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Any Future Major Leaguers On This List ?!?!! Just throwing some names out there that might be of some help to our organization. I know this is a Major League folder, so don't shoot me. I'm just submitting some names for possible future consideration.

2013 Cuban League All-Star Teams

Occidentales (West)

Starters Listed First

Catchers: Eriel Sánchez (Sancti Spíritus), Frank Camilio Morejón (Industriales)

First Base: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos), Alexander Malleta (Industriales)

Second Base: Andy Ibáñez (Isla de la Juventud), Johan Moncada (Cienfuegos)

Third Base: Yulieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus), Pavel Quesada (Cienfuegos)

Shortstop: Erisbel Arruebarruena (Cienfuegos), José Miguel Fernández (Matanzas)

Outfielders: Frederich Cepeda (Sancti Spíritus), Yasmani Tomás (Industriales), Stayler Hernández (Industriales), Irait Chirino (Industriales), Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas), Yadier Hernández (Matanzas)

Designated Hitter: Yosvani Peraza (Pinar del Río)

Pitchers: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus), Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud), Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales), Vladimir Baños (Pinar del Río), Noelvis Entenza (Cienfuegos), Jorge Hernández (Cienfuegos), Raciel Iglesias (Isla de la Juventud), Duniel Ibarra (Cienfuegos)

Coaches: Yovani Aragón (Manager, Sancti Spíritus), Bárbaro Marín (Cienfuegos), Wilber de Armas (Industriales), Juan de Dios León (Pitching Coach, Sancti Spíritus)

Orientales (East)

Starters Listed First

Catchers: Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara), Lednier Ricardo (Camagüey)

First Base: Yordanis Samón (Granma), Joan Carlos Pedroso (Las Tunas)

Second Base: Danel Castro (Las Tunas), Raúl González (Ciego de Avila)

Third Base: Maikel Castellanos (Santiago de Cuba), Yeniet Pérez (Villa Clara)

Shortstop: Yordan Manduley (Holguín), Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Avila)

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma), Yoelvis Fiss (Ciego de Avila), Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila), Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba), Dairon Varona* (Camagüey), Maikel Cáceres* (Holguín)

Designated Hitter: Ariel Borrero (Villa Clara)

Pitchers: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila), Yander Guevara (Ciego de Avila), Danny Betancourt (Santiago de Cuba), Yasmani Hernández (Villa Clara), Yoelkis Cruz (Las Tunas), Carlos Juan Viera (Las Tunas), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara), Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila)

Coaches: Ramón Moré (Manager, Villa Clara), José Hernández (Ciego de Avila), José Luis Rodríguez (Las Tunas), Manuel Alvarez (Pitching Coach, Ciego de Avila)

[ My defector alert list in bold print. There are a few more players I like that did not make either of the teams. This was a fan vote. ]

2013 Cuban League All-Star Voting Results

Occidentales (West)

Catchers: Eriel Sánchez (Sancti Spíritus, 635), Danger Guerreo (Mayabeque, 285), Frank Camilo Morejón (Industriales, 271), Osvaldo Arias (Cienfuegos, 176), Lorenzo Quintana (Pinar del Río, 125), Luis A. Castro (Isla de la Juventud, 30), Lázaro Herrera (Matanzas, 17), Dariel Crespo (Artemisa, 12)

First Base: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos, 1,181), Alexander Malleta (Industriales, 161), Luis Rivera (Isla de la Juventud, 48), William Saavedra (Pinar del Río, 48), Yunier Mendoza (Sancti Spíritus, 45), Ernesto Molinet (Mayabeque, 43), Roberto Zulueta (Artemisa, 15), Yasiel Santoya (Matanzas, 10)

Second Base: Andy Ibáñez (Isla de la Juventud, 711), Johan Moncada (Cienfuegos, 320), Juan Carlos Torriente (Industriales, 43), David Castillo (Pinar del Río, 167), Dayán García (Artemisa, 70), Lourdes Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 64), Anibal Medina (Matanzas, 21), Yunier Corvo (Mayabeque, 15)

Third Base: Yulieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 846), Pavel Quesada (Cienfuegos, 269), Michel Enríquez (Isla de la Juventud, 189), Rudy Reyes (Industriales, 106), Donald Duarte (Pinar del Río, 55), Yurisbel Gracial (Matanzas, 43), Michel Rodríguez (Artemisa, 30), Alexander Pozo (Mayabeque, 13
)
Shortstop: Erisbel Arruebarruena (Cienfuegos, 864), José Miguel Fernández (Matanzas, 515), Raiko Olivares (Industriales, 68), Luis Valdés (Pinar del Río, 35), Denis Fritze (Artemisa, 26), Orlando Acebay (Sancti Spíritus, 22), Dainier Galvez (Isla de la Juventud, 12), Rhandy Caballero (Mayabeque, 9)

Outfielders: Frederich Cepeda (Sancti Spíritus, 1,146), Stayler Hernández (Industriales, 1,017), Yasmani Tomás (Industriales, 953), Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas, 271), Yadier Hernández (Matanzas, 188), Yoelvis Leyva (Cienfuegos, 180), Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos, 164), Juan M. Soriano (Cienfuegos, 164), Irait Chirino (Industriales, 163), Pedro Castillo (Mayabeque, 56), Yunieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 56), Robersis Ramos (Sancti Spíritus, 38), Lázaro Blanco (Pinar del Río, 37), Juan C. Torres (Artemisa, 32), Orlando Lavandera (Mayabeque, 32), Osniel Madera (Pinar del Río, 24), Yunier Valienta (Pinar del Río, 24), Victor Muñoz (Artemisa, 20), Reinier Llanes (Isla de la Juventud, 19), Victor Victor Mesa (Matanzas, 19), Angel Fernández (Isla de la Juventud, 15), Denis Laza (Mayabeque, 14), Erick Cándano (Artemisa, 13), José Velázquez (Isla de la Juventud, 8)

Designated Hitter: Yosvani Peraza (Pinar del Río, 1,158), Adir Ferrán (Cienfuegos, 143), Ariel Sánchez (Matanzas, 99), Eluit Torres (Industriales, 47), Liván Monteagudo (Sancti Spíritus, 39), Dayán Lazo (Artemisa, 26), Rodmy Proenza (Isla de la Juventud, 22), Yasniel González (Mayabeque, 17)

