Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 9/26
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Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 9/26
After a week off due to the strike, I'll be up again this evening covering the Hanshin Tigers vs. Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome starting around 6:00 pm JST. Tune in live at the usual spot.
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Re: Pro Yakyu Game of the Week: 9/26
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Sep 26, 2004 10:11 PM
| YBS Fan
]
A great game this week. While the final score doesn't look it, it was a close game through to the end. And more good questions at the end. Read through the transcript for the game and what's coming up this week!
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2004/09/26 22:01
CHATROOM Game of the Week/Hanshin Tigers vs. Yomiuri Giants
MODERATORS westbaystars
16:57 westbaystars - I just finished watching Chunichi defeat Yokohama 3-0.
16:58 westbaystars - We had bases loaded and one out in the 9th, but failed to score.
16:58 westbaystars - Yakult won their see-saw game against Hiroshima, so Chunichi's magic drops by only one down to 3.
17:51 westbaystars - A loss by the Giants tonight will eliminate them from the race.
17:51 westbaystars - ---
17:51 westbaystars - Top of First
17:51 westbaystars - ---
17:56 westbaystars - Utsumi starts on the mound for the Giants this evening.
17:59 westbaystars - Akahoshi leads off for the Tigers.
17:59 westbaystars - The first pitch is inside, ball one.
18:00 westbaystars - Akahoshi swings and grounds an inside pitch off the handle of the bat,
18:00 westbaystars - pulling it to the right side.
18:00 westbaystars - Nishi fields the ball running in from second, fires to first, just in time.
18:00 westbaystars - One out.
18:01 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto.
18:02 westbaystars - Utsumi strikes Sekimoto out on four pitches, Sekimoto swinging and missing a pitch up in the strike zone on the ...
18:02 westbaystars - ... outer part of the plate.
18:02 westbaystars - Imaoka follows.
18:03 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to the left side.
18:03 westbaystars - Kokubo snow-cones the ball in his glove on a bound.
18:03 westbaystars - He safely pulls the ball from his glove, throws to first, and the Tigers are down in order.
18:04 westbaystars - ---
18:04 westbaystars - Bottom of First
18:04 westbaystars - ---
18:05 westbaystars - For Hanshin, Yabu gets the start.
18:06 westbaystars - His first pitch of the game is called ball one.
18:06 westbaystars - Yabu's second pitch to Nishi is lifted deep to center.
18:07 westbaystars - Akahoshi goes back to the wall, waits on the warning track, and takes the ball in for the first out.
18:07 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
18:07 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds the ball back up the middle, between Yabu's legs.
18:08 westbaystars - Yabu closes his legs, and it looks like it bounces off of his left knee, but it was his glove protecting himself.
18:08 westbaystars - Toritani comes in to field the rebound, fires to first, and we have two outs.
18:09 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes with two down and the bases empty.
18:10 westbaystars - Rhodes draws a walk on five pitches to become the first base runner of the game.
18:10 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo.
18:11 westbaystars - Kokubo lines Yabu's second offering to him just in front of Kanemoto in left.
18:11 westbaystars - Base hit.
18:11 westbaystars - The Giants are putting together a two-out rally.
18:11 westbaystars - With Takahashi coming up next.
18:12 westbaystars - The first pitch is swung on and missed by Yoshinobu, and Yano throws to second to try to get Rhodes way off the bag.
18:12 westbaystars - But the throw goes into center!
18:13 westbaystars - Rhodes kicks thirds and continues on home. The throw is ...
18:13 westbaystars - ... off line! Home in! The Giants score the first run.
18:13 westbaystars - Kokubo goes to second on the throw.
18:13 westbaystars - Yoshinobu then lines a base hit to right-center, scoring Kokubo from second.
18:14 westbaystars - The Giants take a quick two-run lead.
18:14 westbaystars - All after two outs.
18:14 westbaystars - That brings up Petagine.
18:15 westbaystars - You joined right in the thick of the excitement, Mijow-san.
18:16 mijow - Yes, but I think I might have put a hex on the Tigers
18:17 westbaystars - With the count full, Peta-chan takes ball four, and the Giants continue with two outs.
18:17 westbaystars - So, if Nioka hits the ball out will that seal it for you?
18:17 westbaystars - He swings and misses the first Yabu offering.
18:17 westbaystars - The next pitch is up high, but Nioka swings and grounds the ball to the right side.
18:18 westbaystars - Imaoka has it, throws to first, and the side is retired.
18:18 westbaystars - But an error by Yano and RBI single by Takahashi put the Giants on the board first.
18:18 westbaystars - At the end of one complete, the Giants lead 2-0.
18:18 westbaystars - ---
18:18 mijow - Last night I missed most of the Tigers action on the TV as the telecast didn't start until 7pm.
18:18 westbaystars - Top of Second
18:18 westbaystars - ---
18:19 mijow - And finished at 9 - typical Yomiuri TV.
18:20 westbaystars - That one was pretty much over after the first four innings, so you got to see the "end" of it.
18:20 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the second inning.
18:21 westbaystars - Utsumi, on the mound, is making his ichi-gun debut this evening.
18:21 westbaystars - And he strikes out Kanemoto with an outside full count pitch.
18:21 westbaystars - One out.
18:22 westbaystars - Hiyama lifts Utsumi's first pitch to him to Nishi at second for the second out of the inning.
18:22 westbaystars - That brings up Arias.
18:24 westbaystars - Arais grounds out to Nioka at short, and the Tigers are retired in order for the second time in two innings.
18:24 westbaystars - ---
18:24 westbaystars - Bottom of Second
18:24 westbaystars - ---
18:24 westbaystars - There was something in today's Nikkan Sports about Nittele (Yomiuri TV) cutting off at 9:00.
18:25 westbaystars - That's not typical. They normally go until 9:24.
18:26 mijow - yes, but I seem to recall that in September they tend to "wind down" and shorten the games even further.
18:26 westbaystars - The powers-that-be at Yomiuri decided that if they're losing by 5 runs or more that they'll cut off.
18:26 westbaystars - Abe leads off the second.
18:26 westbaystars - Yabu digs himself a hole, one strike, three balls.
18:27 westbaystars - The next pitch is fouled off to bring the count full.
18:27 mijow - I believe the telecast is only scheduled until 8:50 or 9:00 , and the 9:24 is an extnesion if needed.
18:27 westbaystars - The pay-off pitch is outside and high, ball four.
18:28 westbaystars - The Giants have their lead-off runner on for Utsumi's first ichi-gun at bat.
18:28 mijow - Yomiuri's a little like that aren't they?
18:28 westbaystars - He squares, and bunts the ball right back to Yabu.
18:28 westbaystars - Yabu turns, fires the ball to second for one, and the relay is in time!
18:28 westbaystars - Double play.
18:28 westbaystars - That's not where you want to put a sacrifice.
18:29 westbaystars - Back to the top of the order in Nishi.
18:29 westbaystars - I remember the Giants not bothering to broadcast games after the pennant has been decided.
18:29 westbaystars - Nishi grounds out to short, and the side is retired.
18:29 westbaystars - Three up, three down.
18:30 westbaystars - But at the end of two complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
18:30 westbaystars - ---
18:30 westbaystars - Top of Third
18:30 westbaystars - ---
18:30 westbaystars - It's really annoying on the train ride home, having baseball suddenly not there, when there *are* games.
18:31 westbaystars - Hanshin leads off with number seven batting Yano.
18:31 mijow - On the train ride home?
18:31 westbaystars - Yano goes the other way with the ball, lining it off the right field wall.
18:32 westbaystars - Yea, I like listening to baseball on the radio on the train ride home.
18:32 westbaystars - By the time Yoshinobu gets the ball back in, Yano is standing on second base.
18:32 westbaystars - That brings up Torinani.
18:33 mijow - And they don't broadcast it in September?
18:33 westbaystars - ... home from work, that is.
18:33 westbaystars - Toritani lines the ball to left, base hit!
18:33 westbaystars - Yano has to stop at third as Shimizu fires the ball back.
18:33 westbaystars - Nobody out, runners at the corners.
18:34 mijow - A rally!
18:34 westbaystars - Pitcher Yabu comes up to bat, looking to bunt.
18:34 westbaystars - Yabu bunts the first Utsumi pitch up the first base side.
18:34 westbaystars - This is to move the runner to second, Yano isn't dashing home.
18:35 westbaystars - The only play is to first, and the sacrifice is successful.
18:35 westbaystars - Utusmi should learn from that one.
18:35 westbaystars - Back to the top of the order in Akahoshi.
18:35 westbaystars - Akahoshi grounds the first pitch to Nioka at short, drawn in.
18:36 westbaystars - The two base runners hold, Nioka throws to first.
18:36 westbaystars - Two outs. Nobody in.
18:36 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto with runners at second and third and two outs.
18:36 mijow - Starting to fizzle...
18:37 westbaystars - With two strikes and a ball to Sekimoto, Utsumi tries to pick off Toritani at second, but he's back.
18:37 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded easilly to Nishi at second.
18:37 westbaystars - The throw to first retires the side.
18:38 westbaystars - Hanshin seriously threatened, but failed to get that final hit.
18:38 mijow -
18:38 westbaystars - Their rally, as you say, fizzled.
18:38 westbaystars - ---
18:38 mijow - Story of the year.
18:38 westbaystars - Bottom of Third
18:38 westbaystars - ---
18:39 westbaystars - Shimizu leads off the Giants' half of the third inning.
