Power Pros Forum

The games shall be coming up soon!


Das how dey roll

December 24, 2015

11:54

I decided to head home to Newton for Christmas.
I grabbed my stuff, packed like it was the end of the world, and went off to the office to say bye to all of the guys.

When I got there, I remembered it was almost Christmas, and they all were at home.

I then proceeded to slap my face, and drive to the airport.
It was packed, obviously, though I did see Preston there. We said quick goodbyes, and I bought my ticket. My plane was leaving in 3 hours.
So, naturally, I went to the souvenir shop. And I saw a magazine with Kurihara, Darvish, and Tani on the cover posing in the Japan uniforms. The headline was: "Japan's Brightest Lights"
I picked up a copy, and read through it. I read through the whole article, and still had about 2 hours and 50 minutes left until the plane would come.

I pulled out my trusty iPod, jammed to some MuteMath, and apparently dozed off, because when I woke up it was...

14:37

"Crap!" I said, as I jolted from my chair, dropping the magazine and my iPod in the process.
I picked them up, and rushed over to the seating area close to my terminal.
"23 minutes isn't too bad, I'll just sit here." I thought.

14:50
23 minutes took forever, especially since I was super nervous, due to my irrational fear of planes.
"Flight JA8394, Gate 2A, departing in 10 minutes." The announcer's smooth voice said.
I checked my bag, stuffed my iPod in my coat pocket, stuffed my magazine in my bag, and when I looked up, I saw Stephen casually strolling over to the gate.
"Stephen?" I said
"Jack! You heading home too?"
"Of course! Hey... Um... Where's your wife?"
"She went back yesterday, I would've too, but I had to work with Shimazaki to fix up his contract."
"He had an excellent season last year! What was it? 51 homeruns?"
"Yep. But that's nothing compared to Kurihara. 124 in TWO YEARS! Insanity!"
"I know. I'm very glad I got him. Heh."
"Yeah. Whatever. I can't believe I lost that coin toss. Twice."
"I got lucky, I guess!"
"Sure..."
The line began moving, and the boarding began.

Stephen and I talked for a while on the flight, and then I fell asleep again, since the flight is 24 hours long.

December 25, 2015

12:22

We made it! We're finally back home in Newton.
Stephen and I headed home, to see our glorious family.

13:46

Home, we are now.
"Welcome home, boys!" My mother said to us as we walked in the door.
God, I felt like I was in school again. Sometimes I miss this place.
"Hey, mom. We having the usual this year?" Stephen said
"The usual" would be some ham, a lasagna, and miscellaneous forms of potatoes.
"Of course!" She replied
I saw my uncles, aunts, cousins, and dog for the first time in a year, I'll tell you, it was a lot to take in, but it was nice to see them all.

I popped a squat on the couch, grabbed a drink (of the soda quality) and turned on the TV to see ESPN on.
Good ol' ESPN.

To my shock, though, I caught the guy on there in his last sentence before sending off to the story. He said "Who, exactly, is Masato Kurihara?"
I rewound it to the beginning.
"In baseball news, with the coming of last year, the NPB was introduced to two new teams, the Kyoto Knights, and Sakai Samurais. Run by brothers, Jack and Stephen Allen. But, in particular, the Knights have one 19 year old player, by the name of Kurihara. Who, in his two professional seasons, has hit 124 homeruns. Let's let that one sink in. To put that in perspective, Babe Ruth in his first two full seasons hit 83. Hank Aaron - only 53. This is insane. Unheard of. Who, exactly, is Masato Kurihara?"
My jaw dropped. Kurihara's so good he's getting press in America.
I continued to watch, with some other guy coming on, at a baseball stadium, for some reason, who said: "Now, you may be asking, how is 124 homeruns in 2 seasons possible? Well, let's take a look at Kurihara's swing, shall we?" It cut to when he hit his record breaking 56th homerun last season.
"Now, take a look at his eyes, they never leave the ball. His head, straight. His bat, at the perfect angle. He has the 'perfect' swing."

