Nichi-bei series not televised in the U.S.?

Nope, the series will not broadcast on TV in the United States, which is a big disappointment on both ESPN and FOX.

If we all want to listen to it, the only choice we have is MLB Radio. Though I don't know if they're charging you to listen to the broadcasts or not. My gut feeling would say yes, MLB.com would charge for it, as they did with the WBC.

Otherwise, ESPN and FOX have dropped the ball once again. They'd rather show the World Series of Poker re-runs over and over, the pathetic and lame Contenders, and other such tiresome sports as the World Series of Darts, drag racing, and did I mention poker re-runs (as I can't stand them).

There is a remote possibility that the cable station TV Japan will show some of the games by delayed broadcast (this happened with all of the NPB series games), but it is not listed in their printed schedule. I'll take a look tomorrow morning and if a serendipitous surprise occurs, I'll post that news.

You didn't mention the exciting dog kennel club shows and cheer leading contests!

baseball.tv isn't anything. What is the correct website? Can we watch them online? Heck, I'd just settle for some results and box scores, actually.

You can watch them on-line, but you must pay for it. MLB TV has the subscription for it if you want to watch the games.

Japan Baseball Daily had the box scores in English. I had to originally use the box scores from the Sponichi Annex [In Japanese]. MLB has let the ball down, too. They're no better than ESPN or FOX. Nothing but a bunch of corporate BS. When will they all realize that what people want isn't corporate BS but to actually watch the game? Not pathetic or lame shows that ESPN insist on showing, despite not attracting any customers.

I would have to say that after the ratings came in from the World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers - the networks would rather have shown womens figure skating or NASCAR. For those who don't know - the ratings for the 2006 World Series really sucked. You are living a pipe dream if you think that they would broadcast the Nichi-Bei Series. I am just glad the MLB(dot)Com is providing some coverage.

- I would have to say that after the ratings came in from the World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers - the networks would rather have shown womens figure skating or NASCAR.

Let's back up there, I'm no NASCAR fan, but it gets ratings. NASCAR and women's figure skating aren't even a comparison. Maybe if you said bowling and figure skating you have a point.

The reason why the Series had poor ratings is a lot of people didn't want to watch it because of the two teams in it. Furthermore, the commentary was a crime. Listening to McCarver and company go on and on was life a life-sentence.

Here's one question for you? Are you trying to say people watch the World Series of Poker, bowling, darts, figure skating, cheer leading, chess, and the Spelling Bee? The Nichi-Bei Series would easily outdraw them. The problem is that ESPN and FOX have no clue whatsoever on what is actually worthwhile to show.

Second off, yeah MLB.com is really doing us a favor. We all have to pay $14.95 to listen to the Nichi-Bei Series, big favor. Furthermore, they can't even pronounce the names right, have no clue about what they are talking about, spend too much time talking about Major League players, have no post game interviews, and can't even get basic facts right. Yes, they are doing us a favor. I, as a fan, actually want people who know what they are talking about doing my games. Not some group of amateurs who have no clue of baseball in Japan. Get some experts who actually know the game in Japan.

Fans are sick and tired of corporate BS. The junk they show in the time slot of the Series is by no means going to out rank this. Third rate sports, or even non-sports such as poker after poker re-runs from 2 years ago, aren't going to out do the Nichi-Bei Series in ratings.

It's terrible. Absolutely terrible. I can't believe these jokers are allowed to cover the games.

I didn't listen last night, but it's been two innings so far tonight and I'm ready ready to kill these idiots narrating the game for their pronunciation and their complete ignorance of Japanese baseball.

The kicker is probably that they still haven't figured out that, you know, that guy in the red shirt? You know, the Carp jersey? That says "Arai" on the back? Yeah, him. They've been calling him Murata the whole game. Even when he was at bat they called him Murata, thinking he's the BayStars' third baseman from yesterday. Did nobody show them the lineup?

I loved Satozaki taking second on a throwing error and then scoring on a single, right after these guys were like "Well this is the catcher, so he probably can't run."

Or maybe "Soon we're going to be going to the Kyocera Dome, which is ... which is somewhere else on this island."

This combined with Ian Browne talking about Matsuzaka doing well in the "Koshima" tournament, and them all saying he just turned 27. Ugh, it's just killing me.

Sorry for the rant. I'd forgotten how terrible this was since the WBC.

I can't help but think that some of this criticism also applies to me. I know that I keep stressing Zuleta's name on the wrong syllable, but can't get myself to stop. Macias is also a really hard name for me to say, I have no idea if I've ever said it correctly. Then there was the Ibata, Inaba, Inada trio in the Nippon Series that was maddening. Finally, player changes happen without any warning on the televised games. If it's a pinch hitter, I can usually catch it, but defensive switches usually go unnoticed unless I notice the player fielding the ball isn't the one who started the game. If the announcers are working via video feed in the States, they'll really have their work cut out for them.

What drove me most crazy about the WBC was that the MLB announcers focuses almost exclusively on Ichiro and Ohtsuka. Ichiro hardly factored into any of the games, but they went on and on like he was the only Japanese ball player out there.

Anyway, having broadcast a number of games during the past two seasons, I can vouch that it's not as easy as most announcers make it sound. When I'm familiar with the main players on both teams, it's not so bad. But for teams that I don't watch often, it requires more time to prepare than I usually have. And the pronunciation of foreign names (in my case, the MLBers and players from Korea and Taiwan) is not easy. Yea, I can relate.

Of course, I do have an excuse to sound like an amateur. I am one.

Westbay, you wouldn't be sitting there trying to remember where Osaka is, at least.

I'm pretty sure the guys were actually in Japan to cover the series because they said things like "oh, I can't wait to go to Fukuoka" and whatever.