18:40 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to the right side.
18:40 westbaystars - Arias fields the ball, shovels to the covering Yabu,
18:40 westbaystars - ... and Yabu just beats Shimizu to the bag.
18:40 westbaystars - One out.
18:41 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes, who started off the two-out rally that produced two runs in the first.
18:41 westbaystars - He's got 44 home runs, 94 RBIs on the year.
18:42 westbaystars - I'd call that a successful transition to the Central League.
18:42 westbaystars - And here he draws a walk to put a runner on for Kokubo.
18:43 westbaystars - Kokubo is ranked 4th in home runs with 40, sixth in RBIs with 95.
18:43 mijow - yes, Rhodes started off slowly, but soon adjusted.
18:44 westbaystars - He's also ranked 6th in batting with a .316 batting average.
18:45 westbaystars - Kokubo strikes out swinging at a pitch quite a bit outside and low.
18:45 westbaystars - Two down.
18:45 westbaystars - That brings up Y. Takahashi.
18:46 westbaystars - Yabu gets ahead of Yoshinobu quickly with two strikes.
18:46 westbaystars - The third pitch is swung on and missed! Strike three.
18:47 westbaystars - Nice job, Yabu, challenging Takahashi-kun on three pitches.
18:47 westbaystars - After three complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
18:47 westbaystars - ---
18:47 westbaystars - Top of Fourth
18:47 westbaystars - ---
18:48 westbaystars - They're paying "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Tokyo Dome now,
18:48 westbaystars - ... for those who are researching when it's played.
18:48 westbaystars - Imaoka leads off the fourth inning against Utsumi.
18:49 westbaystars - And Utsumi has a hard time finding the strike zone, walking Imaoka on four pitches.
18:49 westbaystars - I thought the third pitch looked pretty good, but it was called a ball.
18:50 westbaystars - Hanshin has their lead-off runner on for the second inning in a row.
18:50 westbaystars - Kanemoto stands in next.
18:50 westbaystars - And he takes two balls in a row, ducking out of the way of the second one.
18:51 westbaystars - Utsumi finally gets a strike across, but Kanemoto wasn't so sure about it.
18:51 westbaystars - Kanemoto is currently tied for first with 100 RBIs.
18:52 westbaystars - The next two pitches miss completely, and Kanemoto takes first base.
18:52 mijow - let's try again...
18:52 westbaystars - Back to back bases on balls to lead off the fourth.
18:53 westbaystars - Hiyama wastes no time in drilling the ball back up the middle into center.
18:53 westbaystars - Imaoka kicks third, and heads home without a throw.
18:53 westbaystars - Home in!
18:53 westbaystars - Hanshin cuts the Giants' lead in half, 1-2.
18:53 mijow - All right!
18:53 westbaystars - Runners at first and second, nobody out, and Arias at the plate.
18:54 westbaystars - Arias gives the ball a ride up the third base side, but foul.
18:54 westbaystars - Looks like he broke his bat and goes to exchange it.
18:56 westbaystars - With the count one strike, three balls, Arias weakly grounds the ball up the first base side.
18:56 westbaystars - Utsumi comes over, fields the ball, and with Arias turning around to go back, throws to first for the out.
18:56 westbaystars - That moves runners to second and third with one out.
18:57 westbaystars - Yano at the plate.
18:57 westbaystars - Hi, Stevie. Glad you could make it again tonight.
18:57 MHtrStevie - Good morning, all!
18:59 westbaystars - Yano grounds the ball to Nioka at short, drawn in with the runner at third.
18:59 westbaystars - He throws home, and gets Kanemoto trying to score.
18:59 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:00 westbaystars - Runners now at the corners.
19:00 westbaystars - Number eighth batting Toritani at the plate.
19:02 westbaystars - Toritani pulls the ball to Nishi at second.
19:02 westbaystars - Nishi fields the ball, throws to first, and gets Toritani running full out up the line by several steps,
19:02 westbaystars - despite his effort.
19:03 westbaystars - That retires the Tigers' big rally.
19:03 westbaystars - They managed to score one, but that's all
19:03 westbaystars - Going to the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers now trail 1-2.
19:03 westbaystars - ---
19:04 westbaystars - Bottom of Fourth
19:04 westbaystars - ---
19:04 westbaystars - Petagine leads off the Giants' half of the fourth.
19:04 westbaystars - Yabu is still on the mound for the Tigers.
19:05 westbaystars - And Yabu is quickly up on Peta-chan with two quick strikes.
19:05 westbaystars - He follows with a waste pitch outside.
19:05 westbaystars - The fourth pitch was a bit too tight to even the count.
19:06 westbaystars - Ah, but Yabu holds on and strikes Petagine out swinging.
19:06 westbaystars - Nioka follows.
19:08 westbaystars - Nioka watches strike three go by (a little high in my opinion), for out number two.
19:08 westbaystars - That brings up Abe.
19:09 westbaystars - Abe walked his first at bat.
19:09 westbaystars - And draws his second walk of the game on five pitches.
19:09 westbaystars - That brings up the pitcher, Utsumi.
19:10 westbaystars - With two outs, he shouldn't be bunting this time.
19:10 westbaystars - Utsumi's grandfather was also a Giant, and also wore #26.
19:11 westbaystars - Yabu goes full count to Utsumi.
19:11 westbaystars - Then strikes him out swinging. Three outs.
19:12 westbaystars - At the end of four complete, the score is now Tigers 1 - 2 Giants.
19:12 westbaystars - ---
19:12 westbaystars - Top of Fifth
19:12 westbaystars - ---
19:13 westbaystars - Pitcher Yabu leads off the fifth inning for Hanshin.
19:15 westbaystars - Utsumi falls behind Yabu, one strike, three balls, then gets one over to bring the count full.
19:15 westbaystars - Yabu swings and misses the next pitch, down the middle, for the first out of the inning.
19:15 westbaystars - That brings us to the top of the order in Akahoshi.
19:17 westbaystars - After three straight balls, Utsumi finally comes in with a strike.
19:17 westbaystars - Then walks Akahoshi with an outside pitch.
19:17 westbaystars - He doesn't want to let Akahoshi on base.
19:17 westbaystars - Akahoshi currently leads the league with 57 stolen bases, well in front of Araki, in second with 35.
19:18 westbaystars - Sekimoto stands in.
19:18 westbaystars - Akahoshi is three shy of the Central League record of 60 stolen bases.
19:19 westbaystars - Sekimoto lifts the ball a little right of center.
19:19 westbaystars - Rhodes runs over, is there, and puts the ball away for out number two.
19:20 westbaystars - Imaoka follows.
19:20 westbaystars - But Imaoka grounds the ball a step to Nishi's left, and is thrown out to retire the side.
19:21 westbaystars - Hanshin had a base runner, but finished with nothing to show.
19:21 westbaystars - Half way through, Hanshin still trails by one run.
19:21 westbaystars - ---
19:21 westbaystars - Bottom of Fifth
19:21 westbaystars - ---
19:22 westbaystars - Nishi leads off the Giants' half of the fifth.
19:23 westbaystars - Yabu gets ahead in the count quickly with two quick strikes.
19:23 westbaystars - The third pitch is just outside, ball one.
19:23 westbaystars - The fourth pitch is reached for, and pulled over the left field fense!
19:24 westbaystars - Home run.
19:24 westbaystars - The Giants take a 3-1 lead.
19:24 westbaystars - That'll bring up Shimizu.
19:24 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds out to Imaoka at second, one out.
19:25 westbaystars - Rhodes stands in.
19:25 westbaystars - Rhodes' 44 home runs is currently top in the Central League.
19:26 westbaystars - Here he grounds the ball back to Yabu on one hop.
19:26 westbaystars - Yabu throws to first, and has the second out.
19:26 westbaystars - Kokubo follows.
19:27 westbaystars - Kokubo grounds the ball through the left side, past a diving Sekimoto and into left field.
19:27 westbaystars - Two out base hit.
19:27 westbaystars - That brings up Y. Takahashi.
19:29 westbaystars - Takahashi currently has 996 hits in 848 games. Nagashima hit 1,000 hits in 849 games.
19:29 westbaystars - But he fails to get a hit here, grounding out to Arias at first to retire the side.
19:29 westbaystars - At the end of five complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-1.
19:30 westbaystars - ---
19:30 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
19:30 westbaystars - ---
19:30 MHtrStevie - 3-1 lead for the Giants...
19:30 westbaystars - Right, 3-1.
19:30 westbaystars - Thanks.
19:32 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the sixth inning.
19:32 westbaystars - Kanemoto pulls a ball a long way foul to right.
19:33 westbaystars - Then grounds out to Nishi at second. One out.
19:33 westbaystars - Hiyama comes up next.
19:34 westbaystars - He lifts the ball high to the left side.
19:34 westbaystars - Nioka waits for the ball forever, then pulls it in for the out.
19:34 westbaystars - Two down.
19:34 westbaystars - Arias is next.
19:36 westbaystars - And he goes down swinging.
19:37 westbaystars - Hanshin in retired in order.
19:37 westbaystars - ---
19:37 westbaystars - Bottom of Sixth
19:37 westbaystars - ---
19:39 westbaystars - Petagine singles to lead off the Giants' half of the sixth.
19:39 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
19:40 westbaystars - With Nioka swinging at a no strike, two ball pitch, Petagine breaks for second.
19:41 westbaystars - Nioka misses the ball, and Yano throws a strike to second to cut down Peta-chan.
