Hanshin Pressuring Chunichi
Discussion in the Open Talk forum
Comments
Re: Hanshin Pressuring Chunichi
[ Author: torakichi | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 11:01 AM
| HT Fan
]
There are numerous mentions of JFK on this very site.
I was at Koshien the night before last (Sep. 28), but how I wish it was last night. What a fantastic game (from a Hanshin point of view). I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but in the Tigers' recent run of good form, the fielding has been brilliant. Fujimoto, Kanemoto, Akahoshi, and even Sekimoto have pulled off some spectacuar saves.
Still, Hanshin's poor form after the inter-league series lasted a few games too long; Chunichi will win the Ce-League this season.
I was at Koshien the night before last (Sep. 28), but how I wish it was last night. What a fantastic game (from a Hanshin point of view). I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but in the Tigers' recent run of good form, the fielding has been brilliant. Fujimoto, Kanemoto, Akahoshi, and even Sekimoto have pulled off some spectacuar saves.
Still, Hanshin's poor form after the inter-league series lasted a few games too long; Chunichi will win the Ce-League this season.
Re: Hanshin Pressuring Chunichi
[ Author: firearmofmutiny | Posted: Oct 1, 2006 7:45 AM
| CD Fan
]
Funny you mention that; I was out and about in Kyoto during the game (hooray, checking the scoreboard on my cell phone every 30 minutes!), but I saw the game log when I went back to my hotel room; looks like the game went from meat grinder to a somewhat comfortable lead on a pair of errors.
Well, the Tigers aren't done, but the Dragons only need to go a reasonable 7-5 the rest of the way to turn away the Tigers, regardless of what Hanshin does. It's up to the Tigers to rattle off 7 in a row just in case. And after this afternoon, 4 of the Tigers' last 6 are on the road. Not like it has mattered where the Tigers have played lately, but Hanshin can't expect that just showing up will be enough to sweep the Swallows.
Not feeling too confident about this afternoon's game, as Andoh has been the Tigers' best pitcher this month, but win or lose today, the Dragons got what they needed out of this weekend, and of this 19-game stretch. 12, possibly 13, of 19 games, which includes a 7-5 (7-6 at worst) road record. They know what's at stake here, and it shows.
And for the record, this coming week I'll still be cheering harder for Hanshin's opponent than I am Chunichi.
Well, the Tigers aren't done, but the Dragons only need to go a reasonable 7-5 the rest of the way to turn away the Tigers, regardless of what Hanshin does. It's up to the Tigers to rattle off 7 in a row just in case. And after this afternoon, 4 of the Tigers' last 6 are on the road. Not like it has mattered where the Tigers have played lately, but Hanshin can't expect that just showing up will be enough to sweep the Swallows.
Not feeling too confident about this afternoon's game, as Andoh has been the Tigers' best pitcher this month, but win or lose today, the Dragons got what they needed out of this weekend, and of this 19-game stretch. 12, possibly 13, of 19 games, which includes a 7-5 (7-6 at worst) road record. They know what's at stake here, and it shows.
And for the record, this coming week I'll still be cheering harder for Hanshin's opponent than I am Chunichi.
Re: Hanshin Pressuring Chunichi
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 11:19 AM
| HT Fan
]
JFK stands represents Hanshin's bullpen combination of Jeff Williams, Kyuji Fujikawa and Tomoyuki Kubota. When they coined the term these guys tended to pitch in that order in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings - basically a 1-2-3 punch that was extremely effective. Last night's game was the first time in a while that Okada had been able to use the combination (with Kubota having been on the DL). So that's what the commentators were going on about.
And you're quite right about the reality of the situation. That's why I'm not too excited about the Tigers' prospects, even though I'm a rabid Hanshin fan. Of course I'm hoping they can go all the way to deny Chunichi the pennant, but the realist in me tells me that unless Chunichi suffers the biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox, they'll pull through.
What's clear, though, is that a real playoff series between these two teams would really be something.
And you're quite right about the reality of the situation. That's why I'm not too excited about the Tigers' prospects, even though I'm a rabid Hanshin fan. Of course I'm hoping they can go all the way to deny Chunichi the pennant, but the realist in me tells me that unless Chunichi suffers the biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox, they'll pull through.
What's clear, though, is that a real playoff series between these two teams would really be something.
Re: Hanshin Pressuring Chunichi
[ Author: firearmofmutiny | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 2:56 PM
| CD Fan
]
First off, thanks everyone for clarifying the JFK thing for me.
- ... but the realist in me tells me that unless Chunichi suffers the biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox, they'll pull through.
Biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox? Let's see, Andy (bleep)ing Sheets? Tomoaki (bleep)ing Kanemoto?
