Power Pros Forum

Round 1:

October 22, 2011

Hanshin Tigers: 3
Yokohama BayStars: 2

October 23, 2011

Hasnhin Tigers: 4
Yokohama BayStars: 5

October 24, 2011

Hanshin Tigers: 7
Yokohama Baystars: 3

Tigers advance to the next round!

Round 2:

October 26, 2011

Yomiuri Giants: 3
Hanshin Tigers: 4

October 27, 2011

Yomiuri Giants: 4
Hanshin Tigers: 3

October 28, 2011

Yomiuri Giants: 5
Hanshin Tigers: 4

October 29, 2011

Yomiuri Giants: 1
Hanshin Tigers: 5

October 30, 2011

Yomiuri Giants: 9
Hanshin Tigers: 3

The Tigers are out...

Nippon Baseball Sports News
November 13, 2011
The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!


Tokyo Dome, Tokyo - The Yomiuri Giants are the champions! They have won for the second year in a row! In a 6 game epic, they came out on top of the Japanese baseball world. It seems that this team is going to be tough to beat for next year. The Tigers are already looking into some good, young talent. We'll see how it all goes.

- Yura Seki

Nishinomiya Sports
November 13, 2011
The Giants are victorious

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo - Once again, the Giants have won the pennant. They're one great team. And one that the Tigers will probably have trouble with in the future. But, I've got a feeling that next year will be the year.

- Takaharu Sonada

AWARDS

Tigers:
Batting/Pitching:
Shortstop of the Year: Takashi Toritani
Outfielder of the Year: Kazuteru Tani

Fielding:
Outfielder: Kazuteru Tani and Matt Murton

Accolades:
MVP: Minoru Iwata
Rookie of the Year: Riki Kawamoto
Batting average: Kazuteru Tani
Wins: Minoru Iwata
Saves: Kyuji Fujikawa

"As I stated last season, I will be staying here for a while longer. Hopefully with me in charge we can finally take charge in the Central League!" I said during my end-of-the-year press conference. And boy, was I glad that it was over.
I was finally going to be able to go home, to my loving girlfriend and dog, if it is only for a couple of weeks, since my brother's long pushed back wedding is sometime soon.

Those pesky Giants!

January 12, 2012

My brother's wedding is in 3 days!
"I've gotta pack, I've gotta pack, I've gotta pack" I repeated to myself ever-so-often.
The shortest flight that I can take back to my hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, is 23 hours, plus the jet lag, equals: ugh. I'm already tired enough.
But I've gotta go, it's my younger brother's wedding! I can't miss this!
*Ring, ring, ring, ring*
My phone rang it's dreaded 4-ring ring. It means that the owner is calling.
I reluctantly answered.
"H-Hello?" I said
"Jack! How're you doing? I hear your brothers wedding is soon." He said, boomingly
"Uh...Yes sir. It is."
"Well then, tell him I wish him good luck, and a happy marriage."
I was shocked that this is why he called.
"Th-thank you sir!"
"Goodbye Jack, I'll see you next week, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright. Bye."
"Bye"
I hung up, and was happy.
I was happy that someone who was so important called to wish my brother luck, I wrote myself a note to tell him about that.

January 13, 2012

"Come on! Wake up! Wake up!"
Is all I heard from my girlfriend, who (indirectly) told me that I overslept.
It was 11.58.
My flight leaves at 13.00.
It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport.
I made a mad dash, packed everything I needed (poorly) and rushed out of the door into the car, and off we went.
The ride actually took about 40 minutes, we had just made it. And we had 20 minutes to spare, so we headed into the gift shop, only to see on the front page of the newspaper... Guess who...
Toshiharu Tamaki and Fumihiko Saito the two players that we drafted this season! I was ecstatic to see some young, talented players on a non-sports newspaper
The cover read "Rookies look to help struggling Tigers team."
I bought a copy, and headed to the God forsaken bag-checking, metal-detector area. It took about 7 minutes to get through there, but after that it was smooth sailing to get to the plane.
Even the plane ride was smooth, luckily. Since I have a horrible fear of flying. I watch too much TV.
The weird thing is, at this hour I'll be arriving at noon in Newton. On January 13. Even though the flight is 23 hours.
Weird, huh?
I fell asleep on the flight, hoping to decrease my jet-laggy-ness. Yeah. No. It didn't work very well for me.