Pitchers: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spiritus, 1,206), Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud, 1,092), Racial Iglesias (Isla de la Juventud, 989), Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales, 911), Duniel Ibarra (Cienfuegos, 882), Vladimir Baños (Pinar del Río, 738), Noelvis Entenza (Cienfuegos, 552), Jorge Hernández (Cienfuegos, 474), Yuniel Leyva (Cienfuegos, 451), Joel Suarez (Matanzas, 300), Maykel Martínez (Matanzas, 285), Ariel Miranda (Mayabeque, 270), Leinier Rodríguez (Mayabeque, 256), Omar Guardarrama (Sancti Spíritus, 201), Julio Montesinos (Industriales, 185)

Orientales (East)

Catchers: Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara, 484), Lednier Ricardo (Camagüey, 371), Franklin Aballe (Holguín, 92), Rudelis García (Ciego de Avila, 73), Luis A. Ferrales (Granma, 71), Andrés Reyna (Santiago de Cuba, 36), Roberto Borrero (Guantánamo, 17), Rafael Viñales (Las Tunas, 17)

First Base: Yordanis Samón (Granma, 364), Joan Carlos Pedroso (Las Tunas, 273), Ramón Lunar (Villa Clara, 165), Yoennis Southerán (Guantánamo, 101), Yorelvis Charles (Ciego de Avila, 91), Lerys Aguilera (Holguín, 78), Pedro Poll (Santiago de Cuba, 47), Yaisel Mederos (Camagüey, 22)

Second Base: Danel Castro (Las Tunas, 477), Raúl González (Ciego de Avila, 305), Yeison Pacheco (Holguín, 100), Ramon Tamayo (Granma, 78), Yoilán Cerce (Guantánamo, 74), Andy Sarduy (Villa Clara, 71), Yosvani García (Camagüey, 21), Adriel Labrada (Santiago de Cuba, 15)

Third Base: Yunior Paumier (Holguín, 237), Maikel Castellanos (Santiago de Cuba, 236), Carlos Benitez Pérez (Granma, 187), Yeniet Pérez (Villa Clara, 184), Ruben Valdés Exposito (Ciego de Avila, 138), Marino Luis Márquez (Camagüey, 127), Luis A. Sánchez (Guantánamo, 16), Michel Brito (Las Tunas, 16)

Shortstop: Yordan Manduley (Holguín, 604), Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Avila, 175), Dainier Moreira (Guantánamo, 162), Alexander Ayala (Camagüey, 125), Yandrys Canto (Villa Clara, 32), Marcos L. Fonseca (Granma, 16), Leonardo Laffita (Las Tunas, 14), Daniel Aguilera (Santiago de Cuba, 13)

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma, 820), Alexei Bell (Santiago de Cuba, 729), Yoelvis Fiss (Ciego de Avila, 437), Reutilio Hurtado (Santiago de Cuba, 297), Yordanis Linares (Villa Clara, 198), Maikel Cáceres (Holguín, 128), Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila, 126), Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba, 94), Yoannis Quintana (Holguín, 91), Dairon Verona (Camagüey, 84), Andy Zamora (Villa Clara, 53), Geidis Soler (Holguín, 51), William Luis Campillo (Camagüey, 50), Daniel Carbonell (Camagüey, 40), Yunieski Larduet (Las Tunas, 38), José R. Alfonso (Ciego de Avila, 36), Roel Santos (Granma, 28), Urmanis Guerra (Granma, 25), Yuniest Flores (Villa Clara, 24), Andrés Quiala (Las Tunas, 18), Jorge A. Jhonson (Las Tunas, 17), Andrés de la Cruz (Guantánamo, 15), Robert L. Delgado (Guantánamo, 12), Julio P. Martínez (Guantánamo, 12)

Designated Hitter: Issac Martínez (Ciego de Avila, 388) Ariel Borrero (Villa Clara, 360), Vismay Santos (Guantánmo, 111), Yordanis Scull (Las Tunas, 97), Alexis Durrthy (Santiago de Cuba, 70), José Castañeda (Holguín, 59), Osmel Aguila (Camagüey, 38), Rafael Hidalgo (Granma, 14)

Pitchers: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila, 892), Danny Betancourt (Santiago de Cuba, 823), Yander Guevara (Ciego de Avila, 810), Carlos Juan Viera (Las Tunas, 632), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara, 572), Yoelkis Cruz (Las Tunas, 470), Yasmani Hernández (Villa Clara, 445), Misael Siverio (Villa Clara, 432), Alain Sánchez (Villa Clara, 397), Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila, 303), Alberto Bicet (Santiago de Cuba, 286), Yormani Socarrás (Camagüey, 271), Ubisney Bermúdez (Las Tunas, 188), Yoandi Fernández (Las Tunas, 136), José L. Moulin (Guantánamo, 42)

[ For a small country like Cuba which is saturated with baseball teams, there are a lot of very good ball players being produced here. It's too bad that no one will get to see them play ]

Fans in Taiwan welcome Manny Ramirez with a Johnny Cueto sign (Picture)

By Steve DelVecchio March 29, 2013 - Posted in Baseball
Manny Ramirez is a brand new face in Taiwan, and the fans are still trying to figure him out. The former MLB slugger made his debut with the EDA Rhinos on Wednesday, going 2-for-6 from the plate with two singles. As you can see from the photo above, fans were thrilled to finally see Manny in game action. However, they have a little work to do when it comes to making signs.

The gentleman in that sign is not Manny Ramirez. Very similar hairstyle, but unfortunately not Manny. As Eye on Baseball pointed out, that would be Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto. Aside from their dread locks, the two have very little in common. Ramirez was once one of the best hitters in the AL and Cueto is one of the best pitchers in the NL.

Honest mistake, as this is all going to take some getting used to. Manny has gotten around over the past couple of years (see his Dominican League homer here), so you can’t expect the fans in every country he has played in to be instantly familiar with him. Whatever the case, the fans seem to love him. What more can you ask for?

Ramirez goes 2-6 in local debut as Rhinos go down to Elephants

By Joseph Yeh, The China Post

March 28, 2013, 12:28 am

TAIPEI, Taiwan --

Legendary Major League Baseball (MLB) slugger Manny Ramirez went 2 for 6 with two singles during his debut in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) last night in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

His team, the EDA Rhinos (義大犀牛), lost to the Brother Elephants (兄弟象) 9-8 at the Chengching Lake Baseball Stadium (澄清湖棒球場), the Rhinos' home stadium, in the 12th inning.

Under the gaze of a capacity crowd of 20,000, Ramirez, the Rhinos' No. 4 batter, stepped up to the CPBL home plate for the first time.

His debut was in the bottom of the first inning. He was facing Elephants' American starter Mike Ballard.

Ramirez hit a flyball to the left field for the third out to end the frame.

