2007 Nippon Series: Game 3
Discussion in the NPB News forum
Comments
Re: 2007 Nippon Series: Game 3
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Oct 30, 2007 10:17 PM
| YBS Fan
]
Well, the Nippon Ham pitchers are lasting shorter and shorter it seems. 9 innings, then 3 1/3rd innings, now 1/3rd of an inning (almost decreasing by a third each time). I don't think that this is a good trend for the Fighters.
The Dragons' bats are certainly heading in the opposite direction. 4 hits, 8 hits, 15 hits (almost doubling each time). This bodes well for the Dragons.
Well, the transcript follows. No more scoring after the second inning, but we had a few interesting tangents to fill the time with. Enjoy.
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2007/10/30
CHATROOM 2007 Nippon Series/Game 3
16:27 gkanai: hello
16:42 finite: hi
16:42 finite: i'm here via http://www.metafilter.com/66022/The-2007-Japan-Series
16:43 finite: ah your post i see
16:44 finite: thanks for that
17:09 gkanai: hi
18:03 gkanai: hi
18:04 westbaystars: Good evening/morning/afternoon.
18:04 westbaystars: We're about 7 minutes away from game time.
18:04 westbaystars: I've got a little more setting up to do.
18:06 westbaystars: First thing is to confirm the pitchers. And Nikkan Sports confirms that it'll be M. Takeda vs. Asakura.
18:10 westbaystars: OK. Hello and welcome to Pro Yakyu Live! here on JapaneseBaseball.com.
18:11 westbaystars: Oh, I'm not doing the audio. That's right.
18:11 westbaystars:
18:11 westbaystars: Asakura completes his warmup pitches.
18:11 westbaystars: Morimoto stands in
18:11 westbaystars: ---
18:11 westbaystars: Top of 1st
18:11 westbaystars: ---
18:12 gkanai:
18:12 westbaystars: And as the clock strikes 6:10, Morimoto grounds the first pitch to Ibata at short.
18:12 westbaystars: One pitch, one out.
18:12 gkanai: hmm it'd be cool if this jchatbox did an auto-refresh
18:12 westbaystars: That brings up second baseman Kensuke Tanaka.
18:12 westbaystars: The Fighters' #2 man takes the first offering down low for ball one.
18:13 westbaystars: I've done audio broadcasts in the past.
18:13 westbaystars: Not as interactive.
18:13 gkanai: agreed- this is very good
18:13 westbaystars: I could hypothetically simulcast, but that takes too much work.
18:13 westbaystars: After running the count no strikes, three balls, Asakura gets the fourth pitch on the outside corner for a called strike
18:14 gkanai: nah- this is fine, plus I can't stay for more than 1-2 innings
18:14 westbaystars: Fifth offering also in there, called strike two.
18:14 westbaystars: Full count.
18:14 westbaystars: Maybe wrist?
18:14 westbaystars: Araki charges in, fields the ball in front of the second base bag.
18:15 westbaystars: His throw to first is not in time, and off line.
18:15 gkanai: hm so this jchatbox does do auto refreshing. cool.
18:15 westbaystars: It's ruled an infield hit. (Too hard for the pitcher to handle.)
18:15 westbaystars: Yes, every 30 seconds.
18:15 westbaystars: First pitch to Inaba missed down low for ball one.
18:16 westbaystars: Throw over to first, Tanaka is back standing up.
18:16 westbaystars: Inaba was the 2006 Nippon Series MVP.
18:16 westbaystars: But the next pitch is grounded to Araki at second.
18:16 gkanai: are you watching the game on TV or radio?
18:16 westbaystars: He tosses to his alter ego Ibata at second.
18:16 westbaystars: The relay to first is in time, and the side is retired.
18:17 westbaystars: The Fighters got a runner in the first, but end with nothing to show for it.
18:17 westbaystars: After half an inning, there's no score.
18:17 westbaystars: ---
18:17 westbaystars: Bottom of 1st
18:17 westbaystars: ---
18:17 gkanai: what's your prediction for this game?
18:18 westbaystars: Well, my prediction before the Series was Chunichi in 5.
18:18 westbaystars: Since they're 1 and 1 now, they need to win the next three.
18:18 westbaystars: But just to complicate things, I'm rooting for Nippon Ham.
18:19 gkanai: huh, even with Darvish winnning the Sawamura Award?
18:19 westbaystars: He was 1 and 1 in the 2006 Series.
18:19 westbaystars: The first pitch by Takeda hits Araki in the left foot.
18:20 westbaystars: He goes down in pain.
18:20 westbaystars: Looks like it hit the tip of his right toe.
18:20 gkanai: the pitch was that low?
18:20 torakichi: Give that man an Oscar!
18:20 gkanai: jeeze.
18:20 westbaystars: But now he pops up and takes first.
18:20 westbaystars: He stole a pair of bases in Game 2, turning both into runs.
18:20 westbaystars: That brings up Ibata.
18:20 torakichi: He's playing for the wrong team. The *other* team is the Ham!
18:21 westbaystars: 2 for 9 in the Series so far.
18:21 westbaystars: Ibata takes the first pitch inside for a called strike one.
18:21 westbaystars:
18:21 westbaystars: Second offering misses just a shade outside. 1 and 1.
18:22 westbaystars: A throw over to first has Araki back standing up.
18:22 westbaystars: The Fighters have Takahashi behind the plate tonight.
18:22 westbaystars: Is that to try to keep Araki from running like he did in Game 2?
18:23 westbaystars: If so, it doesn't seem to be working.
18:23 westbaystars: Araki is off to the races.
18:23 westbaystars: He slides in after the ball gets there, but the one bounder isn't handled and goes into center field.
18:24 westbaystars: Morimoto is right there to hold Araki at second.
18:24 westbaystars: Deanna, the the person I wanted to see.
18:24 westbaystars: Which catcher is better at holding runners?
18:24 torakichi: On KTV, Nomura-kantoku is saying that no leftie should allow a runner to steal that easily.
18:24 Deanna: I'm only on for a little bit. What's up?
18:24 westbaystars: Takahashi or Tsuruoka?
18:25 Deanna: err... I don't know offhand but I would guess Tanishige, why?
18:25 Deanna: oh. uhhh.
18:25 westbaystars: The count is run full.
18:25 torakichi: Hi Deanna. 0-0, bottom of 1st.
18:25 westbaystars: Sorry, for the Fighters.
18:25 Deanna: offhand I would say Shinji but I'm really just pulling that out of nowhere
18:25 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch is lined toward right.
18:25 westbaystars: Inaba comes in and makes the catch.
18:25 westbaystars: Araki returns to second.
18:26 westbaystars: Runner at second, one down.
18:26 westbaystars: Sorry to put you on the spot.
18:26 westbaystars: That brings up Morino with just one runner on.
18:26 westbaystars: Mr. Three Run did have a 2-run shot on Sunday,.
18:27 torakichi: It is just me or is Takeda putting a lot of pitches wide? To both left- and right-hand batters?
18:27 Deanna: today will be partially affected by having a lefty pitcher, too, since they can see first base more easily
18:27 westbaystars: Three straight balls to Morino, and Masaru is in the hole.
18:28 westbaystars: And Morino walks on four pitches.
18:28 Deanna: dammit Masaru, this is the guy you have to go after
18:28 torakichi: It looks like lots of them are going outside.
18:28 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second, one out, bottom of the first.
18:28 westbaystars: That brings up Woods.
18:28 Deanna: exploding ham
18:29 torakichi: I hope Woods can do something tonight. His power is the one spectacle that's been missing this series.
18:29 westbaystars: Tyrone did get his first hit of the Series on Sunday. Is he ready to break out at home?
18:29 westbaystars: After taking two balls, Woods fouls the third offering off at the plate.
18:30 torakichi: It'd be good to see. Seggy did in game 1.
18:30 torakichi: Aside: I would gladly pay \2,000 to see a show by a band called The Exploding ham
18:30 westbaystars: Next pitch misses inside and low, ball three.
18:30 westbaystars: Takeda has thrown a lot of pitches so far this inning.
18:31 westbaystars: Fifth offering is inside, but swung on and missed. Woods way ahead of the ball.
18:31 torakichi: Nomura reckons Takeda can't pitch a fastball to Woods. His only option is a change up.
18:31 westbaystars: Full count pitch is grounded back up the middle.
18:32 westbaystars: It goes bast Takeda, who avoids it, and into center field, base hit!
18:32 westbaystars: Araki rounds third, heads home.
18:32 westbaystars: Home in! Chunichi takes a 1-0 lead.
18:32 westbaystars: The throw to third is not in time, Morino is safe there.
18:32 westbaystars: Woods gets his first RBI of the Series. (And I don't expect it to be his last.)
18:33 westbaystars: Runners now at the corners, 1 out.
18:33 westbaystars: Norihiro Nakamura to follow.
18:34 westbaystars: Except for Araki, who Takeda hit with his first pitch, Masaru has gone at least 3 balls to each batter.
18:34 torakichi: Apparently that pitch was a change-up.
18:34 westbaystars: Not a good sign.
18:34 torakichi: Asked about why his pick resulted in giving up runs, Nomura says......"Up to 2S 3B count, the change-ups lured batters t
18:34 westbaystars: Nori lifts the second offering deep to center.
18:34 torakichi: ...to swing outside the zone, but that last one was in the zone.
18:35 westbaystars: One run is in.
18:35 westbaystars: Woods holds at third.
18:35 torakichi: Big swing, biiiiiiiiiiiiig hit!
18:35 westbaystars: The Dragons take a 2-0 lead here in the bottom of the first.
18:36 westbaystars: I thought that one was gone, but Nori got a little too much under it.
18:36 westbaystars: Still, an RBI double. Nori finally looks good with the bat.
18:36 westbaystars: 1 run in.
18:36 westbaystars: 2 runs in.
18:36 torakichi: Another one! Takeda is really struggling here.
18:36 Deanna: so it's another night of Nomurascope?
18:37 westbaystars: And the Dragons double their lead with another double to right-center.
18:37 Deanna: and, yes, see, this is what I meant by Dragons' "patented first-inning explosion"
18:37 westbaystars: Satoh pitching coach heads to the mound.
18:37 Deanna: I wasn't making that up just for humor value
18:37 westbaystars: And Hillman-kantoku comes out of the dugout.
18:37 torakichi: Whoa! Takeda's outa there.
18:37 Deanna: wow
18:38 westbaystars: The Fighting Ham are going to the bench in the first.
18:38 torakichi: The KTV vommentary team are talking about how Takeda has hardly thrown any fastballs inside.
18:38 westbaystars: I can't say that the Fighters' bull pen was very impressive on Sunday.
18:38 torakichi: They say it was the same in game 2 in the inning where they walked several batters in a row.
18:40 westbaystars: Except that Takeda has actually been throwing strikes.
18:40 westbaystars: I'd rather lose giving up hits than walks.
18:41 westbaystars: Sweeney?
18:41 westbaystars: Hirata stands in for the Chunichi Dragons.
18:41 torakichi: Yup. Apparently Sweeney was scheduled to start tomorrow.
18:41 westbaystars: We're still in the bottom of the first. Chunichi leading 4-0 with a runner at second.
18:41 westbaystars: Yes, it is Sweeney.
18:42 westbaystars: I guess that means he's not starting tomorrow.
18:42 westbaystars: Sweeney was 6 and 8 during the regular season over 21 games (17 starts).
18:43 westbaystars: Hirata lines a 1-strike, 3-ball pitch through the left side, base hit.
18:43 torakichi: Pow! The Dragons are unstoppable. That's got to be 4 or 5 hits in a row.
18:43 westbaystars: Lee holds at third. But that's 5 hits in a row for the Dragons.
18:43 torakichi: KTV says 4 in a row.
18:43 westbaystars: Sorry, 4 hits in a row. Morino walked.
18:43 westbaystars: Tanishige keeps it going, though, to make it 5.
18:44 westbaystars: 5 hits in a row, and 5 runs as Lee trots in from third.
18:44 torakichi: Yeah, it's 5 now.
18:44 westbaystars: On Tanishige's base hit up the middle.
18:45 westbaystars: That brings up pitcher Asakura, showing bunt all the way.
18:45 torakichi: The Dragons are making it look easy. Which Ham Fighter is going to put a stop to this?
18:45 westbaystars: He bunts the ball up into the air, but back to the backstop.
18:45 westbaystars: Second offering taken low and away (still showing bunt).
18:45 Deanna: exploding ham
18:46 westbaystars: Satoh-pitching coach looks ready to head out to the mound at any moment.
18:46 Deanna: I gotta go get ready for classes, I'll try to check in later
18:46 westbaystars: The third offering is bunted up the first base side.
18:46 Deanna: ganbatte fighters!
18:46 westbaystars: Seguignol fields the ball, throws to first for the out.
18:46 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku: "A big deficit in the 1st inning makes it hard for the bench AND the commentary team".
18:46 westbaystars: The runners advance to second and third.
18:46 westbaystars: That brings up leadoff batter Araki.
18:47 westbaystars: Araki took the first pitch from Takeda on his right big toe.
18:47 torakichi: Apparently the scoreboard at Nagoya Stadium is stuck on the score from Woods' at-bat.
18:47 westbaystars: The scoreboard being stuck at 1 strike, 3 balls seems to be giving the comentators problems.
18:48 westbaystars: One out, too.
18:48 torakichi: At least the on-screen (TV) ones are working.
18:48 gkanai: I didnt know Darvish had Iranian nationality
18:48 westbaystars: Araki fouls off a 2-strike, 1-ball pitch. So the count remains.
18:49 gkanai: interesting that he's dropping it to play in the Olympics.
18:49 gkanai: Why do I think Iran's baseball team is not so hot.
18:49 westbaystars: The next offering is lined to - and through! - the left side.
18:49 gkanai: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/29/sports/AS-SPT-BBL-Japan-Darvish.php
18:49 westbaystars: One run in.
18:49 westbaystars: Second base runner holds at third.
18:49 gkanai: what's the score?
18:49 westbaystars: The Dragons take a 6-0 lead here in the first.
18:49 torakichi: Incredible! Six hits in a row. 6-0.
18:50 westbaystars: Not counting the sacrifice.
18:50 westbaystars: Which isn't technically an at bat.
18:51 westbaystars: Ibata at the plate, takes a pair of balls, then a strike on the outside corner.
18:51 torakichi: Right. Another "not counting the sacrifice" tidbit: Ibata is the only batter this inning to actually get out.
18:51 westbaystars: Or did the ump say he went around? I think that's it. It look quite a bit outside.
18:52 westbaystars: Ibata lines the next offering to right, one bound in front of Inaba.
18:52 torakichi: 7 hits in a row. A new Nippon Series record.
18:52 westbaystars: 7 hits in a row, a new Nippon Series record.
18:53 westbaystars: Sweeney is done.
18:53 westbaystars: #22.
18:53 westbaystars: Tateyama. He was just activated earlier today.
18:54 torakichi: 7-0. That's quite the head start.
18:54 westbaystars: Tateyama was 2 and 4 during the regular season, throwing in 7 games (all starts).
18:54 westbaystars: He threw 1 complete game.
18:54 gkanai: jeeze, Fighters are doomed.
18:54 westbaystars: 19 earned runs in 41 innings pitched comes to a 4.17 ERA. 1.02 WHIP.
18:55 westbaystars: And still batting.
18:55 westbaystars: Hey, the announcer is talking about exploding. But he didn't end it with "Ham."
18:56 westbaystars: Mr. Three Run comes up with a pair of base runners this time.
18:56 westbaystars: Runners at first and second, two down.
18:56 torakichi: (C) Deanna?
18:56 westbaystars: We're in the bottom of the first.
18:57 westbaystars: Morino is 2 for 5 in the Series so far.
18:57 westbaystars: Breaks his bat and lifts the ball to left-center.
18:57 Beethoven: Good evening everyone! :] 5:55 a.m. here in Canada.
18:57 westbaystars: Kudoh runs over, and makes the catch to finally retire the side.
18:57 gkanai: 7pm Tokyp
18:58 torakichi: That inning must have lasted more than hanf an hour.
18:58 westbaystars: But not before the Dragons put together a record breaking 7 consecutives hits (with a sacrifice bunt).
18:58 gkanai: er, Tokyo
18:58 westbaystars: To score 7 in the first inning.
18:58 westbaystars: At the end of 1 complete, the Dragons take a commanding 7-0 lead.
18:58 westbaystars: ---
18:58 westbaystars: Top of 2nd
18:58 westbaystars: ---
18:59 gkanai: how do you come back from 7-0?
18:59 gkanai: Hillman needs a miracle.
18:59 westbaystars: It took over 30 minutes for that half inning.
19:00 torakichi: What does a kantoku say to rally his troops 7-0 down in the 1st?
19:00 westbaystars: With Seguignol coming up with the bases loaded - twice.
19:00 westbaystars:
19:00 gkanai: devastating 30 mins.
19:00 Beethoven: Ahh! Hi gkanai! :]]
19:00 westbaystars: Speaking of whom, Seggy will be leading off the 2nd for the Fighters.
19:01 westbaystars: Seguignol lines a 1-1 pitch into the right field corner.
19:02 westbaystars: And takes his time to reach second base with a lead off double.
19:02 torakichi: Well, that's a good way to start clawing back.
19:02 westbaystars: Left fielder Kudoh follows.
19:02 gkanai: Hi Beethoven
19:03 Beethoven: :]
19:03 Beethoven: Go Dragons!
19:03 westbaystars: And the Fighters strike back.
19:03 torakichi: Hey! This could be interesting...
19:04 Beethoven: It's far from over, the Fighters have character.
19:04 westbaystars: Kudoh doubles to left-center to score Seguignol from second base.
