Power Pros Forum

April 14, 2012

Since I couldn't come to a conclusion on who to sign, I decided to e-mail Todd, and Preston again.
I had narrowed it down to the people that everyone has chosen, which were: Futoshi Hoashi, Hyeon Gi, Shinji Matsuka, Satoyuki Yamasaki, and Tai Abe.
And also, who I thought would be the best addition, Takeo Doi, or Matsuka…
EDIT:We can now pick up two players, preferably a pitcher and hitter, everyone, pick another player!

They replied with:

(PPJ, and [tm], sorry if this seems to be a long request, but could you write an "e-mail" saying who you think, out of these 6, would be the best addition? Thanks in advance! )

Also, today, we're fighting the Giants for first; we're down by half a game.

Yomiuri Giants (8-5-1) - 5
Hanshin Tigers (9-5-0) - 7

Giants:

Lineup:
1. Hayato Sakamoto – SS (2-4, 2 HR [1, 2], 2 RBI, SO)
2. Edgar Gonzalez - 2B (2-4, HR [2], 1 RBI)
3. Michihiro Ogasawara - 3B (2-4, HR [3], 1 RBI, SO)
4. Tetsuya Matsumoto – LF (0-4, SO, DP)
5. Yoshiyuki Kamei – CF (0-4)
6. Hisayoshi Chōno – RF (2-4, SO)
7. Lee Seung-Yeop - 1B (2-3, sac bunt, inside-the-park HR [2], 1 RBI)
8. Kazunari Tsuruoka – C (1-4)
9. PITCHER (0-1)
- Yoshitomo Tani – PH (0-1)
- Takayuki Terauchi – PH (0-1)
- Shigeyuki Furuki – PH (0-1, DP)

Pitcher(s):
Dicky Gonzalez (5 innings, 6 runs, 6 earned)
Kyohei Tsuchimoto (1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 earned)
Takahiko Nomaguchi (2/3 inning, 0 runs)
Norihito Kaneto (2 innings, 0 runs)

Tigers:

Lineup:
1. Kiyoshi Abe – C (3-5, 2 doubles)
2. Fumihiko Saito - 2B (0-4, sac bunt, DP)
3. Takashi Toritani – SS (3-5, 3 doubles)
4. Kazuteru Tani – RF (3-4, 2 HR [2, 3], double 4 RBI)
5. Takahiro Arai - 3B (0-4, DP)
6. Riki Kawamoto – CF (1-2)
- Keiichi Hirano – INJURY REPLACEMENT [CF] (1-2)
7. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B (1-4)
8. Matt Murton – LF (1-3, IBB, HR [2], 2 RBI)
9. PITCHER (0-3)
- Kodai Sakurai – PH (0-1)

Pitcher(s):
Seth Greisinger (7 innings, 4 runs, 4 earned)
Kiyoshi Toyoda (1 inning, 1 run, 1 earned)
Kyuji Fujikawa (1 inning, 0 runs)

MVP:
Matt Murton – Gave his team the lead with a homerun in the 4th

WP: Seth Greisinger (1-0)
LP: Dicky Gonzalez (1-2)
S: Kyuji Fujikawa (5)

Nishinomiya Sports
April 15, 2012
Tigers have sole possession of first!
– Matt Murton

Tokyo Dome, Bunkyo, Tokyo – The Tigers have attained first place yet again! With this win, they move a half a game ahead of the Giants. Congratulations!

In other news, Hayato Sakamoto hit a leadoff homerun, his first of the season.
Lee Seung-Yeop hit an insider-the-park homerun in the 4th, because Kawamoto jumped to catch the ball, but missed, and slammed into the wall. Kawamoto will be out for at least a month, treating his injuries after hitting the wall, hard.
And Fujikawa mad things interesting to earn his 5th save of the season. He loaded the bases with 1 out, only to have Shigeyuki Furuki ground into a double play. Whew.

- Takaharu Sonada

Dear Jack,
I just got your e-mail about how we could pick a second player, and that you're still unsure about who to pick. Well, since we can now pick up two players, that changes everything! I originally said that Hoashi should be picked. And you also said, we should choose a hitter, and a pitcher, right?

Well if that's the case, I'll stick with Hoashi as the hitter we can add, and for a pitcher I would go with either Doi or Matsuka.

Doi because he is an experienced righty with an excellent vertical slider. And since he's been playing in the MLB for the past 5 years, he should have gotten much better then the last time he played in Japan.

And Matsuka because he is a young, fiery left-hander. And the bullpen is lacking in left-handed strength. Also he could deal with the "Death Inning."

But I actually don't know, I would say it's your choice. You are the boss and all.

Sincerely,
Todd Michaels

How's that?

Perfect, so it's now (in this "round"):
Hoashi - 1
Gi - 0
Matsuka - 2 (including my vote)
Yamasaki - 0
Abe - 0
Doi - 2 (including my vote)

And in total:
Hoashi - 2
Gi - 1
Matsuka - 3
Yamasaki - 1
Abe - 1
Doi - 2

Matsuka is pick number 1!
Pick number 2 doesn't necessarily have to be a fielder, because the offense and defense are pretty solid.

