A lot of this happened last night.

Florida inexplicably went and replaced their manager, Fredi Gonzalez, yesterday and Edwin Rodriguez stepped in as interim manager. I still don’t understand why this happened, but I guess we’ll have a new manager next year.

23 June

NPB
Hanshin Tigers (9) at Hiroshima Carp (4). I was really hoping that Hiroshima would have a better showing coming off of some relatively solid interleague play. He’s on the wrong team, but Toritani had himself quite the night (4 H, 2 RBI). Go Toritani! The Carp record drops to 26-37-2, still in fourth.

Saitama Seibu Lions (8) at Rakuten Eagles (10). Remember when Rakuten had no offense to speak of? They’re lucky to have won this considering that Darrell Rasner only went 3.2 innings and gave up five. The Golden Eagles are now 31-35-1 and they’re closing in on fourth.

MLB
Kansas City Royals (1) at Washington Nationals (0). I hope Strasburg doesn’t end up one of those pitchers who never gets any run support from his team. Washington has been seriously struggling offensively of late, so I’m not too surprised, but it’s a waste of a quality start. Strasburg K-Kount (see what I did there?) is up to 41. The Nationals record is down to 33-40.

Florida Marlins (7) at Baltimore Orioles (5). Even though their winningest manager in franchise history was fired, the Marlins were still able to show up, offensively, and dominate the birds. Gaby Sanchez has been quietly making a case for Rookie of the Year with his offense while Chris Coghlan is definitely back to his old self, hitting 0.317 since his season low of 0.146 in April. That’s good enough to put his average at 0.280 now. The Marlins record improves to 35-36 while Baltimore drops to 19-52.

San Diego Padres (5) at Tampa Bay Rays (4). So frustrating. They’re still tied for second, but Shields’ loss to San Diego extends their losing streak to three. Maddon needs to sit down with his players, hash this out, and get them back on course, pronto. The Rays are now 42-29 on the season.

Action shot!

I just can’t miss seeing the Fish when they’re in town. I let nothing stand in my way, even the dental surgery I had last night. It was with a sore jaw that I saw them rock Baltimore last night. New York got its chance to beat up on the Orioles and the Indians to improve their record. Now it’s time for Florida.

22 June

NPB
Hanshin Tigers (13) at Hiroshima Carp (7). A real brutal game for the pitchers. Kan Otake has a bad night, but my boy Higashide manages two RBIs. The Carp still hold on to fourth, but their record drops to 26-35-2.

Saitama Seibu Lions (5) at Rakuten Eagles (3). Could moving Ma-kun’s starts around have affected his rhythm? It’s odd for Tanaka to give up five. We’ll see if he’s this bad next week too. The Golden Eagles are now 30-34-1 in fifth.

MLB
Florida Marlins (10) at Baltimore Orioles (4). Not Anibal Sanchez’ best pitched game, but not a total wash either. I think I see Wieters homer most games I go to. The kid’s got some pop. Florida’s record improves to 34-36 in fourth while Baltimore drops to 19-51 in a historically bad last.

Kansas City Royals (3) at Washington Nationals (4). Atilano managed a decent start after a few miscues the last few times up. Facing the Royals can only be good for Washington and tonight’s matchup is bound to be yet another impressive Strasburg start. Washington is still in fifth with their 33-39 record.

San Diego Padres (2) at Tampa Bay Rays (1). This is as hard-luck as they get. Wade Davis has really been struggling, but this could have been turned around with a little more offense. The Rays retain their tie with Boston for second, 1.5 games back with a 42-28 record.

The biggest story in baseball today is the blown call by Jim Joyce in the Tigers game last night. Umpires make mistakes, it’s a fact of baseball, but it’s rarely a mistake this huge that costs a man history. Armando Gallaraga, for his part, is taking it in stride. He says he knows he did it, so he doesn’t care, but I’m more concerned with the fact that: 1. The history books will say he didn’t, and 2. Something needs to change. Bad umpiring has been a story in baseball since last year’s World Series and it’s not getting any better. I think that MLB needs to do something to increase the accountability of its umpires. I kind of understand why it is that they try and keep umpire disciplining on the down low (votes of confidence and all that), but that needs to change. In this case, it doesn’t really matter anyway. Diehards will remember Jim Joyce long after this game is done. He will probably be booed every time he shows his face in Detroit. I would feel worse for the guy if he hadn’t made such a terrible call, but I just can’t feel sympathy for him yet. Not this close to botched history.