19:04 westbaystars: 6 runs to go.
19:04 westbaystars: Takahashi comes up. 1 for 4 in the Series so far.
19:05 Beethoven: OOOH! This is exciting!!!
19:05 westbaystars: Takahashi grounds the ball up the middle.
19:05 westbaystars: But well within Ibata's range.
19:05 westbaystars: Ibata throws to first in time for the easy out.
19:05 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku: "As soon as you start to think 'This will be an easy win', you're in trouble".
19:05 westbaystars: Runner advances to third.
19:05 westbaystars: Runner now at third base, with one out, and one run in so far.
19:06 Beethoven: Good quote, torakichi. :]
19:06 westbaystars: Two quick strikes on Inada.
19:06 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku seems to be in a good mood tonight.
19:07 westbaystars: The next pitch is grounded to the left side.
19:07 westbaystars: Ibata is up with the ball, throwing home!
19:07 westbaystars: And the runner is touched out!
19:07 torakichi: Dragons saw that one coming a mile away.
19:07 westbaystars: The Fighters fail to get their second run in.
19:07 westbaystars: The Dragons aren't conceding anything.
19:08 westbaystars: That brings up Kaneko now with a runner at first and two down.
19:08 torakichi: That might prove to be an important out for the CDs.
19:08 westbaystars: And the wink knocked out of the Fighters' charge.
19:08 Beethoven: Dragons executed well there!
19:08 westbaystars: That's Ibata you're talking about. He makes the impossible look easy.
19:09 westbaystars: Kaneko lines the ball over the right side, one bound, base hit!
19:09 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second, two down.
19:09 westbaystars: And pitcher Tateyama will bat for himself.
19:10 Beethoven: These fielders make the American pros look downright sluggish!
19:10 westbaystars: Third pitcher for the Fighters tonight, here in the top of the second.
19:10 westbaystars: Two quick strikes on the PL pitcher, not used to having wood in his hands.
19:10 torakichi: Good fielding is always a thrill to watch.
19:10 westbaystars: And he takes strike three on three pitches to retire the side.
19:11 westbaystars: A pair of doubles puts the Fighters on the board here in the second.
19:11 westbaystars: But they're still down by 6.
19:11 westbaystars: Fighters 1 - 7 Dragons.
19:11 westbaystars: ---
19:11 westbaystars: Bottom of 2nd
19:11 westbaystars: ---
19:12 Beethoven: Will the Dragons pitching hold up?
19:12 gkanai: well the Fighters might come back from behind but they need more energy than this.
19:13 gkanai: Darvish is on the bench today, right?
19:13 westbaystars: Asakura certainly hasn't looked unhittable.
19:13 westbaystars: Woods leads off the second.
19:13 Beethoven: Something tells me we'll have a high scoring game.
19:13 westbaystars: He singled his first at bat, starting off a Nippon Series record 7 hits in a row (with a sac bunt).
19:14 westbaystars: I don't see Darvish coming in for mop up.
19:14 Beethoven: me neither
19:15 westbaystars: And, no, Darvish isn't on the bench reserve list tonight.
19:15 westbaystars: http://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/scores/20071030/stamen_2007103001.html
19:16 westbaystars: Woods takes a full count pitch inside for ball four.
19:16 westbaystars: The leadoff man is aboard for the Dragons in the second.
19:16 westbaystars: That brings up Nakamura, who had the best looking swing for him of the Series in the first, a double to right-center.
19:17 westbaystars: It was his second RBI double of the Series, but the previous one didn't look like he was in control.
19:18 westbaystars: Nori grounds the ball up the third base line, fair!
19:18 westbaystars: That ball is going into the corner.
19:18 westbaystars: Woods holds up at third as the ball comes back in.
19:18 torakichi: Here we go again...
19:19 westbaystars: Runners at second and third with nobody out here in the bottom of the second inning.
19:19 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
19:20 westbaystars: Beethoven, try this: http://www.mozilla-japan.org/products/firefox/
19:20 westbaystars: I think there's a flaw in your version of IE.
19:20 gkanai:
19:21 westbaystars: Nobody else has the same build number as you do.
19:21 Beethoven2: Thanks! After the game, I will. :]
19:21 gkanai: this has all of the variations http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
19:21 westbaystars: Tateyama comes back to work the count to 2 and 2.
19:21 westbaystars: The fifth offering is lifted to shallow left field.
19:22 Beethoven2: Super! Much appreciated, Guys! :]]
19:22 westbaystars: It's a looooong run for Kudoh.
19:22 torakichi: Ooooooooh, Kudo almost dropped that in left field.
19:22 westbaystars: And he just gets there in time to make the catch.
19:22 westbaystars: That's the first out of the inning.
19:22 torakichi: He seemed to overrun.
19:22 westbaystars: Hirata will be intentionally walked to face Tanishige?
19:22 westbaystars: The way Tanishige is hitting in post season?
19:22 gkanai1: doh- you leave for one sec and the system doesn't allow you back in
19:23 torakichi: Whoa! They're walking Hirata to pitch to Tanishige?
19:23 westbaystars: They're hoping or the double play. But is this wise?
19:23 torakichi: I have a feeling the Hamsters are going to regret this?
19:23 westbaystars: During the regular season Tanishige didn't do much, but he's been killer during the post season.
19:24 westbaystars: First pitch is called strike one on the outside corner.
19:24 Beethoven2: It's a gutsy call alright.
19:24 westbaystars: Second offering, down the middle. Taken for strike two.
19:24 torakichi: Tanishige grimaces. Seems he watched a big fat strike go by.
19:25 westbaystars: The pitcher is on deck if they can get past Tanishige.
19:25 westbaystars: Next offering, curves waaaay outside.
19:25 westbaystars: That second pitch was exactly where he didn't expect it.
19:25 westbaystars: Fourth offering misses high and in, ball two. 2 and 2.
19:26 westbaystars: Fifth offering is kind of swung at, fouled back. Count remains 2 and 2.
19:26 torakichi: Tateyama is getting considerable movement on his breaking balls.
19:26 torakichi: POW!
19:27 westbaystars: Sixth offering is lined to the wall in left.
19:27 westbaystars: One run in.
19:27 westbaystars: Two runs in.
19:27 westbaystars: And the Fighters are regretting it.
19:27 westbaystars: Chunichi takes a 9-1 lead here in the second.
19:27 gkanai1: ouch
19:28 westbaystars: That brings up pitcher Asakura with no need to endanger himself at the plate.
19:28 torakichi: Catcher was crouched outside the zone; the pitch was slightly inside.
19:28 Beethoven2: No two ways about it, the Fighters have to hit!
19:28 westbaystars: But he's standing in as though he wants to hit.
19:28 westbaystars: Most pitchers with this kind of lead hang out way at the back of the line.
19:28 torakichi: Ha! Big swing from Asakura!
19:28 westbaystars: He even fouls the second offering back to the back stop for strike two.
19:28 Beethoven2: That's the spirit!
19:28 westbaystars: Good stroke.
19:29 Beethoven2: Championship ball!
19:29 westbaystars: After taking a ball outside, Asakura swings and misssed the fourth offering, strike three.
19:29 westbaystars: Back to the top of the order in Araki.
19:30 Beethoven2: Nice try!
19:30 westbaystars: Up for his third time in two innings.
19:30 westbaystars: Takes the first pitch inside for ball one.
19:31 westbaystars: === Chunichi up 9-1. Bottom of 2nd. 2 outs, runners at 2nd and 3rd.
19:31 westbaystars: After fouling one off, the third offering almosts hits Araki on the belt.
19:31 westbaystars: I thought it did hit him at first.
19:31 torakichi: Oh, that was way inside. I almost thought we were in for some more histrionics
19:31 westbaystars: He was hit with the first pitch by starter M. Takeda on the big toe in the first.
19:32 westbaystars: That started a 7-run rally for the Dragons.
19:32 westbaystars: Count is run full to Araki.
19:32 westbaystars: The full count pitch is lifted to right.
19:32 westbaystars: Inaba has a long run.
19:32 westbaystars: And he makes the catch as he crosses the line for out number three.
19:33 westbaystars: But, after two complete now, the Dragons extend their lead to 9-1.
19:33 gkanai1: aaaaaaaaaaaa!
19:33 westbaystars: ---
19:33 westbaystars: Top of 3rd
19:33 westbaystars: ---
19:34 torakichi: 9-1... What can Hillman say to his team in a situation like this?
19:34 westbaystars: I have no idea.
19:34 gkanai1: I gotta leave soon for some food.
19:34 gkanai1: He's gotta be pissed.
19:35 westbaystars: While our company team was down by a similar score, I hit a running home run and as I crossed the plate ...
19:35 torakichi: gkanai1, that's not what you want Hillman to say, is it?
19:35 westbaystars: ... i shouted "OK! Just 8 more!"
19:35 westbaystars: Our team really got a kick out of that, as it was the last inning.
19:35 westbaystars: But we didn't get it.
19:36 westbaystars: Morimoto leads off the third for the Fighters.
19:36 westbaystars: --- gkanai1: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
19:37 westbaystars: Full count to Morimoto.
19:37 westbaystars: He grounds the ball to the left side.
19:37 westbaystars: Nori comes in, fields the ball on a short hop, fires to first.
19:37 westbaystars: Not it time!
19:37 torakichi: Biiiig bounce, good running by Morimoto. Safe!
19:37 gkanai1: I'm in Tokyo
19:37 westbaystars: Hichori beats out an infield hit.
19:37 gkanai1: my website: http://kanai.net/weblog/
19:38 westbaystars: That brings up Tanaka Kensuke.
19:38 westbaystars: Leopard doesn't have virtual desktops? That's a bummer.
19:39 westbaystars: And why I use Desktop Manager.
19:39 gkanai1: no, it does!
19:39 torakichi: I was just thinking the same thing.
19:39 gkanai1: but you can't have different wallpapers on the different desktops
19:39 westbaystars: That's the first item, isn't it?
19:40 gkanai1: yes
19:40 westbaystars: Guess I didn't understand the headline.
19:40 westbaystars: Tanaka fouls off a 2-2 pitch. So the count remains.
19:40 westbaystars: The next offering is lined hard to right.
19:40 westbaystars: But right at Lee.
19:41 westbaystars: One away here in the third.
19:41 westbaystars: That brings up Inaba.
19:43 westbaystars: Inaba lifts the fourth offering to straight away center.
19:43 westbaystars: But Hirada comes in a few steps to make the catch for out number two.
19:43 westbaystars: Leadoff batter Hichori remains at first base.
19:44 westbaystars: And that brings up Seguignol, who doubled to the right field corner his first at bat.
19:44 westbaystars: He lifts the first pitch up to the left side.
19:44 westbaystars: Nori and Ibata give chase, as does Morino.
19:44 westbaystars: But the ball goes into the stands foul.
19:44 westbaystars: Second offering misses outside for ball one. 1 and 1.
19:45 westbaystars: Does somebody want to wave a virtual banana for Deanna?
19:45 westbaystars: While Seggy takes ball two low and away.
19:45 westbaystars: Fourth offering is swung on and missed, a little low and away.
19:46 westbaystars: 1 and 2 the count.
19:46 westbaystars: Whoo. Fifth offering *just* misses inside, bringing the count full.
19:46 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch outside is swung on and missed, strike three.
19:47 torakichi: Very good pitching by Asakura.
19:47 westbaystars: The Fighters fail to make anything with a leadoff hit here in the third.
19:47 westbaystars: And after 2 and a half, trail by a score of 1-9.
19:47 westbaystars: ---
19:47 westbaystars: Bottom of 3rd
19:47 westbaystars: ---
19:47 gkanai1: *waving banana late*
19:48 gkanai1: *feeling hungry*
19:48 Inaba: how many pitchers have the Fighters used this game already?
19:48 westbaystars: Asakura is throwing a few too many pitches if you ask me.
19:48 gkanai1: *would like a Nathan's or Ballpark dog*
19:48 torakichi: Wow. An hour and a half, and we're about to *start* the bottom of the 3rd.
19:48 westbaystars: That was his second strike out of the game.
19:49 westbaystars: I don't know. I just haven't really thought that Asakura had anything that special so far.
19:49 westbaystars: Maybe I was spoiled by the pitching of the first two games?
19:50 westbaystars: Ibata leads off the third for the Dragons, as they're into their third time around the order.
19:50 torakichi: That last at-bat. Seggy. Asakura worked him well, I thought.
19:50 torakichi: You're right, tho'. The first two games were a treat.
19:50 westbaystars: Two strikes by Tateyama followed by a waste pitch way outside.
19:50 westbaystars: Fourth offering is grounded to Tanaka at second.
19:50 westbaystars: Easy first out.
19:51 westbaystars: That brings up Morino.
19:51 westbaystars: Tateyama is the third pitcher of record for the Fighters.
19:51 westbaystars: He's been in there since the first.
19:52 westbaystars: M. Takeda -- Sweeney -- Tateyama.
19:52 torakichi: One KTV commentator is saying that Hillman's impending departure has an effect on games like this.
19:52 westbaystars: Morino walks on five pitches.
19:52 westbaystars: That'll brings up Woods with a runner on first and one out.
19:53 westbaystars: Woods has an RBI single and has walked.
19:53 torakichi: While he didn't come out and say so, he intimates that Hillman's mind is elsewhere.
19:53 westbaystars: Big swing and miss on a pitch outside. Strike one.
19:54 westbaystars: The next pitch breaks Woods' bat.
19:54 westbaystars: It's grounded to the left side.
19:54 westbaystars: 6-4-3 double play.
19:54 westbaystars: And Woods ties the record for hitting into the most double plays in a Nippon Series.
19:54 gkanai1: that's a bit unfair to Hillman.
19:54 westbaystars: That being his 4th.
19:55 westbaystars: ---
19:55 westbaystars: Top of 4th
19:55 westbaystars: ---
19:56 westbaystars: Asakura so far has allowed just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking none.
19:56 torakichi: Well, you'd think that Hillman is a bit too professional for that.
19:56 westbaystars: He'll face Kudoh, Takahashi, and Inada in the fourth.
19:56 westbaystars: With a 9-1 lead.
19:56 westbaystars: The first pitch is called strike on on the inside corner at the knees.
19:57 westbaystars: Kudoh whiffs at the second pitch, two quick strikes.
19:57 westbaystars: and not much about this game has been quick.
19:57 gkanai1: Hillman wants to win just as much as anyone else associated with the Fighters.
19:57 westbaystars: Strike three called on the third offering.
19:57 westbaystars: 三球三振。
19:57 westbaystars: I like to see that.
19:57 torakichi: Kudoh couldn't do anything that that.
19:57 westbaystars: Asakura may change my mind about his pitching if he can do that another couple of times.
19:58 torakichi: "...anything *with* that".
19:58 westbaystars: Takahashi grounds Asakura's second offering through the left side for a one out base hit.
19:58 torakichi: Yeah, you seem to have a thing about the waste pitch, Westbaystars-san
19:58 westbaystars: First pitch inside is swung on and misssed by Inada. Strike one.
19:59 westbaystars: Waste pitches just get to be so monotonous.
19:59 westbaystars: Especially when the pitcher throws two strikes followed by three balls.
19:59 gkanai1: *still here, still hungry*
19:59 Beethoven2: I've read Hillman's comments in the US Kansas City Star
20:00 westbaystars: It drives me nuts. And it seems to me that Dragon pitchers are guilty of that a lot.
20:00 westbaystars: Hungy? Cup Noodle.
20:00 Beethoven2: He just loves Japanese basebal!!! :]]
20:00 torakichi: It does make you wonder: if they're so ubiquitous, is that defeating their purpose?
20:00 westbaystars: Inada hits a high bounder in front of the plate.
20:00 gkanai1: Chicken Ramen > Cup Noodle
20:00 westbaystars: Tanishige fields the ball, throws to first in time for the out.
20:00 torakichi: "Hungry? Cup Noodle!" Oh, Westbaystars, you old-timer you!
20:00 westbaystars: Inada got up the line quickly, but not quick enough.
20:00 westbaystars: Two down, runner at second.
20:01 Beethoven2: I have some Mr. Noodle at home here. LOL
20:01 westbaystars: Some commercials just really stick in the head. Sorry.
20:01 Beethoven2: You know, the instant stuff...just add boiling water.
20:02 gkanai1: http://www.nissinfoods.com/cupnoodles/
20:02 Beethoven2: Hey Firearem! :]]
20:02 Firearm: hey!
20:02 westbaystars: I had chicken adobo for dinner. The garlic filled gravy mixed in with the rice. Yum.
20:03 Firearm: I'll say it--I'm worried.
20:03 Firearm: not about this game, but the series
20:03 westbaystars: Kaneko lines the the ball to left field, one bound in front of Morino.
20:03 westbaystars: Base hit.
20:03 westbaystars: Runner stops at third.
20:03 westbaystars: That puts runners at the corners, two down for the Fighters here in the fourth.
20:03 torakichi: You know, you can make your own Chicken Ramen at the museum in northern Osaka. Ibaragi, was it?
20:03 westbaystars: Tsuboi is announced as the pinch hitter for the pitcher.
20:03 baekgom: hey all
20:04 Firearm: pinch hitter parade for the Fighters?
20:04 gkanai1: westbaystars: chicken adobo- home made or eat out?
20:04 westbaystars: First pitch to Tsuboi called strike one on the outside corner at the knees.
20:04 westbaystars: Home made.
20:04 gkanai1: I haven't been to a good Filipino restaurant in Tokyo.
20:05 Beethoven2: OOH! That looks yummy gkanai!
20:05 gkanai1: just came back from a wedding in Tagaytay City a few weeks ago in fact.
20:05 westbaystars: Wife found the recipie on the Internet a few years ago and has been tweaking it for years.
