I come home from work, turn on the Lotte game, and see Naoyuki Shimizu on the hill in some strange uniform with a “B” on it. Towards the end of the game out trots Daisuke Hayakawa; he too has that strange uniform. It’d be really weird if someone like Tasuku Hashimoto was wearing one of …
Tag: Shimizu
Street Fighting Days, Part 2
The second game of the final Orix-sen showed up on a lovely – but hot – late September day. It was a festival day, with much singing and dancing both inside and outside the stadium. The game itself was spirited as well – both on and off the diamond. The balls were flying out of …
Good News and Bad News
I lied; there is no good news. How can there be good news when the pen blows a game to the hated Lions? The pen didn’t blow a lead, but they did blow a tie – twice – and the second time was unrecoverable as Seibu beats Lotte the second night in a row, 5-3. …
Game Report: Lotte vs Orix, 14 July
The 9 game road trip rambles on, and on Tuesday Lotte came to Kyocera Dome to exact some revenge for the current 4-game losing streak and 2-7 record vs Orix this season. Lotte starter Shimizu went 9 very strong innings, but unfortunately the game went 10. Lotte scored a run in the top of the …
Game Report: Lotte vs Rakuten, 7 July
When I was young, my daddy used to sit me on his lap and tell me, “Son, let me tell you something about baseball. Don’t listen to any naysayers. A grand slam in the top of the first – before your opponent even gets a chance to bat – is a really good thing. You’ll …
Game Report: Lotte vs Seibu, 30 June
No photos today – no photos needed to illustrate the lovely, see-saw, extra-innings, dramatic 8-6 victory over Seibu in Tokorozawa tonight! Thanks to gutsy play, great clutch hitting, and one dramatic swing by Saburo the Marines took the first game of three with the Lions and put themselves closer to the top half of the …
Interleague Game 24: Ending on a Good Note
After yesterday’s loss to the evil Kyojin I predicted a big Lotte win for today. Whaddya know, I got one right! Today, Lotte pounded out 9 runs on 11 hits – with 4 homers, too – as they won the last game of Interleague 2009 in the Tokyo Dome, 9-4. Around this time I would …
Interleague Game 18: We Shall Fight on the Beaches
Before tonight’s game vs Hiroshima at Chiba Marine – the last game between Lotte and Hiroshima in 2009 – I imagine Bobby Valentine gave our Marines a pep talk. I think it might have gone like this: “My fellow Marines. We have seen much together these past years. These last few weeks – the battles …
Interleague Game 12: All Quiet on the Eastern Front
The Kyojin and Marines met up for battle again – not at Ypres, Verdun, or the Somme, but at Chiba Marine – to finish that which was left unfinished in Tuesday’s 0-0 tie. It’s baseball, though, not trench warfare – so why does it feel like a battle of attrition? Surely the good guys will …
Interleague Game 6: Ouendan Tales
So the clouds decided to go away, the teams returned, and the second game of the Hanshin-Lotte series (though technically the first game) got underway. We made our way back to Koshien again for Monday’s game hoping to make it through 9 innings and get out with a Lotte victory. That we did, but the …