In the second inning, Manny again stepped up to the plate, this time facing rookie right-hander Wu Ming-hsu (吳明旭). The ex-Red Sox outfielder hit a line-drive single to left field for his first hit in Taiwan.

Ramirez's first hit contributed to his team's five-run rally during the inning. He hit another single in the fourth, also against Wu.

In a later appearance, Ramirez was struck out by Japanese reliever Hiroki Sanada.

With the game tied at eight each and two runners on base, Ramirez was unable to deliver in the bottom of the eighth against Elephants closer Brad Thomas.

Ramirez's last at bat of the game ended in an infield out in the 11th inning.

Both teams' starting pitchers had trouble early in the game.

Rhinos starter Lin Ko-chien (林克謙) gave up four runs on two walks and three consecutive hits in the opening inning. He was taken off after retiring only two batters.

Lin's counterpart Ballard was relieved in the second after giving up five runs.

Ramirez to Boost Ticket Sales

Ramirez, the most famous foreign player ever to join the CPBL, officially signed with the Rhinos on March 12.

The Kaohsiung-based team reportedly offered a NT$750,000 (US$25,000) monthly salary to the 40-year-old ex-MLB All-Star — the highest any team in the league has given to a foreign player.

Ramirez's participation in the CPBL came amid renewed enthusiasm for the sport in Taiwan, following Taiwan's best ever performance in the World Baseball Classic.

Ramirez's arrival at the Rhinos, a new CPBL team, is expected to boost ticket sales in the local league, which had been losing fan support following multiple game-fixing scandals over its 24-year history.

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Not in the country a week and they already have added Manny dreadlocks to the Rhino Doll
You Tube Manny Press Conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 1ufoNt6n_Q

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XXVI Star Game: Thomas and Moncada steal show

by Ray Otero
Cuba

Yasmani Thomas stole the show on Saturday in the tests skills contest as part of the All-Star XXVI festivities when in the last contest of the day, the Derby, won by hitting 14 homers.

Thomas was not the only young one to impress. Joan Moncada, of Cienfuegos of only 17 years, was too much for the other contenders and stole the show for its speed in tests run from home to first base and around the bases. Moncada, who plays second base for the cast of the Elephants, marked the achievements by scoring times of 3.48 and 14.15 seconds winning both contests without any stiff competition.

The other winners on the evening were the receiver Ricardo Lednier of Camagüey in the accuracy portion of the festivities in the barrel event.

Another Camagüey, Dayron Varona outfielder, won the long toss accuracy test with his throws for centerfield to home plate.

See the result of each contest with the winner of the same marked in bold.

XXVI Star Game: West wins 13-9 and tied with Eastern

by Ray Otero
Stayler Hernandez's homer was key to the victory in the clash of Western Stars 2013.

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Yoelvis Fiss, Orientals, a feat made his second All-Star game two homers.

A good show was experienced during the 2013 All-Star Game XXVI held at the Estadio Jose A. Strike of Sancti Spiritus this Sunday in the presence of over 50000 people.

The clash was won 13-9 by the stars of the West allowing them to tie the Eastern stars with 13 wins in games dating back to its inception back in 1963.

It was a game that seemed to go from one side to the other. With the East on top 9-6 in the bottom of the eighth, the home team found the answers in that inning when they scored seven runs, decisive runs, and more than enough for the win.

Two outfielders from the capital, the left-handed Stayler Hernández and right-handed Yasmani Tomás, were responsible for batting home 3 runs each in that inning that allowed the West to rally the reverse the scoreboard in favor of the West.

The game was played with a lot of emotion triggered by sluggers like the East's Yoelvis Fiss and Edilse Silva and the West's Eriel Sanchez. Fiss performed the feat of hitting two homers and became the only the second player in the history of these games to bang out two homers in two different all star games.

Fiss drove home 3 runs as well as Villa Clara's Edilse Silva, while Thomas and Hernandez were the star performers for the West with each batting home 3 runs.

Dragons 8, BayStars 3

At Nagoya Dome, Masahiko Morino doubled twice, walked and scored three runs, while Motonobu Tanishige reached base three times and drove in three runs as Chunichi avoided being swept in three games at home by perennial last-place club Yokohama.

Former Dragon Tony Blanco hit a two-run homer for the BayStars, while Alex Ramirez went 1-for-4 to move within three hits of the 2,000-hit milestone.

Youth movement: Hanshin rookie Shintaro Fujinami pitches during the Tigers' 2-0 loss to the Swallows on Sunday. | KYODO

Tigers rookie Fujinami makes history but loses debut

Kyodo

Apr 1, 2013

Hanshin Tigers right-hander Shintaro Fujinami made his first pro start on Sunday just three games into the season, setting a record for rookies drafted out of high school.

Fujinami, the Tigers’ first-round draft pick last autumn out of Osaka Toin High School, allowed two runs in six innings and suffered the loss in a 2-0 defeat to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium.

The 18-year-old, whose fastball reached 151-kph (94 mph) on the radar gun, gave up three hits while walking four and striking out seven.

“As for my pitching, it wasn’t bad,” Fujinami said. “Things like my tempo and rhythm — things that are peculiar to each pitcher — I was able to figure some of it out today.”

Since the draft began following the 1965 season, the earliest starting debut for a pitcher straight out of high school was four games, set by Daisuke Matsuzaka with the Seibu Lions in 1999 and equaled by his teammate Hideaki Wakui in 2005.

Last year, Fujinami helped Osaka Toin to consecutive championships at Koshien Stadium in the spring invitational and the national summer tournament.

Fujinami was tagged for a solo homer in the sixth by Yuhei Takai, who like Fujinami began his career as a pitcher taken in the first round out of high school.

The home run was the second of Takai’s career and his first since he became an outfielder in 2010.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

2013 Pacific League Preview

by Jason Coskrey

Staff Writer

Mar 29, 2013

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
Manager: Koji Akiyama
2012 record: 67-65-12, 3rd

The sky is the limit for the Hawks, who will be looking to claim their third pennant in four seasons.

Softbank lost captain Hiroki Kokubo to retirement, but replaced him with Bryan LaHair, a 30-year-old infielder who was an All-Star last season for the Chicago Cubs. Second baseman Yuichi Honda gives the team a threat on the basepaths near the top of the order, and Seiichi Uchikawa and Nobuhiro Matsuda mix solid bats, with a little speed on the side, later down the line. Wily Mo Pena hit .280, with 21 home runs and 76 RBIs in his first NPB season and could be better with a year in Japan under his belt, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Pa. League.

