October 11th Ishikawa v Yoshimi - More of the same

Another lamentable peformance by the Tigers who don't even have pride. Their abject play over this vital road trip cost them the championship and raises serious questionmarks about Okada. Really, he needs to win the Japan series but the way Tigers play in the crunch games one cannot see this happening. Line scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
Tigers   0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 4 11 0
BayStars 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 X 5 11 0

Starting lineups

1. Asai (Centre)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Sekimoto (First)
4. Kanemoto (Left)
5. Toritani (Short)
6. Baldris (Third)
7. Lin (Right)
8. Noguchi (Catcher)
9. Ishikawa (Pitcher)

BayStars
1. Shimozono (Left)
2. Fujita (Second)
3. Uchikawa (First)
4. Murata (Third)
5. Yoshimura (Right)
6. Kinjoh (Centre)
7. Ishikawa (Short)
8. Saitoh (Catcher)
9. Yoshimi (Pitcher)

Unlike his previous start in the no game Yoshimi would start well retiring the Tigers in order. One questions the use of Asai though. He has very little to offer and surely a run out for Sakurai would have been better. On a similar note why was Noguchi used as catcher? If the game was meaningless then what about using a young catcher like Komiyama or Kanoh to give them some experience? Unless the young catchers are given experienc they are not going to be ready by the time the older catchers retire. Ishikawa would not start well. Hits to Shimozono and Fujita followed in quick succession but then Uchikawa flew out in foul ground, one out. Murata was next and he hit (Ishikawa's shuuto really suffered in this innings) 1-0 BayStars runners on first and second. Next was Yoshimura, a two base hit 2-0 BayStars but they tried to stretch the scoring and Murata and Yoshimura both got caught off base and were out to end the innings. Nice fielding by the Tigers. Tigers second was quiet - somehow Yoshimi was in control. Ishikawa continued poorly in the BayStars second - you began to suspect that Noguchi was the problem. Kinjoh led off with a hit. Ishikawa hit and the runners were bunted to second and third by Saitoh. Yoshimi lined out - a vital out this and then Shimozono walked and the bases were loaded. Fujita, though, struck out and the innings was over.

Tigers third showed a bit more promise, Lin had their first hit - a two base. But still they failed to exploit it. With one out an Ishikawa ground out took Lin to third but the next batter was Asai who grounded out and that chance was wasted. In BayStars third as Ishikawa got used to the conditions he only gave up a one out hit to Murata and otherwise controlled the innings. Yoshimi continued to deteriorate. His fourth was not impressive. He gave up a lead off hit to Hirano. A Sekimoto hit took Hirano to third and then Kanemoto hit to right 2-1 BayStars, runners on first and second. Toritani flew out to right and both runners tagged up and set off. Hirano made it to third but Kanemoto didn't make second and was out as well. Once again Toritani had blown a scoring chance. Still there was a runner on third but Baldris was in lightweight mode and flew out to end the innings. BayStars fourth was quiet as Ishikawa retired the batters in order. Lin led off the Tigers fifth with a hit. This was immediately extinguished by a Noguchi double play. With the final batter Ishikawa it was certain that the innings would end quietly and it did, Ishikawa lining out to Ishikawa. BayStars fifth would see an Uchikawa hit but nothing came of this. Surprisingly in Tigers sixth Asai managed a hit. He was bunted to second by Hirano and then Sekimoto walked - runners on first and second with one out. Unfortunately for Tigers both Kanemoto and Toritani struck out to end the innings. Yoshimi was certainly effective. Ishikawa was also effective - he retired the batters in order in BayStars sixth.

Here Ohya made a mistake - he continued with Yoshimi. Yoshimi dead balled Baldris (he was pinch run for by Akahoshi). Akahoshi stole second and then advanced to third on Lin's centre fly. Noguchi walked and Tigers had runners on first and third. Yano hit a two base 2-2 scores level runners on second and third, one out and here Yoshimi should have gone. Instead he faced Asai who surprisingly hit again and both runners were home 4-2 Tigers. Hirano hit to set up runners on first and second and Ohya finally saw the light. Yoshimi was retired and Sanada took his place. He got Sekimoto to ground out which moved Asai to third. Next batter was Kanemoto and he faced another pitcher Takamiya. Kanemoto really needed to make something of this chance but he failed miserably and flew out to end the innings. Still Tigers were in the lead. This would last until the BayStars seventh. Noguchi continued as the catcher and Tigers replacement pitcher was Abe. I have often said I would like to see him be given a lead to protect and here was his opportunity. He was dreadful. He started with a hit to Saitoh. Then Saeki (pinch hitter) also hit. Runners on first and second with no outs. They were bunted to second and third by Shimozono. Fujita grounded out to short which drove in a run 4-3 Tigers. Next batter Uchikawa who got a changeup for his fourth pitch and deposited it into the left stand for a home run 5-4 BayStars and they were back in the lead. Murata finally grounded out but the BayStars could be very happy with their innings.

Tigers eighth was pitched by Yokoyama who gave up a two out hit to Katsuragi (pinch hitter). Noguchi was next and grounded out to end the innings. The surprise of BayStars eighth was the appearance of Kubota. How would he fare. Very well as it turned out - he retired the BayStars batters without any problem. Finally, Tigers ninth and Terahara once again. He gave up a hit to Hiyama (pinch hitter). He was pinch run for by Fujimoto who advanced to second on a wild pitch but that was as far as he got. Hirano struck out and Sekimoto grounded out to end the innings. BayStars victory.

It is difficult to know what to say about this performance. Does it indicate a potentially strong BayStars next season or does it indicate a pathetic Tigers side? On the road trip - of which Tigers needed to win as many games as they could they lost 5, won 1 and tied 1. This is not the performance of a championship winning side and it raises serious questions about the managment of the team as well. Abject is the only way to describe this overall performance.