January 13, 2012 (In Newton)
When I awoke, we were about a half-an-hour away from the airport. I couldn't wait to see my family again, after so long.
And to meet my brother's, fiancée. That should be interesting, and probably awkward. But, whatever, hopefully I'll be able to welcome her into the Allen family, well, actually My brother has probably alrady taken care of that ( ). Ehem.
When we got there, we met my brother at the airport, and he drove us to our hotel room.It was a pretty nice hotel, and apparently, they're supposed to have really good food (which is awesome!)
At the hotel waiting was his fiancée.
"..." Is what I said.
My brother. And her?!
What?!
I was flabbergasted at the luck of my brother landing this kind of woman! (That may have sounded very cheesy).
When we spoke, I felt no awkwardness, and found out her name was Jenny Campbell [Allen], and she was a former model.
I whispered in my brothers ear "Dude... Nice" We gave each other a mini-high five.
We spoke for another 10 minutes or so, and then my girlfriend and I went back to our hotel, ate dinner, and then went to sleep (it was a loooong day).

January 15, 2012 (In Newton)
The day of the wedding!
The day in which the Campbell's (who were all very attractive looking) and us, the Allen's, merge!
A day of celebration!
And a day of cake!
Luckily, it was a beautiful day.
A nice, sunny, 59 degree day.
When Jenny walked up to the alter, and my brother, Steven, said to me "This is the best day of my life" I was in awe, and just incredibly happy for him.
The wedding was awesome, and the food was awesome.
And then I went home after 6 hours of wedding-ing. Home to the hotel that is.
We stayed for a couple more days, but left on the 17th, America was pretty different from when I left to go to Japan 7 years ago...

January 19, 2012 (In Japan)
When I got home home, I was relieved, and also sad that I had to leave. I do miss my family, and I wish for the best for Steven and Jenny!
Oh well, back to work now. Whee.......

I agree with you completely.

DRAFT
December 2, 2011

1st Round: Fumihiko Saito - 2B
2ND POSITION, NUMBER, TRJ, CON, POW, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
N/A, 43, 1, A (15!), F, B, C, C, B
2nd Round: Toshiharu Tamaki
NUMBER, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
15, 147 km/h (91 mph), C, C, down - 3, right - 3
3rd Round: N/A

FA

NAME, NUMBER, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
Kiyoshi Toyoda, 16, 145 km/h (90 mph), B, F, down - 4, right - 2
Shota Kimura, 20, 148 km/h (91 mph), C, D, down-right - 4, right – 1

Sorry, I forgot to put up the end of the year statistics, I'm slippin' up! It's probably because it's 1:40 AM. I'll defiantly do them at the end of the 2012 season.

Steven Allen is a player!

He is one!

Nishinomiya Sports
March 24, 2012
A Fresh Start

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo - An interview was cast yesterday with Tigers rookie, Fumihiko Saito, about his signing, and being the oldest person in the draft, at 27. He said: "I feel as if this is a blessing. And me being 27, it makes it even more of a blessing. Baseball has been my passion since I was about 6 or 7. I was supposed to go into the draft 9 years ago, but since we lost, well actually, since I lost to my high school rival Mori Igari, I was in serious doubt about my baseball abilities. I went into a depression, and luckily, I was persuaded out of it by my father. He always knew that I had it in me to play professional ball, and I thought that as well. So I started training again, went through some hard times, injuries, and some loss of will. But I stuck through it, and now, I'm better then ever. I have to thank the Tigers organization for giving me a chance, I promise, I won't let them down."

He is confirmed to be the starting second baseman, and is going to bat 8th, most of the time.

- Takaharu Sonada

When I read that article about what Saito had said, I knew that it was the correct decision to select him.

