Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
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Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Aug 13, 2006 3:47 PM
| HAN Fan
]
I think that maybe you miss the point slightly. It is not under performing veterans that are the main problem (though they are part of the problem) but the whole team under performing that is the problem. Both Hiyama and Kataoka are on their way out, but their playing time has been small anyway. One has to look at under performance by the majority of the team. Toritani (young player) leads the Central League in fielding errors for example.
Where I think the under performance really manifests itself is in the coaching. Pitchers who performed well last year (Andoh and Sugiyama for example) are not pitching well this year. The new crop of pitchers is not showing their abilities (Egusa, Taiyo, Kanezawa). The problems with Imaoka are well known - poor fielding and this year poor batting.
That being said, there is so much talent on the team that they are still a clear second. Kanemoto is having a quiet year, though it is extremely unlikely that he will leave the Tigers. He is known as very anti-Giants.
Where I think the under performance really manifests itself is in the coaching. Pitchers who performed well last year (Andoh and Sugiyama for example) are not pitching well this year. The new crop of pitchers is not showing their abilities (Egusa, Taiyo, Kanezawa). The problems with Imaoka are well known - poor fielding and this year poor batting.
That being said, there is so much talent on the team that they are still a clear second. Kanemoto is having a quiet year, though it is extremely unlikely that he will leave the Tigers. He is known as very anti-Giants.
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Sara B | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 8:13 AM
| HT Fan
]
The Tigers really coughed it up in the last couple of weeks. Last night was just a wholesale collapse - particularly the relief pitching, which was dismal and embarrassing.
I think there is plenty of blame to pass around for under-performing in the clutch, but the No. 1 culprit, for me, is Okada-kantoku. In the games I have viewed this summer, he consistently leaves pitchers in way too long, and under-utilizes his bench.
Imagine this season without Kanemoto carrying the team for weeks at a time. Shivers up the spine! Wish he could just learn to pitch, catch, and play all the other positions simultaneously. Then we'd have a real shot at it, by golly!
There are probably plenty of ways to go about re-charging or re-vamping the Hanshin Tigers, but in my estimation, the first move is: New Manager.
I think there is plenty of blame to pass around for under-performing in the clutch, but the No. 1 culprit, for me, is Okada-kantoku. In the games I have viewed this summer, he consistently leaves pitchers in way too long, and under-utilizes his bench.
Imagine this season without Kanemoto carrying the team for weeks at a time. Shivers up the spine! Wish he could just learn to pitch, catch, and play all the other positions simultaneously. Then we'd have a real shot at it, by golly!
There are probably plenty of ways to go about re-charging or re-vamping the Hanshin Tigers, but in my estimation, the first move is: New Manager.
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 9:32 AM
| HAN Fan
]
This is perhaps a bit too hard on Okada. Certainly, as I have mentioned, the coaching needs to be looked at. When pitchers of the talent of Egusa cannot deliver then something is very wrong. Okada cannot be accused though, of leaving pitchers in too long. He pulls them very quickly if they are not performing (e.g. Saturday's game Nohmi lasted all of two innings, Andoh went after 4 in his last outing).
You also need to remember that the Dragons are totally constructed this year with the aim of beating the Tigers. Where Okada does have a fault is that he does not seem to be able to devise a response to the Dragons' approach. As I have mentioned elsewhere, this was his problem in the Japan Series as well.
You also need to remember that the Dragons are totally constructed this year with the aim of beating the Tigers. Where Okada does have a fault is that he does not seem to be able to devise a response to the Dragons' approach. As I have mentioned elsewhere, this was his problem in the Japan Series as well.
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Dragsfan | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 1:08 PM
| CD Fan
]
Help me with the "totally constructed with the aim of beating the Tigers" bit. I don't see it, and you make it sound like a conspiracy.
It's about the same team this year as it was last year, when they finished second. It's roughly the same as two years ago, when they won the CL and somehow took Seibu to seven games.