Do you still need my e-mail? If so, then:

Dear Mr. Allen:

I just got your email. I like that we got Matsuka as a first-rounder, as I think he can dominate for us in the near future. Definitely a good choice by our committee, in my opinion.

As for our second pick, I think I'll go with popular demand and test Doi out. I liked Gi a lot, but I realize the strategical advantage we have with picking him. Hoashi does have a lot of potential, but I'm focusing on the now. We need some relief. Doi can be the experienced setup man immediately for us, then when he retires, we can slide Matsuka into that role. There's a name for this type of situation, and it's called win-win. Besides, we can stock up on young hitting in FA or next year's draft.

Hope this helps,

Preston F. Greene

Excellent, so with this pick, Matsuka, and Doi are going to be the new picks.
I'll do that in a bit, since I'm finishing up some new characters in success mode now.

April 15, 2012

"And, as I'm sure you've all heard, we've been pondering on 2 picks, and it seems that I've finally come to a conclusion. Of course with the help of Todd, Preston, Ryan, and Bryan. With my 2 picks I'm going to go with Sh-"
Just then someone burst into the room, it was Preston's assistant, she said that they just got word of someone who just graduated high school.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Preston just sent me an e-mail since he's out of town. It said that there was someone else he forgot to mention in his original e-mail. Which he is deeply sorry for. But anyways, his name is Tomoharu Yoshimi. He's a relief pitcher, or a closer, and he's good. Really good. You know what, here, I'll just show you the e-mail."
She handed me a piece of paper, which was the e-mail, printed out.
It said:
"Ono-san, please show this to Jack, immediately.

Jack, I am terribly sorry that I forgot about this kid, but regardless, Tomoharu Yoshimi just graduated high school. In the Koshien he pitched against some strong teams, and only gave up 1 run, over the course of 12 games. Pretty impressive. Also, he has this strange fastball, it rises, and I mean that literally. It rises, if he throws it low (outside of the zone) and inside, it's damn near un-hittable. Now, I don't want to take away anything from Doi, he's an accomplished pitcher, who has played in the MLB for 5 years, and the NPB for 10. This kid can pretty much do everything Doi can, plus, he's got a better fastball. But his breaking balls are lackluster. But, he is 11 years younger, which is something to think about. Here, I'll just show you his stats.

Tomoharu Yoshimi
AGE, YEARS PRO, B/T, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
19, 0, R/L, 149 km/h (92 mph), B, E, Curve - 2, Vertical Slider - 1, Hard Slider - 1

Keep in mind, that his fastball is very special, and "floats" to quote one of the players he faced.

Sorry about forgetting,
Preston F. Greene"

"Well then, sorry sirs, but it seems I have some reconsidering to do, I shall come to a conclusion on the two we shall pick in the next couple of weeks or so. I am very sorry about this inconvenience." I said, and I rushed to my computer, and sent out an email to Preston, Todd, Ryan, and Bryan. Hopefully they'll reply to whether or not we should sign Doi, or if we should sign Yoshimi. Since I actually can't decide between the two.

April 20, 2012

We're playing the Carp today.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp (9-9-1) - 3
Hanshin Tigers (12-6-1) - 3

Carp:

Lineup:
1. Sohichiro Amaya – RF (3-6, 2 SO, SB)
2. Eishin Soyogi – SS (1-3, 3 sac bunts, 1 RBI)
3. Shinnosuke Abe – C (1-3, HR [11], 2 RBI, 3 IBB)
4. Tetsuya Kokubo - 3B (2-6, DP, double)
5. Masato Akamatsu – CF (0-6, FC)
6. Akihiro Higashide - 2B (3-5, double, 2 SO, SB)
7. Justin Huber - 1B (0-5)
8. Jun Hirose – LF (1-5)
9. PITCHER (1-2)
- Goh Kida – PH (0-1)
- Shigenobu Shima – PH (0-1)
- Masafumi Suenaga – PH (0-1)

Pitcher(s):
Kenta Maeda (5 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 3 earned)
Ryuji Yokoyama (1/3 inning, 0 runs)
Tomohiro Umetsu (1 2/3 innings, 0 runs)
Katsuhiro Nagakawa (1 1/3 innings, 0 runs)
Mike Schultz (2 innings, 0 runs)
Serizawa (1 inning, 0 runs)

Tigers:

Lineup:
1. Kiyoshi Abe – C (1-6)
2. Fumihiko Saito - 2B (1-6)
3. Takashi Toritani – SS (3-5, HR [4], double 1 RBI)
4. Kazuteru Tani – CF (0-4, IBB)
5. Takahiro Arai - 3B (1-5, double, 2 RBI, SO)
6. Kodai Sakurai – RF (1-5)
7. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B (0-5)
8. Matt Murton – LF (2-5, double)
9. PITCHER (1-4)
- Ivan Adamsky – PH (0-1)