20:05 westbaystars: To perfection!
20:05 gkanai1: lucky man!
20:05 baekgom: the score is 9-1?
20:06 Firearm: I *think* I've been to Tagaytay
20:06 torakichi: Good ol' Tsuboi. Good to see an old Tiger still working hard.
20:06 westbaystars: Tsuboi grounds the ball to the right side, where he doesn't want to.
20:06 Firearm: lessee, where have I been in the Philippines...
20:06 westbaystars: Araki throws him out for out number three.
20:06 Beethoven2: yes, lucky man!
20:06 torakichi: ...but maybe not hard enough.
20:06 westbaystars: And after 3 and a half, the Fighters still trail 1-9.
20:06 Firearm: Manila, Boracay, Naga, Batangas, Villa Escudero...
20:07 westbaystars: === Game Recap
20:07 Beethoven2: sounds like fun - I love to travel!
20:07 Firearm: ...when I was a kid, Bagiou (sp?)
20:07 westbaystars: === Bottom of 1st: Dead ball on first pitch, fly out to right, walk, ...
20:08 westbaystars: === ... Hit to center, double to right, double to right, hit to left, hit to center, ...
20:08 westbaystars: === ... sacrifice bunt, hit to left, hit to right. New Japan record - 7 hits in a row.
20:08 westbaystars: === 7 runs during that hit parade.
20:08 Firearm: I hate when the Dragons get out to early leads--they can't score in the late innings and you wonder how they're going to
20:08 Firearm: blow it
20:08 westbaystars: === Fighters get one with doubles by Seguignol and Kudoh to start the second.
20:09 Firearm: Tora, I went to a Chunichi/Hanshin game that went precisely that way this year
20:09 gkanai1: it was my first time to the Philippines a few weeks ago. had a wonderful time. beautiful people.
20:09 Firearm: Dragons were up 6-0, Hanshin got to within 3, but then Okamoto and Iwase shut the door
20:09 westbaystars: === Bottom of 2nd: Walk, double to left, fly out, IBB, Double to left scores two more for the Dragons.
20:09 westbaystars: === That's where we are - 9-1.
20:09 westbaystars: ---
20:09 westbaystars: Bottom of 4th
20:09 westbaystars: ---
20:10 westbaystars: Nori leads off the bottom of the fourth for the Dragons, with a pair of doubles so far.
20:10 gkanai1: C'mon FIGHTERS!
20:10 Firearm: Even if the Dragons win Game 4, they have to face Darvish again for Game 5
20:10 westbaystars: Takes the ball up the middle under the ducking pitcher for his third base hit of the night.
20:10 torakichi: Base hit! Nori is 3 for 3.
20:10 Firearm: thankfully, the Dragons have beaten Darvish earlier this year
20:10 Beethoven2: Firearm: remember Game 2? I hope that doesn't happen here.
20:11 westbaystars: Nori is looking good tonight, after looking flustered at Sapporo Dome.
20:11 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
20:11 westbaystars: Lee has a timely double and fly out to left.
20:11 torakichi: Don't you think he (Nori) looks quite relaxed tonight?
20:11 westbaystars: He takes the second pitch to left.
20:12 westbaystars: Kudoh comes in to make the catch for out number one.
20:12 westbaystars: The fans though that one was going to bounce in there.
20:12 Firearm: Beethoven, this year or last year?
20:12 gkanai1: ok, heading home to dinner. see you guys here for the next game?
20:12 westbaystars: Nori's swing doesn't look as desparate as it did in Hokkaido.
20:12 westbaystars: See you then.
20:13 westbaystars: Hirata follows.
20:13 Firearm: if you mean last year, I say "Don't worry, Yamamoto won't pitch"
20:13 Beethoven2: Firearm: this year...almost a Minnesota blow-it-all
20:13 Firearm: man, where the heck was this offense last year?!
20:14 westbaystars: He singled and was intentionally walked to load the bases for Tanishige's 2-run double.
20:14 westbaystars: But Hirata goes down swinging on five pitches.
20:14 Firearm: In this game as well their run production was better than all of last year's series
20:14 Beethoven2: Firearm: There here now! LOL
20:14 westbaystars: Two down here in the bottom of the fourth.
20:15 westbaystars: That brings up Tanishige, who can't hold up on the first pitch down low.
20:15 Firearm: If I was running the TV broadcast in Japan I'd be shamelessly running that graphic
20:15 westbaystars: First base umpire calls it strike one.
20:15 Beethoven2: Rally caps! LOL
20:15 Firearm: Last year's series: 8 runs scored Tonight: 9
20:16 westbaystars: Tanishige swinging and missing big on the third offering, bringing the count to 2 strikes and a ball.
20:16 westbaystars: This following an 8-1 victory on Sunday.
20:16 Thomas: hi
20:17 westbaystars: The 2-2 offering is lifted to right field.
20:17 Beethoven2: Hi :]]
20:17 torakichi: Welcome.
20:17 westbaystars: Inaba comes in, in, and the ball bounces just in front of Inaba.
20:17 Beethoven2: Yay!
20:17 westbaystars: 猛打賞
20:17 westbaystars: Modasho (monster hitting award) for Tanishige.
20:18 torakichi: Oh, I thought Inaba had that one covered. *Nothing* going the Hams' way tonight.
20:18 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second with two down for pitcher Asakura.
20:18 Thomas: wow, I seem to have missed a lot^^
20:18 westbaystars: Did I mention that Oshimoto came in to pitch this inning?
20:18 westbaystars: I don't think so.
20:18 Beethoven2: thanks for translating :]
20:18 westbaystars: Oshimoto came in to pitch this inning for the Fighters. The fourth pitcher for Nippon Ham tonight.
20:18 westbaystars: The first not to have pitched in the first inning.
20:19 Thomas: who started?
20:19 westbaystars: The Majors seem to value "multi-hit" games. In Japan, you need 3 hits for 猛打賞.
20:19 westbaystars: And Oshimoto gets Asakura swinging for out number three.
20:20 westbaystars: At the end of four complete, the score remains Fighters 1 - 9 Dragons.
20:20 westbaystars: M. Takeda: 1/3rd of an inning, 6 batters, 5 runs, all earned.
20:21 westbaystars: Sweeney: 1/3rd of an inning, 5 batters, 2 runs, both earned.
20:21 westbaystars: Tateyama: 2 1/3rd innings, 11 batters, 2 runs, both earned.
20:21 Thomas: wow... 135 ERA for Takeda
20:21 westbaystars: Oshimoto: 1 inning (so far).
20:22 Deanna: yikes
20:22 westbaystars: 54.00 ERA for Sweeney.
20:22 westbaystars: ---
20:22 westbaystars: Top of 5th
20:22 westbaystars: ---
20:22 Beethoven2: Hi Deanna! :]]
20:22 westbaystars: Hichori will be leading off the Fighters' fifth.
20:22 Firearm: what was the ERA for Masaru?
20:22 Firearm: Hi Deanna!
20:22 Deanna: Nobody showed up for my 8pm (yet), so here I am.
20:22 Deanna: Exploding ham.
20:22 Firearm: and for the record, I'm still worried--not about this game, though
20:23 westbaystars: He's swinging at the first pitch, and grounds the ball to Araki near second.
20:23 Firearm: still, this looks like a bit of role reversal from last year
20:23 westbaystars: Araki throw to first, and Woods drops it?
20:23 westbaystars: What happened?
20:23 westbaystars: The one bounder was in and out of Woods' glove.
20:24 westbaystars: It's being ruled a hit, but it was an error by somebody.
20:24 Beethoven2: He's making a name for himself. LOL
20:24 westbaystars: Kensuke lifts the first offering up to the third base side.
20:24 westbaystars: Nori is over, and makes the catch in front of the Fighters dugout on the third base side.
20:24 westbaystars: One out, runner at first.
20:24 westbaystars: That brings up Inaba. 0 for 8 in the Series.
20:24 westbaystars: After winning the MVP of the 2006 Nippon Series.
20:25 westbaystars: ... with his batting.
20:25 Firearm: heh, role reversal
20:25 torakichi: For the record: The scoreboard at Nagoya Dome is still broken. The TV commentary team is struggling from time to time.
20:25 Deanna: Oh, Westbay, I did finally get the story on the Inaba Jump -- it's a Sapporo thing, which is why I'd never ever seen it
20:25 westbaystars: Yea, I read that. Thanks.
20:25 torakichi: Took ages to find out if Morimoto's hit was a hit or an error.
20:26 Beethoven2: Fantasy team: Woods at first, Inaba batting. LOL
20:26 westbaystars: I was sure that the announcers were saying Inaba Jump. Several times.
20:26 Deanna: Right, and I was sure I'd never ever seen such a thing. So we both were right
20:26 Beethoven2: Me too! Good blog story on Erika's there. :]]
20:26 westbaystars: Inaba continues to put /tako/s on the board, lifting the ball to right.
20:26 Deanna: apparently the "Tokyo Fighters fans" and the "Sapporo Fighters fans" have some differences
20:27 torakichi: Wow. Inaba hasn't had a hit in 12 at-bats.
20:27 westbaystars: Lee comes in and pulls it in for out number two.
20:27 Deanna: not in a bad way, just in a "we're really not sure why we're singing Oi Hokkaido down here in Tokyo" sort of way.
20:27 Beethoven2: Winners and Losers? :P
20:27 westbaystars: Seggy takes two balls.
20:28 Beethoven2: I'm a gonna shut up now, for a while. :]
20:28 westbaystars: Third offering is called strike one up and away.
20:29 westbaystars: The Seguignol Shift is on, where Inaba is behind the second base bag.
20:29 Deanna: Ibata
20:29 westbaystars: Looks like it hurt. Ouch.
20:29 westbaystars: And Seguignol fouls the next offering off his front foot.
20:29 Deanna: dammit Westbay
20:29 westbaystars: The size of his foot doesn't change the amount of pain.
20:29 westbaystars: Fifth offering misses down low, ball three. Full count.
20:30 Deanna: Seggy shift must be fun since he's a switch-hitter
20:30 westbaystars: What did I do this time?
20:30 Deanna: You said Inaba was behind the second base bag
20:30 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch is lifted foul and out of play to the left side. We'll do it again.
20:30 westbaystars: Argh. I'd been so careful these games.
20:30 Firearm: Has Inaba even gotten on base all series?
20:31 westbaystars: Seggy fouls another one off his front foot.
20:31 Firearm: Yeah, there are Yamamotos on both teams, Odas on both teams, Inaba/Ibata...
20:31 westbaystars: The eighth pitch catches the inside corner, taken for strike three.
20:31 Deanna: Inaba walked in the first game
20:31 Beethoven2: Seggy shooting himself in the foot, is he?
20:32 westbaystars: That retires the side for the Fighters in the fifth, as Seguignol throws the bat end-to-end.
20:32 Deanna: ...he was one of the people who scored on Seguignol's home run in that first inning.
20:32 westbaystars: Good pitch by Asakura there.
20:33 Deanna: but, no, Firearm, aside from that very first at-bat of his, no, he hasn't been on base that I know of
20:33 westbaystars: ---
20:33 westbaystars: Bottom of 5th
20:33 westbaystars: ---
20:33 Firearm: Game 4 starters: ? vs. Yamai?
20:33 westbaystars: Seguginol takes a spot on the bench.
20:33 Deanna: oh dear.
20:33 Deanna: Yagi? Kanemoron?
20:34 westbaystars: Well, Sweeney might be eliminated. Then again, he did only throw 1/3rd of an inning.
20:34 westbaystars: Leadoff man Araki leads off the Dragons' half of teh fifth.
20:34 Firearm: Yagi, if he's on the roster, should go
20:34 westbaystars: He swings at the first pitch, grounding to the right side.
20:34 westbaystars: Tanaka fields the ball and throws to first for out number one.
20:34 westbaystars: That brings up Ibata.
20:34 Firearm: Yamai's pitched very well for us (and didn't have that 3-month-long winless streak Takashi Ogasawara had)
20:35 Deanna: yeah, gotta be Yagi. I don't know what's up with Kanemura these days to be honest, I was just trying to think
20:35 Deanna: and Yoshikawa went a few innings the other day so that's unlikely too
20:35 Firearm: I read some off article about "Kanemura to Hanshin"
20:35 westbaystars: Ibata takes the first two pitches for strikes.
20:35 westbaystars: Oshimoto in his second inning of work.
20:35 Deanna: that'd be awesome
20:36 Firearm: Yes, it really would
20:36 Deanna: he could hang out with Shimoyanagi and they could talk about their dogs
20:36 Beethoven2: Thanks westbaystars-san, I lost track.
20:36 westbaystars: Ibata grounds the 2-2 pitch to Tanaka at second. Two quick outs.
20:36 westbaystars: Haven't used the word "quick" too often tonight.
20:37 westbaystars: Morino takes the first pitch on the outside corner, strike one.
20:38 westbaystars: Fourth offering is grounded to Kaneko at short.
20:38 westbaystars: He throws to first in time to retire the Dragons in order for the first time tonight.
20:39 westbaystars: At the end of 5 complete, the Fighters continue to trail 1-9.
20:39 westbaystars: Yoh had taken the place of Seguignol at first that inning.
20:39 westbaystars: I had kind of expected a double switch with Seguignol being the final batter.
20:40 Firearm: I know last year's Yagi isn't this year's Yagi, but Yagi stymied the Dragons last year
20:40 westbaystars: But I guess Hillman-kantoku was more interested in letting Oshimoto continue on the mound.
20:40 westbaystars: Now that he's found someone who can keep the Dragons' fire snuffed out.
20:40 westbaystars: ---
20:40 westbaystars: Top of 6th
20:40 westbaystars: ---
20:41 Deanna: well, last year the Dragons actually had some lefty batters, Firearm
20:41 Firearm: Asakura's already pitched 80? He'll probably only pitch two more.
20:42 Deanna: this year it's Morino and Lee, really
20:42 westbaystars: So are you saying that that was Chunichi's downfall? Too many left handed batters?
20:42 Firearm: so it's better for the Dragons to be unbalanced with righties?
20:42 Deanna: no, I'm saying that's part of why Yagi was more effective
20:42 Deanna: Kosuke in particular seemed to have trouble with the Fighters' lefties
20:43 Deanna: (Okajima was great in particular, sigh)
20:43 westbaystars: Kudoh leads off the sixth lifting the first pitch to left.
20:43 westbaystars: Morino comes in to make the catch. One pitch, one out.
20:43 westbaystars: That brings up Takahashi.
20:44 westbaystars: Takahashi lifts the ball to mid-left field.
20:44 Firearm: I wonder how big of a factor Iwase will be this series--he's been surprisingly human
20:45 westbaystars: Ibata cuts Morino off to make the catch, with Nori pausing a bit more shallow.
20:45 westbaystars: Morino almost looked upset at Ibata for hogging the ball.
20:45 westbaystars: But before I could even finish typing that, Inada grounds out to the left side for out number three.
20:46 westbaystars: That was a low energy inning for Asakura.
20:46 Beethoven2: tsk, team spirit.
20:46 Firearm: wow, a VERY easy inning for Kenta
20:46 westbaystars: And the first time since the first that the Fighters went down in order.
20:46 Beethoven2: Morino, I mean.
20:46 westbaystars: (That was thinks to a double play.)
20:46 westbaystars: Score remains 9-1.
20:47 westbaystars: ---
20:47 Firearm: 3 outs on 5 pitches
20:47 westbaystars: Bottom of the 6th
20:47 westbaystars: ---
20:47 Firearm: yeah Beethoven, you don't do stuff like that when your team hasn't won it all in 53 years
20:47 Deanna: heh, Ibata's just too good
20:47 westbaystars: Woods leads off the Dragons' sixth.
20:48 Beethoven2: Let's see some action!
20:48 westbaystars: Takes the first pitch on the outside part of the plate for strike one.
20:48 Beethoven2: (for a change)
20:48 westbaystars: Second offering is grounded to the left side.
20:48 Deanna: T!
20:48 westbaystars: Inada up with the ball, throws to Yoh at first for out number one.
20:48 Firearm: Beethoven, the 1st inning wasn't enough for you?
20:49 Beethoven2: bah!
20:49 westbaystars: Nobody here to upset?
20:49 westbaystars: 3 for 3 Nakamura coming up.
20:49 Beethoven2: I'm disappointed in Woods, Firearm
20:49 westbaystars: Strike two called low and away.
20:50 westbaystars: And Nori is knocked down by a high and tight third offering.
20:50 Firearm: Woods actually has RBIs this year, unlike last year
20:50 Beethoven2: oOo!
20:50 westbaystars: Fourth offering low and away, and Nori was setup. Swung on and missed - not even close.
20:51 Beethoven2: Big mouth, small stick! LOL
20:51 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
20:51 Firearm: so from that aspect, and also the aspect that you're about to take a 2-1 series lead, I can't complain
20:51 westbaystars: Swings and misses the first pitch in the dirt.
20:51 westbaystars: Second offering low, swung on and missed. Strike two.
20:51 westbaystars: Oshimoto is looking good on the mound for Nippon Ham.
20:52 westbaystars: Third offering misses outside, ball one.
20:52 Deanna: honestly, this is why I hoped the Giants would be in the Series -- then I would actually hate the Fighters' opponents
20:52 Beethoven2: It's how you play the game...Dragons better not let up.
20:52 westbaystars: As does the fourth offering. 2 and 2.
20:53 westbaystars: 2-2 offering grounded to the left side.
20:53 Beethoven2: Deanna: what the world needs now, is love sweet love. :]
20:53 westbaystars: Kaneko up with the ball. And the Dragons are retired in order two innings in a row.