Reigning Sawamura Award winner Tadashi Settsu and Kenji Otonari give the Hawks a lot to work with on the mound, where they’ll also hope to see improvement out of second-year starter Shota Takeda. Sho Iwasaki is another solid pitcher, and Softbank added free agents Hayato Terahara and Vincente Padilla in the winter. An already good bullpen may have gotten a boost, despite losing Hideki Okajima to the Oakland A’s, with the signing of hard-throwing Ryota Igarashi, who joins standouts Masahiko Morifuku and Brian Falkenborg in the relief corps.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Manager: Hideki Kuriyama
2012 record: 74-59-11, 1st


Everything about the Nippon Ham offseason has centered around super rookie Shohei Otani, who will have his cake and eat it too as both position player and pitcher, at least early on, though after a ho-hum spring it remains to be seen how effective he will be at either. Otani has grabbed the headlines, but the most important issue for the Fighters is replacing second baseman Kensuke Tanaka, now playing in the U.S., and right fielder Yoshio Itoi, who was traded to the Orix Buffaloes.

Their absences weaken the Fighters defensively and are big blows at the plate. Daikan Yoh was vastly improved in 2012, and perhaps the WBC experience has helped slugger Sho Nakata’s growth.

Atsunori Inaba can still be a steadying presence in the lineup, while Nippon Ham added shortstop Keiji Obiki — a slightly underrated player — in the Itoi deal, signed Michel Abreu, who hit 86 homers and drove in 344 runs over the past five seasons in Triple A, and brought back Micah Hoffpauir. Still, Itoi and Tanaka will be missed.

After all things Otani, the pressing issue on the mound is whether or not Mitsuo Yoshikawa’s breakout 2012 — 14-5, 1.71, PL MVP — was a sign of things to come or an aberration. Soft-tossing left-hander Masaru Takeda returns as dependable as ever, Brian Wolfe is coming off a solid season, and newcomer Hiroshi Kisanuki, also part of the Itoi deal, should benefit from having a capable defense behind him for once. Hirotoshi Masui and Naoki Miyanishi form the crux of a solid bullpen that also features Dustin Molleken, Yuya Ishii and All-Star closer Hisashi Takeda.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Manager: Senichi Hoshino
2012 record: 67-67-10, 4th

The Eagles brought up the rear in Japan with 52 home runs but now enter the fray with former MLB superstar Andruw Jones, owner of 434 homers in the majors, and Casey McGhee in the fold. Speedy Ryo Hijirisawa hit .270 and stole 54 bases in 2012 and will help set the table for the big hitters, while Kazuo Matsui gives manager Senichi Hoshino another veteran bat. Catcher Motohiro Shima won’t hit for much power, but he’s finished with an average of .290 or above in two of the last three seasons and is also solid behind the plate, while Ginji Akaminai is a nice young hitter who could be in line for a big year.

Ace Masahiro Tanaka should be able to shake off a lackluster performance during the World Baseball Classic. The question is how will the rest of the staff perform? Brandon Duckworth is a veteran and pitched well after joining the team in the middle of 2012, while Rakuten will attempt to cash in its chips on recent draftees Takahiro Norimoto (2012 draft, second round), Yoshinao Kamata (’11, second round), Manabu Mima (’10, second round) and Kenji Tomura (’09, first round). Rakuten’s starters posted a 2.94 ERA in 2012, and something similar coupled with any kind of offensive improvement could lead to big things, though the bullpen remains suspect.

Saitama Seibu Lions
Manager: Hisanobu Watanabe
2012 record: 72-63-9, 2nd

The Lions infield could be crowded even without former star Hiroyuki Nakajima, thanks to Kyohei Nagae’s strong spring at shortstop, second baseman Yasuyuki Kataoka’s healthy return, and Esteban German and Hideto Asamura manning the corners. Notably absent is Takeya Nakamura, Seibu’s main power threat, who will miss the start of the season with an injury to his left knee.

Nakamura and Nakajima’s absences rob the Lions of their two main offensive weapons — the pair hit 40 of Seibu’s 78 home runs and drove in 153 runs — so a lot more will be asked of Takumi Kuriyama and Shogo Akiyama in terms of run production. Jose Ortiz can provide some power while Nakamura is on the shelf, but Hisanobu Watanabe’s Lions may rely on small-ball a little more than in recent seasons.

Offense won’t matter much if the additions of Brian Sikorski and Dennis Sarfate don’t patch a bullpen that was full of holes a year ago.

Fans will also hope for more out of the Lions’ rotation as well, with Hideaki Wakui rejoining Takayuki Kishi, Kazuhisa Makita and Kazuhisa Ishii. Seibu also has veteran Fumiya Nishiguchi to call upon, and Yusei Kikuchi may finally be ready to display some of the talent that nearly landed him in the U.S. straight out of high school.

Orix Buffaloes
Manager: Hiroshi Moriwaki
2012 record: 57-77-10

Orix made the move of the offseason by unloading a bunch of discount parts to land Yoshio Itoi, who hit .304, with nine home runs, 48 RBIs and 22 stolen bases for Nippon Ham in 2012, and .286 with a home run and seven RBIs for Japan during the WBC. Itoi enters a lineup that could be potent alongside slugger Lee Dae Ho, Aarom Baldiris , a healthy Tomotaka Sakaguchi, and Takahiro Okada. Things get even better if Mitsutaka Goto can reverse the downward slide he’s been on the past two seasons.

The Buffaloes could also field a very good pitching staff if, and only if, everything breaks right. Orix’s best pitcher, Chihiro Kaneko’s health is a question, but he’s back from the elbow injury that plagued him last season. Yuki Nishi and Alessandro Maestri will also figure into things, and Shun Tono arrives from the Yomiuri Giants looking to revive his career the way another former Giant, Hiroshi Kisanuki, did before him. Mamoru Kishida moves into the rotation from the bullpen, which is in good hands as long as the ball reaches Yoshihisa Hirano.

Chiba Lotte Marines
Manager: Tsutomu Ito
2012 record: 62-67-15

The Marines added a manager, but held firm in most other places despite finishing fifth in the PL. Lotte was more or less in the middle of the pack in terms of run production and will need to be creative again this year. Tadahito Iguchi was the only player to surpass 10 home runs, hitting 11, and Katsuya Kakunaka led the way with 61 RBIs. Josh Whitesell hit nine home runs in 63 games and might be the team’s best power threat. Toshiaki Imae will be looking to bounce back from a subpar year, while Marines fans will hope veteran Kazuya Fukuura has one last hurrah left in his bat. The Marines are overflowing with outfielders, though Yoshifumi Okada’s glove should keep him anchored in center field.

