Hanshin-Gyojin Game 2
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Re: Hanshin-Gyojin Game 2
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 1, 2002 5:34 PM
| HT Fan
]
> 2. Hoshino is a lucky man that yesterday's game
> didn't go into extra innings. Using 3 pitchers in 1
> 2/3 inning to get to your closer is stupid in any
> game, but magnanimously stupid in the second game of
> the inning. Someone please tell him it's April, not
> September.
>
Well I don't know that it was completely stupid. They have a day off today, and the bullpen didn't work on Saturday because of Igawa's complete game. Besides, in a one-run game against the Giants, one mistake is going to cost ya. And Hoshino certainly kept the opposition guessing - even the TV commentators were bamboozled.
Those two wins were undoubtedly a psychological boost for the Tigers - their best start to a season in 23 years or something. I think Hoshino took a calculated risk, but hey, it paid off. He comes away from Tokyo with two wins - what's wrong with that?
> 3. Everyone is praising Hanshin, but yesterday was
> simply luck, and Hara's stupidity, that sealed the
> game. Having Nioka in left field gave them the first
> point. And leaving Kudo out there for 100+ pitches,
> when he's 36, over the hill, and hasn't pitched in a
> meaningful game in over a year. And of course
> Kiyohara's horrible defense on Akahoshi's
> "kachikoshi" hit, when he went towards the base
> instead of diving for the very field-able ball.
>
And I remember the many games in which the boot has been on the other foot, and the Giants have beaten the Tigers because of bad fielding, bad managing, bad umpiring, bad ball bounces, bad weather... Sometimes luck has to go the other way too, you know. And the Tigers are sure due some luck after the problems of the past couple of years.
> I love this game.
I agree with you on that one!!
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If you notice any bias in the text, it's because i'm a die-hard Hanshin fan. However, that won't stop me from ripping on Hanshin..
1. What on earth is Nioka doing a) playing left field and b) hitting lead-off??? I'm guessing it's because Igawa on Saturday and Moore on Sunday are lefties, and Hara has no confidence in playing Shimizu against lefties, so he wanted a right-handed bat in the lineup, but Nioka?? I have to be honest, I haven't seen what Shimizu's stats vs lefties and Nioka's splits vs lefties is, but I don't imagine Shimizu is much worse since Nioka is such an awful hitter. (if someone know where i can find these stats, preferrably that include OBP and SLUG, I'd appreciate it greatly). And then to hit Nioka lead-off takes the cake. If you really want a righty in left-field, and you want that righty to be Nioka, swich Motoki (much better OBP) and Nioka, having Motoki hitting leadoff. Generally, I don't believe batting lineup plays too significant a role in the course of a game, as it's usually just the first inning that the leadoff hitter will definitely hit leadoff, but when you can get even a marginal advantage, why not take it? Especially in the CL, where the pitcher generally hits 9th and often is the last out of the inning.
2. Hoshino is a lucky man that yesterday's game didn't go into extra innings. Using 3 pitchers in 1 2/3 inning to get to your closer is stupid in any game, but magnanimously stupid in the second game of the inning. Someone please tell him it's April, not September.
3. Everyone is praising Hanshin, but yesterday was simply luck, and Hara's stupidity, that sealed the game. Having Nioka in left field gave them the first point. And leaving Kudo out there for 100+ pitches, when he's 36, over the hill, and hasn't pitched in a meaningful game in over a year. And of course Kiyohara's horrible defense on Akahoshi's "kachikoshi" hit, when he went towards the base instead of diving for the very field-able ball.
4. Will Japanese managers ever stop micromanaging? With Hoshino's afore-mentioned over-use of his bullpen, and Hara reacting to that and pulling a pinch-hitter (Gotoh) for a righty (Saitoh), where the pinch-hitter was unnecessary to begin with! And when they do that, the game starts DRAGGING, and I have to change channels, and I hate doing that.
5. This is the best time of the year. Sakura is...well, it's supposed to be in full-bloom, but the got a little ahead of us, it's warming up, and baseball season has started, giving us hope that even perennial cellar-dwellers (like Hanshin) can win the pennant, and that Gyojin will once again be done in by over-management (more on this some other day). I love this game.