I ran to get Stephen at this point, and missed the rest of what he was saying, though I rewound, and showed Stephen the whole thing.

"I wish I was as good as him." Stephen said
"Everyone does." I replied.

After that, not much else happened, we ate, we opened presents (I got a nice cardigan, schweet), and then we all sat around, and talked for a while. Stephen, his wife, and I were going to spend the new year, as we were certainly not ready to go through a 24 hour flight, again.

January 2, 2016

Happy 2016!
Stephen, his wife, and I all got our stuff packed, and headed off to the airport, work is imminent. Hoo-ray.

I love this log so damn much.

Whoa! For a second there I thought they would be talking about Kurihara making a possible move to the MLB! Scary. *whipes sweat off forehead*

Why, thank you!


That would be awful!

March 5, 2016

Game 1

Phew, this is the first game against China. This is going to be a tight one.

China – 6
Japan – 2
F/10

China 0|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|4 6|9|0
Japan 1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|0|0 2|10|1

China:

Lineup:
1. Lim Ma – CF (1-5, FC)
2. Mitsuo Reiza – RF (0-4, K, SAC)
3. Zhen Yin - 1B (3-5, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
4. Lang Tsao – DH (2-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI)
5. Kuan-Yin Tsui - 3B (0-5, K)
6. Li Ng – C (1-4, K, 2B, ROE)
7. Tai Su – SS (1-4, 2B)
8. Jin Tan – LF (0-4, 2 K)
9. Chi Hwan - 2B (1-4)

Pitcher(s):
Jian Shen (8 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K)
Sheng Kao (2 IP, 0 R)

Japan:

Lineup:
1. Yoshiro Ushida - 2B (2-5)
2. Shuuji Arime – C (1-4, SAC)
3. Kazuteru Tani – RF (1-5, HR, 1 RBI)
4. Masato Kurihara - 1B (1-4, 1 RBI)
5. Sora Kurihara – DH (0-4)
6. Norichika Aoki – CF (2-4)
7. Hiroyuki Nakajima - 3B (0-4, DP, FC)
8. Yoshio Itoi – LF (1-4)
9. Munenori Kawasaki – SS (1-4, K)

Pitcher(s):
Yu Darvish (8 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K)
Keiji Ota (1 2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K)
Sakutarou Makida (1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER)

MVP:
Zhen Yin: His 10th inning 3 run homerun was a game winner for the Chinese national team

WP: Sheng Kao
LP: Keiji Ota
S: --

Nippon Sports News
March 6, 2016
Japan Loses A Heartbreaker
- Darvish
- Yin's homerun
– Zhen Yin

Tokyo Dome, Bunkyo, Tokyo – Ota. Ota lost it, plain and simple. Really, potentially the best closer in Japan got absolutely crushed. And it was all by Chinese hitting genius, Zhen Yin, who hit 2 homeruns off of him, to account for 4 RBIs. Ota hadn’t let up a single homerun all season, but, he may have been crushed by the pressure, since he is in fact on the Eagles, who don’t typically play in high pressure games. “It was my fault that we lost.” Ota said, he also added “I wish to leave the Eagles. I no longer want to continue my playing on the team.” Ota, as blunt as ever.

But, for the Japanese team, fan-favorite Kazuteru Tani has made his return to Japan, and in his first at-bat back over here, he hit a solo homerun to center for the game’s first run! “It’s nice to round the bases back home.” He said after the game. Veteran Lang Tsao of China got the run right back in the 2nd, though, with a homerun of his own. Both Darvish, and Shen of the Knights had fantastic games, both going 8 innings, and letting up 1 and 2 runs respectively.

Hopefully Japan will be able to bounce back after such a disappointing loss last night.

- Tsutomu Nishioka

It'd be a pretty good storyline though. On the other hand, most of the followers of this log would be really mad at you and have threatened to go to your house with a torch and a pitchfork.

It WOULD be good, but I don't want to get rid of King Kurihara. Like, ever.

Yeah, I thought he had decided to move to the MLB when I read it.