Elbow ailments have slowed Seth Greisinger and Yuki Karakawa during the spring, but Yoshihisa Naruse, the team’s best pitcher is a more than capable No. 1. Still, Lotte needs a good sophomore campaign from Takahiro Fujioka and anything worthwhile from Shunsuke Watanabe and the rest of its starters.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

2013 Central League Preview

by Jason Coskrey

Mar 28, 2013

Yomiuri Giants
Manager: Tatsunori Hara
2012: 86-43-15, 1st

The Giants led the CL in runs, home runs and stolen bases last season, and there’s more where that came from.

Reigning MVP Shinnosuke Abe is unlikely to replicate a monster 2012 — .340 average, 27 home runs, 104 RBIs and .994 OPS — but the Giants catcher should still reside among the upper echelon of Japanese hitters. Co-CL hits leaders Hayato Sakamoto and Hisayoshi Chono are all-around talents and still getting better, and Shuichi Murata gives manager Tatsunori Hara another big bat in a lineup that shouldn’t struggle to score runs. John Bowker is back after a good showing in the Japan Series and the Kyojin added infielder Jose Lopez, who played 81 games in the majors last season.

Yomiuri should be solid on the mound with lefties Tetsuya Utsumi and Toshiya Sugiuchi, and right-hander D.J. Houlton leading the way. The Kyojin also have a youth movement on their hands with Hirokazu Sawamura, Ryosuke Miyaguni and rookie Tomoyuki Sugano likely to log significant innings. Sugano’s transition to NPB should be especially interesting with the 23-year-old having taken 2012 off after being drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and not his preferred team, Yomiuri, in 2011. The Kyojin could again have one of the CL’s better bullpens with the newly well-paid Tetsuya Yamaguchi getting out of jams and preserving leads alongside Scott Mathieson, Kentaro Nishimura and Yasunari Takagi.


Tokyo Yakult Swallows
Manager: Junji Ogawa
2012 record: 68-65-11, 3rd

The Swallows very quietly led the CL with a .260 batting average and were second to the Giants with 499 runs scored and 90 home runs last season. Wladimir Balentien is coming off back-to-back campaigns with 31 home runs and was much more productive in his second NPB season, which also bodes well for Lastings Milledge, who is entering his second year in Japan after hitting .300 with 21 home runs and 65 RBIs in 125 games in 2012. Kazuhiro Hatakeyama can hit for some power and Hiroyasu Tanaka is a major cog in the team’s run-manufacturing apparatus. The aging Shinya Miyamoto can still be productive, and manager Junji Ogawa will be happy with whatever else he gets.

Pitching is a question mark coming off a 3.35 team ERA in 2012. Shohei Tateyama always seems to find a way to produce, while Masanori Ishikawa is a candidate to bounce back from an 8-11, 3.60 ERA campaign. Kyohei Muranaka is a talent but needs to be more consistent, Orlando Roman could also use a crash course in consistency, while Yakult would benefit greatly from Katsuki Akagawa and Masato Nakazawa putting things together. There is also the specter of the injured Yoshinori Sato’s possible return off in the horizon. The bullpen needs work, but on most nights should be able to deliver the ball to Tony Barnette with a lead still intact.


Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Manager: Kenjiro Nomura
2012 record: 61-71-12, 4th

A glass-half-full type of person could easily envision the Carp finishing in the A-Class based on a solid rotation that will be carried by World Baseball Classic All-Tournament selection Kenta Maeda, Kan Otake and Bryan Bullington. The Carp’s pitching will border on great if Chunichi Dragons translpant Yuichi Hisaoto thrives, Yuya Fukui bounces back from a rough second season and Yusuke Nomura avoids the sophomore pitfalls that befell Fukui. Whomever starts might be taxed with going deep into games with a bullpen that might take a step back.

The problem with seeing the glass as half-full is that others will invariably see it as half-empty, namely due to a lack of offense. Among the few potential positives will be getting a full season out of midseason pickup Brad Eldred, who finished second on the team with 11 home runs despite playing just 65 games, and Kenta Kurihara’s eventual return from a slight hip injury after an elbow injury limited him to 21 games in 2012. Second-year infielder Shota Dobayashi showed promise by hitting 14 homers and driving in 45 runs, but has to display more patience than he did while striking out 150 times last season. The middle infield is a question mark with second baseman Akihiro Higashide lost for the season due to an ACL injury, though shortstop Eishin Soyogi is coming off a decent year.


Hanshin Tigers
Manager: Yutaka Wada
2012 record: 55-75-14, 5th

The Hanshin pitching staff deserved better than the mediocre support it received from an offense that ranked last in runs scored (411) and second-to-last with a .236 team batting average in 2012.

Much of the hope in Osaka centers around expectations of the successful repatriation of Kosuke Fukudome and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, former NPB All-Stars who spent the last few years in the majors, and resurgent years from Takashi Toritani and Matt Murton. The Tigers had just two players, Ryota Arai and Craig Brazell, who hit more than 10 home runs, and it was the normally hard-slugging Brazell who got his walking papers. In his place comes Brooks Conrad, who hit .331 with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs in 46 games in Triple-A last season and, in a lineup with Fukudome, Arai and Takahiro Arai, could be the solution to the team’s power outage.

The Tigers pitched well last season, racking up the most quality starts in the CL with 95. Randy Messenger and Jason Standridge out-pitched their win-loss records and Atsushi Nomi can keep runs off the board. Minoru Iwata needs to have a better season, but most eyes will be on rookie Shintaro Fujinami, who will have an early chance to make his presence felt. The Tigers had a strong bullpen last year, but have to replace closer Kyuji Fujikawa. Yasutomo Kubo probably gets the first shot at the role, with Yuya Ando and Shinobu Fukuhara setting up.


Yokohama DeNA BayStars
Manager: Kiyoshi Nakahata
2012 record: 46-85-13, 6th

“Dragons East” made a number of moves over the offseason, including signing former Chunichi Dragons Tony Blanco, Jorge Sosa and Enyelbert Soto.

Blanco should enjoy hitting at Yokohama Stadium after four seasons at dreary Nagoya Dome, a pitcher’s park where he still managed to hit 43 home runs in 256 games — Blanco hit 111 homers overall for the Dragons. Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan was Yokohama’s other big acquisition — or acquisitions if you consider his alter ego Tony Plush. Yokohama also features veterans Alex Ramirez, Norihiro Nakamura and Hitoshi Tamura, back after six years with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, an up-and-coming outfielder in Sho Aranami and young power hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, a decent mix on paper.