2 June

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (2) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (2). With Maeda on the mound, you know you’re getting something good and he didn’t disappoint. He gave up only two over the 8 innings that he pitched and neither pitcher (or the subsequent relievers) yielded, keeping the score deadlocked into the 12th for a tie. Hiroshima’s record is now 21-31-1 in fifth.

Hanshin Tigers (7) at Rakuten Eagles (3). The Tigers win it in the 9th thanks to a bullpen implosion by Tsuyoshi Kawagishi, who gave up five in the ninth. Their record falls to 25-29-1, dropping them back into fifth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (9). Why do I even bother with Orioles scores? Dave Trembley is going to lose his job soon. It’s sad. 15-38.

Tampa Bay Rays (7) at Toronto Blue Jays (3). Price gives up two unearned over eight for yet another dominant win. This was the pitcher Tampa Bay signed up for. The Rays are up to 36-18.

Miwaukee Brewers (7) at Florida Marlins (4). Volstad only gave up one this game, but, in Marlins fashion, the team imploded on his night and the bullpen blew game wide open. The Fish are now in third with a 27-27 record.

Washington Nationals (1) at Houston Astros (5). An anemic offensive effort by Washington saddles them with the ‘L’ against one of the worst teams in baseball. The Nats are now two games under 0.500 with their 26-28 record.

Three of my teams managed to notch wins in the final innings of their respective games. It takes a lot of luck and skill to take a game in the 9th. Bravo, teams.

1 June

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (5) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (4). Eishin Soyogi gets the walk-off RBI single in the 9th to push the Carp ahead while Ryuji Yokoyama holds on for the save. Hiroshima’s record rises to 21-31-0 after the tilt.

Hanshin Tigers (2) at Rakuten Eagles (3). TEPPEI! Ok, so his cheer isn’t really conveyed with that text, but Teppei Tsuchiya made himself known with a single up the middle to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. Rakuten’s record improves to 25-28-1, tying them for fourth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (3). Last night was Baltimore’s big chance. The starters get harder from here. Tough break for Brian Matusz whose rookie season is not going how he anticipated it would. Baltimore drops to 15-37.

Tampa Bay Rays (7) at Toronto Blue Jays (6). Former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg blows the save in the 9th, allowing the Rays to pull ahead in a dramatic fashion thanks to a Sean Rodriguez bases-loaded double. This wild game also got Joe Maddon and Kevin Gregg ejected in the 9th. It was a fun one to watch. Tampa’s record improves to 25-18, putting them only 2.5 ahead of those accursed Yankees.

Milwaukee Brewers (4) at Florida Marlins (6). Nolasco has another night where he’s not super sharp, but the bats that awoke last night remain clubbing. Cogz (Chris Coghlan) managed three hits last night, including a home run, which is so reassuring to those of us who were worried about his huge slump. Sure, .237 isn’t .321, but there’s a lot of season left. Florida’s record improves to 27-26, good for third. When did the Phillies drop to second?

Washington Nationals (7) at Houston Astros (8). You can’t lose to Houston if you want to compete, Nats. Storen is still a little wild, Capps blows another save, and the Nats just can’t hold on in this wild one. Their record falls to 26-27 in last.

With that out of the way, the Nationals have finally announced the official first start of rookie Stephen Strasburg. He will get his first chance to strut his stuff on 8 June against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a home game that shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge. I’m gonna try to get tickets myself, but we’ll see if I can afford them.

In other prospect news, the Marlins are very close to calling up Mike Stanton, who has already hit 20 homers in the minors this year. Where he will go is anyone’s guess, but it’ll have to be Coghlan, Maybin, or Ross who is replaced.

