Niigata doesn't appear ready for pro baseball franchise

Two years ago, I wrote a column about how I thought the city of Niigata appeared ready to support a Japanese baseball franchise team, should there ever be another expansion (as in the case of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2004) or if an existing Central or Pacific League club decided to move. Now, I am not so sure.

I went there again earlier this month to watch the Tokyo Yakult Swallows host (they were the "home" team) the Yomiuri Giants and found the atmosphere a little disappointing. It was Sunday, Sept. 9, game time was 3 p.m., the weather was good, and I was expecting a crowd of at least 30,000 at Hard-Off Eco Stadium.

However, the paid attendance was later reported as only 17,966 for that important CL contest between the two Climax Series contenders, and it appeared as if there were not even that many spectators. The upper deck of the beautiful ballpark that opened three years ago was almost empty, and it seemed somewhat sad.

The attractions of the city and access to the stadium as reported in 2010, are still OK. There are lots of nice hotels, and it is just a little more than a two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo to Niigata Station where convenient shuttle buses take fans to the game in 10 minutes.

However, there were fewer selections of food on sale at Hard-Off; no pizza, for example, as they had last time I was there. I somehow am getting the impression that perhaps Niigata was hoping to lure the Yokohama franchise which then-owner TBS Broadcasting had been trying to unload for several years before selling to Mobage-DeNA in 2011.

When it became apparent last December that team would remain in its home south of Tokyo, Niigata may have lost heart — and hope. The city, with its population of around 800,000, would still be a great place to put a pro baseball team, but the authorities should step up their efforts a bit.

Only five games were scheduled in Niigata this season, and the city's sports council would be wise to first of all get more teams to go there and play more games. It should also beef up the ballpark facilities, showcase the stadium and strive to promote pro baseball so as to increase attendance and interest.

Diamond Dust: There were at least nine scouts from six major league teams in attendance at the Sept. 14-16 series between the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome. All were there to check out Hanshin closer Kyuji Fujikawa, about to become a free agent and said to be looking to jump to an American or National League team in 2013.

They also kept an eye on Tigers shortstop Takashi Toritani, another who can declare free agency following the season.

Seen were representatives from the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. They got to see Fujikawa come in to save the middle game of the series, but he was not all that impressive.

Fujikawa retired in order the three batters he faced on a routine outfield fly ball and two infield grounders, but he did not come close to striking out any hitters, his classic forkball was just so-so, and his fastball, clocked consistently at better than 150 kph five years ago, registered at a maximum speed of 144 kph that night.

What's worse, Fujikawa was de-registered three days later with what was described as a sore right adductor. He is likely done for the year, and this all points to the fact the guy's major league appeal has obviously gone way down.

From the (e-) mail bag: In response to last week's column about the Yokohama BayStars, Yokosuka fan Mike O'Donnell wrote: "What Yokohama needs are ballplayers who can catch. Our pitching staff is not bad. Our batting order could use some shuffling around to support our two decent power hitters. (Alex) Ramirez is a definite upgrade over (Shuichi) Murata, (who left as a free agent and signed with the Giants).

"But the reason we are in last place is our fielding. How many singles have our fielders allowed to become doubles, and how many ground balls have made it through our infield that should have been caught?"

Mike, it is obvious the BayStars, like the Hanshin Tigers, need a complete overhaul for 2013. Yokohama must solve its foreign player, hitting and pitching problems and, as you mention, the defense must also be tightened up.

Ron Scronce, a fan of Japanese baseball in North Carolina, wrote, "As you know, the Little League championships are a big deal for viewers of ESPN in the U.S. but, according to my wife, who is Japanese, there was virtually no news in Japan about the (Kitasuna) team's victory. How could that be?"

Ron, it seems as if the popularity of Japanese baseball ranges from high to not-so-high on alternating levels. The pros and high school teams are the most followed, whereas interest in the college, corporate teams and the Little Leaguers is not that hot.

However, the channels on Japan's J-SPORTS TV network have been showing Little League World Series games, including those (of course) played by the Japanese champion Kitasuna team.

Finally this week, an update on Alex Ramirez's pursuit of the career 2,000-hit mark this season. Through games of Thursday, the Yokohama outfielder and 12-year Japanese baseball veteran had 132 hits in 128 games played to that date. He needs 150 base knocks to reach 2,000, and his current pace is for 148.5 by the end of the season on Oct. 7.

Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com

View the original article here

Niigata prevails over defending champs in series opener

The Niigata Albirex BB had six players reach double figures in scoring in Saturday's 89-80 victory over the two-time reigning champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix in Game 1 of their bj-league Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.