For all the upgrades at the plate, NPB’s worst statistical pitching staff returns curiously intact. Daisuke Miura may well defy age for a 22nd season, but what Yokohama, which has another serviceable veteran in Shugo Fujii, really needs is for Kentaro Takasaki and Yuki Kuniyoshi to finally live up to their promise. Sosa may or may not improve a bullpen that’s sorely in need of stability but has fireballer Shun Yamaguchi at the back end.

Chunichi Dragons
Manager: Morimichi Takagi
2012 record: 75-53-16, 2nd

Every year seems like the season the Dragons will finally fall off their pedestal, and every year the naysayers are proven wrong.

The doubters have more ammunition now with Tony Blanco taking up residence in Yokohama and the skills of 40-something trio Kazuhiro Wada, Takeshi Yamasaki and Motonobu Tanishige in decline. Yohei Oshima is a rising star at the top of the order and World Baseball Classic hero Hirokazu Ibata is still productive at 37, but the Dragons could struggle to score, as is usually the case. Chunichi didn’t stand pat after Blanco left, signing Hector Luna and Matt Clark. Masahiko Morino is due for a good season, and Ryosuke Hirata is a solid player. Fortune smiled on the Dragons last season as they were 26-15 in one-run games, close calls that could easily go the other way this year.

Chunichi should field a good rotation if Kazuki Yoshimi is healthy, and a decent one if he isn’t. Soma Yamauchi and Yudai Ono are solid options and Daniel Cabrera was added from the majors over the offseason. The looming questions in the bullpen are the health and effectiveness of Takuya Asao and whether or not age finally catches up with NPB’s all-time saves leader Hitoki Iwase.

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RECAP OF FIRST HALF STAGE SERIES 52 CUBAN BASEBALL SEASON
Pito Abreu (Left) chases the batting Triple Crown and Ismel Jimenez (Right) cashes the pitching Triple Crown.

Cuba League Wraps Up Novel First Half of National Series #52 Campaign

by Peter C. Bjarkman

Havana, Cuba (February 3, 2013)

Final First Stage Standings

Sancti Spíritus (30-14) –
Cienfuegos (30-15) 0.5
Industriales (27-18) 3.5*
Matanzas (27-18) 3.5
Isla de la Juventud (26-19) 4.5
Villa Clara (24-20) 6.0
Ciego de Avila (24-21) 6.5*
Pinar del Río (24-21) 6.5

Eliminated Teams (Team, Record, Games Behind)

Las Tunas (23-22) 7.5
Guantánamo (19-26) 11.5*
Granma (19-26) 11.5
Santiago de Cuba (18-27) 12.5*
Holguín (18-27) 12.5
Mayabeque (18-27) 12.5
Camagüey (17-28) 13.5
Aretmisa (15-30) 15.5
*Tie broken by results of head-to-head series between teams with identical records

Batting Leaders

Average: José M. Fernández (Matanzas) .393
Runs: David Castillo (Pinar del Río) 39
Hits: Lorenzo Quintana (Pinar del Río) 60
Doubles: Andy Ibañez (Isla de la Juventud), Alexander Mayeta (Industriales) 17
Triples: Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos) 5
Home Runs: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) 13
Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .735
RBI: Yosvani Peraza (Pinar del Río) 42
Stolen Bases: Marino Luis (Camagüey), Yunieski Larduet (Las Tunas), Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos) 10
Walks (Received): Frederich Cepeda (Sancti Spíritus) 46

Pitching Leaders

Winning Percentage: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 1.000 (9-0)
Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 9-0; Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud) 9-2
Game Appearances: Alexander Quintero (Cienfuegos), Isbel Hernández (Pinar del Río), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara) 24
Starts: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 13
Complete Games: Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud) 4
Relief Appearances: Alexander Quintero (Cienfuegos), Isbel Hernández (Pinar del Río), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara) 24
Shutouts: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila), Maikel Martínez (Matanzas), Danny Betancourt (Santiago) 2

Against a backdrop of preparation and anticipation for the upcoming March MLB World Baseball Classic, the Cuban League has now wrapped up a “qualification” 45-game first stage in its newly structured National Series XLII season.

For the third time (following 2006 and 2009) the Cuban Federation has been forced to suspend play midway through the winter in order to accommodate training for and participation in the MLB “Classic” event.

But unlike those past two occasions, this time around the Cuban Federation has actually restructured its domestic league season into two phases – a preliminary round designed to eliminate half of the island’s 16 ball clubs from any further championship aspirations, and a post-Classic title round set to commence in early April.

While reactions to the new format have been largely mixed across the island, the first two-month stage (begun at the end of November) provided an engaging and tense pennant race that found three teams still fighting off second-half elimination on the final day of competition.

One obvious motivation for the new league structure was precisely the necessity of again suspending play in the middle of a winter pennant race in order to accommodate Team Cuba’s participation in the MLB-sponsored event.

If nothing else, a clearly demarcated two-stage campaign provides a more natural breaking point than simply suspending traditional pennant races in mid-stream.

But still another underlying motive was the apparent need (not universally acknowledged across Cuba) to give up on a traditional island-wide 16-team circuit in favor of a more competitive eight-squad structure.

The downside of improving Cuban League quality by shrinking the league size of course is apparent in the abandonment of a system that has for decades provided every island province with its hometown ball club and thus its usually fanatical local rooting interests.

The complicated current effort at meeting both goals simultaneously within the same lengthy season (maintaining island-wide participation but also achieving tighter league competition) seems already to be providing just as many problems as solutions.

For those who are not long-time followers of Cuban baseball, perhaps a brief explanation of the new league format is necessity here.

Unlike the past two decades that featured 16 league squads divided into either two eight-team leagues (Oriental and Occidental) – or earlier still, four four-team groups divided between the island’s eastern and western sectors – this year’s structure has collapsed all 16 clubs into a single circuit playing a 45-game December and January pre-WBC round robin.

Only eight clubs would qualify for the season’s second round, a 42-game affair in which surviving ball clubs play each of the opposing seven squads in home and away three-game sets. That second championship round will not begin until April 2, well after the two-month recess devoted to pre-Classic national team training and then the WBC event itself.

Phase two will last until June 1 and then be followed by semifinal and final playoff rounds extending all the way to June 27 (if all playoff series reach the maximum seven games) – the latest finishing date for a National Series in a number of decades.

The island will not be entirely without domestic baseball play during the WBC resting period, as the eight eliminated provincial squads (minus players drafted by the qualifying clubs as reinforcements, and of course also minus any national team players involved in the Classic) will engage in a Division II short season competition that runs through most of March and wraps up on April 15.