Same manager. Almost the same position players except for more Morino/less Tatsunami, and a little less Inoue and more Hidenori. More power with Woods than Omar Linares. About the same pitching staff - subtract Noguchi, add Satoh. Okamoto has been ineffective, but Denny has contributed. Tanishige's bat and arm have lost something, but he still calls a mean game.
The strategy certainly hasn't changed - pitch well, play good defense, and hope someone other than Fukudome and Woods can figure out what to do with those long wooden things. (I am afraid the recent offensive explosion has been more of the Drags making the most of the opposition's mistakes than anything else.)
It's about the same team this year as it was last year, when they finished second. It's roughly the same as two years ago, when they won the CL and somehow took Seibu to seven games.
Same manager. Almost the same position players except for more Morino/less Tatsunami, and a little less Inoue and more Hidenori. More power with Woods than Omar Linares. About the same pitching staff - subtract Noguchi, add Satoh. Okamoto has been ineffective, but Denny has contributed. Tanishige's bat and arm have lost something, but he still calls a mean game.
The strategy certainly hasn't changed - pitch well, play good defense, and hope someone other than Fukudome and Woods can figure out what to do with those long wooden things. (I am afraid the recent offensive explosion has been more of the Drags making the most of the opposition's mistakes than anything else.)
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 6:16 PM
| HAN Fan
]
They have focused on the Tigers and really worked out their weaknesses. The weaknesses in pitching manifested last year have been corrected and from the looks of things they have thoroughly assessed the Tigers' pitching weaknesses and filtered them down to the players. This has been rewarded by a win total similar to that between Tigers and BayStars. Their strategy has been so effective that Tigers have no answers at all.
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Guest | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 9:02 PM
]
Ah, that I can agree with, thanks. I thought you were suggesting the team composition or lineups had been built to take down the Tigers, and unless they have been tinkering with the rotation to make sure they always have certain pitchers face the Tigers I couldn't see that.
Specifically targeting the Tigers' weaknesses and tendencies certainly would make sense, as the Tigers were the only team the Drags didn't have a winning record against last year (11-11). (Er, happily overlooking last year's awful Awful AWFUL inter-league play.)
[By Dragsfan - not logged in.]
Specifically targeting the Tigers' weaknesses and tendencies certainly would make sense, as the Tigers were the only team the Drags didn't have a winning record against last year (11-11). (Er, happily overlooking last year's awful Awful AWFUL inter-league play.)
[By Dragsfan - not logged in.]
Re: Ailing Tigers with Tough Questions
[ Author: Guest: Cheese | Posted: Aug 14, 2006 11:19 PM
]
Just on that point, until last night, Chunichi used the same 3 pitchers in all previous games against Hanshin this year. Satoh was only the 4th pitcher to be used against Hanshin this year since Kawakami, Yamamoto, and Nakata have owned Hanshin.
With that in mind, I'd have to agree with the above poster if he means tweaking the rotation when he says "putting a team together to beat Hanshin," and it certainly highlights the difference and superior skills in Ochiai's use of pitchers compared to Okada.
With that in mind, I'd have to agree with the above poster if he means tweaking the rotation when he says "putting a team together to beat Hanshin," and it certainly highlights the difference and superior skills in Ochiai's use of pitchers compared to Okada.
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Personally, with Hamanaka, Lin, and Spencer in right field and Imaoka and Sekimoto at third, I think it's time for the two veterans to go.
Meanwhile, SanSpo also says that Okada-kantoku's three-year contract is up for renewal, and that he, too, will be subject to a review. But perhaps of more concern for Tigers fans, SanSpo mentions that Tomoaki Kanemoto's contract is also due to expire, and that other teams (i.e., Yomiuri) will likely try very hard to lure him away.
Hoshino-kantoku undertook a major clear-out of deadwood a few years back, but now a new generation of non-performers have established themselves. There were high hopes for people like Taiyo Fujita (one of my personal faves), but he's had almost three complete seasons back from his injuries to prove himself, and he hasn't done so. Likewise, Kida and Kamisaka have been around for a thousand years and done very little.
I get the feeling that in 2007, the Tigers' ichi-gun will be slightly changed from this year, but there will be major movement in the lower tiers.