Up next in our four-part series about the Tigers and the upcoming 2015 season is the pitching staff. Click here to see the infield analysis and here for the outfield. The series will wrap up with a look at the intriguing puzzle pieced together with the relievers. OK here we go! The first four starters…
As a numbers guy, statistics fascinate me to no end. The January “Monthly Tigers” Magazine – it sells at bookstores for ¥410) had a piece on the Tigers’ main pitchers and their numbers in 2014. Some interesting things came out of them and I thought I would share. It’s too much to share it all,…
There has not yet been much offseason action as far as roster moves, but here are some of the things going on with different players: Long-time Tiger Takahiro Arai has left the organization and returned to the Hiroshima Carp, where he began his career. He played 7 years with the Tigers, his best coming in 2010…
No one likes wallowing in the gloom of a postseason loss. For that reason, I will not dwell too much on the losses themselves, or the potential reality of losing Takashi Toritani to Major League Baseball. Instead, I will look at three striking numbers/factors that brought about Hanshin’s demise quickly in games 2-5. Setting Game…
“I wanna hold them as close to zero as I can.” — 20-year old Tigers’ starter Shintaro Fujinami, before the game. Unfortunately, the day off and change in venue did nothing to alter the outcome of Game 3. Like Atsushi Nohmi did in Game 2, Fujinami surrendered an early run and the Tigers bats never found…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters: GAME 1: Saturday, October 25, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Jason Standridge (11-8) GAME 2: Sunday, October 26, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Kenji Ohtonari (3-1) GAME 3: Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm (YafuOku Dome): Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Shota Takeda (3-3) GAME 4: Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm…
Starting with manager Tatsunori Hara, I’m sure there are many Yomiuri Giants shaking their heads today, still wondering how and why they got swept in their home park against a seemingly weaker Hanshin Tigers team. I offer you three simple reasons, none of which really answer any questions but all of which show just how…
Eight pitches. That’s all it took to bring the Tigers bats out of their postseason slumber. A leadoff hit by Nishioka, sacrifice bunt by Uemoto, RBI double by Toritani and a 2-run HR by Gomez put the Tigers in the lead — one they would not relinquish all night as they cruised to a 4-1…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters*: Wednesday, October 15, 6pm: Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Tetsuya Utsumi (7-9) Thursday, October 16, 6pm: Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Hirokazu Sawamura (5-3) Friday, October 17, 6pm: Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Toshiya Sugiuchi (10-6) Saturday, October 18, 6pm: Atsushi Nohmi (9-13) vs. Yuki Koyama (6-2) Sunday, October 19, 6pm: Suguru Iwazaki (5-4) vs. Kan Otake (9-6) Monday, October 20, 6pm: Shintaro Fujinami…
Scheduled Games & Probable Starters: Saturday, October 11, 2pm: Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Kenta Maeda (11-9) Sunday, October 12, 2pm: Atsushi Nohmi (9-13) vs. Daichi Ohsera (10-8) (?) Monday, October 13, 2pm: Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Bryan Bullington (9-8) (?) Record This Season: @ Koshien Stadium: Tigers 7, Carp 2 @ Mazda Stadium: Tigers 4,…