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My grandmother passes away at 102

Gwynar — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:33:23 GMT

Don't know how many of you are keeping track of me through this blog, but for those that are, my grandmother passed away earlier today (10:40am) at the age of 102.

A little ticked at myself because I had a chance to go see her earlier this month but opted not to go because I had other things I "needed" to do.

World University Baseball Classic: US vs Chinese Taipei

Gwynar — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:19:35 GMT

Was the game Sunday night to see the US beat Chinese Taipei, 8-7, in extra innings.

It was probably the best WUBC game I've been to so far (out of the four I've been too anyway).

Here are just a couple of the 80 or so images I took.

Gerrit Cole warming in the bullpen before the game.

Big Brian Johnson.

Nick Ramirez out at home.

Celebrating the win.

You can view the rest at my WUBC: USA vs Chinese Taipei album.

World University Baseball Classic: Japan vs Korea

Gwynar — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:57:56 GMT

I went to the game on Friday night and snapped some images.

There's a bunch more images you can view at my WUBC: Japan vs Korea album.

Haarlem Baseball Week (7/9 - 7/18)

Gwynar — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:40:01 GMT

For those interested in international baseball tournaments, Haarlem Baseball Week is currently taking place in the Netherlands. Seems like they actually have a live feed for the games.

If you click in right now, you can catch Japan playing the Netherlands.

The feed is in Dutch and the background audio appears to be from some radio station. Interestingly enough, the feed switches back and forth from music to what appears to be commentary on the game.

Kylee Saunders

Gwynar — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:25:00 GMT

Some of you may have caught Kylee Saunders singing the National Anthem before a Portland Trail Blazers 5 years ago when she was 11.

Since then, she has joined the Japanese music industry and is slowly making a new for herself.

One particular song became a fairly big hit after it was used in a commercial for a fairly major online clothing retailer (Nissen) in Japan.

Which brings me to the whole point of this post.

The song used in the commercial is stuck in my head and I can't seem to get it out of there. It's not what I would call a great song, but it is fairly catchy and I thought I'd just go ahead and share it with you (since I managed to find a copy of it at YouTube).

Happy New Year!

Gwynar — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:26:32 GMT

It's the year of the Tiger in Japan.

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday BBSC!

Gwynar — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:32:51 GMT

12 years. Can you believe it?

12 years.

At this time last year, I wasn't sure how much longer this site would last. But with the support of some key members, we've managed to keep this site just barely above water (incidentally, it's never too late to show your support ;) ).

I'm not quite sure what the future holds for this site. But as I've mentioned before, I'll do my part to try and keep this site up for as long as possible.

Speaking of which, there are some changes looming on the horizon. I don't really want to get into it here, so I'll leave it at that, but be on the look-out for updates on that in the coming weeks.

And now for the Thank Yous...

Thank you Mike for all the help you've provided over the years. Without you, I'm sure I'd be an emotional mess by now.

Thank you Chris and Bill, the two other mods, for your continued help and support.

And last, but not least, a very big thank you to the community, for without you, there would be no BBSC.

Here's to another year under the sun.

Yanks taking a look at Nick Johnson as DH?!

Gwynar — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:26:14 GMT

The NY Post is reporting that the Yankees are now taking a look at Nick "The Stick" Johnson as a DH.

You're kidding me right?

I thought the Yanks let Matsui go because they didn't need another DH on the team.

And now they're taking a look at Johnson?

Via the NY Post:

The Yankees and Nick Johnson are talking about the sweet-swinging lefty and on-base machine replacing Hideki Matsui as the world champions' designated hitter on a one-year deal.

*snip*

"He can still hit," an NL talent evaluator said of Johnson, who made $5.5 million last season, the final leg of a three-year $16.5 million deal. "He is an on-base percentage guy who will hit some homers in Yankee Stadium."
I give you that Johnson is a good OBP guy, but a better overall player than Matsui?

I'm not entirely convinced about that.

Plus, Johnson always seems to get injured. He managed to play 133 games this season, but was limited to 38 games in 2008 and missed the entire 2007 season. He played in 147 games in 2006 and 131 games in 2005, but then only managed 73 in 2004 and 96 in 2003.

Granted, Matsui isn't exactly the beacon of health either. And maybe Johnson's willing to sign for a lot less than what Matsui would have cost. But as far as I'm aware, Matsui really wanted to return to the Yanks -- he may have been willing to sign the same type of deal that he signed with the Angels.

I'm willing to bet that there will be more than a few confused Yankee fans.

There will be a Major Season 6

Gwynar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:08:43 GMT

For those that don't already know, there will be a Major 6.

