and Darrell Rasner worked the ninth for his sixth save of the season.Marines 4, Hawks 3At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Shoitsu Omatsu sparked a three-run inning with his two-run single in the fourth to spoil the debut of Hawks pitcher Kodai Senga.Marines rookie Takahiro Fujioka gave up three runs and struck out three to improve to 3-1 on the season.Buffaloes 5, Lions 4At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Aarom Baldiris hit a sayonara homer to give the Buffaloes a victory over the Lions.Seibu stormed out to a 4-0 advantage before Orix got back in the game with a three-run sixth then evened the score on Lee Dae Ho's solo shot in the seventh.
There it goes: The Eagles' Luis Garcia hits a solo homer in the seventh inning on Monday. KYODOThe 46-year-old Yamamoto (2-0) allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none over seven shutout innings against the last-place BayStars.Setup man Takuya Asao worked the eighth and closer Hitoki Iwase nailed down his 11th save of the season in the ninth.Takehiro Donoue provided the offense with a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh.Swallows 7, Carp 1At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Tokyo Yakult posted back-to-back three-run frames in the sixth and seventh innings to help make a winner out of starter Shohei Tateyama (3-0).Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto finished with a pair of hits, bringing his career total to 1,996, and drove in two runs.Tigers 0, Giants 0 (11)Hanshin reliever Daiki Enokida allowed Yomiuri to load the bases to begin the ninth then got out of the jam with three straight outs.PACIFIC LEAGUEEagles 2, Fighters 1At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Luis Garcia led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer and an error at third by Hokkaido Nippon Ham's Eiichi Koyano allowed Tohoku Rakuten to score the go-ahead run.Takahiro Shiomi (3-2) tossed seven innings of one-run ball to pick up the win and Darrell Rasner worked the ninth for his sixth save of the season.Marines 4, Hawks 3At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Shoitsu Omatsu sparked a three-run inning with his two-run single in the fourth to spoil the debut of Hawks pitcher Kodai Senga.Marines rookie Takahiro Fujioka gave up three runs and struck out three to improve to 3-1 on the season.Buffaloes 5, Lions 4At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Aarom Baldiris hit a sayonara homer to give the Buffaloes a victory over the Lions.Seibu stormed out to a 4-0 advantage before Orix got back in the game with a three-run sixth then evened the score on Lee Dae Ho's solo shot in the seventh.Sunday, December 25, 2011
Interest heats up for new-look BayStars
Merry Christmas to all readers of the Baseball Bullet-In, and the fans in Yokohama should have a relaxing holiday season now that their team has been sold, it has a new manager, new owner and a new look after limping through a few — shall we say — less-than-spectacular seasons.Santa Claus has brought a special gift in Kiyoshi Nakahata, former Yomiuri Giants player and NTV commentator who will take over as the field boss. If Nakahata runs the club with even half the enthusiasm he had during his days as a Giants infielder, we should be seeing vast improvement in the team right away.Nakahata was a tenacious player who made his first mark in November of 1978 when called up from the Giants farm team to play against the visiting Cincinnati Reds on their post-season Japan barnstorming tour. Then 24, he broke in with a home run off "Big Red Machine" pitcher Mario Soto at Korakuen Stadium.Having proven he could hit major league pitching, at least in one at-bat, Nakahata was given a chance to become the regular third baseman for Yomiuri and by 1981 had established himself as the Giants' hot corner man. However, the club drafted highly touted rookie Tatsunori Hara in the fall of 1980, and then-manager Motoshi Fujita moved Nakahata to first base.He went on to enjoy a 14-year career at that position, helping the Kyojin win five Central League pennants with Hara (currently the Giants manager and a CL rival skipper) at third, Toshio Shinozuka at second base and Kazumasa Kono at shortstop. The quartet was one of the most productive infields — offensively and defensively — in Japanese baseball history.Besides serving as a batting coach with the Giants and acting manager of the 2004 Japan Olympic team (filling in for the ailing Shigeo Nagashima), Nakahata is also a past chief of the Japanese Pro Baseball Players Union. It was often said during his time as head of the JPBPU there was no chance the labor group would go on strike, because Nakahata enjoyed the game so much, and he could not stand not playing.The mood on the 2012 Yokohama DeNA BayStars should be light, as Nakahata's personality is fun-loving and sometimes comedic. I've been out with him and the NTV broadcast crew following Giants "home" games in countryside towns, and he loves to sing karaoke. One evening he cracked up the staff by dialing up "Rokko Oroshi," the fight song of the Hanshin Tigers, and belting it out as if he were a fan of the archrival CL team.On another occasion, Nakahata was assigned to add color commentary to NTV's telecast of a Giants game at Fukushima. Since he is from that prefecture, he was asked to serve as the honorary batter during the first-ball throwing ceremony.The "pitcher" was a local schoolboy who nervously threw his ball directly at Nakahata, who had to jump out of the way to avoid being beaned. Nakahata then simulated charging the mound, much to the amusement of his hometown crowd.Despite his flamboyant personality, Nakahata