19:41 westbaystars - Nioka follows that by grounding out, and the Giants suddently have two outs.
19:42 westbaystars - Abe stands in, and after taking two balls, Yabu hits his 90th pitch of the night.
19:43 westbaystars - Abe then fouls off a pair of pitches, then swings and misses the next to go down swinging.
19:43 westbaystars - The Giants find themselves down in order in the sixth.
19:43 westbaystars - At the end of six complete, the Giants hold on to a 3-1 lead.
19:43 westbaystars - ---
19:43 westbaystars - Top of Seventh
19:43 westbaystars - ---
19:45 westbaystars - Yano leads off for Hanshin.
19:46 westbaystars - Utsumi has surpassed 90 pitches for the night, so I expect this to be his final inning.
19:46 westbaystars - Yano lines the ball on one bound right between Rhodes and Takahashin in right-center.
19:47 westbaystars - Rhodes plays the ball off the wall, and Yano is standing at second with his second double of the night.
19:47 westbaystars - That brings up Toritani.
19:48 westbaystars - Toritani goes down swinging on four pitches.
19:48 westbaystars - One out.
19:48 westbaystars - Now we get a pinch hitter for Yano.
19:49 westbaystars - Noguchi it is.
19:49 westbaystars - And he takes strike one for Utsumi 101st pitch of the evening.
19:50 westbaystars - Noguchi is handcuffed, pushing the ball to the right side, and being thrown out at first.
19:51 westbaystars - Yano moves to third on the play.
19:51 westbaystars - That brings up the top of the Tiger order in Akahoshi.
19:52 westbaystars - Utsumi misses with his first two pitches, the second one way up high.
19:52 westbaystars - Abe goes out to talk with him for a bit.
19:52 westbaystars - The next pitch is high, no strikes, three balls.
19:52 westbaystars - The next pitch looks little low, but is called strike one.
19:53 westbaystars - Akahoshi lines the next pitch up the third base side, and it bounces just foul!
19:53 westbaystars - That would have been extra bases for sure.
19:53 westbaystars - The full count pitch is grounded right to Nishi at second.
19:53 westbaystars - His throw to first gets even the speedy Akahoshi by a good margin.
19:54 westbaystars - Hanshin's threat is snuffed out.
19:54 westbaystars - ---
19:54 westbaystars - Bottom of Seventh
19:54 westbaystars - ---
19:56 westbaystars - Fujikawa comes in to pitch for Hanshin.
19:56 westbaystars - And he'll face Utsumi, who's thrown 110 pitches so far this game.
19:56 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku doesn't know when to let a rookie rest.
19:57 westbaystars - And Utusmi goes down on strikes for the first out.
19:57 westbaystars - That brings us to the top of the Giant order in Nishi.
19:59 westbaystars - Nishi grounds the ball just to Fujikawa's right.
20:00 westbaystars - Fujikawa resisted the urge to stick his glove out, and Toritani was able to field it cleanly, ...
20:00 westbaystars - ... and throw Nishi out at first.
20:00 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
20:01 westbaystars - After two quick strikes, the umpire calls a pitch just on the outside corner and maybe a little low ball one.
20:02 westbaystars - The next pitch is blooped into shallow left-center for a two out base hit.
20:02 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes.
20:03 westbaystars - And Rhodes is swinging for the fenses on the first pitch. But merely whiffs.
20:05 westbaystars - Rhodes then shows patience, watching three straight balls, all close, go by.
20:05 westbaystars - And the fourth one as well, putting runners at first and second with two outs.
20:05 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo.
20:06 westbaystars - Going into the game, Kokubo is batting .330 with runners in scoring position.
20:07 westbaystars - He has two hits (and a strike out) on the evening so far.
20:10 westbaystars - After fouling a few off, Kokubo lifts a 2-2 pitch high to shallow center.
20:11 westbaystars - Akahoshi has no problem coming over, camping under the ball, and making the catch.
20:11 westbaystars - That retires the side.
20:11 westbaystars - After seven complete, the Giants continue to lead 3-1.
20:11 westbaystars - ---
20:11 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:11 westbaystars - ---
20:12 westbaystars - Now we'll see if leaving Utsumi in was a good idea or not.
20:12 westbaystars - I said earlier that this was his ichi-gun debut, but it's his ichi-gun *starting* debut.
20:13 westbaystars - Sekimoto leads off with a base hit up the middle on Utsumi's first pitch.
20:13 westbaystars - Lead-off Tiger is aboard.
20:13 westbaystars - Kanemoto comes up to the plate.
20:13 westbaystars - No, not Kanemoto, Imaoka.
20:14 westbaystars - Imaoka lines the ball to the top of the left field fense!
20:14 westbaystars - I thought that was gone, but it just needed a little more height!
20:14 westbaystars - Sekimoto rounds third, then returns as the ball is returned to the infield.
20:15 MHtrStevie - So close...
20:15 westbaystars - That brings out the Giants' pitching coach. But they're leaving Utsumi in there.
20:15 westbaystars - Runners are at first and third after just three pitches, with nobody out.
20:16 westbaystars - Now it's Kanemoto.
20:16 westbaystars - And he's gotten all of it!
20:16 westbaystars - Takahashi is going to the warning track in right.
20:16 westbaystars - He jumps.
20:16 westbaystars - But the ball is in the stands!
20:16 westbaystars - Gyakuten three run home run!
20:17 westbaystars - Kanemoto pulls out to take the league lead in RBIs at 103 all by himself.
20:17 westbaystars - And three batters too late, Utsumi is heading for the showers.
20:17 westbaystars - Sure enough, the Giants should have pinch hit for him last inning.
20:18 westbaystars - What was Horiuchi-kanotku thinking?
20:20 westbaystars - Now trailing 3-4, Maeda comes in to pitch for the Giants.
20:21 westbaystars - Hiyama is the first batter he'll face.
20:21 MHtrStevie - Sounds like he made the same mistake everyone's been complaining about Okada-kantoku making...
20:21 westbaystars - After two quick strikes, Maeda wastes a pitch in the dirt.
20:21 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded to the right side.
20:22 westbaystars - Nishi shuffles to his left, fields the ball, and throws Hiyama out at first.
20:22 westbaystars - Good point. I think it's a problem with many more managers than just Okada.
20:23 westbaystars - ... and Horiuchi.
20:23 westbaystars - That brings up Arias.
20:23 MHtrStevie - No matter the decision there, if it goes badly the coach will be criticized...
20:24 westbaystars - Arias works the count full.
20:24 westbaystars - And he strikes out swinging.
20:24 westbaystars - Two down.
20:24 westbaystars - The last pitch very low.
20:25 westbaystars - That brings up Yano.
20:26 westbaystars - Yano watches strike three go by, and the side is retired.
20:26 westbaystars - And before we go, Maeda gets a bouque of flowers for appearing in his 500th game.
20:27 westbaystars - Still, he came in after the damage was done.
20:27 westbaystars - Kanemoto's big three run home run put the Tigers up 4-3.
20:27 westbaystars - ---
20:27 westbaystars - Bottom of Eighth
20:27 westbaystars - ---
20:28 westbaystars - My thinking is, Utsumi threw a great seven innings.
20:28 westbaystars - For his first start, that's more than enough.
20:28 habs - morning everyone
20:28 westbaystars - He'd passed 100 pitches, and had shown some trouble.
20:29 westbaystars - If relief blows the game, Horiuchi still would have made the right call to change him there.
20:29 westbaystars - Good morning habs-san. Welcome back mijow-san.
20:29 westbaystars - Takahashi leads off the Giants' half of the eighth.
20:30 mijow - Hi again. Looks like I always come in at the exciting bits.
20:30 westbaystars - Williams is now on the mound for Hanshin.
20:30 westbaystars - And Takahashi just ties this game up with a home run to right!
20:31 westbaystars - That's Yoshinobu's 29th home run of the season.
20:31 mijow - Revenge for the Olympics I suppose.
20:31 westbaystars - To tie this game a 4-4.
20:31 westbaystars - The announcers were just talking about Williams beating Japan in Athens.
20:31 westbaystars - Petagine comes up next.
20:32 mijow - Twice, too
20:33 westbaystars - Peta-chan works the count full, laying off a couple of close pitches.
20:33 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is outside, ball four.
20:34 westbaystars - Kawanaka comes in to pinch run for Petagine.
20:34 westbaystars - Nioka comes to the plate.
20:35 westbaystars - He's looking bunt, but he may go for the buster.
20:35 westbaystars - No, he lays down a bunt, with the only play at first by Williams.
20:35 westbaystars - The sacrifice is successful. Kawanaka is now at second base.
20:36 westbaystars - With Abe now at bat, Etoh comes out to the on-deck circle for the pitcher's spot next.
20:37 westbaystars - After two strikes to Abe, and messing with Kawanaka a bit, Williams throws two waste pitches outside.
20:38 westbaystars - The next pitch hits Abe.
20:38 westbaystars - That evens Williams' pitces at 9 strikes and 9 balls for the inning.
20:38 westbaystars - And Hanshin's pitching coach goes out for a word.
20:39 westbaystars - After a short conference, the infielders go back to their positions and pinch hitter Etoh stands in.
20:39 westbaystars - Runners are at first and second, one out.
20:42 westbaystars - With the count even at 2-2, Etoh pulls the ball to the left side.