Time to regroup: After an 89-80 series-opening loss to the visiting Niigata Albirex BB on Saturday, guard Kenya Tomori, seen competing against the Sendai 89ers earlier this season, and his Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix teammates will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday. DOMINIKA FITZGERALD

Erron Maxey, a former Providence forward, paced the Albirex with 18 points in 18-plus minutes off the bench. Ex-Texas Christian University guard Nile Murry had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Chris Holm scored 14 points, raked in 14 boards and swatted three shots. Bennet Davis added 13 points and nine rebounds, Shuhei Komatsu scored 12 and Kimitake Sato had 11.

The Albirex (28-24 in the regular season) trailed 47-37 at the break, then put 52 points on the board the rest of the way to earn the win at Hamamatsu Arena.

Niigata shot 24-for-33 at the foul line; Hamamatsu was 8-for-14.

Guided by first-year coach Matt Garrison, the Albirex out-rebounded the hosts 53-43 and grabbed 25 offensive boards.

For Phoenix coach Ryuji Kawai's club, which finished atop the East standings with a 37-15 record, 2011-12 Best Five guard Jermaine Dixon had 23 points on 7-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-12 from 3-point range, and nine rebounds. Big man Gyno Pomare contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Lawrence Blackledge and Shoji Nakanishi each had 11 points and Jeffrey Parmer scored 10. Kenya Tomori contributed eight points. Best 5 member Atsuya Ota, a backup center, had zero points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, one turnover and four fouls in 20:05 of playing time.

Phoenix standout Wayne Arnold, who was held to 1-for-11 shooting, reflected on the loss in a post-game interview with The Japan Times

"They made plays down the stretch and we didn't, bottom line," Arnold said. "We came out of the gate fast in the first half behind a strong effort by Jermaine and Shoji Nakanishi. Gyno also gave us a big lift on the glass. I think we as a team were complaining to the refs too much, although the foul call were pretty uneven in the first half. I think that carried over to the second half.

"We got out in transition and forced some turnovers. We definitely did that well," he continued. "They made a great adjustment to slow the game down and took away a lot of opportunities that we get by playing fast. In turn, they were able to go inside more and spread the court with their Japanese shooters, who played well. Once the game slowed, I think we lost our aggression and they stole the momentum.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, we have to continue to play our brand of basketball for 50 minutes (including the mini-game tiebreaker). We can't just rely on Jermaine to create all of our scoring opportunities. Everyone has to be aggressive on D and on offense. This is playoff basketball, no one is going home without a fight."

Golden Kings 71, Lakestars 61

In Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Narito Namizato scored 17 points and Dillion Sneed had 16 on 7-for-10 shooting as Ryukyu defeated Shiga in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

The Golden Kings, the league's winningest team in the regular season at 39-13, held Shiga to nine fourth-quarter points to lock up the win.

Anthony McHenry had 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for the Golden Kings, who shot 2-for-23 from 3-point range. Forward David Palmer, the league's top 3-point shooter in the regular season at 50 percent, missed all five of his 3-point shots, but added eight points and eight boards.

Yu Okada scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for Shiga, which finished fourth in the West under first-year coach Alan Westover. Julius Ashby had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Shinya Ogawa added eight points. Ray Nixon had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Ryukyu held Shiga to 22-for-70 shooting from the field.

"Down 0-1 in best-of-three playoff series only motivates me to overcome this obstacle and prevail through adversity," Nixon wrote on Facebook. (We're) not going down without a fight! Tough loss today but we get back at it tomorrow."

Hannaryz 64, Evessa 59

In Osaka, in a low-scoring, defensive struggle, Kyoto edged the Evessa, who were playing their first playoff game in the post-Lynn Washington era.

Jermaine Boyette scored a team-high 17 points for the Hannaryz and Lee Cummard poured in 16 points. Former NBA center Lance Allred (eight points, 10 rebounds) and Taizo Kawabe (eight points) provided key contributions for bench boss Honoo Hamaguchi's club.

Kyoto shot 16-for-17 at the foul line, compensating for its 22-for-64 effort from the field. The Hannaryz exhibited patience and poise on offense in turning the ball over only seven times.

For Osaka, which had reached the Final Four for six consecutive seasons (three championships) with two-time MVP Washington, whose so-called retirement was announced in April, as the franchise cornerstone, Mike Bell finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Longtime Tokyo Apache star Cohey Aoki scored 13 points in his playoff debut for the Evessa and Wayne Marshall added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Though they sank 16 of 18 free throws, the Evessa missed 43 of their 63 shots from the field.

View the original article here