San Francisco also finally called up Buster Posey whose bat presence will help the offensively struggling team. Will it help to propel them past the Friars? We shall see.

Let Teddy Win!

No, I didn’t go see the Nats this weekend, but I did finally upload this picture.

14 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (8) at Hiroshima Carp (7). Knowing how badly the Eagles have been so far this season makes this worse. I want the Carp to win!

MLB
Cleveland Indians (1) at Baltimore Orioles (8). My friend went to this game to see the fireworks and watch with an out-of-town friend of his. I’m glad he saw a win.

New York Mets (2) at Florida Marlins (7). I watched every game in this series. Spoiler alert: it ends well for me.

Seattle Mariners (4) at Tampa Bay Rays (3). I was shocked by this, but I guess you can’t sweep all your opponents.

15 May

NPB
Nippon-Ham Fighters (0) at Carp (1). I knew this was a Maeda game the second I started writing the score. It’s great that Hiroshima’s got such a solid part of the rotation, but they need a lot more arms.

Eagles (2) at Hanshin Tigers (3). Not too surprised that one of the top teams in the CL could beat the Eagles. I’ll be surprised if Rakuten splits the series.

MLB
Washington Nationals (2) at Colorado Rockies (6). Inclement weather has ruined the past two series for Colorado, but still allowed them to rack up wins. They notch one in this first part of the doubleheader.

Mariners (2) at Rays (3). Now that’s more like it. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than a walk-off jack. Willy Aybar earns himself the job with one swing of the bat, sending Pat Burrell down for assignment. Good riddance, Pat. Never buy a player from Philly again, Tampa Bay.

Indians (8) at Orioles (2). Now that my friend’s not in the ballpark, we can resume the usual win schedule.

Mets (5) at Marlins (7). This game should not have been this close, but the Marlins bullpen likes to make things interesting. Note that this series has seen remarkable hitting from both Chris Coghlan and Gaby Sanchez so far. Dan Uggla has done well for himself, too.

Nationals (3) at Rockies (4). The doubleheader just doesn’t go in Washington’s favor. Tough break for the previously surging Nats.

16 May

NPB
Fighters (6) at Carp (2). Knowing how terrible the Fighters are makes this a thousand times worse. The Carp close the first weekend of interleague play out with their record standing at 16-25-0, good for fifth in the Central League.

Eagles (7) at Tigers (3). A fair split for Rakuten allows them to end the weekend on a high note with only one loss in interleagues so far. Their record at the end of the weekend: 19-24-0, good for FOURTH!

MLB
Mets (8) at Marlins (10). Another game that should not have been this close. Ricky Nolasco almost watched his bullpen lose him a game again, but they managed to pull together at the last minute to secure the series sweep. It was the first time Florida ever swept the Mets at home in a four-game series in the team’s existence. That’s good enough to raise the Marlins record to 20-18, putting them four games back, tied for second with the Nats.

Indians (5) at Orioles (1). The losing ways continue. Baltimore falls to 12-26 in last. My friend’s got a bet going that the Orioles record will be better than the Pirates, but they’ve got to start performing if he wants his money.

Mariners (1) at Rays (2). A pitching duel between Cliff Lee and Matt Garza decided in late innings. Way to go TB. The Rays now have a 26-11 record good for first.

Nationals (1) at Rockies (2). An ugly sweep, but at least Washington seemed to be making a real contest of it. They close the weekend at 20-18 in second place with the Marlins.

Dave doesn't care much for baseball, but he loves the beach as much as the next guy.

The beach was a success, but I’m dead tired after my travels last weekend. Did I forget to mention that there was also a PERFECT GAME?! Too bad it was against the wrong team…

7 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (6) at Hanshin Tigers (10). Not the ideal start to a short series, but not terrible either. At least they’re scoring runs.

MLB
Florida Marlins (4) at Washington Nationals (2). The Marlins start the series off on the right foot with a strong outing by Volstad.

Tampa Bay Rays (4) at Oakland Athletics (1). Another series that started strong, but didn’t end quite how I’d like it to.

8 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (0) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (1). Darvish pitches a gem that’s won in extra innings. Is this Rakuten’s first loss to the Fighters?