I think you've said Macias and Zuleta's names pretty well. And even if not, you're still probably getting a lot more names right than these guys were. "Now the Hiroshima shortstop, I-Gene Sogoji..." "Caught by center fielder NorryCHEEEEka Hey-Okeee!" or "They have had many starters from Yommy-yoory this series..." and so on.

Plus, if someone was actually paying you to cover the games with the Korean players and whatnot, you'd probably at least try to do some research on it, right? I mean, that's the kicker, when they'll say something like "Sogoji... Soyoji... So... so what, that guy at the plate, whatever the heck his name is."

For an "amateur," I think you definitely put more work into researching stuff before the games than these guys do. Messing up Inaba/Inada/Ibata when you're not familiar with the teams is one thing; messing up Arai/Murata is just ridiculous. It's like they didn't even get a press info sheet or lineup or anything.

They even managed to say that - while talking about Ogasawara - that the Nippon Ham Fighters won the Nippon Series after beating Yomiuri Giants' arc rival - Hanshin Tigers. I mean: Com'on! How difficult is it to get it right?

The argument could be made that the game is only half televised (on terrestrial TV, at least) in Japan, too. I recorded the Yomiuri TV coverage of Game 1 to MPG, then edited out the ads. The program started in the 3rd inning, and total baseball coverage time was only 1.5 hours.

But of course it's on cable so it is being televised in Japan. I don't think anyone's arguing that the Series should be shown on terrestrial TV in the States.

- the Series [...] shown on terrestrial TV in the States.

Now that would be a coup!

No luck with TV Japan cable channel, either - just a few highlights on the NHK morning news. I did note that you can watch the games on the website MLB.com, but after reading the above posts, I'll take a pass and stick with the box scores. I am hoping I will find them in my subscription copies of the Daily Yomiuri, a few days after the fact.

And hey, speaking of which, what gives? On a business trip today to the USA, I can't find a single paper - including the "paper of record" NY Times - with a recap of the NPB-MLB games, nor even box scores. Depressing.

I have nothing against NASCAR (except the waste of fossil fuels). And I really do like womens' figure skating, watch it all the time. But what gives with this profound ignorance of a fantastic and international celebration of the "American pastime?" I'll try not to rant here, but limit myself to bemoaning a lost opportunity for Americans to get a view of the wider world of sports, culture, international viewpoints, etc. Sad!

Football and Basketball have started. Baseball is over in America. Having said that, I am surprised that I have to get the game recap on mlb.com.

I am going to take a tiny little bit of credit for the MLB team's play. I copied some of the choice posts from this board boasting of NPB supremacy and the declining interest in MLB and sent it to MLB by e-mail. I didn't mention the site. I even got a nice thank you e-mail from the MLB office saying my e-mail had been passed on. Maybe some of the comments are in the gaijin locker room. I just wanted the guys to know the games counted to some people. It is a good match-up nevertheless and I personally, prefer to watch or follow baseball.

I know, I know, it is not the WBC.

- ... the games counted to some people.

Obviously not to the Japan team, which persists in fielding hacks from one of Japan's worst-performing teams this season (the YGs) as starting pitcher. Grrr!

I thought the same thing about the MLB pitching. Perhaps there is a universal concern over injury risk to a pitcher, rather than a position player who hasn't played competitively for a while? Some of the guys who didn't participate in the post season haven't pitched in over a month.

Or, many do not care about promoting the game or the cultural experience. I think a trip by NPB players to the U.S. for this series would do much more to raise awareness. Somehow, I don't think MLB would go for that.

I think the MLB team cares:

"The World Baseball Classic definitely opened up a lot of people's eyes," said red-hot Ryan Howard, who is 7-for-10 with three homers in the series. "I think maybe the Dominican or the US team was probably one of the favorites to win the whole thing. They opened a lot of eyes. We know they were going to be riding high on that. We wanted to come out here and put on a good show. We wanted to win and take it back home, so to speak."

I think the NPB teams' strength would be pitching. MLB has a superior pool of big hitters. If the pitchers don't show, a weakness develops.

I recall posts on making excuses after the WBC. There is a fine line between analysis and excuse making, and I prefer to stick to the former.

"We're proud to come over here and wear this uniform and represent Major League Baseball and play as well as we have," said Mets third baseman David Wright, who homered in the ninth. "As good a trip as this has been to relax and enjoy the sights and enjoy the food and culture, the No. 1 objective was to come over here and win."

He has his priorities straight.

I know Ryan Howard is and has been awesome in the series. DW is special also, a young man who is a mature gentleman and plays baseball the old school way. What is the take on him in the Japanese press?

It is too bad that the NPB don't use their non-Japanese players the way the MLB uses players of all nationalities in these Nichi-Bei Series. Years ago Leron Lee pleaded unsuccessfully with the NPB to be included on rosters facing visiting MLB teams.

Why is it that the NPB All-Stars only have Japanese players? It doesn't make any sense to me that they don't want to use any of their star foreigners. Has there ever been an official statement on this issue?

I know that Seibu's Alex Cabrera played in 2002, and I think Rhodes did in 2004 (can anyone confirm?).

One main factor is that most foreign players return home for the off season, many before the regular season is even over.

The team had a really hard time getting players to play in the Nichi-Bei Series this year, so I'm sure they'd have been glad to get some foreign volunteers.

Cabrera played in 2002, Rhodes didn't play in 2004. [2004 NPB Roster - MLB.com]

Wasn't Chiang the starting pitcher of Game 1?

That was an exhibition with the Giants.

Chiang started for Yomiuri against the MLB All Star team exhibition game. Yomiuri's Utsumi started Game 1.

The Seattle Mariners have a video on their site featuring the Mariner Moose with Kenji Johjima on the recent MLB Nichi-Bei tour.