Okada-kantoku's Future in Jeopardy

I can only hope so! Why is Yoshino still being used in the bullpen? He gave up two earned runs tonight with his ERA already through the roof, and it's now over 16 runs per game. Williams blew it, but I believe it was the change from Fujikawa (who pitched well tonight incidentally) to Yoshino which set the loss in motion.

It all falls at Okada's feet. Is it just me or does it annoy all Tigers' fans alike, the way he just sits there passively showing absolute indifference to the game? The team needs a motivator not some apathetic clown who has clearly lost the plot!

How annoying to read that the Tigers' owner would accept his resignation but not sack him. Let's get real, in a professional environment, professional decisions need to be made. A defending champion side is playing below .500 in August. Where does the fault lie? Eradicate it.

It is nice to see that something is happening. Watching the Tigers under Okada is like having a tooth pulled without the anesthetic. His pitching selections against the Giants yesterday were appalling. A four run lead was thrown away by a succession of poor pitchers (Yoshino and then Kanazawa).

I just got back from watching that very game at Tokyo Dome. Just out of interest, which left-hander would you have had pitch against Petagine at that point in the 7th? And, given the fact that Kanazawa has generally pitched well as a reliever (not quite the case when he starts), who would you have sent out at that stage?

I notice no one has made mention of Hodges's mediocre performances in three out of four starts. Apart from his debut, when Hanshin smashed Chunichi 15-1, Hodges has only managed to pitch an average of 5 innings per game, and, ominously, the number of innings Hodges pitched has steadily declined: 7, 7, 5, and 4. Again, discounting his first outing, each time he has left the mound, Hanshin have been losing: 2-5 against the Giants on Sunday; 1-3 against the Swallows the week before; and 0-3 against the Giants before that.

At a post-game meal after Sunday's game at Tokyo Dome, the consensus at our table (a tiny island of yellow in a sea of orange) was:

• Hodges isn't all he was cracked up to be.
• Kanazawa and (especially) Toritani made some cringe-inducing errors out there; teams that make mistakes are going to lose.
• Using Tachikawa at no. 3 in the starting line-up was a clever move by Okada-kantoku.

I thought Kanazawa was a right handed pitcher. I would have tried Sakajihara, or if a left hander was really needed (which I doubt), Nakabayashi.

I personally was also surprised that Hodges was used, though there is time for him to improve. I would have used Shimoyanagi as the starter. He would have worked harder.

- I thought Kanazawa was a right handed pitcher.

He is. The phrase "at that point" meant the point at which Kanazawa was used; not Petagine's at-bat. Yoshino is a "one-point" reliever for Hanshin: he usually comes out only to retire left-handers. Just about every team in Japan will send out a southpaw reliever to counter a left-handed batter in a tight spot. Once the lefty has been retired, out comes another reliever.

- I would have used Shimoyanagi as the starter.

Sending out Shimoyanagi on only four days' rest would have been an interesting gamble. Even under the normal rotation, he is a cast-iron guarantee to give up runs in the 1st and sometimes 2nd inning, and then pitch perfectly after that (as I write, he has just given up 1 in the first and second in tonight's game against Yokohama, with two scoreless innings after that). It would have been nerve-wracking to watch him against the YGs with just four days between outings, but the guy's been around forever and is very wily.

I got to see a lot of Shimoyanagi in 2003 by accident. I tried to time the games I bought tickets for so I could see everyone in the rotation once or twice. But about four times the weather conspired to ruin my plans by raining out games after I bought tickets and sliding the rotation along by one. I ended up seeing Shimoyanagi six or seven times.

Isn't Sajikihara exciting? He's no Igarashi, but he still brings a bit of zip to the Tigers' bullpen. If only he could aim it at Yano's glove more often.

It's amazing what happens to relievers over the course of back to back seasons. Last season, Shigetoshi Hasegawa was lights out in Seattle and now he is getting his brains beat in. Same with Yoshino, who did a great job last season in what had been a sore point in the Tigers' pen, lefthanded relief, and now he is really getting rocked. Go figure.

