Power Pros Forum

Awesome. Looking just as good as he old one!

Thank you!

The games should be starting soon, I just have to finish up some thing first.


Thank you!

YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M FEELIN?? I'M FEELIN LIKE A TOTAL BARNACLEHEAD!!

Whoa.
Whoa.
Whoa.

Watch the language.

Anyways, I'll have another update done soon!

February 25, 2014

It has been a little longer then a month since my meeting with all of the players. They all seem to get along fine. The pitchers hanging out with each other after practice, Nomoto leading all of the fielders, and my coaches really seem to like this team. I only have two problems, one being that I still can’t decide whether to have Terauchi or Shimozono start at catcher. Everyone else is set. And the other one being that I still haven’t found anyone to be suitable as a manager. So begins my hunt! My hunt for a manger!

I started with the owner, asking him if he knew anyone that could potentially be the manager.
“Sorry, Jack, nobody comes to mind.” Was his response to me.
I asked his wife.
“Maybe you could… Uh… No, actually, sorry hun.” She said
“*sigh* It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
I could think of no one. Not a single person.

February 26, 2014
9:48

I thought about it overnight and still couldn’t come up with anyone.
So, naturally, I called Steven.

“Steven, you pick up a manager yet?” I asked
“Yep, Kazumu Mori.” He replied
“Damn. I still can’t find one.”
“Well, Mori has a brother, a twin, actually. You could ask him about it, his name is Kensou. You know what, hold on, I’ll give Kazumu a call.”
“Oh, alright, awesome! Thanks Steven!”
“No problem, I’ll call you back in 17 minutes.”
“Uh, alright.”

And exactly 17 minutes later, he called me back.

“Kazumu said he’ll ask him.” Steven said
“Perfect. Now, does Kensou know about baseball?”
“Of course! Back in the day, Kazumu and Kensou were huge! ‘The Mori brothers win another’ is what the newspapers always said.”
“So, they both played?”
“Yeah, they were both pitchers. Kazumu started the games, went 8 innings with his fantastic breaking balls, and Kensou closed them out with his 99 mph fastball.”
“Exciting!”
“Quite… Hold on a sec, I’m getting another call.”
“Sure.”
He beeped over to his other call, and came back on the phone 5 minutes later.
“That was Kazumu, he said Kensou would like to meet at noon, is that good with you?”
“Sure. I’m game for anything.”
We talked for another couple of minutes, and then I hung up, and got ready for my meeting with Kensou.

11:50

I got to the stadium 10 minutes early, and was surprised to see another car in the parking lot.
I paid no attention to it, and walked in to the stadium. I heard noises coming from the bullpen, the only thing I could think of was the sound of a ball hitting the wall. I rushed over to see what it was. I saw a man in his mid sixties, throwing pitches the wall. I watched him; he threw 3 in the exact same spot.
“Hey.” I said
He looked over to me, caught off guard, since he didn’t know anyone was watching him.
“…Oh… uh… Sorry…” He said
“For what exactly?”
“Well… For, you know, hitting the wall.”
“…Are you Kensou, by chance?”
“Yes. I am, are you Jack?”
“Yes. I am. Kensou, I must ask you something.”
“And that is?”
“Could you please manage the Knights?”
“Absolutely. I accept your offer to be manager.”
“Awesome!”
“Do you know anyone on the team?” I asked
“Yes, I do, actually.”
“Who?”
“Kura, Makida, Kanazawa, Egawa, and Nomoto, of course!”
“How do you know these kids?”
“Kura, Makida, Kanazawa, and Egawa were players of mine in Powerful High, when I used to coach there. I knew they would make it. Nomoto, well, everyone knows Nomoto.”
“Oh, so you've have coaching experience before?”
“Of course. I coached the high school I used to go to.”
“Very well. Welcome to the team, Kensou!”
“Thank you so much, Jack.”

I didn’t think it would be that easy. And it seemed that Kensou still had his stuff. So, I decided that I should play some catch with him. Boy, it was great. I hadn’t played catch in a looooooong time. Me being a former outfielder, and him being a former pitcher, we were able to do some serious long toss. I had a blast; we played for about 45 minutes.

And then he had to leave, and as did I. I had to go grocery shopping. Again.

March 27, 2014

Our first game was just a day away, and I have just learned that the Giants have brought back one of the best pitchers to ever pitch in Japan. After 10, successful years in America, Sanada has returned. He was known as “The Pitching Catcher” since he could, quite simply, pitch and catch. Pitching was obviously his main focus, but he was still one hell of a catcher. He had unmatchable speed, a great arm, and could hit one out if he wanted.

Hirokazu Sanada – Yomiuri Giants
AGE, YEARS PRO, NUMBER, B/T, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
35, 7, 19, R/R, 160 km/h (99 mph), B, A, shuuto – 3, Drop curve – 3, Circle change – 4
POSITION, 2ND POSITION, TRJ, CON, PWR, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
P, C, 3, C, B, S (100!), A, C, C

Oh, if only we could afford him… No matter, we’ve got a pretty solid rotation.