Sorry for the confusion!

But, no, he is most certainly not moving to the MLB anytime soon.

March 6, 2016

Game 2

Yesterday was rough, but today, let's get the win.

China – 6
Japan – 4

China:

Lineup:
1. Lim Ma – CF (2-5, K, 2B)
2. Mitsuo Reiza – RF (1-5, 2 K)
3. Zhen Yin - 1B (0-4, 2 K, SF, 1 RBI)
4. Lang Tsao – DH (1-4, K, HR, 1 RBI)
5. Kuan-Yin Tsui - 3B (2-4, HR, 1 RBI)
6. Li Ng – C (3-4, 2B)
7. Tai Su – SS (1-4, HR, 1 RBI)
8. Jin Tan – LF (0-4, ROE)
9. Chang Wu - 2B (2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)

Pitcher(s):
Jin Yu (8 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER)
Jun Matsui (0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER)
Chang-Yong Lim (1/3 IP, 0 R)

Japan:

Lineup:
1. Yoshiro Ushida - 2B (2-4, 2B, 1 RBI)
2. Shuuji Arime – C (0-3, SAC)
3. Kazuteru Tani – LF (0-4)
4. Masato Kurihara - 1B (2-4, HR, 1 RBI)
5. Sora Kurihara – DH (2-4)
6. Norichika Aoki – CF (1-4, DP)
7. Hiroyuki Nakajima - 3B (1-3)
- Shinnosuke Abe – PH (1-1, HR, 1 RBI)
8. Daisuke Aoyama – RF (0-3, DP)
- Takuya Kanazawa – PH (1-1, HR, 1 RBI)
9. Munenori Kawasaki – SS (1-4)

Pitcher(s):
Hirokazu Sanada (5 1/3 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 K)
Sakito Fujita (2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER)
Kyuji Fujikawa (1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER)

MVP(s):
Tai Su: His homerun in the 1st got it all started
Jin Yu: He pitched very well!

WP: Jin Yu
LP: Hirokazu Sanada
S: Chang-Yong Lim

Nippon Sports News
March 7, 2016
Almost! But Not Quite…

– Su and Yu

Tokyo Dome, Bunkyo, Tokyo – We came close, but ultimately, failed. In the bottom half of the ninth, two pinch hitters were called in back-to-back, Abe for Nakajima, and Kanazawa for Aoyama. BOTH of which hit pinch-hit homeruns! And after Kurihara’s homerun, that put Team Japan within 2 runs. Kawasaki would then line out to right.

Team Japan is now down 2-0… They have to win on the 8th, or the series will come to a very uneventful end.

- Tsutomu Nishioka

March 8, 2016

Game 3

Since China's the home team in this one, we'll be playing at Kobe Sports Park in Kobe, we're down 2-0, we’ve got to win.

Japan - 4
China – 1

Japan 2|0|0|0|0|0|0|2|0 4|14|1
China 0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1 1|5|0

Japan:

Lineup:
1. Yoshiro Ushida - 2B (3-5, 2B, HR, 1 RBI)
2. Shuuji Arime – C (1-5, CS, FC)
3. Kazuteru Tani – RF (1-4, HR, 2 RBI)
4. Masato Kurihara - 1B (1-4, SB)
5. Norichika Aoki – CF (3-4, 1 RBI)
6. Hiroyuki Nakajima - 3B (2-4, DP)
7. Yoshio Itoi – LF (0-4)
8. Munenori Kawasaki – SS (1-4, K)
9. PITCHER (2-4, DP)

Pitcher(s):
Masahiro Tanaka (9 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K)

China:

Lineup:
1. Lim Ma – CF (0-4, K)
2. Mitsuo Reiza – RF (0-4, ROE)
3. Kuan-Yin Tsui - 3B (0-4)
4. Zhen Yin - 1B (1-4, K, HR, 1 RBI)
5. Li Ng- C (0-4)
6. Tai Su – SS (1-4)
7. Jin Tan – LF (1-3)
8. Chang Wu - 2B (1-3, K)
9. PITCHER (1-2)
- Lang Tsao – PH (0-1, FC)

Pitcher(s):
Wei-Yang Chen (7 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K)
Kai-Wen Cheng (2/3 IP, 0 R)
Jun Matsui (2 IP, 0 R)

MVP(s):
Masahiro Tanaka: He threw a complete game, let up only run, and struck out 3!
Yoshiro Ushida: His leadoff homerun gave Japan the only lead they needed!