20:43 westbaystars - Shuta, now in at third, makes a great one bound grab of the ball, throws to second for the force,
20:43 westbaystars - ... the relay to first is *not* in time.
20:43 westbaystars - Safe!
20:43 westbaystars - That puts runners at the corners with two outs and Nishi coming to the plate.
20:44 westbaystars - Nishi gives the crowd a thrill with a long foul ball to left to go in the hole, two strikes and no balls.
20:44 mijow - I'm going to watch this on TV
20:45 westbaystars - After another foul ball, Nishi pokes the ball back up the middle, and through! Base hit.
20:45 westbaystars - Kawanaka scores from third.
20:45 westbaystars - The Giants take a 5-4 lead.
20:46 westbaystars - Shimizu now comes up with runners at first and second and two down.
20:46 westbaystars - He grounds the ball weakly to the left side.
20:47 westbaystars - Toritani charges in, has trouble getting the ball out of his glove, throws to first,
20:47 westbaystars - safe!
20:47 westbaystars - They're safe all the way around!
20:47 westbaystars - Rhodes gets the bases loaded.
20:48 westbaystars - Rhodes wiggles the bat forward and back, and watches strike one go by.
20:48 westbaystars - The next pitch is lined over a jumping Sekimoto at first.
20:48 westbaystars - The ball goes into the right field corner, fair!
20:48 westbaystars - One run in, two runs in.
20:49 westbaystars - The throw home is not in time, three runs in.
20:49 westbaystars - The ball is sent to third, and Rhodes is touched out trying to streach a triple out of this.
20:50 westbaystars - That retires the side, but not before the Giants turn this game around with five runs.
20:50 westbaystars - At the end of eight complete, the Giants have retaken the lead, 8-4.
20:50 westbaystars - ---
20:50 westbaystars - Top of Nineth
20:50 westbaystars - ---
20:51 westbaystars - As the Giants take the field, Rhodes gets a big call from the fans in right.
20:51 westbaystars - He waves his glove hand to them.
20:52 westbaystars - Toritani leads off for the Tigers' last chance.
20:52 westbaystars - Kubo takes the mound for the Giants.
20:52 westbaystars - Toritani lifts a fly to shallow right-center where Nishi goes out and makes the catch.
20:52 westbaystars - One out.
20:54 westbaystars - Pinch hitter Katsuragi (I think) grounds out to second for the second out.
20:54 westbaystars - That brings up Akahoshi.
20:54 westbaystars - And Akahoshi keeps the Tigers in there with a line drive base hit in front of Takahashi in right.
20:55 westbaystars - Akahoshi changes from his batting gloves to his sliding glove.
20:55 westbaystars - Sekimoto stands in to bat.
20:55 westbaystars - On the second pitch, Akahoshi steals second without a throw.
20:56 westbaystars - That's number 58 on the year, now two shy of the Central League record.
20:58 westbaystars - With the count full, Sekimoto fouls the ball off, just fould of the third base bag.
20:58 westbaystars - We'll do it again.
20:58 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is high and tight, ball four.
20:59 westbaystars - That puts runners at first and second with two outs.
20:59 westbaystars - Imaoka comes up to the plate, and Kanemoto steps up on deck.
20:59 westbaystars - But Kanemoto won't get a second chance at being the hero.
20:59 westbaystars - Imaoka grounds the ball up to the right of second base, where Nishi has him played.
21:00 westbaystars - The throw to first is in time, and the Giants have the victory.
21:00 westbaystars - After exactly three hours of game time.
21:00 westbaystars - ****
21:00 westbaystars - Game Final
21:00 westbaystars - Hanshin Tigers 4 - 8 Yomiuri Giants
21:00 westbaystars - ****
21:00 habs - Exciting game
21:01 MHtrStevie - Yeah... close up 'til the end there...
21:01 westbaystars - Wow! Those last two innings sure were.
21:03 habs - Are they making the missed games fromthe strike?
21:04 westbaystars - I haven't seen anything for sure yet. The newspaper is caclulating magic numbers as though they aren't.
21:04 MHtrStevie - I heard that would be decided at a meeting on Monday...
21:04 westbaystars - But they're posting the standings with those games included in the "games remaining" column.
21:06 westbaystars - It's really important for the Pacific League, as it could mean the difference for Lotte and Nippon Ham.
21:07 MHtrStevie - Yeah, Lotte would have two against Orix while Ham would have to face Seibu...
21:07 westbaystars - Also, it could mean a one game lead for Daiei should Seibu fall another half game in the standings.
21:07 westbaystars - ... in the second round of playoffs, that is.
21:08 MHtrStevie - That's true too... I forgot about that rule.
21:09 westbaystars - Seibu is currently 4.5 games out with those striken (?) games remaining. Daiei also only has the two lost to the strike
21:10 westbaystars - So there is a lot riding on those two games in the PL.
21:12 habs - You would think the owneres would want to make the games up.
21:13 MHtrStevie - Depends on which position they're in, I suppose... I know Lotte would want the make-ups... =)
21:13 westbaystars - They'd prefer to make them up on a weekend, which gets better attendance, but that's out for the PL.
21:13 habs - Maybe even do something for the fans?
21:14 westbaystars - The owners aren't against making them up so far as I know.
21:14 westbaystars - They've got to get the players to agree, though. I don't know if the players want to or not.
21:15 westbaystars - I think the players want the owners to remember this.
21:16 westbaystars - But then again, they've tended to be rational about their decisions, so spiting the owners isn't in character.
21:20 MHStevie - The PL teams wouldn't get much rest before the playoffs started, then...
21:22 westbaystars - Let's see, if they decided Monday to replay them, managed to replay them all on Tuesday and Wednesday, ...
21:22 westbaystars - ... then the playoffs start on Friday.
21:22 westbaystars - No, that's not much rest.
21:22 westbaystars - And unless the games are in domes, it may be tough as this is rainy season.
21:23 westbaystars - There hasn't been much sun the past several days.
21:23 westbaystars - Although it's genrally been overcast more than rainy.
21:24 MHStevie - Yeah, both Lotte and Orix are outdoors, so problematic no matter who's at home there...
21:25 MHStevie - Seibu/Ham and Daiei/Kintetsu would be all dome games, though... right?
21:25 westbaystars - Right.
21:26 westbaystars - If they can get their respective stadiums. They're all multi-purpose stadiums, and often have other things booked.
21:28 westbaystars - I remember double booking problems a number of years ago with Fukuoka Dome when Daiei clinched.
21:29 MHStevie - Also true... I guess we'll have to wait for tomorrow and see...
21:30 westbaystars - Yep.
21:30 MHStevie - If you've got time for one more question, Westbay-san...
21:31 westbaystars - Shoot.
21:34 westbaystars - (That means, "Yes.")
21:34 MHStevie - I saw a mention that the PL playoff was an idea that had been "brought back"...
21:34 MHStevie - ... does this mean there's history to this three-team playoff format?
21:35 westbaystars - Ah. I don't recall ever seeing one like this. But, ...
21:36 westbaystars - ... the Pacific League has had half-season winners having a playoff to decide the league championship.
21:37 MHStevie - That's probably it... has the CL ever had a playoff, or is this strictly a PL thing?
21:38 westbaystars - From 1973 to 1982 they did this.
21:39 westbaystars - No, they haven't.
21:39 westbaystars - The only usual thing they've done is have ties count as half wins and half losses.
21:40 MHStevie - OH --- I forgot to mention this...
21:40 westbaystars - They did this in 1956 to 1961, as did the Pacific League (excluding 1959 and '60).
21:40 habs - I don't understand why you have ties?
21:40 MHStevie - I got the first caller at my radio show asking about the baseball updates!
21:41 MHStevie - I thought the ties had a lot to do with the tight road schedules and the trains...
21:41 westbaystars - Mass transit shuts down shortly after midnight for most people.
21:41 westbaystars - And very few people drive to a game.
21:42 westbaystars - At lease, in the Tokyo area.
21:43 westbaystars - I know I need to be at Shinagawa Station for the 11:45 train to get all the way home.
21:44 westbaystars - Later trains don't go all the way.
21:45 westbaystars - The cut of for a tie has fluctuated in the Central and Pacific leagues for a while.
21:46 westbaystars - It used to be 12 inning in the Pacific and 15 inning in the Central.
21:46 MHStevie - How long has it been at 12 innings?
21:46 westbaystars - Interestingly, with 15 inning games, there were rarely tied games in the Central League.
21:48 habs - Thanks for the info. Makes alot of sence.
21:49 westbaystars - I can't say off hand. Sorry. Will need to look it up.
21:50 westbaystars - Also, the Central League used to make up tied games for a while.
21:51 westbaystars - So some teams would finish with more games played than others.
21:53 habs - Will you be doing any playoff games?
21:54 westbaystars - Good question! When I can.
21:54 westbaystars - I'd like to do them all, but won't be able to on Wednesdays.
21:55 westbaystars - Well, maybe starting a couple hours in.
21:56 habs - You'll post on the site if you do any?
21:56 westbaystars - I've done the All Star and Nihon Series games in the past, so would like to continue.
21:56 westbaystars - ... with playoffs.
21:58 MHtrStevie - I'd definitely be there as much as possible for the playoffs... =)
21:59 westbaystars - Well, that's it for tonight.
22:00 westbaystars - Check back on Friday for the first playoff game.
22:00 MHtrStevie - OK, great job as always... see you soon!
22:00 westbaystars - Take care all.
