Happy 2014 from We Love Marines! Now that the 2013 season is officially in the books with Rakuten as champs and Our Marines in a strong second place1, it’s time to review some of the players and moments that made this season so memorable.
Friends, I’d like to tell you that this season ended with another storybook run to a Nippon Series title a la 2010, but it’s not going to be.
Our Marines fought hard through so much this year, but ultimately they – we – lost the last two games to Rakuten in Sendai. That’s 2-0 on Saturday, and after a rainout on Sunday, an 8-5 loss to send Rakuten to the Nippon Series on Monday.
Friends, this was a hard-fought win. I said in yesterday’s writeup that this one was a must win, and win we did. It was classic playoff baseball – Our Marines needed some heroics to overcome the great pitching of Rakuten’s Norimoto and boy did we get it both from the mound and at the plate.
In another fine example of the lack of skill I have at picking games, Rakuten beat Our Marines and Naruse 2-0 in the first game of the CS Final Stage. It’s not the end of the world by any means – a reasonable observer would expect Rakuten to have the edge in this one thanks if nothing else to Tanaka, and sure enough Tanaka was the difference.
Lotte Fans!
LOTTE FANS!
Our Marines did it! They quickly forgot Sunday’s Game 2 and put together a complete 4-1 victory!
The pitching – wonderful. Karakawa, Uchi, Rosa, and Masuda kept the game fully under control.
The batting – a huge homer by Daichi (the Lion Killer), Iguchi, and a game-sealing 2-run triple by Kakunaka.
The tickets are booked for SENDAI! We’re in the Climax Series Final Stage!