NHK has announced that the 6th season of Major will start in April of 2010.

And based on the article title I linked to, it seems it will delve further into Goro's psychological scars from giving up a game losing home run to Joe Gibson Jr. during the Baseball World Cup.

I still haven't decided whether or not I'll continue to write summaries here and sub-titles for Minor Ja Nai, but I'm sure I'll have a decision well before the new episodes start.

Of course, I can also be persuaded if enough people kneel before me and kiss my feet.

j/k

Seriously though, I've been a lot busier lately and I honestly don't know if I'll have enough time. We'll see though. While it was a little stressful cranking out the summaries and the sub-titles each week (especially towards the end), I did enjoy it.

In any case, I'll be posting my decision here at this blog so be sure to check back every now and again.

[CONFIRMED] Yoshito Usui may be dead

Gwynar — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:48:57 GMT

A body was apparently found at the foot of some cliffs on a mountain trail Yoshito Usui may have been hiking. The body is set to be recovered on Sunday so an ID will be possible at that point in time.

Potentially sad news for Crayon Shin-chan fans.

=== Updated 9/21/2009 @ 4:50am JST

Sadly, reports now indicate that the body police found yesterday and recovered on Sunday did indeed belong to Yoshito Usui.

Crayon Shin-chan author missing

Gwynar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:24:50 GMT

For those of you who have seen Crayon Shin-chan, some potentially troubling news.

Author of popular manga 'Crayon Shin-chan' goes missing
KASUKABE, Saitama -- Yoshito Usui, author of the popular manga "Crayon Shin-chan," has gone missing, prompting his family to file a search request with police, it has been learned.

Police said that Usui, 51, left his home in Kasukabe on the morning of Sept. 11, saying he was going to the mountains in Gunma Prefecture. However, he failed to return home the same evening as planned, prompting his wife to file a search request with Saitama Prefectural Police the following day. Usui's cell phone was ringing, but there was reportedly no response.

Mainichi Daily News

According to recent news reports on TV, the police were able to confirm that his mobile phone was receiving signals in the Nagano in Gumna area, but that they have not been able to reestablish a link to his phone since.

This blog, is moving...

Gwynar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:43:16 GMT

Yep, that's right. The NPB portion of this blog is moving to a new location. And it has a brand-spanking new name to boot.

Yakyu Baka

So please, update your bookmarks and your RSS feed readers and point yourselves to the our new home.

NOTE: Even though I've converted all the data, the posts I have made at this blog about the NPB up until this one will remain here for the foreseeable future.

NOTE 2: This blog will revert back to being Japanese-American Perspectives and will continue to carry posts about Japan and Major (the anime).

The 80th Intercity Baseball Tournament: Day 10

Gwynar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:23:02 GMT

Here are the results from Day 10:

Game 1 @ 8:58

Game 2 @ 12:20

Game 3 @ 16:10

Game 4 @ 19:29

Games for Day 11 (Semifinals):

14:00 - Toyota vs Nissan

18:00 - NTT Higashi Nihon vs Honda

Around the NPB Horn: Ramirez - 150+hits 8 season in a row, new NPB record

Gwynar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:14:09 GMT

Nippon Ham Fighters
...Masataka Nashida is in the second year of a 2-year contract. It appears as though Nashida will get an extension and that an announcement could be made on Monday (8/31).

...Eiichi Koyano was struck in the area above his right eye in the top of the 8th on a throw from the center fielder. Koyano was taken out of the game and his status, moving forward, is not yet known.
Orix Buffaloes

...Tomotaka Sakaguchi picked up his 40th of the month. The last Buffaloes' player to hit 40+ was Ichiro Suzuki in April and May of 1994 and August of 1996.

Sakaguchi is also working on a 12-game hitting streak.
Yakult Swallows

...The Swallows take on the Tigers next and will likely go with Shohei Tateyama and Masanori Ishikawa for the first two games of the 3-game series.

...Ryota Igarashi was taken off the active roster on Sunday with acute lower back pains. He apparently tweaked the area while fielding a bunt in a game against the Chunichi Dragons on the 29th. The team doesn't expect him to be out any longer than the 10-day minimum.
Yomiuri Giants
...Alex Ramirez's single in the top of the 1st in Sunday's game against the Hanshin Tigers gave him 150+ hits in 8 consecutive seasons, breaking the old record of 7 straight seasons he held with former Seibu Lion Kazuo Matsui.

