Very interesting analysis of former KBO hero Daniel Rios and his early struggles in Japan. The piece, which is originally from the Sports Chosun, is translated here by Korea Beat.
When in Korea Rios’ main weapon was a heavy, 150-kilometer an hour fastball, and a slider rated as having the best speed and movement. His ample […]

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On Tuesday ESPN2 will air The Zen of Bobby V, a documentary made by a group of NYU students about the day to day life of manager Bobby Valentine. From what I gather from the following YouTube clip, the filmmakers attempted to keep things pretty straightforward — to simply capture the Valentine phenomena as it […]

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In what was his second straight subpar (by his standards) outing Yu Darvish (5-1) picked up the loss after surrendering a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hiram Bocachica with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday night at Seibu Dome. The 4-3 loss was Darvish’s first of the year.
It was also the second […]

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By Simon Currie  
Just did some comparisons of NPB and MLB offenses for 2005-07 – also condensed into the individual leagues (Central/Pacific of the NPB and American/National for MLB).
Just scratching the surface here, so nothing deep yet.
Runs per game

R/G

Year・年

CL・セ

PL・パ

NPB

AL・ア

NL・ナ

MLB

平均試合

2005

4.40

4.46

4.43

4.76

4.45

4.59

得点

2006

4.12

3.92

4.03

4.96

4.76

4.86

2007

4.11

3.94

4.03

4.90

4.71

4.80

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Last night Westbay-san of japanesebaseball.com posted this into the comments section of a story about the Giants considering a switch to a six-man rotation (a situation they’ve avoided by sending Barry Zito to the bullpen). Just in case there are those who don’t always read the comments, I’m going to turn the “comment” into its […]

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Simon Currie has his new NPB Power Rankings up hot off the big Hanshin/Chunichi split. He’s also got some info at the bottom pertaining to the demotion of Koji Uehara. Pretty soon the Giants are going to have a pretty good team down there.
1. Hanshin Tigers (1) 18-6-1 .750
Keeps on going strong, splitting the series against […]

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That ol’ Kawamoto coach. He was a wise one. He knew when he was beat. Play the game, but don’t be played by the game. He said things like that. Protect the kids. Make em play hard, but don’t be afraid to let them save face. He was what you call a “feeling” coach. Some might say he was kind of an […]

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In Jim Callis’s latest Ask BA, he’s asked the question of where Yu Darvish (whose next start will come Friday vs. the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) might rank on BA’s Top 100 Prospects list.
Interesting idea to ponder. Here’s what Callis came up with.
Had Darvish signed with a major league club last offseason, I would have ranked him […]

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Geez. Almost missed this one.
Lee Demoted to Minor League
Struggling Lee Seung-yeop of the Yomiuri Giants was relegated to the minor league.
According to a Japanese news agency, the defending Central League champions demoted the 32-year-old lefty swinger after he went 0-for-3 and was taken out in the seventh inning of a game against the Yakult Swallows […]

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I’ll be putting together some Korean Power Rankings later today, but you can satiate your PR urges right now with Simon’s latest edition covering the NPB. A few changes and a new team at the top.
For no particular reason, other than a minor desire to see the debut of Ramon Ortiz, let’s start this block […]

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Not bad. A .667 SO CG AVE. Box here.
From Japanball:
Darvish (3-0) took a no-hitter into the sixth and finished with a three-hitter while striking out six and walking one in a 95-pitch outing at Sapporo Dome. Terrmel Sledge gave Darvish the only run he would need with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh.

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Simon Currie, so obsessed with compiling power rankings he often tabulates them in his sleep, has unleashed his first batch for the new NPB season. With Yomiuri off to such a sluggish start there were bound to be a few surprises. I’ll tease you with just one of the 10 and you can bump on […]

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From the Daily Mainichi:
Okinawa Shogaku High School won the 80th annual National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament on Friday.
Okinawa Shogaku won its second championship of the tourney by beating Seibo Gakuen High School 9-0 in the final at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya on Friday.
It was the first championship for Okinawa Shogaku representing Okinawa Prefecture […]

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The Economist has a small item about the opening of MLB in Japan and its effect on Japanese baseball. Nothing earthshaking here, and unfortunately no stance or remedies are given, but I’m always curious to hear The Economist’s view on the world.
But the sport continues to struggle. NPB’s disappointing results are largely due to poor management, […]

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Simon Currie just posted his Central League preview over at his blog. I know it’s not all that kosher to say, but I actually prefer watching the CL to the Pacific. That might be because I can always see Yomiuri Giants on Korean TV because of Lee Seung-yeop, and sometimes see Chunichi Dragons games because of […]

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Amusing little tidbit on Simon Currie’s site, about two Chunichi Dragons cheering squads, known as Hakuryukai (White Dragons Club) and Ryushinkai (Dragon Spirit Club), that have been banned from all NPB stadiums. Apparently the offending groups have a history of hording outfield seats, being rude, excessive public intoxication, and best of all…ties to organized crime […]

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In Japan the magic of Koshien has begun. Can I say that any Boston-based reporter worth their salt made the detour while in town? The Boston Herald did and in addition to a short essay on the scene the paper put up a nice accompanying photo essay that you’ll find to the right of the […]

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I suppose it wouldn’t be MLB in Asia without me finding something bitchy to zero in on. I’ve been busy and out of town, so I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the games. I saw that Jack Cust hit a home run, which for some reason still never ceases to surprise me. […]

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Simon Currie just posted a NPB Pacific League preview over at his site, which includes the comings and goings for each team.
He foresees a close race at the top between the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Marines and Hawks. Personally, I’d like to see Rakuten, with all its great young arms (like Masahiro Tanaka above) make a run at […]

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I’ve been meaning to mention that japanesebaseball.com recently launched a couple good looking blogs dedicated to three NPB teams.

First, off is Bayside West, dedicated to the Yokohama BayStars, written by none other than Westbay-san, the author of japanesebaseball.com, himself. He’s only got one update thus far, but I’m sure will have plenty to go over […]

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