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Here’s another fantastic NPB catch from 1981 between the Marines and another team I can’t quite decipher.
I wasn't at the Bean, but it's also in Chicago. My photos aren't uploaded yet.
Lots of action this weekend, including a game I attended in the Friendly Confines that will not be mentioned because I don’t cover the Cubs or the Angels.
18 June
NPB Yakult Swallows at Hiroshima Carp. Rain delayed.
Rakuten Eagles at Chiba Lotte Marines. Rain delayed.
MLB Chicago White Sox (2) at Washington Nationals (1). Strasburg went out for his second home outing and pitched another stellar game, allowing only one over seven innings and striking out another 10. This kid is insane. The game is lost on a bad throw in the 11th, and Strasburg gets his first no decision.
Tampa Bay Rays (4) at Florida Marlins (7). I turn off my Rays switch again to root for another great Marlins game. I’m super bummed I missed it, but this game had Mike Stanton’s first home run and boy was it a doozy. First homers don’t get any better than grand slams.
Baltimore Orioles (2) at San Diego Padres (3). The Padres are the biggest surprise this year. The Orioles, not so much.
19 June
NPB Swallows (1) at Carp (5). The Carp have to wait a day to kick off non-interleague play, but they come out with a bang. It’s no surprise Yakult’s score is so low, it was a Kenta Maeda start. That guy is a monster.
Eagles (3) at Marines (0). Iwakuma returns to form against the PL as he blanks the hard-hitting Marines.
MLB White Sox (1) at Nationals (0). Jake Peavy throws an incredible game and the Nats just keep on losing and sliding down.
Rays (9) at Marlins (8). A wild game that went into extras was blown by Jorge Sosa walking in two in the 11th. The Marlins came within one, but couldn’t tack that final one down.
Orioles (5) at Padres (4). Stop the presses, Kevin Milwood FINALLY got his first win of the season. Congrats, buddy, you didn’t deserve to go this long without one.
20 June
NPB Eagles (1) at Marines (3). Rakuten went through with its plan to separate Tanaka and Iwakuma, but that means they won’t be winning back-to-back almost every Saturday and Sunday. Rakuten closes the weekend in fifth with a 30-34-1 record.
Swallows (4) at Carp (2). I hate losing to the Swallows. A lot. It’s especially bad when it’s all thanks to the bullpen. The Carp are now 26-35-2 in fourth
MLB Rays (1) at Marlins (4). Price vs. Johnson was one of the best matchups of the weekend, but David was no match for the Fish while the Rays struggled against the Marlins ace. Way to go Florida, you’re now 33-36 in fourth while Tampa drops to 42-27, tied with Boston for second.
White Sox (6) at Nationals (3). The losing streak continues. It’s starting to get really ugly in Washington again. They are now 31-39 in last. Do they have any other rookie phenoms to call up?
Orioles (4) at Padres (9). 19-50. Yikes. Enough said.
Last night's attendance was less than half. I guess that's what happens when Strasburg's not pitching.
Pittsburgh debuted some rookies last night too. The Nationals crowd of about 18,000 was not impressed.
10 June
NPB Chunichi Dragons (7) at Rakuten Eagles (2). Wei-Yin Chen Tossed six scoreless with five strikeouts as the Dragons got revenge. Rakuten’s record slides to 29-31-1 in fifth.
Hiroshima Carp (12) at Chiba Lotte Marines (7). Eric Stults goes 5.1, but how strange is it to see such a high-scoring game go into the 12th? Wanting desperately to avoid the tie, Hiroshima burst out in a big way, scoring 5 in the 12th. The Carp are now 23-34-2, in sole possession of fourth.
MLB New York Yankees (3) at Baltimore Orioles (4). Jake Arrieta makes his first MLB start in a trial by fire, but comes out only singed by the Yankee heat. Wow, that was quite the bit of sportswriting there. Their record rose to 16-43. Wake me up when their win rate rises above 0.333
Florida Marlins (2) at Philadelphia Phillies (0). The rematch of Josh Johnson and Roy Halladay gets delayed until today and it does not disappoint. The Marlins plate one in the first, which was all they need, while JJ went 8 innings, striking out five. The Fish are now 28-31, making a comeback in the East.
Pittsburgh Pirates (2) at Washington Nationals (4). Liván Hernández does it again. This guy has really reemerged as a great pitcher. The Nats are in fourth with a 29-31 record.
Toronto Blue Jays (3) at Tampa Bay Rays (2). More hard luck for Wade Davis who just can’t keep the Jays down and takes another loss. Thanks to the Yankees loss, the Rays retain their two-game lead with their 39-20 record.
"Honest" Abe and I fist bumping
For some reason Abe has become my favorite of the racing presidents. Maybe it’s his arrogant stride or maybe it’s the way he’s a sore loser when he doesn’t win, but I just love everything about the persona they’ve crafted for #16.