Each Division II squad will play 21 games (a single three-game set versus each of the other seven clubs); semifinals will match first and fourth and second and third-place finishers, with a five-game final series scheduled to determine the Division II champion.

When the regular National Series season resumes, the surviving eight squads will have already dropped five ballplayers from their current rosters and replaced them with a quintet of superior athletes drafted from the eight eliminated teams.

One available “star” player will be chosen from the pool by each team drafting in the reverse order (the eighth-place team, Pinar del Río, will own the first selection and the first-place team, Sancti Spíritus, will choose last).

This drafting of reinforcement players will be staged as a national television event on Sunday, February 10, and is already generating plenty of buzz among fans speculating about which teams will pluck such big-name star sluggers as Alfredo Despaigne, Alexei Bell and Joan Carlos Pedroso.

In reality of course, it will be pitching and not hitting that will be coveted by such top contenders as Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos and Matanzas, and if any of the leaders can bag even one among the trio of Artemisa aces (Yulieski González, Miguel Lahera or Yadier Pedroso) their championship prospects will obviously be greatly enhanced.

The remaining four replacements on each squad will not be selected openly but rather assigned by a blind draw conducted by the central league office.

One odd feature of the new championship structure is that it no longer requires a final clash between western division (Oriental League) and eastern division (Occidental League) winners.

Since Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila were the only eastern sector teams to make it through the first round, and since both are currently buried near the bottom of the standings, an all-western region title shootout is now a very real possibility.

But the prospect of an all-western finale is only one among several uncomfortable wrinkles in the new system. One special boast of Cuban baseball has always been that the long-standing structure featuring teams in all fourteen provinces (plus Isla and the city of Havana) meant that a strong rooting interest was sustained in all corners of the island.

Baseball in Cuba has until now always been a truly national enterprise. But suddenly the season’s second half will find eight provinces (including traditional hotbed Santiago) with no team and thus without local top-level baseball.

(The short 27-game Division II season ending as early as April 15 that now features clubs like Santiago and La Tunas – both already stripped of their top stars and only battling other tail enders is not likely to inspire much widespread fan interest.)

And another long-standing boasting point of Cuba’s national pastime will now also fall by the wayside. Previously players remained with the local provincial club (with only a few odd exceptions) for an entire career. Now suddenly there will be 40 ballplayers appearing with two different squads during a single campaign – something unheard of in Cuba’s unique alternative baseball universe.

Most of the headlines of the final week here have been devoted to the thrilling race between five clubs to avoid second-half elimination.

Isla and Villa Clara finally backed into the second round this past weekend although they both did so while losing rather than winning several key matches. Isla dropped a three-game set in Cienfuegos while Villa Clara struggled with visiting Santiago; but none of the trailing squads (with the exception of Pinar, who climbed out of the second division down the final stretch) could win consistently enough to make up ground.

Pinar’s charge to the wire under rookie manager Giraldo González stretched to the final day and peaked with a Thursday morning clinching 11-1 romp in Mayabeque. Most of the heroics for the Green Tsunami club were provided by bulky DH Yosvani Peraza who hit safely in 11 of 23 plate appearances during the final two weeks, slugged four of his nine round-trippers in the same stretch, and took over the league RBI lead with 42.

Peraza (a memorable game-saving hero versus Australia in WBC 2006) not only rescued the season for his surging team but also may well have earned a last-minute elevation onto the current WBC roster.

In the end, then, it came down to a three-team struggle that stretched beyond the eleventh hour.

Entering Thursday’s final morning and afternoon clashes, Las Tunas, Pinar del Río, and defending champion Ciego de Avila were all still staring at potential elimination. Pinar’s victory in Mayabeque was decisive because it meant that Las Tunas would finish with one less victory than the Vegueros, despite their own rain-delayed 7-5 afternoon triumph versus Isla.

It then all came down to the final televised Thursday night affair between Granma and defending champion Ciego (with ace Vladimir García on the hill) and the result was a 10-0 cakewalk for the Tigers that quickly sent Las Tunas packing.

Far and away the single standout individual star of the season’s first half has been Sancti Spíritus ace Ismel Jiménez; the clever right-hander has cruised to an unblemished 9-0 mark (on the heels of last season’s league-best 18-5 ledger) and now stands of the verge of a possible rare pitching triple crown achievement – as league leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

The Triple Crown feat has been achieved on four previous occasions in the Cuban National Series (a slightly smaller percentage than in the major leagues) with the first to turn the trick being Modesto Verdura (1963 NS#2).

Subsequent Triple Crown winners were Omar Carrero (1976 NS#15), José Ibar (1998 NS#37) and Maels Rodríguez (2001 NS#40).

Ismel rang up his ninth victory with a rare relief appearance on the final day, after authoring two brilliant 9-inning efforts (allowing only a single run in his 18 frames) over the previous ten days that both ended in no-decisions.

This year’s surge has upped Ismel Jiménez’s career record to a brilliant 102-38 which has currently bumped his lifetime winning percentage (.729) a notch above that of El Duque Hernández as the best in league annals. And at 9-0 Jiménez now is also in potential striking range of Yulieski González’s 2008 15-0 ledger which is also an unmatched league standard.

Ismel Jiménez is not alone in his Triple Crown hunt this winter. Cienfuegos slugger Piti Abreu is now also (for the third straight season) threatening to achieve an even rarer feat among Cuban League batsmen.

There has never been a National Series offensive Triple Crown winner, although Abreu missed by only a single RBI (being topped by Yoennis Céspedes) only two seasons back.

Last year Piti also remained in the hunt all the way to the season’s final weekend. At the halfway point this season Abreu is the current home run pacesetter (now two ahead of Despaigne), stands second in batting average (his .382 mark is within easy striking distance of the .393 posted by José M. Fernández), and is a mere half dozen RBIs in arrears of Yosvani Peraza (after posting 8 with pair of double-homer games in the closing series versus Industriales).

The Triple Crown fortunes of both Abreu and Ismel Jiménez during the season’s second half may actually prove as engaging as the league pennant race itself.

52 SN: Samon fires 3 HRs in a game. Night Results

Outfielder Samon Yordanis fired three homers and drove in seven runs to give a comfortable win 9-0 over Matanzas in #52 Cuban Baseball Championship.

Samon, a player removed from the Granma team along with Alfredo Despaigne (last years home run champion) and reinforcing the team for their second round championship run of the tournament, performed the feat in his first three at bats.

Samon performed this last season arriving to a National Series 1000 homers in a February 29, 2012 at Metropolitan, when he became the first to achieve this. He was 5-5 in the same game.