The Tigers can do it (or at least they will give themselves, as the saying goes, a chip, a chair, and a chance) if they only lose one more game for the rest of the season. But only if it's only one and it isn't to Chunichi. IMO 8-3 post-Koshien would be a tall task for the Dragons, should Hanshin force them to do it. But we never know; maybe the Dragons will indeed go 8-3 or even 9-2 and make the Tigers' extended hot streak (and the team I chose to support) moot. But right now I see 7-4 for the Dragons, which isn't going too high or too low. (Gotta temper the expectations - that's how to prevent meltdowns like the one I had on Thursday during Yokohama's 7-run 6th!)
- What's clear, though, is that a real playoff series between these two teams would really be something.
And yeah, I'd say this is a playoff series right now; a best-of-5 that Chunichi leads 2-1. (But why do the Tigers have home field advantage?)
- ... but the realist in me tells me that unless Chunichi suffers the biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox, they'll pull through.
Biggest choke since the 1978 Red Sox? Let's see, Andy (bleep)ing Sheets? Tomoaki (bleep)ing Kanemoto?
The Tigers can do it (or at least they will give themselves, as the saying goes, a chip, a chair, and a chance) if they only lose one more game for the rest of the season. But only if it's only one and it isn't to Chunichi. IMO 8-3 post-Koshien would be a tall task for the Dragons, should Hanshin force them to do it. But we never know; maybe the Dragons will indeed go 8-3 or even 9-2 and make the Tigers' extended hot streak (and the team I chose to support) moot. But right now I see 7-4 for the Dragons, which isn't going too high or too low. (Gotta temper the expectations - that's how to prevent meltdowns like the one I had on Thursday during Yokohama's 7-run 6th!)
- What's clear, though, is that a real playoff series between these two teams would really be something.
And yeah, I'd say this is a playoff series right now; a best-of-5 that Chunichi leads 2-1. (But why do the Tigers have home field advantage?
)JFK
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 11:43 AM
| HAN Fan
]
JFK is the nickname for Tigers trio of elite relievers. They are Jeff Williams, Kyuji Fujikawa and Tomoyuki Kubota. Last night they were in action with Fujikawa being particularly brilliant - his strikeout of Fukudome was a masterpiece.
Re: JFK
[ Author: Guest: zman | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 1:09 PM
]
Fujikawa-san is remarkable. He is a bit fidgety on the mound, but that ball just explodes from his hand. Woods struck out as well after Fukudome. Brilliant.
Tonight, if the Dragons lose again, they are in serious trouble. And if they lose Sunday they are out. This almost makes up for the Japan Series meltdown last year by the Tigers, but only a JS victory will cleanse that memory of futility by the Tigers.
Westbay, why aren't you broadcasting this weekend? This is baseball at its finest.
Tonight, if the Dragons lose again, they are in serious trouble. And if they lose Sunday they are out. This almost makes up for the Japan Series meltdown last year by the Tigers, but only a JS victory will cleanse that memory of futility by the Tigers.
Westbay, why aren't you broadcasting this weekend? This is baseball at its finest.
Re: JFK
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Sep 30, 2006 5:16 PM
| YBS Fan
]
- Westbay, why aren't you broadcasting this weekend?
This is a series I wanted to broadcast, but I'm afraid that the games are not live on any of the cable channels I get. The live game on Sunday is at 2:00, and will be re-broadcast on a channel I get at 6:00, well after everyone knows the results. Is there any interest?
This is a series I wanted to broadcast, but I'm afraid that the games are not live on any of the cable channels I get. The live game on Sunday is at 2:00, and will be re-broadcast on a channel I get at 6:00, well after everyone knows the results. Is there any interest?
About
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
BTW, the last time I saw the Tigers on TV, which was the Kyojin series last week, the announcer kept bringing up "JFK." Something about JFK, and since then they've been undefeated (probably has something to do with the no-hitter as well, as Hanshin has been undefeated since that, too). What's that all about?
Here's a little reality for both sides: Hanshin has no room for error. They have to sweep and not take more than 2 losses otherwise, which would force Chunichi to go 7-4 or better in their last 11 to win the Central League title. If they lose one this weekend, they'd have to go undefeated, then hope Chunichi goes no better than 7-4. Lost in all this is, Chunichi hasn't exactly played poorly. 11 of 16 going into this series, with 10 of those games being on the road; under normal circumstances, that's pretty good, and it's more than enough to hold off the team in 2nd. But 20 of 24 is far from normal.
But here's the thing: let's say the Tigers pull off the sweep. Would you bet on the Tigers losing 2 of their last 6 from there? I sure wouldn't. My prediction from last week had the Tigers losing 3 games (including one to Chunichi) the rest of the season, but now it looks like they'll lose, at most, 1. Again, I don't understand Japanese that well, so I'm paraphrasing, but I think what Ochiai-kantoku said after the BayStars game on Thursday makes perfect sense: If the magic number is 9, the Dragons have to win 9 times. Basically, they can't count on Hanshin's opponents doing anything to help them.
In short, it's what I've been saying all along on this board: I became a Dragons fan this summer, so the smart money says bet the house on the Tigers winning the CL pennant.