Also, the Eagles have finally signed their first round draft pick, Ota to a one-year deal. Ota’s some closer. He has amazing control, and can throw 170 km/h (105 mph)! And he has two incredible breaking balls. Plus, he can throw a gyroball, which makes him even tougher to hit.

Keiji Ota – Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
AGE, YEARS PRO, NUMBER, B/T, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
18, 0, 11, R/R, 170 km/h (105 mph), A (99!), E, Slow curve – 7, Changeup – 7

I don’t want to face him any time soon.

Anyways, I made the final preparations for the team for tomorrow. It should be interesting!

March 28, 2014
The First Game

Well, today's the big day. Our first game, ever! Hopefully we can start out strong!

ORIX Buffaloes (2-1-1) - 1
Kyoto Knights (1-0-0) – 5

Knights.. 0|2|2|0|0|0|1|0|0 5|13|0
Buffaloes 0|0|1|0|0|0|0|0|0 1|7|0

Buffaloes:

Lineup:
1. Tomotaka Sakaguchi – CF (1-4)
2. Keiji Ohbiki – SS (0-4, DP, K)
3. Mitsutaka Gotoh - 2B (0-4, K)
4. Takahiro Okada – DH (1-3)
5. Hirotoshi Kitagawa - 1B (2-3, DP, 2B)
6. Francisco Caraballo – LF (0-3, K, DP)
7. Aarom Baldiris - 3B (1-3, 2B, K)
8. Takeshi Hidaka – C (0-3)
9. Makoto Moriyama – RF (1-3, 1 RBI [3])

Pitcher(s):
Chan-Ho Park (5 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K)
Satoshi Komatsu (2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER)
Motoki Higa (2 IP, 0 R)

Knights:

Lineup:
1. Tsuyoshi Matsunaga – CF (2-5, 2B, 1 RBI [1])
2. Touya Egawa – RF (0-4, SAC, DP)
3. Takuya Kanazawa – DH (2-4, 2 HR [1, 2], 2 RBI [1, 2], K [reached on past ball])
4. Masato Kurihara – 1B (2-4, HR [1], 1 RBI [1], SB)
5. Goro Shigeno – LF (0-4, DP)
6. Daisuke Fukuchi – 3B (2-4, 2B)
7. Taiga Kura – SS (0-4)
8. Hideo Nomoto – 2B (1-4, 1 RBI [1])
9. Akitaka Shimozono – C (4-4)

Pitcher(s):
Tsukiya Yamato (9 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K)

MVP(s):
Tsukiya Yamato – Complete game victory
Hideo Nomoto – Gave the Knights the lead in the 2nd, with an RBI single

WP: Tsukiya Yamato (1-0)
LP: Chan-Ho Park (0-1)
S: --

Kyoto Knightly
March 29, 2014
Knights Win Debut
- Nomoto and Yamato

Osaka Dome, Nishi-ku, Osaka – The Knights are nothing to mess with, and they proved it last night, with a 5-1 victory over the Buffaloes. The Knights offense really showed, with them recording 13 hits, and Shimozono, the catcher, who bats 9th, got 4 of them. We asked him after the game. “You know, I really didn’t do much. Sure, I got 4 hits, but look at Kanazawa, Kurihara, Matsunaga, and Nomoto! They drove in the runs to help us win!” he said. Yamato, the ace of the staff, got the first win. He threw a complete game, letting up only 1 run, and striking out 4. He was announced co-MVP of the game, along with the Captain, Nomoto. “Ha, I feel as if I had my ‘stuff’ tonight, I struck 4, which isn’t bad. But my slider was really working well for me. Shimozono and I seemed to be on the same page, since I didn’t shake off any of his signs he threw down.” Yamato said. Nomoto also commented “We played well today; it seems these kids have some serious talent!” Nomoto also started a fantastic double play, diving to his right, and then uses his glove to flip to Kura. It was a strong showing for the Captain.

With the first game, comes a bunch of other firsts.

First hit: Tsuyoshi Matsunaga, a leadoff infield single off of the pitchers glove in the 1st inning
First double: Fukuchi, in the 2nd inning
First RBI: Nomoto, with an RBI single to send in Fukuchi in the 2nd inning
First homerun: Kanazawa, in the 3rd inning, a solo bomb to left
First stolen base: Kurihara, with a straight steal of second in the 5th inning
First strikeout: Yamato, in the 2nd inning

Also, with me recently learning of what the Tigers did, I promptly quit my job at Nishinomiya Sports to come over to Kyoto to follow the Knights, and Jack Allen.

- Takaharu Sonada

Nice game. I love the picture!

Thank you!