Tigers starting rotation

The initial Tigers starting rotation is now decided.
1. Andoh (Opening Day March 28th BayStars)
2. Fukuhara (March 29 BayStars)
3. Iwata (March 30 BayStars)
4. Shimoyanagi (April 1 Carp)
5. Atchison (April 2 Carp)
6. Kanemura (April 3 Carp)

Vogelsong and Uezono are both going to start the season in ni-gun. Kanemura has recovered well and so Okada feels able to advance his return. The surprise is Atchison who has only pitched in relief so far but has done enough to earn a place in the rotation. Sugiyama, Taiyo and Nohmi all didn't make the rotation this year round.

Hot on the heels of being named as sixth pitcher in the rotation, Kanemura took part in a second team game. He pitched four innings faced 18 batters and gave up three runs on 6 hits. Okada decided he wasn't ready after all and so reprieved Sugiyama. The latter will start as Tigers no.6 pitcher against the Carp on April 3rd.

I heard there was talk of Fujikawa wanting to move to a starting position this year. I suppose nothing came of that rumor?

The coaches rapidly squashed the idea.

What's the deal with the rookie of the year from last year starting on 2-gun? Has Uezono had a bad spring? Are they just watching his pitch count? (unlikely in Japan) Or is it just Okada being Okada?

Uezono's Spring training camp wasn't too bad however, he wasn't convincing in the matches he pitched. Against Orix on 24th February he pitched 44 pitches in two innings and gave up two runs on 4 hits. His next start was 67 pitches in 3 innings once again against Orix with 5 hits and two runs given up on 1st March. His control hasn't been good and so it is felt that he would benefit from time in ni-gun.

Well, let's hope for the best. That's not a rotation that would intimidate any opponent, but let's hope the new offense (a.k.a. Arai) will help to take some of the load off the starting rotation. Although even having Fukuhara in your starting rotation is questionable, let alone a #2 starter...
I'll be at the Kyocera Dome on Sunday hoping for good things. Guess I'll be seeing Iwata. A rookie? Not familiar with the name...

Iwata was Tigers No. 1 draft pick in 2006. He started four games in 2007 (and one in 2006 which I don't remember) late season and then went down to the ni-gun. However, his Spring camp (the first stage in Okinawa) he was so good Okada put him into the rotation. His first starts in Open Sen were a bit lucky but he got better and so has earned a place in the rotation. I'll be doing a match report of the game of course but I'd be interested if you could let me know your impressions.
This year I am hoping that Fukuhara has decided to have a good year. But I agree that the rotation is not blessed with stunning pitching ability.