22:01 habs - good job
TRANSCRIPT generated on 2004/09/26 22:01
CHATROOM Game of the Week/Hanshin Tigers vs. Yomiuri Giants
MODERATORS westbaystars
16:57 westbaystars - I just finished watching Chunichi defeat Yokohama 3-0.
16:58 westbaystars - We had bases loaded and one out in the 9th, but failed to score.
16:58 westbaystars - Yakult won their see-saw game against Hiroshima, so Chunichi's magic drops by only one down to 3.
17:51 westbaystars - A loss by the Giants tonight will eliminate them from the race.
17:51 westbaystars - ---
17:51 westbaystars - Top of First
17:51 westbaystars - ---
17:56 westbaystars - Utsumi starts on the mound for the Giants this evening.
17:59 westbaystars - Akahoshi leads off for the Tigers.
17:59 westbaystars - The first pitch is inside, ball one.
18:00 westbaystars - Akahoshi swings and grounds an inside pitch off the handle of the bat,
18:00 westbaystars - pulling it to the right side.
18:00 westbaystars - Nishi fields the ball running in from second, fires to first, just in time.
18:00 westbaystars - One out.
18:01 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto.
18:02 westbaystars - Utsumi strikes Sekimoto out on four pitches, Sekimoto swinging and missing a pitch up in the strike zone on the ...
18:02 westbaystars - ... outer part of the plate.
18:02 westbaystars - Imaoka follows.
18:03 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to the left side.
18:03 westbaystars - Kokubo snow-cones the ball in his glove on a bound.
18:03 westbaystars - He safely pulls the ball from his glove, throws to first, and the Tigers are down in order.
18:04 westbaystars - ---
18:04 westbaystars - Bottom of First
18:04 westbaystars - ---
18:05 westbaystars - For Hanshin, Yabu gets the start.
18:06 westbaystars - His first pitch of the game is called ball one.
18:06 westbaystars - Yabu's second pitch to Nishi is lifted deep to center.
18:07 westbaystars - Akahoshi goes back to the wall, waits on the warning track, and takes the ball in for the first out.
18:07 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
18:07 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds the ball back up the middle, between Yabu's legs.
18:08 westbaystars - Yabu closes his legs, and it looks like it bounces off of his left knee, but it was his glove protecting himself.
18:08 westbaystars - Toritani comes in to field the rebound, fires to first, and we have two outs.
18:09 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes with two down and the bases empty.
18:10 westbaystars - Rhodes draws a walk on five pitches to become the first base runner of the game.
18:10 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo.
18:11 westbaystars - Kokubo lines Yabu's second offering to him just in front of Kanemoto in left.
18:11 westbaystars - Base hit.
18:11 westbaystars - The Giants are putting together a two-out rally.
18:11 westbaystars - With Takahashi coming up next.
18:12 westbaystars - The first pitch is swung on and missed by Yoshinobu, and Yano throws to second to try to get Rhodes way off the bag.
18:12 westbaystars - But the throw goes into center!
18:13 westbaystars - Rhodes kicks thirds and continues on home. The throw is ...
18:13 westbaystars - ... off line! Home in! The Giants score the first run.
18:13 westbaystars - Kokubo goes to second on the throw.
18:13 westbaystars - Yoshinobu then lines a base hit to right-center, scoring Kokubo from second.
18:14 westbaystars - The Giants take a quick two-run lead.
18:14 westbaystars - All after two outs.
18:14 westbaystars - That brings up Petagine.
18:15 westbaystars - You joined right in the thick of the excitement, Mijow-san.
18:16 mijow - Yes, but I think I might have put a hex on the Tigers
18:17 westbaystars - With the count full, Peta-chan takes ball four, and the Giants continue with two outs.
18:17 westbaystars - So, if Nioka hits the ball out will that seal it for you?
18:17 westbaystars - He swings and misses the first Yabu offering.
18:17 westbaystars - The next pitch is up high, but Nioka swings and grounds the ball to the right side.
18:18 westbaystars - Imaoka has it, throws to first, and the side is retired.
18:18 westbaystars - But an error by Yano and RBI single by Takahashi put the Giants on the board first.
18:18 westbaystars - At the end of one complete, the Giants lead 2-0.
18:18 westbaystars - ---
18:18 mijow - Last night I missed most of the Tigers action on the TV as the telecast didn't start until 7pm.
18:18 westbaystars - Top of Second
18:18 westbaystars - ---
18:19 mijow - And finished at 9 - typical Yomiuri TV.
18:20 westbaystars - That one was pretty much over after the first four innings, so you got to see the "end" of it.
18:20 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the second inning.
18:21 westbaystars - Utsumi, on the mound, is making his ichi-gun debut this evening.
18:21 westbaystars - And he strikes out Kanemoto with an outside full count pitch.
18:21 westbaystars - One out.
18:22 westbaystars - Hiyama lifts Utsumi's first pitch to him to Nishi at second for the second out of the inning.
18:22 westbaystars - That brings up Arias.
18:24 westbaystars - Arais grounds out to Nioka at short, and the Tigers are retired in order for the second time in two innings.
18:24 westbaystars - ---
18:24 westbaystars - Bottom of Second
18:24 westbaystars - ---
18:24 westbaystars - There was something in today's Nikkan Sports about Nittele (Yomiuri TV) cutting off at 9:00.
18:25 westbaystars - That's not typical. They normally go until 9:24.
18:26 mijow - yes, but I seem to recall that in September they tend to "wind down" and shorten the games even further.
18:26 westbaystars - The powers-that-be at Yomiuri decided that if they're losing by 5 runs or more that they'll cut off.
18:26 westbaystars - Abe leads off the second.
18:26 westbaystars - Yabu digs himself a hole, one strike, three balls.
18:27 westbaystars - The next pitch is fouled off to bring the count full.
18:27 mijow - I believe the telecast is only scheduled until 8:50 or 9:00 , and the 9:24 is an extnesion if needed.
18:27 westbaystars - The pay-off pitch is outside and high, ball four.
18:28 westbaystars - The Giants have their lead-off runner on for Utsumi's first ichi-gun at bat.
18:28 mijow - Yomiuri's a little like that aren't they?
18:28 westbaystars - He squares, and bunts the ball right back to Yabu.
18:28 westbaystars - Yabu turns, fires the ball to second for one, and the relay is in time!
18:28 westbaystars - Double play.
18:28 westbaystars - That's not where you want to put a sacrifice.
18:29 westbaystars - Back to the top of the order in Nishi.
18:29 westbaystars - I remember the Giants not bothering to broadcast games after the pennant has been decided.
18:29 westbaystars - Nishi grounds out to short, and the side is retired.
18:29 westbaystars - Three up, three down.
18:30 westbaystars - But at the end of two complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
18:30 westbaystars - ---
18:30 westbaystars - Top of Third
18:30 westbaystars - ---
18:30 westbaystars - It's really annoying on the train ride home, having baseball suddenly not there, when there *are* games.
18:31 westbaystars - Hanshin leads off with number seven batting Yano.
18:31 mijow - On the train ride home?
18:31 westbaystars - Yano goes the other way with the ball, lining it off the right field wall.
18:32 westbaystars - Yea, I like listening to baseball on the radio on the train ride home.
18:32 westbaystars - By the time Yoshinobu gets the ball back in, Yano is standing on second base.
18:32 westbaystars - That brings up Torinani.
18:33 mijow - And they don't broadcast it in September?
18:33 westbaystars - ... home from work, that is.
18:33 westbaystars - Toritani lines the ball to left, base hit!
18:33 westbaystars - Yano has to stop at third as Shimizu fires the ball back.
18:33 westbaystars - Nobody out, runners at the corners.
18:34 mijow - A rally!
18:34 westbaystars - Pitcher Yabu comes up to bat, looking to bunt.
18:34 westbaystars - Yabu bunts the first Utsumi pitch up the first base side.
18:34 westbaystars - This is to move the runner to second, Yano isn't dashing home.
18:35 westbaystars - The only play is to first, and the sacrifice is successful.
18:35 westbaystars - Utusmi should learn from that one.
18:35 westbaystars - Back to the top of the order in Akahoshi.
18:35 westbaystars - Akahoshi grounds the first pitch to Nioka at short, drawn in.
18:36 westbaystars - The two base runners hold, Nioka throws to first.
18:36 westbaystars - Two outs. Nobody in.
18:36 westbaystars - That brings up Sekimoto with runners at second and third and two outs.
18:36 mijow - Starting to fizzle...
18:37 westbaystars - With two strikes and a ball to Sekimoto, Utsumi tries to pick off Toritani at second, but he's back.
18:37 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded easilly to Nishi at second.
18:37 westbaystars - The throw to first retires the side.
18:38 westbaystars - Hanshin seriously threatened, but failed to get that final hit.
18:38 mijow -
18:38 westbaystars - Their rally, as you say, fizzled.
18:38 westbaystars - ---
18:38 mijow - Story of the year.
18:38 westbaystars - Bottom of Third
18:38 westbaystars - ---
18:39 westbaystars - Shimizu leads off the Giants' half of the third inning.
18:40 westbaystars - He grounds the ball to the right side.
18:40 westbaystars - Arias fields the ball, shovels to the covering Yabu,
18:40 westbaystars - ... and Yabu just beats Shimizu to the bag.
18:40 westbaystars - One out.
18:41 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes, who started off the two-out rally that produced two runs in the first.
18:41 westbaystars - He's got 44 home runs, 94 RBIs on the year.