Yes, he does tend to give up runs in early innings, but given that he has managed to pull off some good games against Kyojin, the risk might have been worthwhile. The Tigers' batting was functioning very nicely, but the match did seem to end up as a "let's see who can pitch the worst competition."

Hodges certainly didn't restrict the run flow and Shimoyanagi does settle down. I like Sakijihara very much, though as you say, his accuracy needs work. The problem is that, under Okada, I don't see that happening.

Sorry to heap more negativity on top of bad news: Okada-kantoku effectively gave up on Trey Hodges last night. Hodges failed to complete 4 innings. He now has 1 win and 3 losses in 5 outings.

After what appeared to be a solid first three innings, Hodges seemed to lose some control and accuracy in his pitching, quickly loaded the bases with two walks and a hit, and give up 3 runs. Okada-kantoku apparently recognised a pattern forming (in light of past outings) and pulled Hodges after three and 1/3 innings.

In post-game comments, Okada-kantoku said that Hodges was a pitcher that got batters to hit themselves out to fielders rather than going for Ks, but that he was not going to be very effective by walking batters.

To update a previous post (changes in bold type):

Apart from his debut, when Hanshin smashed Chunichi 15-1, Hodges has only managed to pitch an average of 4 innings per game, and, ominously, the number of innings Hodges pitched has steadily declined: 7, 7, 5, 4, and 3 1/3. Again, discounting his first outing and this latest game against Hiroshima where the score was 3-3 when Hodges was pulled, each time he has left the mound, Hanshin have been losing: 2-5 against the Giants on Aug. 8; 1-3 against the Swallows the week before; and 0-3 against the Giants before that.

Hodges has a varied range of breaking pitches that belies his stats (ERA 5.13; 15 earned runs in 26 1/3 innings over 5 starts). He showed against Chunichi that he has the stuff to perform well in Japan, and I look forward to seeing him back in top form next time.

Good news for Hanshin fans: Trey Hodges pitched well in his seventh outing last night and picked up his second win.

He gave up 2 solo home runs to Hiroshima (their only runs) over 7 innings, but generally pitched well. According to Hanshin catcher Yano, manager Okada and pitching coach Sato (as reported in today's SanSpo), the main difference between Hodges' previous outings and this latest one was that he followed Yano's lead last night.

Hope to see Hodges pitch this well for the rest of the season.

Trey Hodges wont be resigned by the Hanshin Tigers. This doesn't come as a susprise to me. Hodges didn't pitch good at AAA or in Japan. [Link - Daily Yomiuri]

Mark is not naturally right handed. He does everything with his left hand except for batting. The rest of that statement is very true.

Tradition aside, what are they waiting for? Hanshin's problems are unbelievable. It almost seems staged the way they have blown leads. Hollywood could not have done better!

Okada has been "given a chance" too often. Hanshin is 9.5 games out in a league that seemed oh so winnable. Disgusting!

Sorry, I've lost all patience for this Prince of Fools!

We had another example of this yesterday. Tigers up 3-0 in the ninth with one out. Okada does not replace a tiring Igawa, and as a result, the Dragons get a three run homer. This ties the match and Igawa is replaced by Kubota. The Tigers fail to score in the ninth and the match goes into extra innings.

Okada's choice for closer? Andoh - he serves up an Andoh special in the eleventh and the score is 4-3 to the Dragons.

In the Tiger's eleventh, Akahoshi is told to sacrifice bunt facing a shaky Iwase and is out. Result: initiative passes to the Dragons and they win the game.

Okada's management of the endgame was complacent and totally unperceptive. I shudder to think what will happen next season.

Yes, another disappointing result, and poor overall management from Okada. Although in his defense, Igawa was looking at a complete game shutout there, and it's a brave manager who would take out the team's ace in such a situation. I mean, what would the fans have said if Igawa's replacement had given up the game-tying homer instead? I don't excuse him for the tactical errors later on, but whether to take out Igawa or not at that stage was, in my mind, a line ball decision.

Agreed, it is a very difficult decision. However, he pulled him after the homer which to my mind suggests shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted. I would have pulled Igawa after the eighth and closed things down with Williams.