09 June
NPB Chunichi Dragons (1) at Rakuten Eagles (4). Satoshi Nagai hurls eight innings of eight hit ball, miraculously only giving up one run. Nice work, Nagai. Rakuten’s record improves to 29-30-1, tied for fourth.
Hiroshima Carp (2) at Chiba Lotte Marines (2). Kenta Maeda battled the Marines to a tie over nine and his bullpen held on for him to secure Hiroshima’s second tie in like a week. The tie allows Hiroshima to edge forward to 22-34-2 in fourth.
MLB New York Yankees (4) at Baltimore Orioles (2). I watched the Orioles blow a bases-loaded opportunity against Sabathia in the 7th (I believe). Such a disappointing team. 16-43.
Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies. The much vaunted Johnson vs Halladay rematch was postponed due to rain.
Pittsburgh Pirates (5) at Washington Nationals (7). Washington proves that it can win without Strasburg. Can they sweep the Bucs? Their record improves to 29-31, putting them in fourth.
Toronto Blue Jays (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (10). David Price has just been unbelievable of late. Very nice work. Tampa retains its two game lead with its 39-20 record.
I don't have any pictues of Kenta Maeda to put up, so this is the next best thing.
I don’t know why I’m surprised to see Maeda pitched when I see the Carp played a shutout. He really is the best pitcher in the Central League so far.
27 May
NPB Chiba Lotte Marines (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Maeda scatters four hits over 8 while Yokoyama notches the save. This brings Hiroshima’s record up to 20-29-0 in fifth.
Rakuten Eagles (3) at Yakult Swallows (3). Both teams battle into a tie in the 12th, unable to break the deadlock. Rakuten’s record kind of rises to 22-28-1, tying them with the Fighters in fifth.
MLB Washington Nationals (4) at San Francisco Giants (5). The Nats lose the game in a disastrous 7th inning pitched by Stammen, Burnett, and Walker. Their 24-24 record ties them for fourth with Florida.
Oakland Athletics (7) at Baltimore Orioles (5). Mark Hendrickson blows this game in the eighth by giving up three. It’s no wonder the Marlins got rid of him. Baltimore’s record falls to 15-33 on the year in last.
Atlanta Braves (8) at Florida Marlins (3). Ricky Nolasco has a mediocre start cut short at four innings by a rain delay and the Marlins relief corp couldn’t hold on. Their bats couldn’t contribute either, so the Fish went down, yet again, to the accursed Braves. They are now playing 0.500 ball again at 24-24
Chicago White Sox (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (5). It’s important to establish dominance yet again after the embarrassing sweep the Rays just suffered. Not to mention the fact that Jeff Niemann is the last remaining lossless starter in the American League. He holds on to that title, improving to 5-0 while the Rays increase to 33-15.
Q: When is it ok to get swept by the Red Sox? A: NEVER!
NPB Chiba Lotte Marines (9) at Hiroshima Carp (1). When you give up four home runs in one game, it takes some mighty fine offense to catch up. Hiroshima’s offense is so streaky, this will never happen when they need it. The Carp record declines to 19-29-0 in fifth. I want to see them be < 10 games back for the rest of the season. Come on, guys! Rakuten Eagles (3) at Yakult Swallows (2). Rakuten just gets it done against the heavily struggling Yakult squad. Their manager has stepped down due to the ridiculous skip the team has faced so far. Rakuten's record improves to 22-28. They're getting there. MLB Oakland Athletics (6) at Baltimore Orioles (1). After a stellar start to the season, Brian Matusz has been having some serious struggles, giving up all six of Oakland’s runs. Their record rests at 15-32 after the bloodbath.
Atlanta Braves (7) at Florida Marlins (3). When I left this game it was 1-0 Marlins. Then I check the scores after my softball game and they’ve somehow managed to blow it! The Hopper, Burke Badenhop, just isn’t getting it done for the Fish these days. This loss costs them second place with their 24-23 record.
Boston Red Sox (11) at Tampa Bay Rays (3). What is going on with the Rays these past three days? I would never have thought Matt Garza would give up six to the Sox. Baseball’s a game of ebbs and flows, but the Rays need to start flowing again and soon! Their 32-15 record is still good enough for first, but they can’t keep losing like this if they want to hold on to it.
Washington Nationals (7) at San Francisco Giants (3). The only team that I follow here to win last night, the Nats put forth a great effort against Tim Lincecum, of all people, notching six of the seven on his watch. They are now in a three-way tie with Florida and New York for third with their 24-23 record.
A first base and infield glove on the visiting dugout of Citizens Bank Park.
Yesterday seemed to be super rainy in Japan. Neither of my teams managed to get a game in.