20:53 Firearm: the Dragons better win Game 4--Darvish will be ready to go for Game 5
20:53 Firearm: What the world needs now, are some true words of wisdom
20:53 westbaystars: After six complete, the Dragons continue to lead 9-1.
20:53 Firearm: like la la la la la la la la la (copyright Cracker)
20:53 Beethoven2: Don't worry Firearm...they will. :]]
20:54 Deanna: hehehe, I love that song
20:54 Beethoven2: hahah Firearm!
20:54 Firearm: NOW THAT YOU SAID THAT THEY'LL LOSE :PPPPPPPPP
20:54 Beethoven2: Superstitious? LOL
20:54 Deanna: what the world needs now is another full swinger like I need a hole in my head
20:54 westbaystars: ---
20:54 westbaystars: Top of 7th
20:54 Deanna: (reference to OCD not withstanding)
20:54 westbaystars: ---
20:55 Firearm: very.
20:55 Beethoven2: Deanna, I'm a swinger... LOL
20:55 Deanna: honestly, 8 runs is more than the Fighters usually score in a month, I wouldn't worry
20:55 westbaystars: Kaneko leads off for the Fighters, 2 for 2 so far tonight for the team captain.
20:56 Beethoven2: Yeah, but it's championship ball...you never know.
20:57 westbaystars: Kaneko reaches out and lines the 2-strike, 1-ball pitch to right.
20:57 westbaystars: It's Hirada coming over from center to make the catch for out number one.
20:57 westbaystars: Konta pinch hits for Oshimoto.
20:57 Deanna: you know, honestly, I just want the series to go to 6 games so I can watch another one
20:58 Deanna: also, that's Hirata, not that it matters much
20:58 westbaystars: He lifts the ball to left, but right at Morino who just lunges forward at the last second to make the catch.
20:58 Deanna: ok, I gotta go for a bit again. susume Fighters! moeyo Dragons!
20:58 westbaystars: Two *quick* outs. (There's that 'Q' word again.)
20:58 westbaystars: Back to the top of the order in Morimoto.
20:59 Beethoven2: Yeah, I'd give up some money to see that, Deanna. :]
20:59 Beethoven2: Good series, Dragons are a surprise, neh?
21:00 westbaystars: Hichori grounds out to the left side, and the Fighters are down in order for the second inning in a row.
21:01 westbaystars: ---
21:01 westbaystars: Bottom of 7th
21:01 westbaystars: ---
21:02 Beethoven2: Let's Go Dragons!!!
21:03 westbaystars: Hira*ta* leads off for the Dragons.
21:03 westbaystars: Hagiwara takes the mound for the Fighters.
21:04 westbaystars: Hirata grounds out to Tanaka at second on the fourth pitch, one away.
21:04 Thomas: I gotta leave, thanks again for the great coverage
21:05 Beethoven3: See you Tom! :]]
21:05 Thomas: unfortunately I'll probably be too busy to drop in to the other games...
21:05 westbaystars: Catch you later. Take care.
21:05 Thomas: but anyway, see you and take care
21:05 westbaystars: Work interfere?
21:06 westbaystars: Tanishige goes down looking on four pitches.
21:06 westbaystars: Good last pitch, just catching the outside corner.
21:06 westbaystars: Asakura will be pinch hit for.
21:07 westbaystars: Inoue anounced.
21:07 westbaystars: No, not Inoue.
21:07 westbaystars: Donoue.
21:07 westbaystars: Takehiro. The older brother.
21:07 westbaystars: (Deanna will correct me if I got the name wrong again.)
21:08 Beethoven3: I'm sure she will. :]
21:09 Beethoven3: Where's everybody going? Was it something I said?
21:09 westbaystars: Looked it up. I got it right this time. Whew.
21:09 westbaystars: Chunichi up 9-1.
21:09 westbaystars: And Donoue goes down swinging at a low pitch.
21:09 Beethoven3: Good! LOL
21:09 Firearm: Takehiro has started a few times for the Dragons, but his younger brother Naomichi has yet to debut with the big club
21:09 westbaystars: That retires the Dragons in order for the third time in a row.
21:10 Beethoven3: about your getting it right, I mean.
21:10 westbaystars: Wow, the pace of this game is really picking up.
21:10 Firearm: I'm eating breakfast
21:10 Beethoven3: Hmmn...are they coasting?
21:10 Beethoven3: noodles?
21:10 westbaystars: Especially considering that the first inning took 45 minutes.
21:11 Beethoven3: yeah, interesting all those pitching changes.
21:11 westbaystars: After 7 complete, the Dragons continue to lead 9-1.
21:11 Firearm: nah, pop-tarts :P
21:11 westbaystars: ---
21:11 westbaystars: Top of 8th
21:11 westbaystars: ---
21:11 Beethoven3: Time's running out for the Fighters.
21:11 westbaystars: Hisamoto comes in to pitch the 8th for the Dragons.
21:11 westbaystars: He's the second pitcher for Chunichi tonight.
21:12 Firearm: Another VERY solid 7 for a Chunichi starter
21:12 westbaystars: Hisamoto threw in 36 games with season with a 2 and 1 record and a 3.38 ERA over 45.1 innings.
21:13 Beethoven3: Yep. :]
21:13 westbaystars: Tanaka Kensuke leads off the Fighters' eighth.
21:13 Firearm: not a great season for Hisamoto, but he's still our most dependable middle reliever
21:14 westbaystars: And Kensuke goes down swinging for out number one.
21:14 Firearm: I'd prefer all games are like this--in a close game, I don't want to see Okamoto and his baggage from 2004
21:14 Firearm: of course, that's a fanny pack compared to Masa's baggage
21:15 westbaystars: That brings up the hitless Inaba.
21:15 Beethoven3: heheheh, Firearm.
21:16 westbaystars: Count comes quickly to 2 and 2.
21:16 westbaystars: And the umpire says that Inaba was hit on the next inside pitch.
21:17 westbaystars: I don't know about that.
21:17 westbaystars: But he takes first any way he can.
21:17 westbaystars: And we get a pinch runner.
21:17 westbaystars: Kawashima comes in to run for Inaba.
21:18 westbaystars: Yoh comes up for his first at bat.
21:19 Beethoven3: Hi guys! Dragons 9-1
21:20 westbaystars: After battling the count to 2 and 2, Yoh goes down swinging at an outside pitch.
21:20 Beethoven3: What did I say now? LOL
21:20 westbaystars: And that brings Ochiai-kantoku out of the first base dugout.
21:21 westbaystars: He's asking for the ball.
21:21 westbaystars: And Hirai will come in to throw.
21:21 westbaystars: Scratch him from tomorrow's starters?
21:21 Beethoven3: I guess so.
21:22 Firearm: and 5-run rally in 10... 9...
21:22 Firearm: Hirai's been god-awful this year
21:22 Firearm: not Nagakawa bad, but bad
21:22 westbaystars: Oh, he didn't start all season. Why do I keep trying to put him in the rotation.
21:22 westbaystars: ?
21:22 Firearm: And Nagakawa was LaTroy Hawkins bad this year
21:22 Beethoven3: lol I hope not, Firearm
21:22 westbaystars: Hirai appeared in 45 games, all in relief. Held 19 games while saved none.
21:23 Firearm: 4-2 record is very misleading, he's blown a lot of games (only for the Dragons to bail him out)
21:23 westbaystars: 4 wins, 2 losses, allowed 15 earned runs in 41 innings pitch for a 3.29 ERA. 1.10 WHIP.
21:23 westbaystars: First pitch is lifted to foul territory in left.
21:23 westbaystars: Morino is over to make the catch, and the side is retired.
21:24 westbaystars: The Fighters get a runner as Inaba reaches base getting brushed.
21:24 westbaystars: But still come up empty.
21:24 westbaystars: Down to three outs, the Fighters find themselves trailing by 8.
21:24 westbaystars: ---
21:24 westbaystars: Bottom of 8th
21:24 westbaystars: ---
21:25 westbaystars: Note: Morino didn7t make that last catch.
21:25 westbaystars: He was moved to third as Nori moved to first and Woods came out last inning.
21:26 westbaystars: Ueda made that last catch in left, coming in and batting in Woods' spot.
21:26 westbaystars: 10 Dragons have been retired in order going into the bottom of the eighth.
21:27 westbaystars: That being between Oshimoto and Hagiwara.
21:27 westbaystars: Hagiwara still on the mound for his second inning of work.
21:27 westbaystars: Araki, leading off, unable to hold up on a 1-1 pitch, strike two called by the first base umpire.
21:29 john: What is the score?
21:29 Beethoven3: Dragons 9-1
21:29 westbaystars: 9-1 Dragons.
21:29 john: Thanks
21:29 westbaystars: Araki works the count to 2-2 for a few pitches, then grounds it up the middle for a base hit.
21:29 westbaystars: That's the first Chunichi base runner since the 4th.
21:30 westbaystars: Chunichi scores 7 in the first, 2 in the second.
21:30 westbaystars: Nippon Ham have had to settle with 1 run on a pair of doubles in the second.
21:30 westbaystars: Ibata comes up next.
21:31 westbaystars: Ibata grounds the ball up the middle.
21:31 westbaystars: Kaneko fields the ball and steps on second himself.
21:31 westbaystars: His throw to first is just a tad late to get the speedy Ibata.
21:31 westbaystars: Safe at first.
21:31 westbaystars: That brings up Morino.
21:32 westbaystars: Hitless tonight, but with a couple of walks.
21:33 westbaystars: And Morino walks again, this time on four pitches.
21:33 westbaystars: Next up is Ueda, who came in defensively in left last inning.
21:34 gkanai: back from dinner
21:34 westbaystars: In Woods' spot in the order.
21:34 gkanai: what's the score, I just turned on the TV
21:34 westbaystars: Nothing changed. Except a few players.
21:34 Firearm: I'm sure Hidenori will come in for the 9th
21:34 gkanai: seriously? still 9-1?
21:34 Firearm: and Ochiai will do that stupid "1 pitcher 1 out" thing he does in the 9th inning of a blowout
21:35 westbaystars: Yep.
21:35 westbaystars: Ueda goes down swinging on three pitches.
21:35 gkanai: Hagiwara is sweating like a pig.
21:36 westbaystars: That brings up Nori.
21:36 westbaystars: 6 for 11 with 3 RBIs in the Series.
21:36 westbaystars: 3 for 4 tonight.
21:38 westbaystars: Nori grounds the ball to the left side.
21:38 gkanai: out at first
21:38 Firearm: well, it's off to work for me
21:38 westbaystars: Inada (if he's still at third) fields the ball, and throws to first for the out.
21:38 westbaystars: And that retires the side.
21:39 westbaystars: After 8 complete, the Dragons continue to lead this one 9-1.
21:39 Firearm: Yoh is at 3rd
21:39 westbaystars: The score since the end of the second inning.
21:39 gkanai: it's like I didn't leave for dinner.
21:39 Firearm: see everyone for Game 4
21:39 westbaystars: Ah, Indata moved to first.
21:40 westbaystars: Thanks for catching that.
21:40 westbaystars: ---
21:40 westbaystars: Top of 9th
21:40 westbaystars: ---
21:40 westbaystars: Fighters go into their last at bat trailing by 8.
21:41 gkanai: Who is the announcer, Kato?
21:41 jgribbins: I guess I missed all the fireworks!!!
21:41 westbaystars: Suzuki takes the mound for the Dragons this inning.
21:41 westbaystars: Missing with the first pitch to Takahashi, low and away.
21:41 gkanai: the fireworks were all in the top of the 2nd.
21:42 westbaystars: Second offering is called strike one on the outside corner.
21:42 westbaystars: Third offering is grounded back to Suzuki in front of the mound.
21:42 westbaystars: He throws to first in time for out number one.
21:43 westbaystars: Those were fireworks in the top of the second?
21:43 westbaystars: A pair of doubles and getting thrown out at home?
21:43 westbaystars: Actually, I think going home on that play was big for the Drragons.
21:43 gkanai: I forget when all those runs were score- was is the first inning?
21:43 westbaystars: Inada follows grounding the ball through the left side, base hit.
21:43 westbaystars: The Fighters put a runner on.
21:44 westbaystars: And Ochiai-kantoku comes out of the first base dugout.
21:44 westbaystars: Yes, the 40 minute bottom of the first.
21:44 gkanai: Okamoto Shinya to the mound?
21:44 westbaystars: We have Ochiai's 1 pitcher per batter. Well, Suzuki did throw to two.
21:45 westbaystars: Hirai threw one pitch.
21:46 westbaystars: Okamoto. Good call.
21:46 westbaystars: Okamoto faces Kaneko. Throwing the first pitch high and in for ball one.
21:47 westbaystars: In 62 games, Okamoto won 5 and lost 2, allowing 18 earned runs in 56 innings for a 2.89 ERA. 1.14 WHIP.
21:48 westbaystars: Kaneko fouls off three pitches to bring the count to 2 strikes and a ball.
21:49 gkanai: Kaneko is out.
21:49 westbaystars: Then whiffs a pitch in the dirt and heads back to the third base dugout.
21:49 westbaystars: 後一人。 One more.
21:49 westbaystars: Koyano pinch hits for the pitcher..
21:49 westbaystars: Takes strike own over the outside part of the plate at the knees.
21:50 gkanai: Hillman looks pensive.
21:50 westbaystars: Second offering is swung on and missed. Strike two.
21:50 westbaystars: 後一球。One more pitch.
21:50 westbaystars: Swung on and grounded to the left side.
21:50 gkanai: out at first!
21:50 westbaystars: Ibata up with the ball, the throw to first is in time.
21:51 westbaystars: And the Fighters lose Game 3 by a humiliating score of 9-1.
21:51 westbaystars: ===
21:51 westbaystars: For the Dragons, it was all about the first inning.
21:51 gkanai: Chunichi hasn't won a Japan series in 53 (!) years.
21:51 westbaystars: Araki was hit in the foot to start off the bottom of the first.
21:52 Beethoven3: Great announcing Westbaystars-san. Thanks!!!
21:53 westbaystars: Araki stole second, but then Ibata flew out to right.
21:53 westbaystars: Morino then walked to put runners at first and second with 1 out.
21:53 westbaystars: Then the hit parade began.
21:53 westbaystars: Woods, an RBI single to center.
21:54 westbaystars: Nori, an RBI double to right.
21:54 westbaystars: Lee, two RBIs on a double to right.
21:54 gkanai: otsukaresamadeshita westbaystars-san
21:54 westbaystars: Hirata, single to left.
21:54 westbaystars: Tanishige, RBI single to center.
21:54 Beethoven3: Who'll pitch next for Dragons gkanai
21:55 westbaystars: Starting pitch Asakura then sacrificed the runners along.
21:55 westbaystars: And Araki and Ibata droves in another two runs with singles to left and right respecively.
21:56 westbaystars: 7 consecutive hits by the Dr
The Dragons' bats are certainly heading in the opposite direction. 4 hits, 8 hits, 15 hits (almost doubling each time). This bodes well for the Dragons.
Well, the transcript follows. No more scoring after the second inning, but we had a few interesting tangents to fill the time with. Enjoy.
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2007/10/30
CHATROOM 2007 Nippon Series/Game 3
16:27 gkanai: hello
16:42 finite: hi
16:42 finite: i'm here via http://www.metafilter.com/66022/The-2007-Japan-Series
16:43 finite: ah your post i see
16:44 finite: thanks for that
17:09 gkanai: hi
18:03 gkanai: hi
18:04 westbaystars: Good evening/morning/afternoon.
18:04 westbaystars: We're about 7 minutes away from game time.
18:04 westbaystars: I've got a little more setting up to do.
18:06 westbaystars: First thing is to confirm the pitchers. And Nikkan Sports confirms that it'll be M. Takeda vs. Asakura.
18:10 westbaystars: OK. Hello and welcome to Pro Yakyu Live! here on JapaneseBaseball.com.
18:11 westbaystars: Oh, I'm not doing the audio. That's right.
18:11 westbaystars:
18:11 westbaystars: Asakura completes his warmup pitches.
18:11 westbaystars: Morimoto stands in
18:11 westbaystars: ---
18:11 westbaystars: Top of 1st
18:11 westbaystars: ---
18:12 gkanai:
18:12 westbaystars: And as the clock strikes 6:10, Morimoto grounds the first pitch to Ibata at short.
18:12 westbaystars: One pitch, one out.
18:12 gkanai: hmm it'd be cool if this jchatbox did an auto-refresh
18:12 westbaystars: That brings up second baseman Kensuke Tanaka.
18:12 westbaystars: The Fighters' #2 man takes the first offering down low for ball one.
18:13 westbaystars: I've done audio broadcasts in the past.
18:13 westbaystars: Not as interactive.
18:13 gkanai: agreed- this is very good
18:13 westbaystars: I could hypothetically simulcast, but that takes too much work.
18:13 westbaystars: After running the count no strikes, three balls, Asakura gets the fourth pitch on the outside corner for a called strike
18:14 gkanai: nah- this is fine, plus I can't stay for more than 1-2 innings
18:14 westbaystars: Fifth offering also in there, called strike two.
18:14 westbaystars: Full count.
18:14 westbaystars: Maybe wrist?
18:14 westbaystars: Araki charges in, fields the ball in front of the second base bag.
18:15 westbaystars: His throw to first is not in time, and off line.
18:15 gkanai: hm so this jchatbox does do auto refreshing. cool.
18:15 westbaystars: It's ruled an infield hit. (Too hard for the pitcher to handle.)
18:15 westbaystars: Yes, every 30 seconds.
18:15 westbaystars: First pitch to Inaba missed down low for ball one.
18:16 westbaystars: Throw over to first, Tanaka is back standing up.
18:16 westbaystars: Inaba was the 2006 Nippon Series MVP.