18:42 westbaystars - I'd call that a successful transition to the Central League.
18:42 westbaystars - And here he draws a walk to put a runner on for Kokubo.
18:43 westbaystars - Kokubo is ranked 4th in home runs with 40, sixth in RBIs with 95.
18:43 mijow - yes, Rhodes started off slowly, but soon adjusted.
18:44 westbaystars - He's also ranked 6th in batting with a .316 batting average.
18:45 westbaystars - Kokubo strikes out swinging at a pitch quite a bit outside and low.
18:45 westbaystars - Two down.
18:45 westbaystars - That brings up Y. Takahashi.
18:46 westbaystars - Yabu gets ahead of Yoshinobu quickly with two strikes.
18:46 westbaystars - The third pitch is swung on and missed! Strike three.
18:47 westbaystars - Nice job, Yabu, challenging Takahashi-kun on three pitches.
18:47 westbaystars - After three complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-0.
18:47 westbaystars - ---
18:47 westbaystars - Top of Fourth
18:47 westbaystars - ---
18:48 westbaystars - They're paying "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Tokyo Dome now,
18:48 westbaystars - ... for those who are researching when it's played.
18:48 westbaystars - Imaoka leads off the fourth inning against Utsumi.
18:49 westbaystars - And Utsumi has a hard time finding the strike zone, walking Imaoka on four pitches.
18:49 westbaystars - I thought the third pitch looked pretty good, but it was called a ball.
18:50 westbaystars - Hanshin has their lead-off runner on for the second inning in a row.
18:50 westbaystars - Kanemoto stands in next.
18:50 westbaystars - And he takes two balls in a row, ducking out of the way of the second one.
18:51 westbaystars - Utsumi finally gets a strike across, but Kanemoto wasn't so sure about it.
18:51 westbaystars - Kanemoto is currently tied for first with 100 RBIs.
18:52 westbaystars - The next two pitches miss completely, and Kanemoto takes first base.
18:52 mijow - let's try again...
18:52 westbaystars - Back to back bases on balls to lead off the fourth.
18:53 westbaystars - Hiyama wastes no time in drilling the ball back up the middle into center.
18:53 westbaystars - Imaoka kicks third, and heads home without a throw.
18:53 westbaystars - Home in!
18:53 westbaystars - Hanshin cuts the Giants' lead in half, 1-2.
18:53 mijow - All right!
18:53 westbaystars - Runners at first and second, nobody out, and Arias at the plate.
18:54 westbaystars - Arias gives the ball a ride up the third base side, but foul.
18:54 westbaystars - Looks like he broke his bat and goes to exchange it.
18:56 westbaystars - With the count one strike, three balls, Arias weakly grounds the ball up the first base side.
18:56 westbaystars - Utsumi comes over, fields the ball, and with Arias turning around to go back, throws to first for the out.
18:56 westbaystars - That moves runners to second and third with one out.
18:57 westbaystars - Yano at the plate.
18:57 westbaystars - Hi, Stevie. Glad you could make it again tonight.
18:57 MHtrStevie - Good morning, all!
18:59 westbaystars - Yano grounds the ball to Nioka at short, drawn in with the runner at third.
18:59 westbaystars - He throws home, and gets Kanemoto trying to score.
18:59 westbaystars - Two outs.
19:00 westbaystars - Runners now at the corners.
19:00 westbaystars - Number eighth batting Toritani at the plate.
19:02 westbaystars - Toritani pulls the ball to Nishi at second.
19:02 westbaystars - Nishi fields the ball, throws to first, and gets Toritani running full out up the line by several steps,
19:02 westbaystars - despite his effort.
19:03 westbaystars - That retires the Tigers' big rally.
19:03 westbaystars - They managed to score one, but that's all
19:03 westbaystars - Going to the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers now trail 1-2.
19:03 westbaystars - ---
19:04 westbaystars - Bottom of Fourth
19:04 westbaystars - ---
19:04 westbaystars - Petagine leads off the Giants' half of the fourth.
19:04 westbaystars - Yabu is still on the mound for the Tigers.
19:05 westbaystars - And Yabu is quickly up on Peta-chan with two quick strikes.
19:05 westbaystars - He follows with a waste pitch outside.
19:05 westbaystars - The fourth pitch was a bit too tight to even the count.
19:06 westbaystars - Ah, but Yabu holds on and strikes Petagine out swinging.
19:06 westbaystars - Nioka follows.
19:08 westbaystars - Nioka watches strike three go by (a little high in my opinion), for out number two.
19:08 westbaystars - That brings up Abe.
19:09 westbaystars - Abe walked his first at bat.
19:09 westbaystars - And draws his second walk of the game on five pitches.
19:09 westbaystars - That brings up the pitcher, Utsumi.
19:10 westbaystars - With two outs, he shouldn't be bunting this time.
19:10 westbaystars - Utsumi's grandfather was also a Giant, and also wore #26.
19:11 westbaystars - Yabu goes full count to Utsumi.
19:11 westbaystars - Then strikes him out swinging. Three outs.
19:12 westbaystars - At the end of four complete, the score is now Tigers 1 - 2 Giants.
19:12 westbaystars - ---
19:12 westbaystars - Top of Fifth
19:12 westbaystars - ---
19:13 westbaystars - Pitcher Yabu leads off the fifth inning for Hanshin.
19:15 westbaystars - Utsumi falls behind Yabu, one strike, three balls, then gets one over to bring the count full.
19:15 westbaystars - Yabu swings and misses the next pitch, down the middle, for the first out of the inning.
19:15 westbaystars - That brings us to the top of the order in Akahoshi.
19:17 westbaystars - After three straight balls, Utsumi finally comes in with a strike.
19:17 westbaystars - Then walks Akahoshi with an outside pitch.
19:17 westbaystars - He doesn't want to let Akahoshi on base.
19:17 westbaystars - Akahoshi currently leads the league with 57 stolen bases, well in front of Araki, in second with 35.
19:18 westbaystars - Sekimoto stands in.
19:18 westbaystars - Akahoshi is three shy of the Central League record of 60 stolen bases.
19:19 westbaystars - Sekimoto lifts the ball a little right of center.
19:19 westbaystars - Rhodes runs over, is there, and puts the ball away for out number two.
19:20 westbaystars - Imaoka follows.
19:20 westbaystars - But Imaoka grounds the ball a step to Nishi's left, and is thrown out to retire the side.
19:21 westbaystars - Hanshin had a base runner, but finished with nothing to show.
19:21 westbaystars - Half way through, Hanshin still trails by one run.
19:21 westbaystars - ---
19:21 westbaystars - Bottom of Fifth
19:21 westbaystars - ---
19:22 westbaystars - Nishi leads off the Giants' half of the fifth.
19:23 westbaystars - Yabu gets ahead in the count quickly with two quick strikes.
19:23 westbaystars - The third pitch is just outside, ball one.
19:23 westbaystars - The fourth pitch is reached for, and pulled over the left field fense!
19:24 westbaystars - Home run.
19:24 westbaystars - The Giants take a 3-1 lead.
19:24 westbaystars - That'll bring up Shimizu.
19:24 westbaystars - Shimizu grounds out to Imaoka at second, one out.
19:25 westbaystars - Rhodes stands in.
19:25 westbaystars - Rhodes' 44 home runs is currently top in the Central League.
19:26 westbaystars - Here he grounds the ball back to Yabu on one hop.
19:26 westbaystars - Yabu throws to first, and has the second out.
19:26 westbaystars - Kokubo follows.
19:27 westbaystars - Kokubo grounds the ball through the left side, past a diving Sekimoto and into left field.
19:27 westbaystars - Two out base hit.
19:27 westbaystars - That brings up Y. Takahashi.
19:29 westbaystars - Takahashi currently has 996 hits in 848 games. Nagashima hit 1,000 hits in 849 games.
19:29 westbaystars - But he fails to get a hit here, grounding out to Arias at first to retire the side.
19:29 westbaystars - At the end of five complete, the Giants continue to lead 2-1.
19:30 westbaystars - ---
19:30 westbaystars - Top of Sixth
19:30 westbaystars - ---
19:30 MHtrStevie - 3-1 lead for the Giants...
19:30 westbaystars - Right, 3-1.
19:30 westbaystars - Thanks.
19:32 westbaystars - Kanemoto leads off the sixth inning.
19:32 westbaystars - Kanemoto pulls a ball a long way foul to right.
19:33 westbaystars - Then grounds out to Nishi at second. One out.
19:33 westbaystars - Hiyama comes up next.
19:34 westbaystars - He lifts the ball high to the left side.
19:34 westbaystars - Nioka waits for the ball forever, then pulls it in for the out.
19:34 westbaystars - Two down.
19:34 westbaystars - Arias is next.
19:36 westbaystars - And he goes down swinging.
19:37 westbaystars - Hanshin in retired in order.
19:37 westbaystars - ---
19:37 westbaystars - Bottom of Sixth
19:37 westbaystars - ---
19:39 westbaystars - Petagine singles to lead off the Giants' half of the sixth.
19:39 westbaystars - That brings up Nioka.
19:40 westbaystars - With Nioka swinging at a no strike, two ball pitch, Petagine breaks for second.
19:41 westbaystars - Nioka misses the ball, and Yano throws a strike to second to cut down Peta-chan.
19:41 westbaystars - Nioka follows that by grounding out, and the Giants suddently have two outs.
19:42 westbaystars - Abe stands in, and after taking two balls, Yabu hits his 90th pitch of the night.