Ramirez will now turn his attention towards picking up 17 more RBIs to get to 100 on the season. If and when he does, it will give him 100+ RBIs in 7 straight seasons, a record held by Sadaharu Oh.
Other
...The NPB announced on the 30th that an error charged to Takumi Kuriyama in a game between the Orix Buffaloes and Seibu Lions on the 29th has been re-assigned to Yutaro Ohsaki. The error occurred in the 8th inning and allowed the runner at second, Fumihiro Suzuki, to advance to third.

NPB: Game Summaries for August 30th, 2009

Gwynar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:40:10 GMT

Chunich Dragons @ Yakult Swallows called after 2 innings.
(Swallows lead series, 12-8-0)

Game Notes
The Dragons swept the series (2-0) and outscored the Swallows, 12-8.

Jingu
Attendance: n/a
Time: n/a

---

Hiroshima Carp @ Yokohama Bay Stars called after 2 innings.
(Bay Stars lead series, 10-9-0)

Game Notes
The series ended in a tie and the Carp outscored the Bay Stars, 12-7.

Yokohama
Attendance: n/a
Time: n/a

---

(Giants lead series, 10-9-2)

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st on Takashi Toritani's (2-for-3, BB, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI) 13th homer run of the year. A fielding error by Keiichi Hirano (2B) in the bottom of the 2nd allowed Giants' hitter Yoshitomo Tani (1-for-4, R) to reach first with no outs. A single by Abe Shinnosuke (1-for-4) moved Tani to third and a ground out by Ryota Wakiya (0-for-4, RBI) allowed him to cross the plate, tying the game at 1.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Tigers re-took the lead after Hirano (2-for-4, R) singled with 2 outs, stole second, and a walk later, scored on a single into center by Tomoaki Kanemoto (1-for-2, 2 BB, RBI). The Tigers scored their third run of the game in the bottom of the 8th on a sac fly by Takahiro Arai (0-for-3, RBI) with a runner on third and 1 out.

Kyuji Fujikawa entered the game in the top of the 9th and retired the Giants in order for his 17th save of the year.

Missed Opportunities
Giants: top of the 1st, runners on first and second, 2 out > Kamei grounded out; top of the 2nd, runner on second, 2 out > Sakamoto grounded out; top of the 5th, runners on first and second, 1 out > T. Kimura fouled out to right, runners on first and third, and Ogasawara struck out; top of the 6th, runners on first and second, 1 out > Abe flied out, runners on first and third, Wakiya struck out.

Tigers: bottom of the 2nd, runners on first and second, 2 out > Asai struck out; bottom of the 3rd, runners on first and second, 1 out > Arai GIDP; bottom of the 5th, runners on first and third, 2 out > Arai flied out; bottom of the 8th, bases loaded, 2 out > Hiyama flied out.

Game Notes
Both teams collected 7 hits. ... The Tigers won the series (2-1) and outscored the Giants 13-9. ... Ramirez's single in the first inning gave him 8 consecutive seasons of 150+ hits, a new NPB record.

Giants: 7 LOB, 0 DP
Tigers: 9 LOB, 1 DP

Yomiuri Giants

Hanshin Tigers

Koshien
Attendance: 46,835
Time: 3h 6m

======

(Hawks lead series 11-9-0)

For the first three innings, neither starting pitcher allowed a runner to get passed first. But that changed for both sides in the 4th.

The Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the top of the 4th on an RBI single by Jose Ortiz (2-for-4, RBI) with a runner on third and 1 out. The Fighters quickly answered back in the bottom of the inning: Atsunori Inaba (2-for-5, 2B, R) led off the inning with a double; Shinji Takahashi (0-for-3, BB, R) walked to put runners on first and third; and Terrmel Sledge (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) cleared the bases with a double that gave the Fighters a 2-0 lead. The Fighters could have done some more damage in this inning after Eiichi Koyano (2-for-2) followed with a single to left that put runners on first and third and no out, but the next three batters struck out to end the inning (Koyana also managed to steal second with 2 outs).

The Fighters also had the making of a big inning in the bottom of the 5th after Sledge singled and Koyano reach on an error, putting runners on first and second. But Tomohiro Nioka (0-for-4) was called out on offensive interference when he tried to lay down a sac bunt. That ruined the flow of the inning: Shinya Tsuruoka (0-for-3) flied out; M. Kaneko walked to load the bases, but with 2 outs, the inning ended with Kensuke Tanaka (1-for-3) flying out to third.

In the top of the 8th, the Hawks offense took the lead on two sac flies hit by Yuichi Honda (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) and Hitoshi Tamura (1-for-3, RBI). But the Hawks could have scored more in the inning. When Tamura hit his sac fly, the bases were juiced with only 1 out. The bases were re-loaded again after Yuya Hasegawa (1-for-4) followed Tamura's sac fly with an infield single, but Hidenori Tanoue (0-for-3) ended the inning by striking out.