Pitcher(s):
Seth Greisinger (6 innings, 3 runs, 3 earned)
Shota Kimura (4 2/3 innings, 0 runs)
Kyuji Fujikawa (1 1/3 innings, 0 runs)

WP: --
LP: --
S: --

Nishinomiya Sports
April 21, 2012
Tigers tie Carp, 3-3

MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima, Minami-ku, Hiroshima – In yesterday’s game the Tigers and Carp both had their first tie of the season. And good golly gosh, it was a good, and nerve wracking, game. For the first 2 innings, it was a deadlock 0-0 tie, and Maeda had a no hitter through 2 2/3 innings, only to be broken up by Greisinger, the pitcher. Bummer. Anyways, it the bottom of the 3rd Sakurai (who hasn’t fielded much this season) dove and missed the ball, allowing the Carp to extend the inning. And with that extension, they ended up scoring 3 runs. Score: 3-0 Carp, but in the top of the 5th, right off the bat (literally) Toritani blasted a homerun to shrink the lead down to 2 runs. The score stayed the same, with some nice defensive plays play Kanemoto, and others. But in the 6th inning, Arai smoked one to deep right, it hit the wall, 2 runners scored, and Arai settled in with a double. Score: 3-3. The score would remain that, but in the top of the 8th, the Tigers had bases loaded, with 2 outs, and Kanemoto at bat. The Carp bring in Nagakawa, and he gets Kanemoto to ground out, no problem. The score would remain 3-3, but again, this time in the 11th, the Carp had an opportunity to score, with runners on 1st and 3rd, closer Kyuji Fujikawa comes into a do-or-die situation. He gets Suenga to groundout, and they head into the 12th. The Tigers went 1-2-3, but the Carp; they didn’t go so easily. It was decided to walk Shinnosuke Abe intentionally for the 3rd time, and with 2 outs, stood in young third baseman, Tetsuya Kokubo. He hits one deep to left, and it bounces off of the tip of the wall. Runners on 2nd and 3rd, with Akamatsu up, with a sharp liner, he lines out to left to end the game.

Quite the game, if you ask me.

- Takaharu Sonada

Dear Mr. Allen,
I just received your e-mail, and this is a tough decision, but I'll ultimately have to go with the signing of Yoshimi, I'll change my vote.

Yoshimi's "floating" fastball could help the struggling bullpen ,and plus he's only 19, he's got plenty of time to grow, whereas Doi does not. Also, Yoshimi's fastball's got some life, so that could help the bullpen as well.

Sorry for being so brief,
Best wishes,
Todd Michaels

Okay, so thats a "vote" for Yoshimi

In this "round":
Yoshimi - 1
Doi - 0

Overall:
Yoshimi - 1
Doi - 3

Yoshimi!

Dear Mr. Allen,

Doi seems like a dominating pitcher. Yoshimi, although, seems better. His "floating fastball", like Todd said, would greatly help the bullpen and that is exactly what we need at the moment.

Sincerely,
Bryan Murphy

And with those, it is now tied.

Yoshimi - 3
Doi - 3

We'll have to wait and see what Preston (PPJ) says...

Yoshimi, definitely. It's always good to have 2 dominant lefties (Yoshimi and Matsuka, in this case) in the bullpen (maybe this is a bit of a bias, as I am left-handed ). But it is true. Not to mention that they are still very young. I would recommend training them differently, let one be a power pitcher and one a finesse guy, though, to keep the hitters off-balance. How could you forget about this guy? He's a gem!

I actually just finished him heh, heh

But regardless, thank you for your input, and with this, Yoshimi and Matsuka will be the two picks!

They should help immensely.

Now, all we need is starting pitchers
(Our pitching is very bad at the moment).

But again, thank you all for your input, and I shall update this soon!

April 26, 2012

Oh yeah, this isn’t the draft, if anyone was thinking that.

“Okay, sirs, now I have finally come to my conclusion on who is going to be picked, and hopefully this time, we won’t have any unsuspected interruptions. With the first pick, we are going to go with Shinji Matsuka.”
Everyone clapped.
“Showing dominance in the late innings, we could maybe go through the death inning, unharmed.”

NAME, NUMBER, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
Shinji Matsuka, 18, 147 km/h (91 mph), D, D, Curve – 2, SFF – 4

“And with our second pick, we’re going to go with the new guy, the one that I have just learned about, Tomoharu Yoshimi.”
People were shocked that I chose Yoshimi over Doi, but ultimately, people were happy about the change.
“Being so young, and showing that type of skill, he should help us a lot.”

NAME, NUMBER, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
Tomoharu Yoshimi, 39, 149 km/h (92 mph), B, E, Curve - 2, Vertical Slider - 1, Hard Slider – 1

Hopefully this will all work out.