March 25, 2012
The Starters

"Okay sirs, I've come up with this for the starting rotation, and the starting lineup"

Starting Rotation

1. Minoru Iwata - L
2. Atsushi Nohmi - L
3. Masaru Takeda - L
4. Seth Greisinger - R
5. Tsuyoshi Moriyama - R

Starting Lineup

(Without DH)
1. Kiyoshi Abe - C [L/R]
2. Matt Murton - LF [R/R]
3. Takashi Toritani - SS [L/R]
4. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B [L/R]
5. Kazuteru Tani - RF [S/R]
6. Takahiro Arai - 3B [R/R]
7. Riki Kawamoto - CF [L/R]
8. Fumihiko Saito - 2B [R/R]
9. PITCHER

(With DH)
1. Kiyoshi Abe - C [L/R]
2. Matt Murton - LF [R/R]
3. Takashi Toritani - SS [L/R]
4. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B [L/R]
5. Kazuteru Tani - RF [S/R]
6. Takahiro Arai - 3B [R/R]
7. Kenji Johjima - DH [R/R]
8. Riki Kawamoto - CF [L/R]
9. Fumihiko Saito - 2B [R/R]

This is going to be a good year! Hopefully the Tigers can pull through this year. With the addition of Fumihiko Saito, they should do even better.

I agree, he should be of great help, and so should the pitcher I drafted. This is going to be our year, I've just got a feeling.

Toritani happily accepts his awards and hopes to contribute to another winning season!

March 30, 2012

"Opening day is upon us once again! Let's start this season out right!"

Hanshin Tigers (0-1-0) - 3
Hiroshima Toyo Carp (1-0-0) - 5

Tigers:

Lineup:
1. Kiyoshi Abe - C (2-4, HR [1], double, 2 RBI)
2. Matt Murton - LF (1-3, sac fly, 1 RBI)
3. Takashi Toritani – SS (1-4, DP)
4. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B (0-4)
5. Kazuteru Tani – RF (1-4)
6. Takahiro Arai - 3B (2-4, DP, double)
7. Riki Kawamoto - CF (0-4)
8. Fumihiko Saito - 2B (0-3, SO)
9. PITCHER (2-2)
- Keisuke Kanoh – PH (0-1)

Pitcher(s):
Minoru Iwata (7 innings, 4 runs, 4 earned)
Keiji Tamaki (2 innings, 1 run, 1 earned)

Carp:

Lineup:
1. Sohichiro Amaya – RF (2-5)
2. Eishin Soyogi – SS (1-5, SO)
3. Shinnosuke Abe – C (2-4, 2 SO, HR [1], double, 4 RBI)
- Yoshiyuki Ishihara – PR (0-1)
4. Kenta Kurihara - 3B (0-4, SO)
5. Masato Akamatsu – CF (0-4)
6. Akihiro Higashide - 2B (3-4, 1 RBI, SB)
7. Justin Huber - 1B (0-4)
8. Masafumi Suenaga – LF (1-4)
9. PITCHER (1-1, sac bunt)
- Jun Hirose – PH (1-1, double)
- Sigenobu Shima – PH (1-1)

Pitcher(s):
Kenta Maeda (6 innings, 3 runs, 3 earned)
Tomohiro Umetsu (2 innings, 0 runs)
Mike Schultz (1 inning, 0 runs)

MVP(s):
Kenta Maeda: Good pitching
Shinnosuke Abe: Gave his team the lead with a grand slam in the 3rd

WP: Kenta Maeda (1-0)
LP: Minoru Iwata (0-1)
S: Mike Schultz (1)

Nishinomiya Sports
March 31, 2012
Tigers Lose Opener
- Kenta Maeda
- Shinnosuke Abe, with the Japanese team in the WBC, 2009

Koshien Stadium, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo – The Tigers lost yesterday’s game with a score of 5-3. In large part to the grand slam by veteran catcher Shinnosuke Abe, who is new to The Carp. Both of the new draftees played in yesterday’s game, and they did… Well… Not as they were expected. Saito went 0-3 with a strikeout, and Tamaki went 2 innings, giving up a run, which isn’t too bad. Hopefully they’ll fix this up soon. Manager, Akinobu Mayumi spoke about the game in his press conference, he said: “Hopefully this isn’t what the rest of the season will be like.”