Takahiro Mahara entered the game in the bottom of the 9th and retired the Fighters in order for his 27th save of the year.

Missed Opportunities
Hawks: top of the 5th, runners on first and second, 2 out > Honda grounded out; top of the 8th, bases loaded, 2 out > Tanoue struck out.

Fighters: bottom of the 4th, runners on first and third, no out > Nioka struck out, Tsuruoka struck out, and M. Kaneko struck out; bottom of the 6th, runners on first and second, no out > Nioka offensive interference on sac bunt, Tsuruoka flied out, M. Kaneko walked to load bases, Tanaka flied out; bottom of the 8th, runner on second, 2 out > M. Kaneko struck out. It was just the second time Nashida has ever been throw out of a game (including his career as a player).

Game Notes
Hawks outhit the Fighters, 10-8. ... The Fighters won the series (2-1) and outscored the Hawks, 10-7. ... Masataka Nashida was ejected from the game for delaying the game while arguing Nioka's offensive interference call. ... Koyano was taken out of the game in the top of the 8th after a throw from center hit him above the right eye. ... The Hawks ended a 4-game slide. ... The Fighters' 4-game winning streak came to an end.

Hawks: 7 LOB, 1 DP
Fighters: 10 LOB, 0 DP

Softbank Hawks

Nippon Ham Fighters

Sapporo Dome
Attendance: 28,483
Time: 3h 26m

---

Rakuten Eagles @ Chiba Lotte Marines cancelled due to rain.
(Marines lead series, 10-9-0)

Game Notes
The Eagles swept the series (2-0) and outscored the Marines, 7-5.

Chiba Marine
Attendance: n/a
Time: n/a

---

(Lions lead series, 13-8-0)

Takahiro Okada's (1-for-4, HR, R, RBI) solo homer to lead off the bottom of the 2nd gave the Buffaloes a 1-0 lead. And for a while, it appeared as though that lead might hold up -- the Lions had a couple of chances to score over the first 4 innings but kept coming up empty. But in the top of the 5th, the Lions finally came through with a run and tied the game on a sac fly by Taketoshi Goto (3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) with runners on first and third an no out.

The Lions took the lead in the top of the 6th on Hiram Bocachica's (1-for-4, BB, HR, R, RBI) 13th homer of the year. An RBI double by Goto in the top of the 7th with a runner on first and no out gave the Lions a 3-1 lead. And in the top of the 9th, Seibu scored 3 more runs on an RBI single by Goto with runners on first and third and 1 out, and a 2-run double by Yasuyuki Kataoka (2-for-4, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI) with runners on first and third and 2 out.

The Buffaloes scored their second and final run in the bottom of the 9th on an RBI double by Hirotoshi Kitagawa (2-for-2, 2B, RBI) with a runner on first and 2 out. Tomotaka Sakaguchi (1-for-4, BB) struck out for the final out of the game.

Missed Opportunities
Lions: top of the 1st, runners on first and third, 2 out > Kuriyama grounded out; top of the 2nd, runner on second, 2 out > Ginjiro struck out; top of the 4th, runners on first and second > Kataoka flied out; Ginjiro walked to load the bases, Nakajima struck out; top of the 7th, runner on second, no out > Kuriyama grounded out, runner to third, Sato grounded out, runner on third tagged by catcher in run-down between home and third, Sato to second, wild pitch moved runner to third, and Bocachica flied out; bottom of the 8th, runner on second, 1 out > Rhodes grounded out, runner to third, pinch-hitter Ohmura flied out.

Buffaloes: bottom of the 3rd, runner on second, 1 out > Fernandez flied out, runner to third, Rhodes walked, Shimoyama walked, Hidaka struck out; bottom of the 5th, runners on first and second, 2 out > Fernandez grounded out; top of the 8th, runner on third, 1 out > Nakajima struck out and pinch-hitter Miura grounded out; bottom of the 8th, runner on second, 2 out > Sakaguchi struck out.

Game Notes
The Lions outhit the Buffaloes, 13-6. ... The Buffaloes won the series (2-1) and were outscored by the Lions, 8-6. ... The Lions stopped a 4-game losing streak.

Lions: 11 LOB, 1 DP
Buffaloes: 8 LOB, 0 DP

Seibu Lions

Orix Buffaloes

Kyocera Dome
Attendance: 22,384
Time: 3h 25m