22 April
NPB Hiroshima Carp at Hanshin Tigers. Rained out.
Chiba Lotte Marines at Rakuten Eagles. Rained out.
MLB Colorado Rockies (2) at Washington Nationals (0). Livo couldn’t pitch another shut out, so his perfect record and perfect ERA take hits. A well pitched game by Ubaldo Jiménez keeps the Nats out of the box score (also thanks to injuries to Zimmerman and a rest day for Willingham). The Nats return to their 8-8 record and are in fourth.
Florida Marlins (5) at Houson Astros (1). Anibal Sanchez finally has a great outing and the Marlins finally notch a win against the Astros, rising to 9-7, 1.5 GB in second.
Tampa Bay Rays (10) at Chicago White Sox (2). Another drumming by the Rays who rise back into first place with their 12-4 record.
Unrelated picture of Hanley Ramirez and his sweet glove.
I don’t feel very good today, but that won’t keep me from posting scores.
21 April
NPB Hiroshima Carp (2) at Hanshin Tigers (1). I love seeing the Carp win the close ones. Hiroshima is 10-12-0 and only half a game away from third.
Chiba Lotte Marines (6) at Rakuten Eagles (0). Rakuten seems to only be able to put together solid performances a few times a week (notably when Iwakuma and Tanaka pitch). They won’t make the Climax Series this way. Rakuten falls to 9-16-0 and I’m quite frankly surprised that the Fighters are still doing worse.
MLB Colorado Rockies (4) at Washington Nationals (6). Another game I was there for and the first Nats win I’ve seen in person this year. The Nats are now 8-7 and tied with Florida for third.
Florida Marlins (4) at Houson Astros (5). I thought this would be a much easier series for the Marlins, but they seem to keep dropping games to one of the worst teams in baseball. Pull it together Florida, you’re already tied with Washington with your 8-7 record.
Tampa Bay Rays (12) at Chicago White Sox (0). A nice drumming of my least favorite AL Central team. Tampa Bay rises to 11-4, half a game back from the first place Yankees.
Baltimore Orioles (1) at Seattle Mariners (4). As I predicted, King Felix held them down. Baltimore is down to 2-14 and still looking awful.
Giant Pretzel!
The Victory Knot! Served at Nationals Park (and two other ballparks, supposedly) and absolutely delicious. This 2 lb monstrosity costs $16, but it’s WAY worth it. Best part of last night’s game.
20 April
NPB Hiroshima Carp (0) at Hanshin Tigers (5). The win streak ends. I really hope Hiroshima can at least win this series against the Tigers. 9-12-0 in fourth, four games from first.
Chiba Lotte Marines (2) at Rakuten Eagles (8). Where did this offense come from? Nice work Rakuten. 9-15-0 in fourth.
MLB Colorado Rockies (10) at Washington Nationals (4). I was at this ugly game that the Nats gave up in the third inning. The 10-0 deficit was slightly made up by the Nats thanks to Zimmerman, Maxwell, and Desmond, but it wasn’t enough. Nice try, Washington, who drops to 0.500 baseball again: 7-7 in fourth.
Florida Marlins (5) at Houston Astros (7). Embarrassing to lose to the ‘Stros, but it happens. Marlins relief gives it up. Why Fredi left Tim Wood in so long, I don’t know, but they managed to lose this one late. Marlins fall into third with their 8-6 record, but they’re only half a game back.
Tampa Bay Rays (1) at Chicago White Sox (4). David Price gives up three, which isn’t that bad, but the Rays offense can’t put anything together. 10-4 puts them half a game back in second.
Baltimore Orioles (1) at Seattle Mariners (3). Another game dropped. 2-13. Last. Worst team in baseball at the moment.
Since I didn't talk about the NPB yesterday I didn't get a chance to put up another picture of a baseball babe. Sorry Min, that won't happen again.
1 April
NPB Hanshin Tigers at Hiroshima Carp. Appears to have been rained out. The Carp remain at 1-4-0 in last in the Central League. Rakuten Golden Eagles (2) at Chiba Lotte Marines (3). The Eagles are now 2-6-0 and in fifth place in the Pacific League.
It was too good to be true for the Eagles to start a win streak. They go on to face the Hawks tomorrow. Softbank has been having a hard time recently, so it’s a good time for Rakuten to start performing.
Meanwhile, the Carp will go on to face the Yomiuri Giants in a series that can only be saved by a miracle. Is five games in a little early to start getting so dramatic about the Carp’s misfortunes? Probably, but I don’t see much good coming out of a series with the Giants.
Just in case you were wondering about the relevance of the picture, it’s obvious, isn’t it? The Carp were playing the Tigers today. These girls are on the Hanshin Tigers racing team, a totally different sport.