18:16 westbaystars: But the next pitch is grounded to Araki at second.
18:16 gkanai: are you watching the game on TV or radio?
18:16 westbaystars: He tosses to his alter ego Ibata at second.
18:16 westbaystars: The relay to first is in time, and the side is retired.
18:17 westbaystars: The Fighters got a runner in the first, but end with nothing to show for it.
18:17 westbaystars: After half an inning, there's no score.
18:17 westbaystars: ---
18:17 westbaystars: Bottom of 1st
18:17 westbaystars: ---
18:17 gkanai: what's your prediction for this game?
18:18 westbaystars: Well, my prediction before the Series was Chunichi in 5.
18:18 westbaystars: Since they're 1 and 1 now, they need to win the next three.
18:18 westbaystars: But just to complicate things, I'm rooting for Nippon Ham.
18:19 gkanai: huh, even with Darvish winnning the Sawamura Award?
18:19 westbaystars: He was 1 and 1 in the 2006 Series.
18:19 westbaystars: The first pitch by Takeda hits Araki in the left foot.
18:20 westbaystars: He goes down in pain.
18:20 westbaystars: Looks like it hit the tip of his right toe.
18:20 gkanai: the pitch was that low?
18:20 torakichi: Give that man an Oscar!
18:20 gkanai: jeeze.
18:20 westbaystars: But now he pops up and takes first.
18:20 westbaystars: He stole a pair of bases in Game 2, turning both into runs.
18:20 westbaystars: That brings up Ibata.
18:20 torakichi: He's playing for the wrong team. The *other* team is the Ham!
18:21 westbaystars: 2 for 9 in the Series so far.
18:21 westbaystars: Ibata takes the first pitch inside for a called strike one.
18:21 westbaystars:
18:21 westbaystars: Second offering misses just a shade outside. 1 and 1.
18:22 westbaystars: A throw over to first has Araki back standing up.
18:22 westbaystars: The Fighters have Takahashi behind the plate tonight.
18:22 westbaystars: Is that to try to keep Araki from running like he did in Game 2?
18:23 westbaystars: If so, it doesn't seem to be working.
18:23 westbaystars: Araki is off to the races.
18:23 westbaystars: He slides in after the ball gets there, but the one bounder isn't handled and goes into center field.
18:24 westbaystars: Morimoto is right there to hold Araki at second.
18:24 westbaystars: Deanna, the the person I wanted to see.
18:24 westbaystars: Which catcher is better at holding runners?
18:24 torakichi: On KTV, Nomura-kantoku is saying that no leftie should allow a runner to steal that easily.
18:24 Deanna: I'm only on for a little bit. What's up?
18:24 westbaystars: Takahashi or Tsuruoka?
18:25 Deanna: err... I don't know offhand but I would guess Tanishige, why?
18:25 Deanna: oh. uhhh.
18:25 westbaystars: The count is run full.
18:25 torakichi: Hi Deanna. 0-0, bottom of 1st.
18:25 westbaystars: Sorry, for the Fighters.
18:25 Deanna: offhand I would say Shinji but I'm really just pulling that out of nowhere
18:25 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch is lined toward right.
18:25 westbaystars: Inaba comes in and makes the catch.
18:25 westbaystars: Araki returns to second.
18:26 westbaystars: Runner at second, one down.
18:26 westbaystars: Sorry to put you on the spot.
18:26 westbaystars: That brings up Morino with just one runner on.
18:26 westbaystars: Mr. Three Run did have a 2-run shot on Sunday,.
18:27 torakichi: It is just me or is Takeda putting a lot of pitches wide? To both left- and right-hand batters?
18:27 Deanna: today will be partially affected by having a lefty pitcher, too, since they can see first base more easily
18:27 westbaystars: Three straight balls to Morino, and Masaru is in the hole.
18:28 westbaystars: And Morino walks on four pitches.
18:28 Deanna: dammit Masaru, this is the guy you have to go after
18:28 torakichi: It looks like lots of them are going outside.
18:28 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second, one out, bottom of the first.
18:28 westbaystars: That brings up Woods.
18:28 Deanna: exploding ham
18:29 torakichi: I hope Woods can do something tonight. His power is the one spectacle that's been missing this series.
18:29 westbaystars: Tyrone did get his first hit of the Series on Sunday. Is he ready to break out at home?
18:29 westbaystars: After taking two balls, Woods fouls the third offering off at the plate.
18:30 torakichi: It'd be good to see. Seggy did in game 1.
18:30 torakichi: Aside: I would gladly pay \2,000 to see a show by a band called The Exploding ham
18:30 westbaystars: Next pitch misses inside and low, ball three.
18:30 westbaystars: Takeda has thrown a lot of pitches so far this inning.
18:31 westbaystars: Fifth offering is inside, but swung on and missed. Woods way ahead of the ball.
18:31 torakichi: Nomura reckons Takeda can't pitch a fastball to Woods. His only option is a change up.
18:31 westbaystars: Full count pitch is grounded back up the middle.
18:32 westbaystars: It goes bast Takeda, who avoids it, and into center field, base hit!
18:32 westbaystars: Araki rounds third, heads home.
18:32 westbaystars: Home in! Chunichi takes a 1-0 lead.
18:32 westbaystars: The throw to third is not in time, Morino is safe there.
18:32 westbaystars: Woods gets his first RBI of the Series. (And I don't expect it to be his last.)
18:33 westbaystars: Runners now at the corners, 1 out.
18:33 westbaystars: Norihiro Nakamura to follow.
18:34 westbaystars: Except for Araki, who Takeda hit with his first pitch, Masaru has gone at least 3 balls to each batter.
18:34 torakichi: Apparently that pitch was a change-up.
18:34 westbaystars: Not a good sign.
18:34 torakichi: Asked about why his pick resulted in giving up runs, Nomura says......"Up to 2S 3B count, the change-ups lured batters t
18:34 westbaystars: Nori lifts the second offering deep to center.
18:34 torakichi: ...to swing outside the zone, but that last one was in the zone.
18:35 westbaystars: One run is in.
18:35 westbaystars: Woods holds at third.
18:35 torakichi: Big swing, biiiiiiiiiiiiig hit!
18:35 westbaystars: The Dragons take a 2-0 lead here in the bottom of the first.
18:36 westbaystars: I thought that one was gone, but Nori got a little too much under it.
18:36 westbaystars: Still, an RBI double. Nori finally looks good with the bat.
18:36 westbaystars: 1 run in.
18:36 westbaystars: 2 runs in.
18:36 torakichi: Another one! Takeda is really struggling here.
18:36 Deanna: so it's another night of Nomurascope?
18:37 westbaystars: And the Dragons double their lead with another double to right-center.
18:37 Deanna: and, yes, see, this is what I meant by Dragons' "patented first-inning explosion"
18:37 westbaystars: Satoh pitching coach heads to the mound.
18:37 Deanna: I wasn't making that up just for humor value
18:37 westbaystars: And Hillman-kantoku comes out of the dugout.
18:37 torakichi: Whoa! Takeda's outa there.
18:37 Deanna: wow
18:38 westbaystars: The Fighting Ham are going to the bench in the first.
18:38 torakichi: The KTV vommentary team are talking about how Takeda has hardly thrown any fastballs inside.
18:38 westbaystars: I can't say that the Fighters' bull pen was very impressive on Sunday.
18:38 torakichi: They say it was the same in game 2 in the inning where they walked several batters in a row.
18:40 westbaystars: Except that Takeda has actually been throwing strikes.
18:40 westbaystars: I'd rather lose giving up hits than walks.
18:41 westbaystars: Sweeney?
18:41 westbaystars: Hirata stands in for the Chunichi Dragons.
18:41 torakichi: Yup. Apparently Sweeney was scheduled to start tomorrow.
18:41 westbaystars: We're still in the bottom of the first. Chunichi leading 4-0 with a runner at second.
18:41 westbaystars: Yes, it is Sweeney.
18:42 westbaystars: I guess that means he's not starting tomorrow.
18:42 westbaystars: Sweeney was 6 and 8 during the regular season over 21 games (17 starts).
18:43 westbaystars: Hirata lines a 1-strike, 3-ball pitch through the left side, base hit.
18:43 torakichi: Pow! The Dragons are unstoppable. That's got to be 4 or 5 hits in a row.
18:43 westbaystars: Lee holds at third. But that's 5 hits in a row for the Dragons.
18:43 torakichi: KTV says 4 in a row.
18:43 westbaystars: Sorry, 4 hits in a row. Morino walked.
18:43 westbaystars: Tanishige keeps it going, though, to make it 5.
18:44 westbaystars: 5 hits in a row, and 5 runs as Lee trots in from third.
18:44 torakichi: Yeah, it's 5 now.
18:44 westbaystars: On Tanishige's base hit up the middle.
18:45 westbaystars: That brings up pitcher Asakura, showing bunt all the way.
18:45 torakichi: The Dragons are making it look easy. Which Ham Fighter is going to put a stop to this?
18:45 westbaystars: He bunts the ball up into the air, but back to the backstop.
18:45 westbaystars: Second offering taken low and away (still showing bunt).
18:45 Deanna: exploding ham
18:46 westbaystars: Satoh-pitching coach looks ready to head out to the mound at any moment.
18:46 Deanna: I gotta go get ready for classes, I'll try to check in later
18:46 westbaystars: The third offering is bunted up the first base side.
18:46 Deanna: ganbatte fighters!
18:46 westbaystars: Seguignol fields the ball, throws to first for the out.
18:46 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku: "A big deficit in the 1st inning makes it hard for the bench AND the commentary team".
18:46 westbaystars: The runners advance to second and third.
18:46 westbaystars: That brings up leadoff batter Araki.
18:47 westbaystars: Araki took the first pitch from Takeda on his right big toe.
18:47 torakichi: Apparently the scoreboard at Nagoya Stadium is stuck on the score from Woods' at-bat.
18:47 westbaystars: The scoreboard being stuck at 1 strike, 3 balls seems to be giving the comentators problems.
18:48 westbaystars: One out, too.
18:48 torakichi: At least the on-screen (TV) ones are working.
18:48 gkanai: I didnt know Darvish had Iranian nationality
18:48 westbaystars: Araki fouls off a 2-strike, 1-ball pitch. So the count remains.
18:49 gkanai: interesting that he's dropping it to play in the Olympics.
18:49 gkanai: Why do I think Iran's baseball team is not so hot.
18:49 westbaystars: The next offering is lined to - and through! - the left side.
18:49 gkanai: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/29/sports/AS-SPT-BBL-Japan-Darvish.php
18:49 westbaystars: One run in.
18:49 westbaystars: Second base runner holds at third.
18:49 gkanai: what's the score?
18:49 westbaystars: The Dragons take a 6-0 lead here in the first.
18:49 torakichi: Incredible! Six hits in a row. 6-0.
18:50 westbaystars: Not counting the sacrifice.
18:50 westbaystars: Which isn't technically an at bat.
18:51 westbaystars: Ibata at the plate, takes a pair of balls, then a strike on the outside corner.
18:51 torakichi: Right. Another "not counting the sacrifice" tidbit: Ibata is the only batter this inning to actually get out.
18:51 westbaystars: Or did the ump say he went around? I think that's it. It look quite a bit outside.
18:52 westbaystars: Ibata lines the next offering to right, one bound in front of Inaba.
18:52 torakichi: 7 hits in a row. A new Nippon Series record.
18:52 westbaystars: 7 hits in a row, a new Nippon Series record.
18:53 westbaystars: Sweeney is done.
18:53 westbaystars: #22.
18:53 westbaystars: Tateyama. He was just activated earlier today.
18:54 torakichi: 7-0. That's quite the head start.
18:54 westbaystars: Tateyama was 2 and 4 during the regular season, throwing in 7 games (all starts).
18:54 westbaystars: He threw 1 complete game.
18:54 gkanai: jeeze, Fighters are doomed.
18:54 westbaystars: 19 earned runs in 41 innings pitched comes to a 4.17 ERA. 1.02 WHIP.
18:55 westbaystars: And still batting.
18:55 westbaystars: Hey, the announcer is talking about exploding. But he didn't end it with "Ham."
18:56 westbaystars: Mr. Three Run comes up with a pair of base runners this time.
18:56 westbaystars: Runners at first and second, two down.
18:56 torakichi: (C) Deanna?
18:56 westbaystars: We're in the bottom of the first.
18:57 westbaystars: Morino is 2 for 5 in the Series so far.
18:57 westbaystars: Breaks his bat and lifts the ball to left-center.
18:57 Beethoven: Good evening everyone! :] 5:55 a.m. here in Canada.
18:57 westbaystars: Kudoh runs over, and makes the catch to finally retire the side.
18:57 gkanai: 7pm Tokyp
18:58 torakichi: That inning must have lasted more than hanf an hour.
18:58 westbaystars: But not before the Dragons put together a record breaking 7 consecutives hits (with a sacrifice bunt).
18:58 gkanai: er, Tokyo
18:58 westbaystars: To score 7 in the first inning.
18:58 westbaystars: At the end of 1 complete, the Dragons take a commanding 7-0 lead.
18:58 westbaystars: ---
18:58 westbaystars: Top of 2nd
18:58 westbaystars: ---
18:59 gkanai: how do you come back from 7-0?
18:59 gkanai: Hillman needs a miracle.
18:59 westbaystars: It took over 30 minutes for that half inning.
19:00 torakichi: What does a kantoku say to rally his troops 7-0 down in the 1st?
19:00 westbaystars: With Seguignol coming up with the bases loaded - twice.
19:00 westbaystars:
19:00 gkanai: devastating 30 mins.
19:00 Beethoven: Ahh! Hi gkanai! :]]
19:00 westbaystars: Speaking of whom, Seggy will be leading off the 2nd for the Fighters.
19:01 westbaystars: Seguignol lines a 1-1 pitch into the right field corner.
19:02 westbaystars: And takes his time to reach second base with a lead off double.
19:02 torakichi: Well, that's a good way to start clawing back.
19:02 westbaystars: Left fielder Kudoh follows.
19:02 gkanai: Hi Beethoven
19:03 Beethoven: :]
19:03 Beethoven: Go Dragons!
19:03 westbaystars: And the Fighters strike back.
19:03 torakichi: Hey! This could be interesting...
19:04 Beethoven: It's far from over, the Fighters have character.
19:04 westbaystars: Kudoh doubles to left-center to score Seguignol from second base.
19:04 westbaystars: 6 runs to go.
19:04 westbaystars: Takahashi comes up. 1 for 4 in the Series so far.
19:05 Beethoven: OOOH! This is exciting!!!
19:05 westbaystars: Takahashi grounds the ball up the middle.
19:05 westbaystars: But well within Ibata's range.
19:05 westbaystars: Ibata throws to first in time for the easy out.
19:05 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku: "As soon as you start to think 'This will be an easy win', you're in trouble".
19:05 westbaystars: Runner advances to third.
19:05 westbaystars: Runner now at third base, with one out, and one run in so far.
19:06 Beethoven: Good quote, torakichi. :]
19:06 westbaystars: Two quick strikes on Inada.
19:06 torakichi: Nomura-kantoku seems to be in a good mood tonight.
19:07 westbaystars: The next pitch is grounded to the left side.
19:07 westbaystars: Ibata is up with the ball, throwing home!
19:07 westbaystars: And the runner is touched out!
19:07 torakichi: Dragons saw that one coming a mile away.
19:07 westbaystars: The Fighters fail to get their second run in.
19:07 westbaystars: The Dragons aren't conceding anything.
19:08 westbaystars: That brings up Kaneko now with a runner at first and two down.
19:08 torakichi: That might prove to be an important out for the CDs.
19:08 westbaystars: And the wink knocked out of the Fighters' charge.
19:08 Beethoven: Dragons executed well there!
19:08 westbaystars: That's Ibata you're talking about. He makes the impossible look easy.
19:09 westbaystars: Kaneko lines the ball over the right side, one bound, base hit!
19:09 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second, two down.
19:09 westbaystars: And pitcher Tateyama will bat for himself.
19:10 Beethoven: These fielders make the American pros look downright sluggish!
19:10 westbaystars: Third pitcher for the Fighters tonight, here in the top of the second.
19:10 westbaystars: Two quick strikes on the PL pitcher, not used to having wood in his hands.
19:10 torakichi: Good fielding is always a thrill to watch.
19:10 westbaystars: And he takes strike three on three pitches to retire the side.
19:11 westbaystars: A pair of doubles puts the Fighters on the board here in the second.
19:11 westbaystars: But they're still down by 6.
19:11 westbaystars: Fighters 1 - 7 Dragons.
19:11 westbaystars: ---
19:11 westbaystars: Bottom of 2nd
19:11 westbaystars: ---
19:12 Beethoven: Will the Dragons pitching hold up?
19:12 gkanai: well the Fighters might come back from behind but they need more energy than this.
19:13 gkanai: Darvish is on the bench today, right?
19:13 westbaystars: Asakura certainly hasn't looked unhittable.
19:13 westbaystars: Woods leads off the second.
19:13 Beethoven: Something tells me we'll have a high scoring game.
19:13 westbaystars: He singled his first at bat, starting off a Nippon Series record 7 hits in a row (with a sac bunt).
19:14 westbaystars: I don't see Darvish coming in for mop up.
19:14 Beethoven: me neither
19:15 westbaystars: And, no, Darvish isn't on the bench reserve list tonight.
19:15 westbaystars: http://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/scores/20071030/stamen_2007103001.html
19:16 westbaystars: Woods takes a full count pitch inside for ball four.
19:16 westbaystars: The leadoff man is aboard for the Dragons in the second.
19:16 westbaystars: That brings up Nakamura, who had the best looking swing for him of the Series in the first, a double to right-center.