19:43 westbaystars - Abe then fouls off a pair of pitches, then swings and misses the next to go down swinging.
19:43 westbaystars - The Giants find themselves down in order in the sixth.
19:43 westbaystars - At the end of six complete, the Giants hold on to a 3-1 lead.
19:43 westbaystars - ---
19:43 westbaystars - Top of Seventh
19:43 westbaystars - ---
19:45 westbaystars - Yano leads off for Hanshin.
19:46 westbaystars - Utsumi has surpassed 90 pitches for the night, so I expect this to be his final inning.
19:46 westbaystars - Yano lines the ball on one bound right between Rhodes and Takahashin in right-center.
19:47 westbaystars - Rhodes plays the ball off the wall, and Yano is standing at second with his second double of the night.
19:47 westbaystars - That brings up Toritani.
19:48 westbaystars - Toritani goes down swinging on four pitches.
19:48 westbaystars - One out.
19:48 westbaystars - Now we get a pinch hitter for Yano.
19:49 westbaystars - Noguchi it is.
19:49 westbaystars - And he takes strike one for Utsumi 101st pitch of the evening.
19:50 westbaystars - Noguchi is handcuffed, pushing the ball to the right side, and being thrown out at first.
19:51 westbaystars - Yano moves to third on the play.
19:51 westbaystars - That brings up the top of the Tiger order in Akahoshi.
19:52 westbaystars - Utsumi misses with his first two pitches, the second one way up high.
19:52 westbaystars - Abe goes out to talk with him for a bit.
19:52 westbaystars - The next pitch is high, no strikes, three balls.
19:52 westbaystars - The next pitch looks little low, but is called strike one.
19:53 westbaystars - Akahoshi lines the next pitch up the third base side, and it bounces just foul!
19:53 westbaystars - That would have been extra bases for sure.
19:53 westbaystars - The full count pitch is grounded right to Nishi at second.
19:53 westbaystars - His throw to first gets even the speedy Akahoshi by a good margin.
19:54 westbaystars - Hanshin's threat is snuffed out.
19:54 westbaystars - ---
19:54 westbaystars - Bottom of Seventh
19:54 westbaystars - ---
19:56 westbaystars - Fujikawa comes in to pitch for Hanshin.
19:56 westbaystars - And he'll face Utsumi, who's thrown 110 pitches so far this game.
19:56 westbaystars - Horiuchi-kantoku doesn't know when to let a rookie rest.
19:57 westbaystars - And Utusmi goes down on strikes for the first out.
19:57 westbaystars - That brings us to the top of the Giant order in Nishi.
19:59 westbaystars - Nishi grounds the ball just to Fujikawa's right.
20:00 westbaystars - Fujikawa resisted the urge to stick his glove out, and Toritani was able to field it cleanly, ...
20:00 westbaystars - ... and throw Nishi out at first.
20:00 westbaystars - Shimizu follows.
20:01 westbaystars - After two quick strikes, the umpire calls a pitch just on the outside corner and maybe a little low ball one.
20:02 westbaystars - The next pitch is blooped into shallow left-center for a two out base hit.
20:02 westbaystars - That brings up Rhodes.
20:03 westbaystars - And Rhodes is swinging for the fenses on the first pitch. But merely whiffs.
20:05 westbaystars - Rhodes then shows patience, watching three straight balls, all close, go by.
20:05 westbaystars - And the fourth one as well, putting runners at first and second with two outs.
20:05 westbaystars - That brings up Kokubo.
20:06 westbaystars - Going into the game, Kokubo is batting .330 with runners in scoring position.
20:07 westbaystars - He has two hits (and a strike out) on the evening so far.
20:10 westbaystars - After fouling a few off, Kokubo lifts a 2-2 pitch high to shallow center.
20:11 westbaystars - Akahoshi has no problem coming over, camping under the ball, and making the catch.
20:11 westbaystars - That retires the side.
20:11 westbaystars - After seven complete, the Giants continue to lead 3-1.
20:11 westbaystars - ---
20:11 westbaystars - Top of Eighth
20:11 westbaystars - ---
20:12 westbaystars - Now we'll see if leaving Utsumi in was a good idea or not.
20:12 westbaystars - I said earlier that this was his ichi-gun debut, but it's his ichi-gun *starting* debut.
20:13 westbaystars - Sekimoto leads off with a base hit up the middle on Utsumi's first pitch.
20:13 westbaystars - Lead-off Tiger is aboard.
20:13 westbaystars - Kanemoto comes up to the plate.
20:13 westbaystars - No, not Kanemoto, Imaoka.
20:14 westbaystars - Imaoka lines the ball to the top of the left field fense!
20:14 westbaystars - I thought that was gone, but it just needed a little more height!
20:14 westbaystars - Sekimoto rounds third, then returns as the ball is returned to the infield.
20:15 MHtrStevie - So close...
20:15 westbaystars - That brings out the Giants' pitching coach. But they're leaving Utsumi in there.
20:15 westbaystars - Runners are at first and third after just three pitches, with nobody out.
20:16 westbaystars - Now it's Kanemoto.
20:16 westbaystars - And he's gotten all of it!
20:16 westbaystars - Takahashi is going to the warning track in right.
20:16 westbaystars - He jumps.
20:16 westbaystars - But the ball is in the stands!
20:16 westbaystars - Gyakuten three run home run!
20:17 westbaystars - Kanemoto pulls out to take the league lead in RBIs at 103 all by himself.
20:17 westbaystars - And three batters too late, Utsumi is heading for the showers.
20:17 westbaystars - Sure enough, the Giants should have pinch hit for him last inning.
20:18 westbaystars - What was Horiuchi-kanotku thinking?
20:20 westbaystars - Now trailing 3-4, Maeda comes in to pitch for the Giants.
20:21 westbaystars - Hiyama is the first batter he'll face.
20:21 MHtrStevie - Sounds like he made the same mistake everyone's been complaining about Okada-kantoku making...
20:21 westbaystars - After two quick strikes, Maeda wastes a pitch in the dirt.
20:21 westbaystars - The next pitch is grounded to the right side.
20:22 westbaystars - Nishi shuffles to his left, fields the ball, and throws Hiyama out at first.
20:22 westbaystars - Good point. I think it's a problem with many more managers than just Okada.
20:23 westbaystars - ... and Horiuchi.
20:23 westbaystars - That brings up Arias.
20:23 MHtrStevie - No matter the decision there, if it goes badly the coach will be criticized...
20:24 westbaystars - Arias works the count full.
20:24 westbaystars - And he strikes out swinging.
20:24 westbaystars - Two down.
20:24 westbaystars - The last pitch very low.
20:25 westbaystars - That brings up Yano.
20:26 westbaystars - Yano watches strike three go by, and the side is retired.
20:26 westbaystars - And before we go, Maeda gets a bouque of flowers for appearing in his 500th game.
20:27 westbaystars - Still, he came in after the damage was done.
20:27 westbaystars - Kanemoto's big three run home run put the Tigers up 4-3.
20:27 westbaystars - ---
20:27 westbaystars - Bottom of Eighth
20:27 westbaystars - ---
20:28 westbaystars - My thinking is, Utsumi threw a great seven innings.
20:28 westbaystars - For his first start, that's more than enough.
20:28 habs - morning everyone
20:28 westbaystars - He'd passed 100 pitches, and had shown some trouble.
20:29 westbaystars - If relief blows the game, Horiuchi still would have made the right call to change him there.
20:29 westbaystars - Good morning habs-san. Welcome back mijow-san.
20:29 westbaystars - Takahashi leads off the Giants' half of the eighth.
20:30 mijow - Hi again. Looks like I always come in at the exciting bits.
20:30 westbaystars - Williams is now on the mound for Hanshin.
20:30 westbaystars - And Takahashi just ties this game up with a home run to right!
20:31 westbaystars - That's Yoshinobu's 29th home run of the season.
20:31 mijow - Revenge for the Olympics I suppose.
20:31 westbaystars - To tie this game a 4-4.
20:31 westbaystars - The announcers were just talking about Williams beating Japan in Athens.
20:31 westbaystars - Petagine comes up next.
20:32 mijow - Twice, too
20:33 westbaystars - Peta-chan works the count full, laying off a couple of close pitches.
20:33 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is outside, ball four.
20:34 westbaystars - Kawanaka comes in to pinch run for Petagine.
20:34 westbaystars - Nioka comes to the plate.
20:35 westbaystars - He's looking bunt, but he may go for the buster.
20:35 westbaystars - No, he lays down a bunt, with the only play at first by Williams.
20:35 westbaystars - The sacrifice is successful. Kawanaka is now at second base.
20:36 westbaystars - With Abe now at bat, Etoh comes out to the on-deck circle for the pitcher's spot next.
20:37 westbaystars - After two strikes to Abe, and messing with Kawanaka a bit, Williams throws two waste pitches outside.
20:38 westbaystars - The next pitch hits Abe.
20:38 westbaystars - That evens Williams' pitces at 9 strikes and 9 balls for the inning.
20:38 westbaystars - And Hanshin's pitching coach goes out for a word.
20:39 westbaystars - After a short conference, the infielders go back to their positions and pinch hitter Etoh stands in.
20:39 westbaystars - Runners are at first and second, one out.
20:42 westbaystars - With the count even at 2-2, Etoh pulls the ball to the left side.