must be serious about taking the Yokohama manager's job after four others had apparently turned it down. At 57, he must be thinking it's now or never if he's going to manage, something he said he had thought about for a long time.Obviously, he will have his work cut out, taking over a last-place club further weakened by the loss of third baseman and cleanup hitter Shuichi Murata, who left as a free agent and will be playing for Hara and the Giants against the BayStars. Nakahata will have 11-year Japanese baseball veteran Alex Ramirez to play left field, but there are several weak spots that must be beefed up if the team is going to escape the basement, let alone contend for a playoff spot.No BayStars pitcher won more than five games in 2011 and, with Murata and outfielder Terrmel Sledge (going back to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters) no longer on the roster, Ramirez will be the only regular who had a double-figure home run total in Japan during the past season.At the Dec. 9 news conference introducing him as the DeNA manager, Nakahata said his impression of the team and one bright spot is how youthful it is. He expects a lot from youngsters such as 20-year-old first baseman Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. He also said he hopes the team will adopt a catchphrase with the word "hot" or "fever" included, indicating he wants to heat up baseball in Yokohama.Nakahata's coaching staff has been announced, and there are no foreigners listed, but the team would be wise to take advantage of Yokohama's reputation as an international city and fill some of the gaps with talented pitchers and position players from overseas. Ramirez, having played in Japan more than nine years, does not count against the club's four-foreigner limit on the first team roster.Even before Nakahata was named manager, the BayStars drafted two high school players with mixed parentage; outfielder Tomo Otosaka of Kanagawa Prefecture and pitcher Travis Mikihisa Samura from Okinawa.Otosaka, 17, is the son of a former American ice hockey player and was selected as the No. 5 draft choice. Samura, 18, was the 'Stars No. 6 pick and is said to possess a dazzling forkball and throws a 150-kph fastball.I like the team's spiffy new logo and am waiting to see how the DeNA uniforms will look. The team designation has been changed from "YB" to "DB," and the new BayStars will begin spring camp in Okinawa on Feb. 1. Their first exhibition game is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 26, at Naha — against the Giants.Nakahata's troops will open the 2012 regular season against Hanshin at Kyocera Osaka Dome on March 30, and the first home game is set for April 3 against the CL champion Chunichi Dragons. I can't wait.Merry Christmas, Yokohama.Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Nakahata named BayStars manager
Yokohama — The Yokohama DeNA BayStars on Friday announced the appointment of former Yomiuri Giants batting coach Kiyoshi Nakahata as their first manager under the ownership of DeNA Co.Nakahata took the job that was about to be filled by former Seibu Lions pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo, whose talks with general manager Shigeru Takada broke down earlier this month over the team's plans for 2012."I've always wanted to pay my debt of gratitude to baseball by managing," Nakahata said. "The position of manager is the most challenging in the game. I'm just shaking out of excitement."Nakahata spent all of his 14-year playing career through 1989 with the Giants, hitting .290 with 171 homers and 621 RBIs.At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he guided Japan to a bronze-medal finish as acting manager in place of Shigeo Nagashima, who was unable to travel to the Greek capital after suffering a stroke.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Nakahata to manage BayStars
Former Yomiuri Giants batting coach Kiyoshi Nakahata is set to become the first manager of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, baseball sources said Wednesday.The BayStars, whose ownership change was approved by baseball team owners last week, have received a positive response from the 57-year-old Nakahata regarding their job offer.An official announcement is expected within days after the two sides work out details.Nakahata said in Tokyo that he has not received an official offer from the BayStars.But asked what he thought about managing, Nakahata said, "I've wanted to manage a team for years. That hasn't changed at all."BayStars general manager Shigeru Takada turned to Nakahata after he was unable to reach agreement with former Seibu Lions pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo in the final stages of negotiations on issues such as the acquisition of players.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
BayStars break off talks with Kudo
YOKOHAMA — The newly named Yokohama DeNA BayStars' talks with former Seibu Lions pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo regarding managing the team have broken down, general manager Shigeru Takada said Monday."We just couldn't create a trusting relationship between the manager and general manager," Takada said, explaining that he and Kudo were unable to agree on issues such as the acquisition of players.The 48-year-old Kudo, who has no managerial experience, had shown a positive stance regarding accepting the manager's job.Last week, Japanese baseball owners approved mobile phone game operator DeNA Co. as owner of the BayStars, who have finished last in the Central League for four years in a row and eight times in the last 10 seasons.
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