| July 1st
Getting lifted...
After the long 4 day layoff we split a 3game series with Marines. How you ask? If you’re not familiar with Japanese baseball then you are not aware of the tie rule. No game is played longer than 12 innings resulting in ties. We tied the Marines and split the 3 game series 1-1-1. The second time we have done that this season.
I only got to pitch once against Lotte and had an unusual experience. I started an inning where I was going to face a switch hitter, a lefty and then a righty. We were losing by one run at the time.
The first hitter I faced hit a 2-2 pitch through the hole between the 2nd and 1st basemen for a single. I wasn’t too concerned. With a runner on first and no outs I am always thinking double play. I get more groundouts than flyouts so I like my chances of inducing a double play ball.
To my surprise Sugimoto-san, my pitching coach, was making his way to the mound after the hit. They were taking me out of the game. I was completely confused. A lefty was coming up and I was coming out of the game? I was told they wanted a pitcher who was better defensively. It still didn’t make sense to me.
Since I have been back from the minor leagues I have been throwing pretty well. I have yet to let up a hit to a lefty and I haven’t walked anyone. I also made a couple of nice defensive plays. The last lefty that tried to bunt off me fouled two bunt attempts into the 3rd base dugout and eventually grounded out. This was a bunt situation and I felt that I was the perfect guy for the situation. They did not, I came out of the game, the lefty got the bunt down and eventually the runner came around to score. He was the 6th run of our 6-6 tie.
I have no choice to submit to the coaches’ decisions. That rule applies no matter what part of the world you play in. As a relief pitcher you want to be in the game for all the big outs so when you are taken out in critical game situations you are not always thrilled about it.
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July 3rd
Tough travel...
We are winding down what has been a very difficult 48 hours of travel for the Hawks. After our 3 games with the Marines in Fukuoka we started a 7 day, 5 game road trip to Sendai, Morioka and Tachikawa.
Monday was an off day but we were flying out at 10:10 AM. We had an extremely brief layover in Nagoya before flying to Hanamaki. After we landed we had an hour long bus ride to Morioka where we would be playing one game versus the Rakuten Eagles at a local stadium. We arrived at our hotel at 2:15 PM. We were having practice that day and the bus for practice left at 3:30.
This was a lot for foreigners. No matter what kind of work you are in after a long day of travel you look forward to unwinding when you reach your destination. Practice was the last thing we wanted to do but we had no choice. I tried to make the best of it even though I was pretty exhausted.
Practice went by slowly but we made it. Afterwards I finally got some relation time before heading out for the “Golden Routine” of yakiniku, darts and karaoke. This is the only time we’ll be in Morioka so even though I was a little tired I wanted to check it out for a little while.
The next day the game didn’t go so well for us. We lost 8-6. That brings me to where I am now, in the midst of a 2 ½ hour bus ride to Sendai. I am pretty tired right now. After a long travel and practice day on Monday I have a long game long bus ride tonight. Because we were playing in a local stadium I have yet to take a shower. Me and my smelly teammates have about 1 hour and 20 minutes left until we reach our hotel. I look forward to my shower almost as much as I look forward to my pillow.
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July 9th
Family in Tachikawa...
We just finished up the 6 day, 5 game road trip against the Eagles and Lions. We lost a game to rain in Sendai (Eagles) so we’ll have to make that game up either next time we go to Sendai or at the end of the season. It wasn’t a great trip for us as we went 1-3. We have been slipping in the standings and need to turn things around soon.
I didn’t pitch at all on the trip and with all the off days we have had I have been getting very little work. My preference is to pitch often as a reliever but I don’t get to chose when I pitch. It is always difficult to find ways to stay sharp when you haven’t pitch much. Relief pitchers sometimes refer to the bullpen as ‘feast or famine.’ There are times when you are pitching so much you can’t wait for a day off and then there are times when you can’t remember the last time you pitched. Such is the life of a reliever.
One of the nice things about this trip was that I had some family visitors. A have a cousin from NY who married a Japanese woman for Saitama. They live in the States now but when they found out I was playing in Japan they planned a trip to visit her family while I was in the area playing the Lions. It was really nice for me to see family in Japan. Also, I was eager to practice my Japanese on a native speaker who is also a family member. I had last seen my cousin and his family a year ago when I didn’t know any Japanese. I thought it would be interesting for my cousin’s wife to see how much I have learned.
The real fun part for me was trying to use my Japanese are their young children who are bilingual. I learned that the kids would only speak Japanese to Japanese people so when I spoke Japanese to them I only got a blank stare and an occasional response in English. It was really interesting for me and a lot of fun. The kids are adorable and I had a great visiting with them and their entire family in Tachikawa. This Japanese experience has been so great for me that I glad when I can share it with others.
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July 12th
Facing an Old Nemesis...
I had the pleasure (displeasure) of getting to take the hill again in Kitakyushu. If you have been following this blog you know Kitakyushu is what is called a ‘local stadium’ here in Fukuoka in which we play 2 regular season games. It is everything you might imagine and maybe less. Teams in Japan play a handful of games in local stadiums to promote baseball in the area.
Kitakyushu is about an hour from the Yahoo! Dome and we always draw a great crowd. The facilities are not exactly what I would call major league. The biggest obstacle for me personally is the both the bullpen and the game mound. These types of stadiums are a very difficult adjustment for foreigners, especially Americans.
Last time in Kitakyushu I had a horrific game. I pitched one inning, walked 4 batters, hit another batter and allowed 2 runs. I was determined this time to tackle my nemesis and pitch well in Kitakyushu. I came in to face a left handed hitter in the 6th inning. The Eagles pinch hit with a right handed hitter and after a couple of close pitches I walked him. He was the only hitter I faced.
I was angry for a number of reasons. First, I thought the umpire missed at least two calls. Second, since I have been back from the minor leagues (June 1st) I have not walked a hitter. After walking 12 in April, 1 in May and 0 in June I have been really focused on limiting my base on balls. I really thought in my crazy mind I could go the rest of the season with walking a hitter. I will still think that way even though most would say that is unreasonable. Third, there were 2 outs and I really needed to get us that third out. We ended up using 3 pitchers that inning and allowing 7 runs. Fourth, I was so determined to conquer Kitakyushu and I had not. She got me again.
We will not visit Kitakyushu again which is probably a good thing but there is something about that place that gets me eager to pitch there again. I think I just want to prove that I can pitch well in that stadium, regardless of how bad the circumstances are. My final stats in Kitakyushu: 2 games, 1 IP, 18.00 ERA, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 1 HIT, 3 RUNS (2ER). Outside of Kitakyushu I am having a pretty decent season (1.56 ERA). Unfortunately for me we played games in Kitakyushu this year and there was no getting around it. I hope I am a Hawk next season and get another chance at this place. It is a challenge for me I want to win.
In the end we lost 11-10. The 9 inning game took an incredible 5 hours. It was a tough loss for us as the Eagles scored all of their runs after the 5th inning. It was back and forth and a really long game. It was just a really bad night for our bullpen, which has been pretty good most of the season. We now stand 5 games out of first place. I still think we’ll be OK. We are definitely playing below our ability right now which tells me we will start playing better sooner than later. We just need to stay close and then make our run. Our time is coming soon.
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