Sure, but it was Igawa, and he's gone the distance so many times before. And Yano must have had some say in it - he's an experienced catcher and should have known whether Igawa was still up to it. And at the beginning of a series you don't want to tire your closer unnecessarily. All I'm saying is that taking Igawa out for Williams wasn't the obvious thing to do. Other managers may have made the same decision.

It was simply shattering watching last nights debacle. There was a conference at the mound just before the tying run came up (some bozo batting .235 and no HRs on the year) and it looked like it was Igawa's call - how did he feel, etc. I thought by the 8th he looked tired. Totally agree for the sake of a win, Williams should have closed it out.

What's disappointing is after tonight's result we could have, no, should have, shut out the Dragons two nights straight.

The one thing I considered as a positive after last night was that this was another reason to sack this bum who probably couldn't manage a convenience store, let alone a baseball team.

One thing that most managers in Japan have a hard time doing is taking a pitcher out of the game who has a shutout going into the nineth. No pitcher is going to tell his manager that he's too tired to complete the game at that point, despite what he looks like. Even after throwing 140 pitches through eight innings, Matsuzaka (Seibu) will insist on staying out there if he's got a shutout going.

Many pitchers have incentives to throw complete games, and most likely, more incentives to throw shutouts. They say in the hero interview that it's the "win for the team" that's most important, but their behavior says otherwise. Managers want to give their pitchers titles as much as the pitchers want them. Except one:

In 1998, former Chunichi Dragon pitcher Gondoh Hiroshi took over as skipper for the Yokohama BayStars. As a rookie, he was seriously over-worked, and his career was very short. (Chunichi's pitching rotation was fabled to be: "Gondoh, Gondoh, rain, "Gondoh.") As pitching coach for a number of teams, he was very careful with his pitchers, and fought for changing pitchers at certain pitch counts and other unheard of ideas to help a pitcher's longevity. The 1998 championship BayStars broke the record for most combined shutouts (I recall reading back then). It wasn't until around the All Star break that they got their first complete game shutout by a pitcher (I think it was thrown by Miura, but I'm not sure).

Some managers do get it - especially those with solid closers. But most perpetuate this machoism that a staring pitcher must always go out and throw a complete game.

I agree with everything written in this thread regarding overuse of pitchers in Japan. But it must be said that Igawa is one of the few pitchers in Japan who can find that little bit extra to complete a game, especially with a shut out within reach. Matsuzaka is another.

Yes, he certainly can, but not every time. He looked tired in the eighth and his pitching this season is not what it was last year. However, it was only when he gave up the run that Okada realized this.

Sure, and as I said, you may be right and it was time for Igawa to go. But you know, he'd pitched a gem of a game, allowing just three hits in eight innings. And even when he got into that jam in the 9th, one double play ball would have won the game. I'm not going to second guess managers who work with the players every day and supposedly know their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe that's Okada's problem - not knowing his players well enough and how to use them. But that's a completely different situation to weighing up the options and then making a decision based on what he believes his players can do, which is what I hope he did.

Well, this lack of timely pitching change is typical at Koshien. But I suspect neither is there going to be a timely change of manager next year. I'd bet on another year of Okada and 4th place, and then we can hope for someone better.

- Well, this lack of timely pitching change is typical at Koshien. But I suspect neither is there going to be a timely change of manager next year. I'd bet on another year of Okada and 4th place, and then we can hope for someone better.

Unless he has an outspoken relative who embarrasses him with an untimely scandal.

The difference between this year and last year is Hoshino was a pitcher in the past and read the game a lot better than Okada. Unfortunately, because of the draconian traditions of the Japanese game, Okada will be given another year to make a fool of himself and the team I love.

I went to the game in Hiroshima tonight and, without boring the readers with the usual failure of Okada taking out a tiring/miserable pitcher (tonight, Fukuhara), I'd like to talk about the Tigers' players. I've never seen them drop their heads, swinging at everything, as they did after they got behind tonight. It was really quite sad.

It was the most pathetic effort (going to a game) I've seen this season. Surely this is a product of Okada, as quoted by another poster, as the "prince of fools." The apathy and indiffernce this clown shows to the team was reflected by his team's effort tonight.

