Where Eagles Dare A Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Fansite

Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 3 Postgame: Meltdown

Source Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp

.
SAPPORO DOME, SAPPORO - Boxing and baseball have few, if any similarities to each other.  I suppose that both sports use a type of glove.  Both sports require years of training, precision timing, and pinpoint accuracy, but at their core they are two different animals entirely.  There is however, one facet, one feature, one story that not only links boxing to baseball, but to almost every competitive sport known to man -- Getting Old.

Inside the squared ring, a boxer can get old seemingly overnight; they look amazing during training, but when it comes down to the big night they can't pull the trigger like they used to.  Look no further than perhaps the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time, Muhammad Ali, getting battered from turnbuckle to turnbuckle versus a young hungry Larry Holmes.  Roy Jones Jr., one of the most talented boxers in history, getting knocked out cold after capturing a heavyweight title.  It happens to everyone, no matter how hard you try, train, pray, or medicate, everyone loses what once made them special.  It's not sad or tragic, it's just life.

Last night, 74-year-old Katsuya Nomura finally got old.

Too dramatic?  Perhaps.  After all, it's just a baseball game, he's just a baseball manager.  Was the writing on the wall?  Were the warning signs there, but we couldn't, we didn't want to see them?  Some might say no, others (perhaps myself most vociferously) would argue yes.

After witnessing the events that have transpired over the past few days though, I challenge, I defy anyone to defend the numerous questionable, and down right incomprehensible decisions and non-decisions that the Rakuten Eagles manager has made before and during Stage 2 of the 2009 Climax Series.

The three topics I've harped on over and over again, before and during this series are the following:

• Pitching Rotation Schedule
• Micromanagement
• Mismanagement (or not managing at all)

The first two topics I've covered ad nauseum.  Check the Previews and the Postgame Reports if you want to get the stories.  The final topic, however, was no better on display than during last night's game.  And here is where the rant begins and ends.

Top of the 7th Inning (aka Three Mile Island)

Catcher Akihito Fuji leads the inning off with a base hit, the score deadlocked at one.  As everyone knows, catchers are not the fleetest of foot when it comes to running the basepaths.  Nomura also has not two, but three catchers on his roster.  He's got two capable options off the bench to pinch run as well, the quick Ryo Hijirisawa and the even quicker Kensuke Uchimura.  Fuji ends up on second base with two out, and after an intentional walk to Teppei, Takeshi Yamasaki steps up to the plate.  A base hit could score Hijirisawa, and most likely would score Uchimura, but could Fuji score from second base?  Doubtful at best.  One of your other catchers, Jin Nakatani, is batting .571 in the playoffs this year and has played in more games (55) than Fuji (35), so the experience/ability factor is out of the question.  So what, you ask.  Yamasaki ended up flying out to left field, so it's a moot point.  I disagree.  Putting a base stealing threat on 2nd base, dancing around like he just might break for 3rd can and often does distract the pitcher, forcing him to hurry his pitches and possibly making a mistake.  Not having to worry about the catcher on second, if anything, made the Fighters' starter, Itokazu, feel more relaxed on the mound.  Increase the stress, and increase your chances of scoring.

Top of the 8th Inning (aka Chernobyl)

Here's where everything really fell apart.  After the Fighters took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Eagles had only six more outs to work with.  Needless to say, scoring a run or two this inning would've been a smart thing to do.  Naoki Miyanishi, a lefty, enters the game to pitch for the Fighters.  Again, Rakuten leads off the inning with a hit, this time courtesy of Fernando Seguignol.  Now, I love Seggy.  He seems like a great guy and a great teammate and is my girlfriend's favourite player... but he's not the fastest fella on the team.  Throughout the season he's been pulled late in the game for a pinch runner or defensive replacement.  Time for little Uchimura to run, right Nomura?  Right?  Hello?  Moshi moshi?

Next batter, Daisuke Kusano, singles to the outfield and Seguignol has to hold up at second base.  Does Uchimura make it to third on the play?  Regardless, there's now a runner in scoring position, yet Nomura continues to keep Seguignol in the game.

The next batter, Todd Linden, walks on a full-count and suddenly the bases are juiced with no out.  Due up next is Masato Nakamura, who had been having a fine game (1 for 2, 1 walk) up to that point.  But he's a left-handed hitter going up against a left-handed pitcher, so Nomura awakes from his slumber to make his first managerial decision of the evening, replacing Masato with right-handed, .667-hitting Toshiya Nakashima (4 for 6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR).  Can't argue with this decision, although Miyanishi is clearly struggling on the mound and Masato has above average speed.  In a counter-move, Fighters manager Masataka Nashida replaces Miyanishi with righty Takayuki Kanamori to face Nakashima.  Then, perhaps making up for all the missed moves he should've made earlier in the night, Nomura pinch hits  for the pinch hitter, sending in left-handed batter Kenshi to face Kanamori.  If you've actually managed to follow this rambling paragraph to this point, again you might be thinking, "Yeah, so what?  Lefty hitter versus right pitcher, no problem."  Again, valued visitor to my humble site, I must disagree.  Here's a couple of nifty facts about "the lovable gorilla" Kenshi.

• He's slow.  The last time he had a stolen base was back in 2006.
• He's not hitting.  The last base hit he recorded was exactly one month agoohmygodnomurawhatinallthatisholydoyouthinkyouaredoing?!?!?

Did I mention that Seguignol is still on third base?

I think we all know how this ends.  Kenshi hits a slow grounder to the first baseman Takahashi, who throws to home and forces Seguignol out to prevent a run from scoring.  Would Uchimura have scored?  Difficult to say.  Uchimura would've been able to take a bigger lead, would've been able to get a faster jump on the contact, would've been able to at least get close enough to slide at home and make it interesting...

Nomura finally realizes that having speed on the basepaths might be an advantage (Einhorn is Finkle! Finkle is Einhorn!), so he replaces Kenshi at first with Hijirisawa.  Fuji steps up to the plate again, and grounds to the left side of the infield, forcing Kusano out at home.  Takasu pops out to end the inning, leaving me happy that there's no alcohol or sharp objects within arms length of me.

Top of the 9th Inning (aka Nuclear Fallout)

After grounding out to start the inning, the Eagles put men on 1st and 2nd as Teppei was hit by a pitch and Yamasaki cracked one through the infield into left.  Pacific League save king Hisashi Takeda closed out the final two batters though, striking out Seguignol and Kusano to pick up the save and more importantly the 3 game advantage over the Eagles.

Aftermath

Although the preceding 1200 words might suggest otherwise, I don't really know what to say about what I witnessed last night.  In the 7th, 8th and 9th innings the Eagles left 7 runners on base.  Is that Nomura's fault?  After all, he's not the one at the plate popping out, hitting infield grounders, or striking out, but he's supposed to give his team the best chance at winning, and he didn't do that last night.  I don't know how anyone could stand up and justify his actions, and I don't really care to hear how Nomura himself tries to spin this horrible display of in-game management.  The remaining games will be a mere formality for the Fighters as they prepare to take on the winner of the Giants / Dragons series on the 31st.

Related posts:

1. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 5 Postgame: Sayonara
2. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 4 Postgame: Not over yet
3. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 2 Postgame: Paradise Lost
4. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 3 Preview
5. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 2 Preview

About Andrew

Andrew has lived in Japan since 2006, spending time exploring the Tohoku region. He frequently attends Rakuten Eagles games in Sendai. You'll find him sitting along the 3rd base line drinking Guinness wearing a #46 Teppei jersey, next to a Japanese girl in a #5 Seguignol jersey.          You can follow him on Twitter if that makes you happy.