WP: Masahiro Tanaka
LP: Wei-Yang Chen
S: --

Nippon Sports News
March 9, 2016
Finally! Japan Wins!

– Ushida and Tanaka

Kobe Sports Park, Suma-ku, Kobe – They did it! And from the very beginning, team Japan looked like they would win. First pitch, Ushida hit a leadoff homerun deep to left! Japan would never look back, adding 3 more runs to their total, coming from an Aoki RBI single, and a 2-run homerun by Tani!

Tanaka had a fantastic game as well, coming so very close to a complete game shutout, only to lose it over a solo homerun by Yin, who has been destroying Japan this series. Tonight, we shall be continuing this epic series.

China leads two games to one.

- Tsutomu Nishioka

Hey, at least you got one game! How many games in the series?

March 9, 2016

Game 4

After yesterday's win, we still have to go into this game all out.

Japan – 8
China – 4

Japan 3|0|0|0|0|1|4|0|0 8|12|0
China 0|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|3 4|16|0

Japan:

Lineup:
1. Yoshiro Ushida - 2B (2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)
2. Shuuji Arime – C (2-5)
3. Sora Kurihara - 1B (2-5, 2B)
4. Kazuteru Tani – RF (3-4, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI)
5. Norichika Aoki – CF (1-4)
6. Hiroyuki Nakajima - 3B (0-4, 1 RBI)
7. Yoshio Itoi – LF (1-4, 1 RBI)
8. Munenori Kawasaki – SS (0-4)
9. PITCHER (1-4)

Pitcher(s):
Kusahiko Shuai (8 2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 K)
Sakutarou Makida (1/3 IP, 0 R)

China:

Lineup:
1. Lim Ma – CF (1-5)
2. Mitsuo Reiza – RF (2-5, K)
3. Kuan-Yin Tsui - 3B (2-5, HR, 1 RBI)
4. Zhen Yin - 1B (1-5, 2 K)
5. Li Ng- C (3-5, 2B, K)
6. Tai Su – SS (2-4, 2B, DP)
7. Jin Tan – LF (2-4, 1 RBI)
8. Chang Wu - 2B (2-4, 2 K)
9. PITCHER (0-1, SAC)
- Dai-Kang Yang – PH (0-1)
- Lang Tsao – PH (1-1, HR, 2 RBI)

Pitcher(s):
Feng Chen (6+ IP, 6 R, 6 ER)
Kai-Wen Cheng (1 IP, 2 R, 2 ER)
Jun Matsui (2 IP, 0 R)

MVP:
Kazuteru Tani: His 2 RBI double in the 1st started it all for Team Japan!

WP: Kusahiko Shuai
LP: Feng Chen
S: Sakutarou Makida

Nippon Sports News
March 10, 2016
Japan Wins Again, Game 5 Is Imminent!

– Kazuteru Tani

Kobe Sports Park, Suma-ku, Kobe – Team Japan has done it! And with that win, they’ve managed to force a game 5! I sure wasn’t expecting that to happen, quite honestly.

Well, during the game, Tani get it all started with a 2 RBI double to left, for Japan’s first two runs. And, in the same inning, Nakajima got himself an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0. Japan would add 5 more runs to their total, thanks to a homerun from Tani, a homerun by Ushida, and an RBI single by Itoi.

Shuai almost got a complete game, but couldn’t seem to get the last out, as he gave up a 2-run homerun to Tsao, and then another homerun by Tsui.

In two days, the series will continue, an epic game 5, I’m sure.

- Tsutomu Nishioka

It's a 5 game series!