19:17 westbaystars: It was his second RBI double of the Series, but the previous one didn't look like he was in control.
19:18 westbaystars: Nori grounds the ball up the third base line, fair!
19:18 westbaystars: That ball is going into the corner.
19:18 westbaystars: Woods holds up at third as the ball comes back in.
19:18 torakichi: Here we go again...
19:19 westbaystars: Runners at second and third with nobody out here in the bottom of the second inning.
19:19 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
19:20 westbaystars: Beethoven, try this: http://www.mozilla-japan.org/products/firefox/
19:20 westbaystars: I think there's a flaw in your version of IE.
19:20 gkanai:
19:21 westbaystars: Nobody else has the same build number as you do.
19:21 Beethoven2: Thanks! After the game, I will. :]
19:21 gkanai: this has all of the variations http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
19:21 westbaystars: Tateyama comes back to work the count to 2 and 2.
19:21 westbaystars: The fifth offering is lifted to shallow left field.
19:22 Beethoven2: Super! Much appreciated, Guys! :]]
19:22 westbaystars: It's a looooong run for Kudoh.
19:22 torakichi: Ooooooooh, Kudo almost dropped that in left field.
19:22 westbaystars: And he just gets there in time to make the catch.
19:22 westbaystars: That's the first out of the inning.
19:22 torakichi: He seemed to overrun.
19:22 westbaystars: Hirata will be intentionally walked to face Tanishige?
19:22 westbaystars: The way Tanishige is hitting in post season?
19:22 gkanai1: doh- you leave for one sec and the system doesn't allow you back in
19:23 torakichi: Whoa! They're walking Hirata to pitch to Tanishige?
19:23 westbaystars: They're hoping or the double play. But is this wise?
19:23 torakichi: I have a feeling the Hamsters are going to regret this?
19:23 westbaystars: During the regular season Tanishige didn't do much, but he's been killer during the post season.
19:24 westbaystars: First pitch is called strike one on the outside corner.
19:24 Beethoven2: It's a gutsy call alright.
19:24 westbaystars: Second offering, down the middle. Taken for strike two.
19:24 torakichi: Tanishige grimaces. Seems he watched a big fat strike go by.
19:25 westbaystars: The pitcher is on deck if they can get past Tanishige.
19:25 westbaystars: Next offering, curves waaaay outside.
19:25 westbaystars: That second pitch was exactly where he didn't expect it.
19:25 westbaystars: Fourth offering misses high and in, ball two. 2 and 2.
19:26 westbaystars: Fifth offering is kind of swung at, fouled back. Count remains 2 and 2.
19:26 torakichi: Tateyama is getting considerable movement on his breaking balls.
19:26 torakichi: POW!
19:27 westbaystars: Sixth offering is lined to the wall in left.
19:27 westbaystars: One run in.
19:27 westbaystars: Two runs in.
19:27 westbaystars: And the Fighters are regretting it.
19:27 westbaystars: Chunichi takes a 9-1 lead here in the second.
19:27 gkanai1: ouch
19:28 westbaystars: That brings up pitcher Asakura with no need to endanger himself at the plate.
19:28 torakichi: Catcher was crouched outside the zone; the pitch was slightly inside.
19:28 Beethoven2: No two ways about it, the Fighters have to hit!
19:28 westbaystars: But he's standing in as though he wants to hit.
19:28 westbaystars: Most pitchers with this kind of lead hang out way at the back of the line.
19:28 torakichi: Ha! Big swing from Asakura!
19:28 westbaystars: He even fouls the second offering back to the back stop for strike two.
19:28 Beethoven2: That's the spirit!
19:28 westbaystars: Good stroke.
19:29 Beethoven2: Championship ball!
19:29 westbaystars: After taking a ball outside, Asakura swings and misssed the fourth offering, strike three.
19:29 westbaystars: Back to the top of the order in Araki.
19:30 Beethoven2: Nice try!
19:30 westbaystars: Up for his third time in two innings.
19:30 westbaystars: Takes the first pitch inside for ball one.
19:31 westbaystars: === Chunichi up 9-1. Bottom of 2nd. 2 outs, runners at 2nd and 3rd.
19:31 westbaystars: After fouling one off, the third offering almosts hits Araki on the belt.
19:31 westbaystars: I thought it did hit him at first.
19:31 torakichi: Oh, that was way inside. I almost thought we were in for some more histrionics
19:31 westbaystars: He was hit with the first pitch by starter M. Takeda on the big toe in the first.
19:32 westbaystars: That started a 7-run rally for the Dragons.
19:32 westbaystars: Count is run full to Araki.
19:32 westbaystars: The full count pitch is lifted to right.
19:32 westbaystars: Inaba has a long run.
19:32 westbaystars: And he makes the catch as he crosses the line for out number three.
19:33 westbaystars: But, after two complete now, the Dragons extend their lead to 9-1.
19:33 gkanai1: aaaaaaaaaaaa!
19:33 westbaystars: ---
19:33 westbaystars: Top of 3rd
19:33 westbaystars: ---
19:34 torakichi: 9-1... What can Hillman say to his team in a situation like this?
19:34 westbaystars: I have no idea.
19:34 gkanai1: I gotta leave soon for some food.
19:34 gkanai1: He's gotta be pissed.
19:35 westbaystars: While our company team was down by a similar score, I hit a running home run and as I crossed the plate ...
19:35 torakichi: gkanai1, that's not what you want Hillman to say, is it?
19:35 westbaystars: ... i shouted "OK! Just 8 more!"
19:35 westbaystars: Our team really got a kick out of that, as it was the last inning.
19:35 westbaystars: But we didn't get it.
19:36 westbaystars: Morimoto leads off the third for the Fighters.
19:36 westbaystars: --- gkanai1: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
19:37 westbaystars: Full count to Morimoto.
19:37 westbaystars: He grounds the ball to the left side.
19:37 westbaystars: Nori comes in, fields the ball on a short hop, fires to first.
19:37 westbaystars: Not it time!
19:37 torakichi: Biiiig bounce, good running by Morimoto. Safe!
19:37 gkanai1: I'm in Tokyo
19:37 westbaystars: Hichori beats out an infield hit.
19:37 gkanai1: my website: http://kanai.net/weblog/
19:38 westbaystars: That brings up Tanaka Kensuke.
19:38 westbaystars: Leopard doesn't have virtual desktops? That's a bummer.
19:39 westbaystars: And why I use Desktop Manager.
19:39 gkanai1: no, it does!
19:39 torakichi: I was just thinking the same thing.
19:39 gkanai1: but you can't have different wallpapers on the different desktops
19:39 westbaystars: That's the first item, isn't it?
19:40 gkanai1: yes
19:40 westbaystars: Guess I didn't understand the headline.
19:40 westbaystars: Tanaka fouls off a 2-2 pitch. So the count remains.
19:40 westbaystars: The next offering is lined hard to right.
19:40 westbaystars: But right at Lee.
19:41 westbaystars: One away here in the third.
19:41 westbaystars: That brings up Inaba.
19:43 westbaystars: Inaba lifts the fourth offering to straight away center.
19:43 westbaystars: But Hirada comes in a few steps to make the catch for out number two.
19:43 westbaystars: Leadoff batter Hichori remains at first base.
19:44 westbaystars: And that brings up Seguignol, who doubled to the right field corner his first at bat.
19:44 westbaystars: He lifts the first pitch up to the left side.
19:44 westbaystars: Nori and Ibata give chase, as does Morino.
19:44 westbaystars: But the ball goes into the stands foul.
19:44 westbaystars: Second offering misses outside for ball one. 1 and 1.
19:45 westbaystars: Does somebody want to wave a virtual banana for Deanna?
19:45 westbaystars: While Seggy takes ball two low and away.
19:45 westbaystars: Fourth offering is swung on and missed, a little low and away.
19:46 westbaystars: 1 and 2 the count.
19:46 westbaystars: Whoo. Fifth offering *just* misses inside, bringing the count full.
19:46 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch outside is swung on and missed, strike three.
19:47 torakichi: Very good pitching by Asakura.
19:47 westbaystars: The Fighters fail to make anything with a leadoff hit here in the third.
19:47 westbaystars: And after 2 and a half, trail by a score of 1-9.
19:47 westbaystars: ---
19:47 westbaystars: Bottom of 3rd
19:47 westbaystars: ---
19:47 gkanai1: *waving banana late*
19:48 gkanai1: *feeling hungry*
19:48 Inaba: how many pitchers have the Fighters used this game already?
19:48 westbaystars: Asakura is throwing a few too many pitches if you ask me.
19:48 gkanai1: *would like a Nathan's or Ballpark dog*
19:48 torakichi: Wow. An hour and a half, and we're about to *start* the bottom of the 3rd.
19:48 westbaystars: That was his second strike out of the game.
19:49 westbaystars: I don't know. I just haven't really thought that Asakura had anything that special so far.
19:49 westbaystars: Maybe I was spoiled by the pitching of the first two games?
19:50 westbaystars: Ibata leads off the third for the Dragons, as they're into their third time around the order.
19:50 torakichi: That last at-bat. Seggy. Asakura worked him well, I thought.
19:50 torakichi: You're right, tho'. The first two games were a treat.
19:50 westbaystars: Two strikes by Tateyama followed by a waste pitch way outside.
19:50 westbaystars: Fourth offering is grounded to Tanaka at second.
19:50 westbaystars: Easy first out.
19:51 westbaystars: That brings up Morino.
19:51 westbaystars: Tateyama is the third pitcher of record for the Fighters.
19:51 westbaystars: He's been in there since the first.
19:52 westbaystars: M. Takeda -- Sweeney -- Tateyama.
19:52 torakichi: One KTV commentator is saying that Hillman's impending departure has an effect on games like this.
19:52 westbaystars: Morino walks on five pitches.
19:52 westbaystars: That'll brings up Woods with a runner on first and one out.
19:53 westbaystars: Woods has an RBI single and has walked.
19:53 torakichi: While he didn't come out and say so, he intimates that Hillman's mind is elsewhere.
19:53 westbaystars: Big swing and miss on a pitch outside. Strike one.
19:54 westbaystars: The next pitch breaks Woods' bat.
19:54 westbaystars: It's grounded to the left side.
19:54 westbaystars: 6-4-3 double play.
19:54 westbaystars: And Woods ties the record for hitting into the most double plays in a Nippon Series.
19:54 gkanai1: that's a bit unfair to Hillman.
19:54 westbaystars: That being his 4th.
19:55 westbaystars: ---
19:55 westbaystars: Top of 4th
19:55 westbaystars: ---
19:56 westbaystars: Asakura so far has allowed just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking none.
19:56 torakichi: Well, you'd think that Hillman is a bit too professional for that.
19:56 westbaystars: He'll face Kudoh, Takahashi, and Inada in the fourth.
19:56 westbaystars: With a 9-1 lead.
19:56 westbaystars: The first pitch is called strike on on the inside corner at the knees.
19:57 westbaystars: Kudoh whiffs at the second pitch, two quick strikes.
19:57 westbaystars: and not much about this game has been quick.
19:57 gkanai1: Hillman wants to win just as much as anyone else associated with the Fighters.
19:57 westbaystars: Strike three called on the third offering.
19:57 westbaystars: 三球三振。
19:57 westbaystars: I like to see that.
19:57 torakichi: Kudoh couldn't do anything that that.
19:57 westbaystars: Asakura may change my mind about his pitching if he can do that another couple of times.
19:58 torakichi: "...anything *with* that".
19:58 westbaystars: Takahashi grounds Asakura's second offering through the left side for a one out base hit.
19:58 torakichi: Yeah, you seem to have a thing about the waste pitch, Westbaystars-san
19:58 westbaystars: First pitch inside is swung on and misssed by Inada. Strike one.
19:59 westbaystars: Waste pitches just get to be so monotonous.
19:59 westbaystars: Especially when the pitcher throws two strikes followed by three balls.
19:59 gkanai1: *still here, still hungry*
19:59 Beethoven2: I've read Hillman's comments in the US Kansas City Star
20:00 westbaystars: It drives me nuts. And it seems to me that Dragon pitchers are guilty of that a lot.
20:00 westbaystars: Hungy? Cup Noodle.
20:00 Beethoven2: He just loves Japanese basebal!!! :]]
20:00 torakichi: It does make you wonder: if they're so ubiquitous, is that defeating their purpose?
20:00 westbaystars: Inada hits a high bounder in front of the plate.
20:00 gkanai1: Chicken Ramen > Cup Noodle
20:00 westbaystars: Tanishige fields the ball, throws to first in time for the out.
20:00 torakichi: "Hungry? Cup Noodle!" Oh, Westbaystars, you old-timer you!
20:00 westbaystars: Inada got up the line quickly, but not quick enough.
20:00 westbaystars: Two down, runner at second.
20:01 Beethoven2: I have some Mr. Noodle at home here. LOL
20:01 westbaystars: Some commercials just really stick in the head. Sorry.
20:01 Beethoven2: You know, the instant stuff...just add boiling water.
20:02 gkanai1: http://www.nissinfoods.com/cupnoodles/
20:02 Beethoven2: Hey Firearem! :]]
20:02 Firearm: hey!
20:02 westbaystars: I had chicken adobo for dinner. The garlic filled gravy mixed in with the rice. Yum.
20:03 Firearm: I'll say it--I'm worried.
20:03 Firearm: not about this game, but the series
20:03 westbaystars: Kaneko lines the the ball to left field, one bound in front of Morino.
20:03 westbaystars: Base hit.
20:03 westbaystars: Runner stops at third.
20:03 westbaystars: That puts runners at the corners, two down for the Fighters here in the fourth.
20:03 torakichi: You know, you can make your own Chicken Ramen at the museum in northern Osaka. Ibaragi, was it?
20:03 westbaystars: Tsuboi is announced as the pinch hitter for the pitcher.
20:03 baekgom: hey all
20:04 Firearm: pinch hitter parade for the Fighters?
20:04 gkanai1: westbaystars: chicken adobo- home made or eat out?
20:04 westbaystars: First pitch to Tsuboi called strike one on the outside corner at the knees.
20:04 westbaystars: Home made.
20:04 gkanai1: I haven't been to a good Filipino restaurant in Tokyo.
20:05 Beethoven2: OOH! That looks yummy gkanai!
20:05 gkanai1: just came back from a wedding in Tagaytay City a few weeks ago in fact.
20:05 westbaystars: Wife found the recipie on the Internet a few years ago and has been tweaking it for years.
20:05 westbaystars: To perfection!
20:05 gkanai1: lucky man!
20:05 baekgom: the score is 9-1?
20:06 Firearm: I *think* I've been to Tagaytay
20:06 torakichi: Good ol' Tsuboi. Good to see an old Tiger still working hard.
20:06 westbaystars: Tsuboi grounds the ball to the right side, where he doesn't want to.
20:06 Firearm: lessee, where have I been in the Philippines...
20:06 westbaystars: Araki throws him out for out number three.
20:06 Beethoven2: yes, lucky man!
20:06 torakichi: ...but maybe not hard enough.
20:06 westbaystars: And after 3 and a half, the Fighters still trail 1-9.
20:06 Firearm: Manila, Boracay, Naga, Batangas, Villa Escudero...
20:07 westbaystars: === Game Recap
20:07 Beethoven2: sounds like fun - I love to travel!
20:07 Firearm: ...when I was a kid, Bagiou (sp?)
20:07 westbaystars: === Bottom of 1st: Dead ball on first pitch, fly out to right, walk, ...
20:08 westbaystars: === ... Hit to center, double to right, double to right, hit to left, hit to center, ...
20:08 westbaystars: === ... sacrifice bunt, hit to left, hit to right. New Japan record - 7 hits in a row.
20:08 westbaystars: === 7 runs during that hit parade.
20:08 Firearm: I hate when the Dragons get out to early leads--they can't score in the late innings and you wonder how they're going to
20:08 Firearm: blow it
20:08 westbaystars: === Fighters get one with doubles by Seguignol and Kudoh to start the second.
20:09 Firearm: Tora, I went to a Chunichi/Hanshin game that went precisely that way this year
20:09 gkanai1: it was my first time to the Philippines a few weeks ago. had a wonderful time. beautiful people.
20:09 Firearm: Dragons were up 6-0, Hanshin got to within 3, but then Okamoto and Iwase shut the door
20:09 westbaystars: === Bottom of 2nd: Walk, double to left, fly out, IBB, Double to left scores two more for the Dragons.
20:09 westbaystars: === That's where we are - 9-1.
20:09 westbaystars: ---
20:09 westbaystars: Bottom of 4th
20:09 westbaystars: ---
20:10 westbaystars: Nori leads off the bottom of the fourth for the Dragons, with a pair of doubles so far.
20:10 gkanai1: C'mon FIGHTERS!
20:10 Firearm: Even if the Dragons win Game 4, they have to face Darvish again for Game 5
20:10 westbaystars: Takes the ball up the middle under the ducking pitcher for his third base hit of the night.
20:10 torakichi: Base hit! Nori is 3 for 3.
20:10 Firearm: thankfully, the Dragons have beaten Darvish earlier this year
20:10 Beethoven2: Firearm: remember Game 2? I hope that doesn't happen here.
20:11 westbaystars: Nori is looking good tonight, after looking flustered at Sapporo Dome.
20:11 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
20:11 westbaystars: Lee has a timely double and fly out to left.
20:11 torakichi: Don't you think he (Nori) looks quite relaxed tonight?
20:11 westbaystars: He takes the second pitch to left.
20:12 westbaystars: Kudoh comes in to make the catch for out number one.
20:12 westbaystars: The fans though that one was going to bounce in there.
20:12 Firearm: Beethoven, this year or last year?