The last time a player fired three homers in a game was also last season when on January 11, 2012 Serguei Pérez industrialist outfielder did it to Ciego Avila Latinoamericano stadium in Havana.

Yomiuri's Tomoyuki Sugano

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Nippon Ham's Shohei Otani

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Talk is cheap:

Yomiuri's Tomoyuki Sugano and Nippon Ham's Shohei Otani will be two of the most followed players in Japan during the 2013 campaign.

Bar set high for rookie stars Sugano, Otani

by Jason Coskrey

Apr 2, 2013

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have spent a first-round draft pick on the top pitching prospect in Japan in each of the last two years, and in both instances that player has initially said thanks, but no thanks.

For Tomoyuki Sugano the allure of pitching in Tokyo Dome for the Yomiuri Giants and his uncle, Kyojin manager Tatsunori Hara, was too great. Sugano was drafted by the Fighters in 2011, but wasn’t swayed by the team’s pitch and sat out the 2012 season with hopes of later being drafted by the Giants.

The Fighters, nothing if not persistent, drafted high-school phenom Shohei Otani, who by his own word was bound for the majors, the very next season. This time Nippon Ham got its man, convincing Otani to put a U.S. move on hold for a few more years and hone his skills in Sapporo.

Both players made their pro debuts over the weekend, Otani for Nippon Ham and Sugano for Yomiuri, and over the course of the year will play under heavy scrutiny as they attempt to live up to the expectations their actions have helped create.

Hanshin Tigers rookie pitcher Shintaro Fujinami will be under the spotlight as well, but hasn’t made the lofty proclamations that have been attributed to his fellow rookies.

There will be no shortage of poking, prodding and dissecting their each and every move this season, but we can start with this: both had a decent debut. Otani, a pitcher on the farm team, started in right field for the ichi-gun squad and picked up a pair of hits and two RBIs in a 5-3 win over the Seibu Lions on Friday, NPB’s Opening Night.

Sugano faced the Hiroshima Carp Saturday and threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out nine and walking one. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

“He pitched both sides of the plate,” Carp outfielder Fred Lewis said. “I’ve never seen him before and he’s never seen me before . . . so just trying to feel me out, and I was doing the same thing, trying to feel him out. But he pitched a great game.”

Sugano threw 103 pitches in his debut, and showed poise on the mound during the few occasions he pitched himself into trouble.

“I decided I wasn’t going to live or die with each pitch,” he said.

That’s a good idea to have for both players. In large part because of Otani’s public desire to play in the U.S. and Sugano’s steadfastness about wanting to pitch for the Giants, both will operate under even more scrutiny than usual as fans will want to see if Otani lives up to the immense hype, or if Sugano was worth the trouble.

Neither showed any cracks in their foundations in their first appearances on the big stage, but how they perform as the media attention continues to swell will be the true test.

“Once you’re out on the field, you’re not paying attention to that stuff,” said Yomiuri reliever Scott Mathieson. “It’s when you’re off the field that you start to hear the media and everything.”

Some players thrive under the spotlight. Yu Darvish never wavered when the lights were at their brightest, fed off the attention and used it to his advantage.

Only time will tell if Otani and Sugano show the same resolve. Although unlike Darvish, their first steps come in a social media age that’s changed dramatically even in just the three short years since the last great pitching sensation, Yuki Saito, was drafted by, who else, Nippon Ham.

More fans than ever will watch them perform and their opinions will flood the internet within seconds of each success or failure the young players experience. Through all this, both will have to perform at a high level, and deal with the pressure.

Sugano and Otani graced prime real estate in the sports papers over the weekend, but that’s just the first step in two journeys — that both involved being drafted by the Fighters — that will be watched and scrutinized like almost never before every step of the way.

Manny's first foreign home run:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/20 ... n/2053901/

Job well done: Alex Ramirez is congratulated by BayStars manager Kiyoshi Nakahata after a single in the eighth inning on Friday at Jingu Stadium. Yokohama defeated Tokyo Yakult 2-1. | KYODO.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Ramirez moves closer to 2,000 hits as BayStars edge Swallows

by Kaz Nagatsuka

Staff Writer

Alex Ramirez said before the game that it felt good to have a chance to achieve his 2,000th hit at Jingu Stadium, where he started his career in Japan with the Yakult Swallows.

The 38-year-old Venezuelan got a little closer to making it happen on Friday.

Yokohama star Ramirez, seeking his 2,000th hit in Japan, came up a little short of history but had a pair of hits to put himself one away from the milestone in the BayStars’ 2-1 victory over the Swallows in the first game of their three-game series.

Ramirez, who played for the Swallows for seven years from 2001, had an RBI single in the fourth to give Yokohama a 1-0 lead and another single in the eighth. Overall, he went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Right-hander Kentaro Takasaki (1-0) was sharp and pitched one-run ball over seven innings to get a win in his first start of the season. He allowed four hits, one run and fanned five batters.

“It feels very good,” Ramirez said after the game. “Today’s game was a very good game. Takasaki-san pitched a great game today. It was totally a team effort today. I feel pretty good.”

With Yokohama up 1-0, Yakult tied the game with a Keizo Kawashima solo homer in the fifth. But the BayStars’ Sho Aranami drove in the go-ahead run with his bases-loaded RBI single in the sixth.

Aranami had three singles on that night.

After Takasaki left the mound, Teruaki Yoshikawa worked in the eighth and Shun Yamaguchi ended the game to get his third save of the year.

“Frankly speaking, I’m so pleased,” said Takasaki, who was once thought to be the club’s Opening Day starter but was scratched due to an leg injury. “Our coaches told me to give everything I got after the third inning, so I did, and it worked.”

Swallows starter Shohei Tateyama left the mound after just 3⅓ innings. He apparently hurt his right elbow.

Ramirez is now one hit shy of becoming the first foreign-born player to get to 2,000 hits.

But while everybody else is making fuss about the milestone, Ramirez isn’t in a rush to get there.

“Of course everybody expects me to hit and I expect myself to hit,” Ramirez said. “Like I said, hits will come no matter what. I still got plenty of time.”

Ramirez was more pleased that he chipped in for the team by coming through at the right time in the fourth inning.

“Just being able to hit in those situations, that’s where the team needs me to hit, so I’m just glad I was able to produce in that kind of a situation.”

Nevertheless, Jingu would still be a great place for him to get hit No. 2,000.

“Of course I’ve got good memories,” he said. “I played here for seven years at this stadium. It’s just good feeling that I was able to be back at this stadium and now I got a chance to make a history in front of my fans here.”

The second game of the BayStars-Swallows series will begin at 2 p.m. at the same venue on Saturday.