I agree, Mayumi-senpai.

Also, Kanemoto had his 9,000th career at-bat, congratulations!

- Takaharu Sonada

The front office hopes this too!

April 4, 2012

We're playing the BayStars today; they're a game and a half back. This should be good.

Yokohama BayStars (2-2-1) - 10
Hanshin Tigers (3-1-0) - 9

BayStars:

Lineup:
1. Kazuya Fujita – SS (3-5)
2. Yuki Takamori – C (2-4, sac bunt, SO, 1 RBI)
3. Seiichi Uchikawa - 1B (1-5, DP, double, 1 RBI)
4. Shuichi Murata - 3B (3-5, 2 HR [2, 3], 4 RBI)
5. Alex Ramirez – RF (1-4, 2 SO, HR [2], 1 RBI)
6. José Castillo - 2B (1-4)
7. Terrmel Sledge – LF (3-4, HR [1], double, 1 RBI)
8. Yuki Yoshimura – CF (1-4, DP, HR [2], 1 RBI)
9. PITCHER (1-1, 1 RBI)
- Tatsuya Shimozono – PH (0-1, SO)
- Takahiro Saeki – PH (1-1)
- Naoto Inada – PH (1-1, double)

Pitcher(s):
Shigeru Kaga (1 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 5 earned)
Kentaro Kuwahara (3 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 earned)
Kosuke Katoh (2 innings, 0 runs)
Shigeki Ushida (2 innings, 2 runs, 2 earned)

Tigers:

Lineup:
1. Kiyoshi Abe – C (4-5, double, 2 HR [2, 3], 2 RBI, DP)
2. Fumihiko Saito - 2B (2-4, double, 1 RBI, sac bunt)
3. Takashi Toritani – SS (1-3, sac bunt, HR [1], 2 RBI, DP)
4. Tomoaki Kanemoto - 1B (2-3, sac fly, double, 1 RBI)
5. Kazuteru Tani – RF (0-4, DP)
6. Takahiro Arai - 3B (1-4, HR [1], 1 RBI)
7. Riki Kawamoto – CF (1-4)
8. Ivan Adamsky – LF (1-3, HR [1], 2 RBI, BB)
9. PITCHER (1-4, double)

Pitcher(s):
Tsuyoshi Moriyama (7 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 6 earned)
Kyuji Fujikawa (2/3 inning, 4 runs, 4 earned)
Kiyoshi Toyoda (0 innings, 0 runs)

WP: Shigeki Ushida (1-0)
LP: Kyuji Fujikawa (0-1)
S: --

MVP:
Shuichi Murata – Walk off single in 9th

Nishinomiya Sports
April 5, 2012
Mayumi – “Are you [expletive]ing kidding me?!”
– Shunichi Murata

Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama – The Tigers lost yesterday’s game? What?! If you only tuned in for the first couple of innings, the score was 7-2 Tigers. Moriyama did an excellent job, considering this is his first start of the season. But the trouble started in the 8th, like usual. The BayStars had back-to-back homeruns, and Akinobu Mayumi, the manager, pulled Moriyama, and brought in Fujikawa, thinking that it was a done deal. It wasn’t. Fujikawa went on the let up 4 runs in the 9th, allowing the BayStars to win.

In other news, rookie Fumihiko Saito is looking good batting second, and started an excellent double play in the 1st inning.
Tsuyoshi Moriyama debuted his new pitch, a sharp fastball, he calls it “MORI.”
Ivan Adamsky, in his first at bat, blasted a 2-run homer to center.
Yuki Yoshimura got his 1,500th hit yesterday, with a homerun off of Fujikawa in the 9th.

- Takaharu Sonada

Well that sure was a bummer.