Our Marines are 4-9 so far in May, as they head up north for a three game set in Sapporo. The roster changes and constant lineup tinkering have really ratcheted up this month, with the pre-game announcements accounting half the fun of following the team. It’s anyone’s guess which positions players will start this weekend, where they’ll be positioned, and in what spot they’ll bat in the lineup.
Tag: yoshifumi okada
Hawks @ Lotte, 13-15 May 2014
I don’t wish to dwell much more on my bitter ranting from the end of the last series, but it’s certainly time for the team to step up and start winning games. The offense disappears for 10 inning stretches and the pitching alternates between brilliant and execrable. The ingredients that made this season such an exciting prospect are still there – they’re just mostly in ni-gun.
Memories of 2013 – Honorable Mentions
Happy New Year everyone. Considering Steve posted the official We Love Marines Memories and Best of 2013 blog, I figured it’s a good time to for me to weigh in with my first post of 2014. Here’s a mishmash some of my top memories from 2013 that didn’t make it into Steve’s post.
It Ends Here: Lotte at Seibu, 8 October 2013
The good news is, we are in Climax Series. We’re playing Seibu on Saturday. The bad news is, we could not possibly be slumping more, and Seibu could not possibly hotter. On the last night of their 2013 season, Our Marines got steamrolled by the Lions in Tokorozawa, 10-2. That’s three losses in a row to end the year for Chiba, compared to 8 wins in a row for Saitama.
Bring It Back Home: Lotte vs Orix, 5-6 Oct 2013
Marines fans, you can see that sticky up above. Our Marines have made it to the postseason for the first time in three years. If you are new to being a Marines fan, it may be hard to get why this is such a big deal. Here’s why: In the last 39 years since the championship when the team was still the Lotte Orions and played in Sendai, this team has played postseason baseball just 4 times, this the first time since 2010. It’s huge.
It’s a Sweep! Hamu Series: 30 August – 1 September 2013
It’s Legends Series time, and who doesn’t love an excuse to break out the throwback uniforms? Honestly these old unis – they’re the old road blues from the Orions days – are my favorite Lotte uniform. Love the blue with the red accent, and I wish we played in the Orions-era uniforms (both road and home) more often.
New Lefty Ace Wins Again!
Less than two months ago, an unexpected start by Takuya Furuya resulted in a no-no near miss. Since then, Furuya has been a fixture in the rotation, easily the best pitcher for Our Marines since the resumption of Pacific League play. Tonight, Furuya pitched another gem vs PL leaders Tohoku Rakuten – 7 innings and 8 strikeouts – and the bullpen took it to the finish for a stirring 3-0 Lotte victory.
Another Series Win!
For the 4th series in a row, Our Marines came into the the 3rd game of the series with a chance to take it. And has been the case for every series so far in August, the Men of Chiba did just that, putting together timely hitting and impressive pitching from a whole host of players to take the finale from Nippon Ham 5-1.
Braz Attack!
It’s been a rough July for Chiba – coming into Tuesday’s game vs Daiei the Boys by the Bay were just 2-8-1 for the month (most of the games on the road). But thanks to some great pitching, timely hitting, and a powerful smash by new addition Craig Brazell, Our Marines pulled out a fun 6-3 victory at QVC.
VERY Small Ball
In a complete turnaround from the previous three games with the Hiroshima Carp, Our Marines couldn’t hit and couldn’t play defense. The Carp capitalized on Lotte mistakes and ended the season series by defeating Chiba 4-1 in Onomichi.