20:12 gkanai1: ok, heading home to dinner. see you guys here for the next game?
20:12 westbaystars: Nori's swing doesn't look as desparate as it did in Hokkaido.
20:12 westbaystars: See you then.
20:13 westbaystars: Hirata follows.
20:13 Firearm: if you mean last year, I say "Don't worry, Yamamoto won't pitch"
20:13 Beethoven2: Firearm: this year...almost a Minnesota blow-it-all
20:13 Firearm: man, where the heck was this offense last year?!
20:14 westbaystars: He singled and was intentionally walked to load the bases for Tanishige's 2-run double.
20:14 westbaystars: But Hirata goes down swinging on five pitches.
20:14 Firearm: In this game as well their run production was better than all of last year's series
20:14 Beethoven2: Firearm: There here now! LOL
20:14 westbaystars: Two down here in the bottom of the fourth.
20:15 westbaystars: That brings up Tanishige, who can't hold up on the first pitch down low.
20:15 Firearm: If I was running the TV broadcast in Japan I'd be shamelessly running that graphic
20:15 westbaystars: First base umpire calls it strike one.
20:15 Beethoven2: Rally caps! LOL
20:15 Firearm: Last year's series: 8 runs scored Tonight: 9
20:16 westbaystars: Tanishige swinging and missing big on the third offering, bringing the count to 2 strikes and a ball.
20:16 westbaystars: This following an 8-1 victory on Sunday.
20:16 Thomas: hi
20:17 westbaystars: The 2-2 offering is lifted to right field.
20:17 Beethoven2: Hi :]]
20:17 torakichi: Welcome.
20:17 westbaystars: Inaba comes in, in, and the ball bounces just in front of Inaba.
20:17 Beethoven2: Yay!
20:17 westbaystars: 猛打賞
20:17 westbaystars: Modasho (monster hitting award) for Tanishige.
20:18 torakichi: Oh, I thought Inaba had that one covered. *Nothing* going the Hams' way tonight.
20:18 westbaystars: Runners now at first and second with two down for pitcher Asakura.
20:18 Thomas: wow, I seem to have missed a lot^^
20:18 westbaystars: Did I mention that Oshimoto came in to pitch this inning?
20:18 westbaystars: I don't think so.
20:18 Beethoven2: thanks for translating :]
20:18 westbaystars: Oshimoto came in to pitch this inning for the Fighters. The fourth pitcher for Nippon Ham tonight.
20:18 westbaystars: The first not to have pitched in the first inning.
20:19 Thomas: who started?
20:19 westbaystars: The Majors seem to value "multi-hit" games. In Japan, you need 3 hits for 猛打賞.
20:19 westbaystars: And Oshimoto gets Asakura swinging for out number three.
20:20 westbaystars: At the end of four complete, the score remains Fighters 1 - 9 Dragons.
20:20 westbaystars: M. Takeda: 1/3rd of an inning, 6 batters, 5 runs, all earned.
20:21 westbaystars: Sweeney: 1/3rd of an inning, 5 batters, 2 runs, both earned.
20:21 westbaystars: Tateyama: 2 1/3rd innings, 11 batters, 2 runs, both earned.
20:21 Thomas: wow... 135 ERA for Takeda
20:21 westbaystars: Oshimoto: 1 inning (so far).
20:22 Deanna: yikes
20:22 westbaystars: 54.00 ERA for Sweeney.
20:22 westbaystars: ---
20:22 westbaystars: Top of 5th
20:22 westbaystars: ---
20:22 Beethoven2: Hi Deanna! :]]
20:22 westbaystars: Hichori will be leading off the Fighters' fifth.
20:22 Firearm: what was the ERA for Masaru?
20:22 Firearm: Hi Deanna!
20:22 Deanna: Nobody showed up for my 8pm (yet), so here I am.
20:22 Deanna: Exploding ham.
20:22 Firearm: and for the record, I'm still worried--not about this game, though
20:23 westbaystars: He's swinging at the first pitch, and grounds the ball to Araki near second.
20:23 Firearm: still, this looks like a bit of role reversal from last year
20:23 westbaystars: Araki throw to first, and Woods drops it?
20:23 westbaystars: What happened?
20:23 westbaystars: The one bounder was in and out of Woods' glove.
20:24 westbaystars: It's being ruled a hit, but it was an error by somebody.
20:24 Beethoven2: He's making a name for himself. LOL
20:24 westbaystars: Kensuke lifts the first offering up to the third base side.
20:24 westbaystars: Nori is over, and makes the catch in front of the Fighters dugout on the third base side.
20:24 westbaystars: One out, runner at first.
20:24 westbaystars: That brings up Inaba. 0 for 8 in the Series.
20:24 westbaystars: After winning the MVP of the 2006 Nippon Series.
20:25 westbaystars: ... with his batting.
20:25 Firearm: heh, role reversal
20:25 torakichi: For the record: The scoreboard at Nagoya Dome is still broken. The TV commentary team is struggling from time to time.
20:25 Deanna: Oh, Westbay, I did finally get the story on the Inaba Jump -- it's a Sapporo thing, which is why I'd never ever seen it
20:25 westbaystars: Yea, I read that. Thanks.
20:25 torakichi: Took ages to find out if Morimoto's hit was a hit or an error.
20:26 Beethoven2: Fantasy team: Woods at first, Inaba batting. LOL
20:26 westbaystars: I was sure that the announcers were saying Inaba Jump. Several times.
20:26 Deanna: Right, and I was sure I'd never ever seen such a thing. So we both were right
20:26 Beethoven2: Me too! Good blog story on Erika's there. :]]
20:26 westbaystars: Inaba continues to put /tako/s on the board, lifting the ball to right.
20:26 Deanna: apparently the "Tokyo Fighters fans" and the "Sapporo Fighters fans" have some differences
20:27 torakichi: Wow. Inaba hasn't had a hit in 12 at-bats.
20:27 westbaystars: Lee comes in and pulls it in for out number two.
20:27 Deanna: not in a bad way, just in a "we're really not sure why we're singing Oi Hokkaido down here in Tokyo" sort of way.
20:27 Beethoven2: Winners and Losers? :P
20:27 westbaystars: Seggy takes two balls.
20:28 Beethoven2: I'm a gonna shut up now, for a while. :]
20:28 westbaystars: Third offering is called strike one up and away.
20:29 westbaystars: The Seguignol Shift is on, where Inaba is behind the second base bag.
20:29 Deanna: Ibata
20:29 westbaystars: Looks like it hurt. Ouch.
20:29 westbaystars: And Seguignol fouls the next offering off his front foot.
20:29 Deanna: dammit Westbay
20:29 westbaystars: The size of his foot doesn't change the amount of pain.
20:29 westbaystars: Fifth offering misses down low, ball three. Full count.
20:30 Deanna: Seggy shift must be fun since he's a switch-hitter
20:30 westbaystars: What did I do this time?
20:30 Deanna: You said Inaba was behind the second base bag
20:30 westbaystars: Shoubu pitch is lifted foul and out of play to the left side. We'll do it again.
20:30 westbaystars: Argh. I'd been so careful these games.
20:30 Firearm: Has Inaba even gotten on base all series?
20:31 westbaystars: Seggy fouls another one off his front foot.
20:31 Firearm: Yeah, there are Yamamotos on both teams, Odas on both teams, Inaba/Ibata...
20:31 westbaystars: The eighth pitch catches the inside corner, taken for strike three.
20:31 Deanna: Inaba walked in the first game
20:31 Beethoven2: Seggy shooting himself in the foot, is he?
20:32 westbaystars: That retires the side for the Fighters in the fifth, as Seguignol throws the bat end-to-end.
20:32 Deanna: ...he was one of the people who scored on Seguignol's home run in that first inning.
20:32 westbaystars: Good pitch by Asakura there.
20:33 Deanna: but, no, Firearm, aside from that very first at-bat of his, no, he hasn't been on base that I know of
20:33 westbaystars: ---
20:33 westbaystars: Bottom of 5th
20:33 westbaystars: ---
20:33 Firearm: Game 4 starters: ? vs. Yamai?
20:33 westbaystars: Seguginol takes a spot on the bench.
20:33 Deanna: oh dear.
20:33 Deanna: Yagi? Kanemoron?
20:34 westbaystars: Well, Sweeney might be eliminated. Then again, he did only throw 1/3rd of an inning.
20:34 westbaystars: Leadoff man Araki leads off the Dragons' half of teh fifth.
20:34 Firearm: Yagi, if he's on the roster, should go
20:34 westbaystars: He swings at the first pitch, grounding to the right side.
20:34 westbaystars: Tanaka fields the ball and throws to first for out number one.
20:34 westbaystars: That brings up Ibata.
20:34 Firearm: Yamai's pitched very well for us (and didn't have that 3-month-long winless streak Takashi Ogasawara had)
20:35 Deanna: yeah, gotta be Yagi. I don't know what's up with Kanemura these days to be honest, I was just trying to think
20:35 Deanna: and Yoshikawa went a few innings the other day so that's unlikely too
20:35 Firearm: I read some off article about "Kanemura to Hanshin"
20:35 westbaystars: Ibata takes the first two pitches for strikes.
20:35 westbaystars: Oshimoto in his second inning of work.
20:35 Deanna: that'd be awesome
20:36 Firearm: Yes, it really would
20:36 Deanna: he could hang out with Shimoyanagi and they could talk about their dogs
20:36 Beethoven2: Thanks westbaystars-san, I lost track.
20:36 westbaystars: Ibata grounds the 2-2 pitch to Tanaka at second. Two quick outs.
20:36 westbaystars: Haven't used the word "quick" too often tonight.
20:37 westbaystars: Morino takes the first pitch on the outside corner, strike one.
20:38 westbaystars: Fourth offering is grounded to Kaneko at short.
20:38 westbaystars: He throws to first in time to retire the Dragons in order for the first time tonight.
20:39 westbaystars: At the end of 5 complete, the Fighters continue to trail 1-9.
20:39 westbaystars: Yoh had taken the place of Seguignol at first that inning.
20:39 westbaystars: I had kind of expected a double switch with Seguignol being the final batter.
20:40 Firearm: I know last year's Yagi isn't this year's Yagi, but Yagi stymied the Dragons last year
20:40 westbaystars: But I guess Hillman-kantoku was more interested in letting Oshimoto continue on the mound.
20:40 westbaystars: Now that he's found someone who can keep the Dragons' fire snuffed out.
20:40 westbaystars: ---
20:40 westbaystars: Top of 6th
20:40 westbaystars: ---
20:41 Deanna: well, last year the Dragons actually had some lefty batters, Firearm
20:41 Firearm: Asakura's already pitched 80? He'll probably only pitch two more.
20:42 Deanna: this year it's Morino and Lee, really
20:42 westbaystars: So are you saying that that was Chunichi's downfall? Too many left handed batters?
20:42 Firearm: so it's better for the Dragons to be unbalanced with righties?
20:42 Deanna: no, I'm saying that's part of why Yagi was more effective
20:42 Deanna: Kosuke in particular seemed to have trouble with the Fighters' lefties
20:43 Deanna: (Okajima was great in particular, sigh)
20:43 westbaystars: Kudoh leads off the sixth lifting the first pitch to left.
20:43 westbaystars: Morino comes in to make the catch. One pitch, one out.
20:43 westbaystars: That brings up Takahashi.
20:44 westbaystars: Takahashi lifts the ball to mid-left field.
20:44 Firearm: I wonder how big of a factor Iwase will be this series--he's been surprisingly human
20:45 westbaystars: Ibata cuts Morino off to make the catch, with Nori pausing a bit more shallow.
20:45 westbaystars: Morino almost looked upset at Ibata for hogging the ball.
20:45 westbaystars: But before I could even finish typing that, Inada grounds out to the left side for out number three.
20:46 westbaystars: That was a low energy inning for Asakura.
20:46 Beethoven2: tsk, team spirit.
20:46 Firearm: wow, a VERY easy inning for Kenta
20:46 westbaystars: And the first time since the first that the Fighters went down in order.
20:46 Beethoven2: Morino, I mean.
20:46 westbaystars: (That was thinks to a double play.)
20:46 westbaystars: Score remains 9-1.
20:47 westbaystars: ---
20:47 Firearm: 3 outs on 5 pitches
20:47 westbaystars: Bottom of the 6th
20:47 westbaystars: ---
20:47 Firearm: yeah Beethoven, you don't do stuff like that when your team hasn't won it all in 53 years
20:47 Deanna: heh, Ibata's just too good
20:47 westbaystars: Woods leads off the Dragons' sixth.
20:48 Beethoven2: Let's see some action!
20:48 westbaystars: Takes the first pitch on the outside part of the plate for strike one.
20:48 Beethoven2: (for a change)
20:48 westbaystars: Second offering is grounded to the left side.
20:48 Deanna: T!
20:48 westbaystars: Inada up with the ball, throws to Yoh at first for out number one.
20:48 Firearm: Beethoven, the 1st inning wasn't enough for you?
20:49 Beethoven2: bah!
20:49 westbaystars: Nobody here to upset?
20:49 westbaystars: 3 for 3 Nakamura coming up.
20:49 Beethoven2: I'm disappointed in Woods, Firearm
20:49 westbaystars: Strike two called low and away.
20:50 westbaystars: And Nori is knocked down by a high and tight third offering.
20:50 Firearm: Woods actually has RBIs this year, unlike last year
20:50 Beethoven2: oOo!
20:50 westbaystars: Fourth offering low and away, and Nori was setup. Swung on and missed - not even close.
20:51 Beethoven2: Big mouth, small stick! LOL
20:51 westbaystars: That brings up Lee.
20:51 Firearm: so from that aspect, and also the aspect that you're about to take a 2-1 series lead, I can't complain
20:51 westbaystars: Swings and misses the first pitch in the dirt.
20:51 westbaystars: Second offering low, swung on and missed. Strike two.
20:51 westbaystars: Oshimoto is looking good on the mound for Nippon Ham.
20:52 westbaystars: Third offering misses outside, ball one.
20:52 Deanna: honestly, this is why I hoped the Giants would be in the Series -- then I would actually hate the Fighters' opponents
20:52 Beethoven2: It's how you play the game...Dragons better not let up.
20:52 westbaystars: As does the fourth offering. 2 and 2.
20:53 westbaystars: 2-2 offering grounded to the left side.
20:53 Beethoven2: Deanna: what the world needs now, is love sweet love. :]
20:53 westbaystars: Kaneko up with the ball. And the Dragons are retired in order two innings in a row.
20:53 Firearm: the Dragons better win Game 4--Darvish will be ready to go for Game 5
20:53 Firearm: What the world needs now, are some true words of wisdom
20:53 westbaystars: After six complete, the Dragons continue to lead 9-1.
20:53 Firearm: like la la la la la la la la la (copyright Cracker)
20:53 Beethoven2: Don't worry Firearm...they will. :]]
20:54 Deanna: hehehe, I love that song
20:54 Beethoven2: hahah Firearm!
20:54 Firearm: NOW THAT YOU SAID THAT THEY'LL LOSE :PPPPPPPPP
20:54 Beethoven2: Superstitious? LOL
20:54 Deanna: what the world needs now is another full swinger like I need a hole in my head
20:54 westbaystars: ---
20:54 westbaystars: Top of 7th
20:54 Deanna: (reference to OCD not withstanding)
20:54 westbaystars: ---
20:55 Firearm: very.
20:55 Beethoven2: Deanna, I'm a swinger... LOL
20:55 Deanna: honestly, 8 runs is more than the Fighters usually score in a month, I wouldn't worry
20:55 westbaystars: Kaneko leads off for the Fighters, 2 for 2 so far tonight for the team captain.
20:56 Beethoven2: Yeah, but it's championship ball...you never know.
20:57 westbaystars: Kaneko reaches out and lines the 2-strike, 1-ball pitch to right.
20:57 westbaystars: It's Hirada coming over from center to make the catch for out number one.
20:57 westbaystars: Konta pinch hits for Oshimoto.
20:57 Deanna: you know, honestly, I just want the series to go to 6 games so I can watch another one
20:58 Deanna: also, that's Hirata, not that it matters much
20:58 westbaystars: He lifts the ball to left, but right at Morino who just lunges forward at the last second to make the catch.
20:58 Deanna: ok, I gotta go for a bit again. susume Fighters! moeyo Dragons!
20:58 westbaystars: Two *quick* outs. (There's that 'Q' word again.)
20:58 westbaystars: Back to the top of the order in Morimoto.
20:59 Beethoven2: Yeah, I'd give up some money to see that, Deanna. :]
20:59 Beethoven2: Good series, Dragons are a surprise, neh?
21:00 westbaystars: Hichori grounds out to the left side, and the Fighters are down in order for the second inning in a row.
21:01 westbaystars: ---
21:01 westbaystars: Bottom of 7th
21:01 westbaystars: ---
21:02 Beethoven2: Let's Go Dragons!!!
21:03 westbaystars: Hira*ta* leads off for the Dragons.
21:03 westbaystars: Hagiwara takes the mound for the Fighters.
21:04 westbaystars: Hirata grounds out to Tanaka at second on the fourth pitch, one away.
21:04 Thomas: I gotta leave, thanks again for the great coverage
21:05 Beethoven3: See you Tom! :]]
21:05 Thomas: unfortunately I'll probably be too busy to drop in to the other games...
21:05 westbaystars: Catch you later. Take care.
21:05 Thomas: but anyway, see you and take care
21:05 westbaystars: Work interfere?
21:06 westbaystars: Tanishige goes down looking on four pitches.
21:06 westbaystars: Good last pitch, just catching the outside corner.
21:06 westbaystars: Asakura will be pinch hit for.
21:07 westbaystars: Inoue anounced.