Carp (11) at Tigers (8). Nothing like smacking the Tigers back down to feel better about the night before. Just gotta keep the momentum going into Sunday.

MLB
Marlins (4) at Nationals (5). Now it starts to get ugly for Florida. Close game blown by the bullpen. I mean, come on Pinto! Don’t blow the game by beaning a run in!

Baltimore Orioles (7) at Minnesota Twins (3). I’m always shocked when Baltimore wins. Taking at least one in three may not be great for the Birds in the long run, but it’s a start.

Rays (2) at Athletics (4). This road trip kind of spiraled out of control for Tampa Bay. The bats diminished in this game and couldn’t quite put it together.

Orioles (1) at Twins (6). Doubleheader thanks to a postponed game on Friday. Baltimore doesn’t take this one.

9 May

NPB
Golden Eagles (3) at Fighters (7). Wow, I wouldn’t expect two straight losses to the Fighters. Rakuten closes out the weekend in fifth with their 16-23-0 record.

Carp (3) at Tigers (4). A heartbreaking loss, but the Carp do seem to be improving to me. Regardless, their record drops to 15-22-0 in fifth at the end of the weekend. I take consolation in the fact that it’s better than the Swallows, but it needs to improve!

MLB
Marlins (2) at Nationals (3). The Fish tie it up against Livo’s relief only to give up the go-ahead home run. I can live with this game only because Chris Coghlan finally pushed his batting average above 0.200 by going 3-4. If we can get Maybin’s strikeouts down now too, we might actually have a team going. The Fish are in fourth with their 14-17 record while the Nats are tied for second with their 17-14 record.

Orioles (0) at Twins (6). The Birds get shut out, but it’s not as bad as the next game I’m gonna mention. Not by a long shot. Last place, 9-23.

Rays (0) at Athletics (4). Look, a perfect game is a fantastic achievement and Dallas Braden deserves ridiculous praise for this. I just wish it wasn’t the second perfect game thrown against the Rays in back-to-back years. Congratulations Mr. Braden, you’ve done something so special only 18 other men have done it. Tampa Bay remains in first by half a game with their 22-9 record. I hope they move forward and win a few to make up for this.

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.

160 games in for some teams.

Words cannot describe how great it is to FINALLY have the 2010 season underway for both leagues! Since we had an MLB-only post last week, we’ll start with the NPB.

Sorry Min

What an unfortunate week it’s been for me to root for the Carp and the Eagles. Both teams put together three wins over the last week, which is pretty shameful.

Hiroshima faced off against two tough teams last week, the Giants and the Tigers, but managed to get their miraculous win over the Swallows who have had a hot start to the season. In other non-reputable news, Marty Brown, skipper for the Carp, got thrown out of the game on Sunday. He currently leads NPB managers in the number of times thrown out of a ballpark.

Rakuten has had a 100% better week with two wins, but it was still a pretty poor performance. The Hawks were supposed to be a pretty easy win for them, but they only took one of the series. The struggling Fighters provided their sole other win. Thank God the Eagles don’t have to face Darvish this week.

The Florida Marlins: America's Only Baseball Team With Cheerleaders

It’s been just two days since the MLB season started, but they’ve already been pretty exciting. A great play by Mark Buehrle, an exciting game from the Yankees and Red Sox, Obama throwing the first pitch, fantastic pitching performances by Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Johan Santana, and the exciting debut of Jason Heyward for the Braves.

My Fish didn’t fare too well against the Mets losing 1-7 against Johan Santana. It brought Johnson’s lifetime record against the Mets finally down to 7-1 in an outing in which he gave up four runs. There’s not much you can do against Santana, so it was pretty disappointing. Hopefully they can bounce back against the Mets tonight.

Tampa Bay opened last night against the Orioles in a real nailbiter that went down to the wire. Thanks to Carl Crawford, the Rays were able to win in a walk-off in the 9th. It was good to see the bullpen hold Orioles pretty close and give the Rays a chance to score the runs they needed. This team could go places this year.

Enjoy this new Longoria commercial for New Era caps.