August 8th Kojima v Nakata - What??

The Tigers were embarrassingly bad this game - in fact so bad that one even feels for Mayumi. Once again the batting was inept and shot selection poor. In the last game against Nakata Tigers batters took eight hits off him and gained four walks. This was halved for this game and the Tigers only had one real scoring chance. It was great to see Kojima back in the rotation but he got a really raw deal from the coaches. Kojima gave up three runs and was removed in the fourth innings. Given that a pitcher will normally give up five runs before being removed this is a bit harsh. Furthermore after the game he was dropped back down to ni-gun - what about giving him a chance? Especially as the pitching that followed him wasn't exactly an improvement. As long as Mayumi and his coaches practice this kind of management they will not gain the confidence of the younger pitchers. The team cannot continue to rely on the fading skills of Shimoyanagi and does need to get its younger pitchers playing time. This means allowing them to fail at the highest level and supporting and encouraging them. Kojima wasn't that bad but a few encouraging words and support could have lifted his performance. Tigers approach to the pitching is far too negative and it is reflected in the performances - pitchers are so afraid of failing that they don't take risks and fail. Talent is wasted on prejudice and negativism and opportunities are missed. Scores

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E
Tigers   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  4 2
Dragons  0 0 2 1 0 4 0 3 X 10 11 0

Starting lineups

Tigers
1. Murton (Right)
2. Hirano (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Arai (Third)
5. Brazell (First)
6. Kanemoto (Left)
7. Johjima (Catcher)
8. Asai (Centre)
9. Kojima (Pitcher)

Dragons
1. Araki (Short)
2. Hidenori (Centre)
3. Wada (Left)
4. Morino (Third)
5. Koike (First)
6. T. Donoue (Right)
7. N. Donoue (Second)
8. Oda (Catcher)
9. Nakata (Pitcher)

Let's get this over with. Tigers first was a harbinger of most of the game, batters going down 1-2-3. Kojima also pitched well and retired the three Dragons batters he faced. Tigers second saw them blow the only chance they had this game. Arai hit to left and then Brazell hit to right - runners on first and second. Next was Kanemoto who grounded out to Nakata but did move the runners round to second and third. Still it wasn't very good. Johjima was even worse though. With only one out the sacrifice fly was on but rather than wait for this Johjima grounded out to Nakata as well and this locked the runners on base. Of course the next move was predictable - Asai was walked to load the bases and get at Kojima who struck out looking. Kojima then retired the batters in order in Dragons second. Things didn't look so bad. However, Tigers third was a repeat of the first with the same three batters going down in order. N. Donoue led off Dragons third with a hit and was followed by a hit from Oda. Dragons would demonstrate just what could be done with the opportunity - firstly they had runners on first and third but when Nakata grounded out to the pitcher it was Donoue who was out. However, the other runners moved round to second and third. Then Araki managed a centre hit which brought a runner home 1-0 Dragons, runners on first and third. Hidenori grounded out to Toritani but this allowed the run to score 2-0 Dragons, runner on second. Wada also grounded out to short and ended the innings but Dragons had a neat lead.

Arai struck out to start Tigers fourth but Brazell hit again. He advanced to second on a wild pitch but even with this stroke of luck Tigers could not convert and Johjima's strike out ended the innings. Morino led off the Dragons fourth with a hit and was bunted to second by Koike. A curious move this - what is a No. 5 batter for? T. Donoue hit to right over Murton - rather a lucky shot but quite safe and Morino was home 3-0 Dragons, runner on second. N. Donoue walked but then Oda hit into a double play and the innings was over. It was after this innings that Mayumi pulled Kojima but one has to ask why? He had given up runs but hadn't been hammered around at all. If you do not trust your younger pitchers you will never get good performances from them. Tigers fifth was quiet with nothing of note for Tigers fans. Watanabe pitched Dragons fifth and did well considering he is not pitching wonderfully at the moment. No batter reached base. Tigers sixth was quiet with some quite dreadful batting. Watanabe reverted to type in Dragons sixth or rather he was asked to pitch an innings too much. He issued his traditional lead off walk to Hidenori. Morino hit a two base to set up runners on second and third. Koike grounded out to second which kept the runners on base. Then it was decided to walk T. Donoue to load the bases and set up a double play. Always a risky strategy and doubly so with Watanabe it proved to be so - Watanabe walked N - oshidashi 4-0 Dragons, bases loaded with one out. Oda was next and hit to Arai who fielded brilliantly but then threw to home to cut off the runner - however the throw was wild and two runners were home 6-0 Dragons, runners on first and third. Next was Nakata but Watanabe was so rattled he gave up a centre hit to the pitcher 7-0 Dragons, runners on first and second. Araki hit to centre to load the bases but Hidenori hit into a double play to end the innings. This had been a disaster for the Tigers.

In Tigers seventh Kanemoto walked with one out but then Johjima hit into a double play and the innings was over. Wakatake was the pitcher for Dragons seventh and wasn't particularly good. He gave up a hit to Wada and then walked T. Donoue but managed to get the three outs. Survival was the key here not good pitching. Murton hit with two out in Tigers eighth but nothing came of this. Wakatake pitched the eighth and was worse. He started with a left hit to Oda. Nakata bunted him to second and then Araki walked. Hidenori hit a huge two base over centre which brought both runners home 9-0 Dragons. Ohshima grounded out but the throw to first was wild and Hidenori made home from second 10-0 Dragons, runner on first. The next two batters flew out and the innings was over. Given the situation it was inevitable that Nakata would try for a complete game shutout and this was accomplished in fine style with all three batters surrendering tamely in seven pitches. Dragons victory.

Comprehensive and crushing - this victory had embarrassed a better side who hadn't played properly or responsibly. Under Mayumi - Tigers performance at Nagoya Dome has deteriorated quite significantly - Okada had winning years in both 2007 and 2008 so it is possible. So far this year Mayumi's Tigers have only won one game. This isn't good enough especially with the talent in the side. More application, better batting and a better level of play are all needed. The treatment of Kojima is also a blot on the management. He hadn't pitched that well but not that badly either. Certainly, he deserves another chance especially given the chances that Andoh gets. Wakatake is also likely to be sent down to the second team as well. Who is Mayumi going to bring up? He really does need relief pitching but consistently fails to understand how to manage his pitchers. Tigers do need to lift their game fairly significantly and Mayumi needs to improve his management of the pitching staff.