21:07 westbaystars: No, not Inoue.
21:07 westbaystars: Donoue.
21:07 westbaystars: Takehiro. The older brother.
21:07 westbaystars: (Deanna will correct me if I got the name wrong again.)
21:08 Beethoven3: I'm sure she will. :]
21:09 Beethoven3: Where's everybody going? Was it something I said?
21:09 westbaystars: Looked it up. I got it right this time. Whew.
21:09 westbaystars: Chunichi up 9-1.
21:09 westbaystars: And Donoue goes down swinging at a low pitch.
21:09 Beethoven3: Good! LOL
21:09 Firearm: Takehiro has started a few times for the Dragons, but his younger brother Naomichi has yet to debut with the big club
21:09 westbaystars: That retires the Dragons in order for the third time in a row.
21:10 Beethoven3: about your getting it right, I mean.
21:10 westbaystars: Wow, the pace of this game is really picking up.
21:10 Firearm: I'm eating breakfast
21:10 Beethoven3: Hmmn...are they coasting?
21:10 Beethoven3: noodles?
21:10 westbaystars: Especially considering that the first inning took 45 minutes.
21:11 Beethoven3: yeah, interesting all those pitching changes.
21:11 westbaystars: After 7 complete, the Dragons continue to lead 9-1.
21:11 Firearm: nah, pop-tarts :P
21:11 westbaystars: ---
21:11 westbaystars: Top of 8th
21:11 westbaystars: ---
21:11 Beethoven3: Time's running out for the Fighters.
21:11 westbaystars: Hisamoto comes in to pitch the 8th for the Dragons.
21:11 westbaystars: He's the second pitcher for Chunichi tonight.
21:12 Firearm: Another VERY solid 7 for a Chunichi starter
21:12 westbaystars: Hisamoto threw in 36 games with season with a 2 and 1 record and a 3.38 ERA over 45.1 innings.
21:13 Beethoven3: Yep. :]
21:13 westbaystars: Tanaka Kensuke leads off the Fighters' eighth.
21:13 Firearm: not a great season for Hisamoto, but he's still our most dependable middle reliever
21:14 westbaystars: And Kensuke goes down swinging for out number one.
21:14 Firearm: I'd prefer all games are like this--in a close game, I don't want to see Okamoto and his baggage from 2004
21:14 Firearm: of course, that's a fanny pack compared to Masa's baggage
21:15 westbaystars: That brings up the hitless Inaba.
21:15 Beethoven3: heheheh, Firearm.
21:16 westbaystars: Count comes quickly to 2 and 2.
21:16 westbaystars: And the umpire says that Inaba was hit on the next inside pitch.
21:17 westbaystars: I don't know about that.
21:17 westbaystars: But he takes first any way he can.
21:17 westbaystars: And we get a pinch runner.
21:17 westbaystars: Kawashima comes in to run for Inaba.
21:18 westbaystars: Yoh comes up for his first at bat.
21:19 Beethoven3: Hi guys! Dragons 9-1
21:20 westbaystars: After battling the count to 2 and 2, Yoh goes down swinging at an outside pitch.
21:20 Beethoven3: What did I say now? LOL
21:20 westbaystars: And that brings Ochiai-kantoku out of the first base dugout.
21:21 westbaystars: He's asking for the ball.
21:21 westbaystars: And Hirai will come in to throw.
21:21 westbaystars: Scratch him from tomorrow's starters?
21:21 Beethoven3: I guess so.
21:22 Firearm: and 5-run rally in 10... 9...
21:22 Firearm: Hirai's been god-awful this year
21:22 Firearm: not Nagakawa bad, but bad
21:22 westbaystars: Oh, he didn't start all season. Why do I keep trying to put him in the rotation.
21:22 westbaystars: ?
21:22 Firearm: And Nagakawa was LaTroy Hawkins bad this year
21:22 Beethoven3: lol I hope not, Firearm
21:22 westbaystars: Hirai appeared in 45 games, all in relief. Held 19 games while saved none.
21:23 Firearm: 4-2 record is very misleading, he's blown a lot of games (only for the Dragons to bail him out)
21:23 westbaystars: 4 wins, 2 losses, allowed 15 earned runs in 41 innings pitch for a 3.29 ERA. 1.10 WHIP.
21:23 westbaystars: First pitch is lifted to foul territory in left.
21:23 westbaystars: Morino is over to make the catch, and the side is retired.
21:24 westbaystars: The Fighters get a runner as Inaba reaches base getting brushed.
21:24 westbaystars: But still come up empty.
21:24 westbaystars: Down to three outs, the Fighters find themselves trailing by 8.
21:24 westbaystars: ---
21:24 westbaystars: Bottom of 8th
21:24 westbaystars: ---
21:25 westbaystars: Note: Morino didn7t make that last catch.
21:25 westbaystars: He was moved to third as Nori moved to first and Woods came out last inning.
21:26 westbaystars: Ueda made that last catch in left, coming in and batting in Woods' spot.
21:26 westbaystars: 10 Dragons have been retired in order going into the bottom of the eighth.
21:27 westbaystars: That being between Oshimoto and Hagiwara.
21:27 westbaystars: Hagiwara still on the mound for his second inning of work.
21:27 westbaystars: Araki, leading off, unable to hold up on a 1-1 pitch, strike two called by the first base umpire.
21:29 john: What is the score?
21:29 Beethoven3: Dragons 9-1
21:29 westbaystars: 9-1 Dragons.
21:29 john: Thanks
21:29 westbaystars: Araki works the count to 2-2 for a few pitches, then grounds it up the middle for a base hit.
21:29 westbaystars: That's the first Chunichi base runner since the 4th.
21:30 westbaystars: Chunichi scores 7 in the first, 2 in the second.
21:30 westbaystars: Nippon Ham have had to settle with 1 run on a pair of doubles in the second.
21:30 westbaystars: Ibata comes up next.
21:31 westbaystars: Ibata grounds the ball up the middle.
21:31 westbaystars: Kaneko fields the ball and steps on second himself.
21:31 westbaystars: His throw to first is just a tad late to get the speedy Ibata.
21:31 westbaystars: Safe at first.
21:31 westbaystars: That brings up Morino.
21:32 westbaystars: Hitless tonight, but with a couple of walks.
21:33 westbaystars: And Morino walks again, this time on four pitches.
21:33 westbaystars: Next up is Ueda, who came in defensively in left last inning.
21:34 gkanai: back from dinner
21:34 westbaystars: In Woods' spot in the order.
21:34 gkanai: what's the score, I just turned on the TV
21:34 westbaystars: Nothing changed. Except a few players.
21:34 Firearm: I'm sure Hidenori will come in for the 9th
21:34 gkanai: seriously? still 9-1?
21:34 Firearm: and Ochiai will do that stupid "1 pitcher 1 out" thing he does in the 9th inning of a blowout
21:35 westbaystars: Yep.
21:35 westbaystars: Ueda goes down swinging on three pitches.
21:35 gkanai: Hagiwara is sweating like a pig.
21:36 westbaystars: That brings up Nori.
21:36 westbaystars: 6 for 11 with 3 RBIs in the Series.
21:36 westbaystars: 3 for 4 tonight.
21:38 westbaystars: Nori grounds the ball to the left side.
21:38 gkanai: out at first
21:38 Firearm: well, it's off to work for me
21:38 westbaystars: Inada (if he's still at third) fields the ball, and throws to first for the out.
21:38 westbaystars: And that retires the side.
21:39 westbaystars: After 8 complete, the Dragons continue to lead this one 9-1.
21:39 Firearm: Yoh is at 3rd
21:39 westbaystars: The score since the end of the second inning.
21:39 gkanai: it's like I didn't leave for dinner.
21:39 Firearm: see everyone for Game 4
21:39 westbaystars: Ah, Indata moved to first.
21:40 westbaystars: Thanks for catching that.
21:40 westbaystars: ---
21:40 westbaystars: Top of 9th
21:40 westbaystars: ---
21:40 westbaystars: Fighters go into their last at bat trailing by 8.
21:41 gkanai: Who is the announcer, Kato?
21:41 jgribbins: I guess I missed all the fireworks!!!
21:41 westbaystars: Suzuki takes the mound for the Dragons this inning.
21:41 westbaystars: Missing with the first pitch to Takahashi, low and away.
21:41 gkanai: the fireworks were all in the top of the 2nd.
21:42 westbaystars: Second offering is called strike one on the outside corner.
21:42 westbaystars: Third offering is grounded back to Suzuki in front of the mound.
21:42 westbaystars: He throws to first in time for out number one.
21:43 westbaystars: Those were fireworks in the top of the second?
21:43 westbaystars: A pair of doubles and getting thrown out at home?
21:43 westbaystars: Actually, I think going home on that play was big for the Drragons.
21:43 gkanai: I forget when all those runs were score- was is the first inning?
21:43 westbaystars: Inada follows grounding the ball through the left side, base hit.
21:43 westbaystars: The Fighters put a runner on.
21:44 westbaystars: And Ochiai-kantoku comes out of the first base dugout.
21:44 westbaystars: Yes, the 40 minute bottom of the first.
21:44 gkanai: Okamoto Shinya to the mound?
21:44 westbaystars: We have Ochiai's 1 pitcher per batter. Well, Suzuki did throw to two.
21:45 westbaystars: Hirai threw one pitch.
21:46 westbaystars: Okamoto. Good call.
21:46 westbaystars: Okamoto faces Kaneko. Throwing the first pitch high and in for ball one.
21:47 westbaystars: In 62 games, Okamoto won 5 and lost 2, allowing 18 earned runs in 56 innings for a 2.89 ERA. 1.14 WHIP.
21:48 westbaystars: Kaneko fouls off three pitches to bring the count to 2 strikes and a ball.
21:49 gkanai: Kaneko is out.
21:49 westbaystars: Then whiffs a pitch in the dirt and heads back to the third base dugout.
21:49 westbaystars: 後一人。 One more.
21:49 westbaystars: Koyano pinch hits for the pitcher..
21:49 westbaystars: Takes strike own over the outside part of the plate at the knees.
21:50 gkanai: Hillman looks pensive.
21:50 westbaystars: Second offering is swung on and missed. Strike two.
21:50 westbaystars: 後一球。One more pitch.
21:50 westbaystars: Swung on and grounded to the left side.
21:50 gkanai: out at first!
21:50 westbaystars: Ibata up with the ball, the throw to first is in time.
21:51 westbaystars: And the Fighters lose Game 3 by a humiliating score of 9-1.
21:51 westbaystars: ===
21:51 westbaystars: For the Dragons, it was all about the first inning.
21:51 gkanai: Chunichi hasn't won a Japan series in 53 (!) years.
21:51 westbaystars: Araki was hit in the foot to start off the bottom of the first.
21:52 Beethoven3: Great announcing Westbaystars-san. Thanks!!!
21:53 westbaystars: Araki stole second, but then Ibata flew out to right.
21:53 westbaystars: Morino then walked to put runners at first and second with 1 out.
21:53 westbaystars: Then the hit parade began.
21:53 westbaystars: Woods, an RBI single to center.
21:54 westbaystars: Nori, an RBI double to right.
21:54 westbaystars: Lee, two RBIs on a double to right.
21:54 gkanai: otsukaresamadeshita westbaystars-san
21:54 westbaystars: Hirata, single to left.
21:54 westbaystars: Tanishige, RBI single to center.
21:54 Beethoven3: Who'll pitch next for Dragons gkanai
21:55 westbaystars: Starting pitch Asakura then sacrificed the runners along.
21:55 westbaystars: And Araki and Ibata droves in another two runs with singles to left and right respecively.
21:56 westbaystars: 7 consecutive hits by the Dr
Re: 2007 Nippon Series: Game 3
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Oct 30, 2007 10:20 PM
| YBS Fan
]
Looks like the transcript got cut off. Continuing form 21:56:
21:56 westbaystars: 7 consecutive hits by the Dragons (with a sacrifice) to set a new Nippon Series record.
21:56 westbaystars: 7 runs scored in the process.
21:56 westbaystars: The Fighters tried not to let that get them down.
21:56 westbaystars: Seguignol and Kudoh hit back to back doubles to lead off the second.
21:57 westbaystars: Takahashi then grounded to to Ibata at short, moving Kudoh to third.
21:57 westbaystars: But even with a 6-run lead, when Inada grounded the ball to Ibata at short, the Dragons weren't willing to concede a run
21:57 westbaystars: Ibata went to home, nailing Kudoh.
21:58 westbaystars: I think that, more than anything else, that sealed the Fighters' fate for the night.
21:58 westbaystars: After getting down, they started a rally, then had it killed at the plate on that play.
21:59 westbaystars: Anyway, The Dragons scored two more when, with runners at second and third, ...
21:59 westbaystars: ... the Fighters walked Hirata to load the bases for Tanishige.
21:59 westbaystars: As the transcript shows above, we all thought Hillman-kantoku was insane to do so.
22:00 westbaystars: And Tanishige delivered with a 2-run double off the left field wall.
22:00 westbaystars: And that was all she wrote.
22:01 westbaystars: The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters scored 1 run on 9 hits, committed no errors, and stranded 8.
22:01 Beethoven3: I had a good time! Thanks everyone! :]]
22:01 westbaystars: The Chunichi Dragons scored 9 runs on 12 hits, no errors, and stranded 8.
22:02 westbaystars: ===
22:02 westbaystars: Now that the recap is done, I have no idea who's going to pitch for either team tomorrow.
22:02 gkanai: see you at the next game
22:03 Beethoven3: So...does anybody have an idea of who the Dragon starting pitcher wil be for Game 4?
22:03 westbaystars: I was expecting it to be Sweeney for the Fighters, but not after tonight.
22:03 gkanai: sorry, not sure
22:03 Beethoven3: Okies. Bye gkanai. :]]
22:03 westbaystars: He did only throw 1/3rd of an inning, so it's possible.
22:03 Beethoven3: and Goodbye all! :]
22:04 westbaystars: Sorry I can't answer that one.
22:04 westbaystars: Take care.
22:05 westbaystars: If that's all the impossible questions for the night, then I'm going to post the game log.
22:05 westbaystars: It's been a fun one.
21:56 westbaystars: 7 consecutive hits by the Dragons (with a sacrifice) to set a new Nippon Series record.
21:56 westbaystars: 7 runs scored in the process.
21:56 westbaystars: The Fighters tried not to let that get them down.
21:56 westbaystars: Seguignol and Kudoh hit back to back doubles to lead off the second.
21:57 westbaystars: Takahashi then grounded to to Ibata at short, moving Kudoh to third.
21:57 westbaystars: But even with a 6-run lead, when Inada grounded the ball to Ibata at short, the Dragons weren't willing to concede a run
21:57 westbaystars: Ibata went to home, nailing Kudoh.
21:58 westbaystars: I think that, more than anything else, that sealed the Fighters' fate for the night.
21:58 westbaystars: After getting down, they started a rally, then had it killed at the plate on that play.
21:59 westbaystars: Anyway, The Dragons scored two more when, with runners at second and third, ...
21:59 westbaystars: ... the Fighters walked Hirata to load the bases for Tanishige.
21:59 westbaystars: As the transcript shows above, we all thought Hillman-kantoku was insane to do so.
22:00 westbaystars: And Tanishige delivered with a 2-run double off the left field wall.
22:00 westbaystars: And that was all she wrote.
22:01 westbaystars: The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters scored 1 run on 9 hits, committed no errors, and stranded 8.
22:01 Beethoven3: I had a good time! Thanks everyone! :]]
22:01 westbaystars: The Chunichi Dragons scored 9 runs on 12 hits, no errors, and stranded 8.
22:02 westbaystars: ===
22:02 westbaystars: Now that the recap is done, I have no idea who's going to pitch for either team tomorrow.
22:02 gkanai: see you at the next game
22:03 Beethoven3: So...does anybody have an idea of who the Dragon starting pitcher wil be for Game 4?
22:03 westbaystars: I was expecting it to be Sweeney for the Fighters, but not after tonight.
22:03 gkanai: sorry, not sure
22:03 Beethoven3: Okies. Bye gkanai. :]]
22:03 westbaystars: He did only throw 1/3rd of an inning, so it's possible.
22:03 Beethoven3: and Goodbye all! :]
22:04 westbaystars: Sorry I can't answer that one.
22:04 westbaystars: Take care.
22:05 westbaystars: If that's all the impossible questions for the night, then I'm going to post the game log.
22:05 westbaystars: It's been a fun one.
About
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
Once again, I'll be bringing you the play by play in the ever popular game chat room [available leading up to and during the game]. I realize that many of you will have to be functional for work later in the day, so you can catch up when the chat log is posted after the game. But it's much more exciting sharing the game live.
Each team has won 1 game apiece.
Nikkan Sports shows the match up tonight to be Asakura for the hosting Dragons vs. M. Takeda for the visiting Fighters. Here's a quick rundown on the pitchers this season:
Masaru Takeda:
35 games, 18 as a starter, 1 complete game, 0 shut outs, 9 wins, 4 losses, 0 saves, 8 holds, 149 innings pitched, 113 hits, 17 walks, 18 home runs, 101 strike outs, 42 earned runs, 2.54 ERA, 0.87 WHIP.
Against Chunichi, M. Takeda appeared in just 1 game (on May 27), as a starter, threw 6 innings, allowed 6 hits, struck out 6, and allowed 2 earned runs (1 home run). He didn't figure in the decision, but the Fighters won 6-2.
Kenta Asakura:
29 games, 26 of them starts, 3 complete games, 12 wins, 7 losses over 171.2 innings, allowing 173 hits, 50 walks, 9 home runs, 105 strike outs, and 64 earned runs for a 3.36 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.
Asakura did not face Nippon Ham during inter-league play.