Former Hanshin Tigers manager (2004-2008) Akinobu Okada must have seen something in the Yutaka Wada regime that he couldn’t find in his successor, Akinobu Mayumi. Apparently the Tigers went from being a winner (2003 and 2005 Central League champs) to somewhat of a loser until 2013. Having become a sports analyst, he decided to write…
The 12-in-12 could not have been going any worse than it had up to this point. Two wins and eight losses, with the lone wins coming against the Yakult Swallows (1-1) and Hiroshima Carp (1-2). Two losses each at the hands of the BayStars and Giants, plus one against the Chunichi Dragons, completely eliminated the…
Two straight huge wins over the Hiroshima Carp had the Tigers looking great and remaining in the thick of the Central League race. The weekend series in Yokohama would feature their two legitimate aces and a chance to move into first place if all the cards got dealt in their favor. How would they fare…
Two losses and a win, two losses and a win. What comes next in this pattern? If two losses, then there would be no time for a win – the team had just two games remaining before the all-star break. That being the case, they started two of their core pitchers on short rest at…