The only reason Okada became kantoku is because he is an in-law for someone powerful within the Hanshin Tigers' organization. If I remember correctly, his daughter is married to the son of somebody within the organization. If it wasn't for Family connections he would be unemployed, doing nothing somewhere.

He's still inexperienced as a coach. He played second base for the Tigers, which isn't a position you can learn the game from. (Catchers, I think, would make better coaches, in my opinion.) Plus he's too young. He probably needed someone older and experienced as his head-coach, but no one in Japan would want to be a subordinate of someone they are older than.

Let's see what happens to him end of the season. He might reason to "save face" instead of getting fired.

I am no fan of Okada, but I'm just trying to be objective here. How can you say that he's inexperienced and only has a job when he'd been coaching the farm team for several years before he was brought up to be the top team? Inexperienced? What about the fact that he led the farm team to consecutive titles for two (or was it three?) years.

If you can give him credit for being a bad coach when the Tigers do bad, you also have to give him credit for being a good coach when they win. Can't have it both ways.

A valid point, managers are on a hiding to nothing. If the team does well, the players get the credit. If the team is doing badly, the manager gets shafted. However, having seen almost every Tigers' game this year, either live or on Sky Perfect, he has lost control/the faith of the team. His biggest fault is the ability to know when to change the pitcher. It's cost the Tigers many games.

Also, how many times have you seen him come out of the dugout to argue a call? Almost never! That lack of passion inspires a team and the enduring image I have of Okada is sitting in the dugout with arms folded just shaking his head.

Let's remember, this is the same team that won the CL last year, and realistically, they won't finish above .500 this season. Whats the difference? The only difference? Okada. He lacks the fire and passion that Hoshino possessed. It must be so easy playing under such a manager who doesn't give a [care], hence the substandard performance of the team.

Sack this fool now!

- If you can give him credit for being a bad coach when the Tigers do bad, you also have to give him credit for being a good coach when they win. Can't have it both ways.

The Tigers all of sudden went from a winning team, to one who is now below .500. Okada hasn't done a good job this year, and it's time for him to move on.

- He played second base for the Tigers, which isn't a position you can learn the game from. (Catchers, I think, would make better coaches, in my opinion.)

You can learn the game from any position, including second base, as Sparky Anderson and Bucky Harris, two of the MLB's best all-time managers were second basemen. Though from Okada's situation, it just doesn't look like he's a very good manager, and that Hanshin needs a new manager quick.

Okada hasn't managed his batting at all well either. I've seen both Yabu and Shimoyanagi put in excellent pitching performances only to have them thrown away by poor batting. Okada seems to have some aversion to using Kataoka, and the team has suffered (last season Kataoka's experience was a major factor in many Hanshin victories), but in general, he uses his batting poorly.

Earl Weaver was a second baseman as well.

So Igawa pitched a no-hitter last night. Was Okada wrong to leave him in this time?

We are all experts in hindsight, aren't we Mijow-san heh heh. Superb effort by Igawa, just a shame no one was at the stadium to appreciate it. I taped the game which was shown on J Sports at around 3am and I swear there were no more than 1,000 people there. The sports papers printed the crowd at 8,000. Exactly 8,000 mind you which indicates that someone is approximating crowd size.

The Tigers turned a triple play and got a no hitter this season, some highlights of a dismal season. Only Okada's resignation would brighten what is turning out to be a losing season.

Well Okada-kantoku has been given another year to prove himself but only a year. Basically Kuman-san told him that unless he wins he cannot expect to manage the Tigers for three or four years.

Wow, is this thread still going? All I did was translate a story I found in SanSpo.

Even if, as Westbaystars-san points out, the Tigers are guilty of repeating the Giants' mistakes, it remains (I think) a mistake to give your manager a pink slip because of a bad year. Surely it's only right that Okada-kantoku be given another season to prove himself at ichi-gun level.

Still, he'd better do something more than 4th place.

It seemed an appropiate place to comment on him and to mention the updated information.

I can see both sides of the argument. As you mention, a guy should be given time to prove himself. However, in a lot of sports, winning counts. And if you don't deliver, you are dumped (football is famous for this). Is the nature of Okada's performance sufficient to warrant another year?