20:43 westbaystars - Shuta, now in at third, makes a great one bound grab of the ball, throws to second for the force,
20:43 westbaystars - ... the relay to first is *not* in time.
20:43 westbaystars - Safe!
20:43 westbaystars - That puts runners at the corners with two outs and Nishi coming to the plate.
20:44 westbaystars - Nishi gives the crowd a thrill with a long foul ball to left to go in the hole, two strikes and no balls.
20:44 mijow - I'm going to watch this on TV
20:45 westbaystars - After another foul ball, Nishi pokes the ball back up the middle, and through! Base hit.
20:45 westbaystars - Kawanaka scores from third.
20:45 westbaystars - The Giants take a 5-4 lead.
20:46 westbaystars - Shimizu now comes up with runners at first and second and two down.
20:46 westbaystars - He grounds the ball weakly to the left side.
20:47 westbaystars - Toritani charges in, has trouble getting the ball out of his glove, throws to first,
20:47 westbaystars - safe!
20:47 westbaystars - They're safe all the way around!
20:47 westbaystars - Rhodes gets the bases loaded.
20:48 westbaystars - Rhodes wiggles the bat forward and back, and watches strike one go by.
20:48 westbaystars - The next pitch is lined over a jumping Sekimoto at first.
20:48 westbaystars - The ball goes into the right field corner, fair!
20:48 westbaystars - One run in, two runs in.
20:49 westbaystars - The throw home is not in time, three runs in.
20:49 westbaystars - The ball is sent to third, and Rhodes is touched out trying to streach a triple out of this.
20:50 westbaystars - That retires the side, but not before the Giants turn this game around with five runs.
20:50 westbaystars - At the end of eight complete, the Giants have retaken the lead, 8-4.
20:50 westbaystars - ---
20:50 westbaystars - Top of Nineth
20:50 westbaystars - ---
20:51 westbaystars - As the Giants take the field, Rhodes gets a big call from the fans in right.
20:51 westbaystars - He waves his glove hand to them.
20:52 westbaystars - Toritani leads off for the Tigers' last chance.
20:52 westbaystars - Kubo takes the mound for the Giants.
20:52 westbaystars - Toritani lifts a fly to shallow right-center where Nishi goes out and makes the catch.
20:52 westbaystars - One out.
20:54 westbaystars - Pinch hitter Katsuragi (I think) grounds out to second for the second out.
20:54 westbaystars - That brings up Akahoshi.
20:54 westbaystars - And Akahoshi keeps the Tigers in there with a line drive base hit in front of Takahashi in right.
20:55 westbaystars - Akahoshi changes from his batting gloves to his sliding glove.
20:55 westbaystars - Sekimoto stands in to bat.
20:55 westbaystars - On the second pitch, Akahoshi steals second without a throw.
20:56 westbaystars - That's number 58 on the year, now two shy of the Central League record.
20:58 westbaystars - With the count full, Sekimoto fouls the ball off, just fould of the third base bag.
20:58 westbaystars - We'll do it again.
20:58 westbaystars - The shoubu pitch is high and tight, ball four.
20:59 westbaystars - That puts runners at first and second with two outs.
20:59 westbaystars - Imaoka comes up to the plate, and Kanemoto steps up on deck.
20:59 westbaystars - But Kanemoto won't get a second chance at being the hero.
20:59 westbaystars - Imaoka grounds the ball up to the right of second base, where Nishi has him played.
21:00 westbaystars - The throw to first is in time, and the Giants have the victory.
21:00 westbaystars - After exactly three hours of game time.
21:00 westbaystars - ****
21:00 westbaystars - Game Final
21:00 westbaystars - Hanshin Tigers 4 - 8 Yomiuri Giants
21:00 westbaystars - ****
21:00 habs - Exciting game
21:01 MHtrStevie - Yeah... close up 'til the end there...
21:01 westbaystars - Wow! Those last two innings sure were.
21:03 habs - Are they making the missed games fromthe strike?
21:04 westbaystars - I haven't seen anything for sure yet. The newspaper is caclulating magic numbers as though they aren't.
21:04 MHtrStevie - I heard that would be decided at a meeting on Monday...
21:04 westbaystars - But they're posting the standings with those games included in the "games remaining" column.
21:06 westbaystars - It's really important for the Pacific League, as it could mean the difference for Lotte and Nippon Ham.
21:07 MHtrStevie - Yeah, Lotte would have two against Orix while Ham would have to face Seibu...
21:07 westbaystars - Also, it could mean a one game lead for Daiei should Seibu fall another half game in the standings.
21:07 westbaystars - ... in the second round of playoffs, that is.
21:08 MHtrStevie - That's true too... I forgot about that rule.
21:09 westbaystars - Seibu is currently 4.5 games out with those striken (?) games remaining. Daiei also only has the two lost to the strike
21:10 westbaystars - So there is a lot riding on those two games in the PL.
21:12 habs - You would think the owneres would want to make the games up.
21:13 MHtrStevie - Depends on which position they're in, I suppose... I know Lotte would want the make-ups... =)
21:13 westbaystars - They'd prefer to make them up on a weekend, which gets better attendance, but that's out for the PL.
21:13 habs - Maybe even do something for the fans?
21:14 westbaystars - The owners aren't against making them up so far as I know.
21:14 westbaystars - They've got to get the players to agree, though. I don't know if the players want to or not.
21:15 westbaystars - I think the players want the owners to remember this.
21:16 westbaystars - But then again, they've tended to be rational about their decisions, so spiting the owners isn't in character.
21:20 MHStevie - The PL teams wouldn't get much rest before the playoffs started, then...
21:22 westbaystars - Let's see, if they decided Monday to replay them, managed to replay them all on Tuesday and Wednesday, ...
21:22 westbaystars - ... then the playoffs start on Friday.
21:22 westbaystars - No, that's not much rest.
21:22 westbaystars - And unless the games are in domes, it may be tough as this is rainy season.
21:23 westbaystars - There hasn't been much sun the past several days.
21:23 westbaystars - Although it's genrally been overcast more than rainy.
21:24 MHStevie - Yeah, both Lotte and Orix are outdoors, so problematic no matter who's at home there...
21:25 MHStevie - Seibu/Ham and Daiei/Kintetsu would be all dome games, though... right?
21:25 westbaystars - Right.
21:26 westbaystars - If they can get their respective stadiums. They're all multi-purpose stadiums, and often have other things booked.
21:28 westbaystars - I remember double booking problems a number of years ago with Fukuoka Dome when Daiei clinched.
21:29 MHStevie - Also true... I guess we'll have to wait for tomorrow and see...
21:30 westbaystars - Yep.
21:30 MHStevie - If you've got time for one more question, Westbay-san...
21:31 westbaystars - Shoot.
21:34 westbaystars - (That means, "Yes.")
21:34 MHStevie - I saw a mention that the PL playoff was an idea that had been "brought back"...
21:34 MHStevie - ... does this mean there's history to this three-team playoff format?
21:35 westbaystars - Ah. I don't recall ever seeing one like this. But, ...
21:36 westbaystars - ... the Pacific League has had half-season winners having a playoff to decide the league championship.
21:37 MHStevie - That's probably it... has the CL ever had a playoff, or is this strictly a PL thing?
21:38 westbaystars - From 1973 to 1982 they did this.
21:39 westbaystars - No, they haven't.
21:39 westbaystars - The only usual thing they've done is have ties count as half wins and half losses.
21:40 MHStevie - OH --- I forgot to mention this...
21:40 westbaystars - They did this in 1956 to 1961, as did the Pacific League (excluding 1959 and '60).
21:40 habs - I don't understand why you have ties?
21:40 MHStevie - I got the first caller at my radio show asking about the baseball updates!
21:41 MHStevie - I thought the ties had a lot to do with the tight road schedules and the trains...
21:41 westbaystars - Mass transit shuts down shortly after midnight for most people.
21:41 westbaystars - And very few people drive to a game.
21:42 westbaystars - At lease, in the Tokyo area.
21:43 westbaystars - I know I need to be at Shinagawa Station for the 11:45 train to get all the way home.
21:44 westbaystars - Later trains don't go all the way.
21:45 westbaystars - The cut of for a tie has fluctuated in the Central and Pacific leagues for a while.
21:46 westbaystars - It used to be 12 inning in the Pacific and 15 inning in the Central.
21:46 MHStevie - How long has it been at 12 innings?
21:46 westbaystars - Interestingly, with 15 inning games, there were rarely tied games in the Central League.
21:48 habs - Thanks for the info. Makes alot of sence.
21:49 westbaystars - I can't say off hand. Sorry. Will need to look it up.
21:50 westbaystars - Also, the Central League used to make up tied games for a while.
21:51 westbaystars - So some teams would finish with more games played than others.
21:53 habs - Will you be doing any playoff games?
21:54 westbaystars - Good question! When I can.
21:54 westbaystars - I'd like to do them all, but won't be able to on Wednesdays.
21:55 westbaystars - Well, maybe starting a couple hours in.
21:56 habs - You'll post on the site if you do any?
21:56 westbaystars - I've done the All Star and Nihon Series games in the past, so would like to continue.
21:56 westbaystars - ... with playoffs.
21:58 MHtrStevie - I'd definitely be there as much as possible for the playoffs... =)
21:59 westbaystars - Well, that's it for tonight.
22:00 westbaystars - Check back on Friday for the first playoff game.
22:00 MHtrStevie - OK, great job as always... see you soon!
22:00 westbaystars - Take care all.
22:01 habs - good job
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.