2010 Season Preview, Part 3
My 2010 Season Preview has been broken down into five parts:
- Who's Staying/Who's Out/Who's In
- My Batting Lineup
- Pitching Rotation
- Bullpen
- Biggest Questions for the Season
Today I'm going to continue my fictional managerial role and break down my starting five pitchers. Rumour has it that Marty Brown will be using a 6-man rotation to start the season, but in my opinion Rakuten just doesn't have the horses to go six deep, especially with their middle relief problems.
On to the starting rotation.
2010 Season Preview, Part 2
My 2010 Season Preview has been broken down into five parts:
- Who's Staying/Who's Out/Who's In
- My Batting Lineup
- Pitching Rotation
- Bullpen
- Biggest Questions for the Season
Today I'll look at my fictional lineup, and attempt to justify my choices.
If I ever decided to leave my cushy job (by cushy, I mean free green tea) and take up a managerial position with the Eagles, here's how my lineup might look. First, the batting order and fielding positions.
2010 Season Preview, Part 1
With Spring Training over and the exhibition schedule in full swing (it's actually still snowing heavily here in Sendai as I write this), it's time to clean the dust off of this corner of the internet in anticipation of the upcoming 2010 NPB season.
First, a small note. When I started up this website last fall, in the midst of the Eagles' first-ever march into the postseason, I had a lot of free time on my hands. A LOT. Those days have changed however. As a result I won't be able to provide the full day-in/day-out coverage that perhaps drew you to this site initially.
My goal for this website this season is to provide previews and recaps on a weekly basis, not a game-by-game one. I'll also be continuing the Player Reports feature, and will do some weekend Live Blogs as well, using the Cover It Live service.
On to the preview!
Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 5 Preview
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With the season hanging in the balance, the Eagles will look to rookie left-hander Hiromichi Fujiwara to keep their slim hopes alive in an afternoon game in Sapporo today. Game 5 was going to be the wildcard game in the series for Rakuten anyways; after their top three pitchers the quality of their starters is questionable at best. Facing elimination though means the stakes will be even higher, so we'll truly get to see just what this 24-year-old is made of.
Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 4 Preview
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The Eagles try to stave off elimination tonight as they battle the Fighters at the Sapporo Dome. The Rakuten offense finally sputtered last night, despite having multiple opportunities late in the game to score runs, highlowlighted by a bases loaded, no out situation in the 8th inning where they failed to produce a single run. The two defeats in Hokkaido have been of the soul-crushing variety; the series could just have easily been 2-1 in favour of the Eagles. Now they'll just try to save some face by not getting swept by the Pacific League winning Nippon Ham Fighters.
Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 3 Preview
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Wait, game 3? What happened to game 2??? I figured I'd get these numbered properly (at least in my opinion); since the Eagles are losing the series two games to zero, it only makes sense to me that tonight's contest should be named game 3. Don't like it? Well, I don't like how grown men spit on the floor inside an office building here in Japan but there ain't much I can do about it.
Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 2 Preview
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Stage 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series finally gets underway tonight in Sapporo, as the Nippon Ham Fighters host the Rakuten Eagles in this best-of-seven series. The Fighters begin the series with an automatic one game win, so the Eagles definitely have their work cut out for them as they begin this 6 games in 6 days series, having to win four games to advance to the Nippon Series.
Climax Series Stage 2 Preview, Part 2
Photo © www.climax-pa.jp
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Yesterday we saw how the starting rotations and relievers compared to each other. Today let's see how the offense stacks up.
Climax Series Stage 2 Preview, Part 1
Photo © www.climax-pa.jp
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Stage 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series gets underway this Wednesday at the Sapporo Dome, home of the Nippon Ham Fighters. Just like the crazy CFL compared to the NFL, the playoff format is slightly different in Japan. Since the Fighters are the higher seed, they will not only get home field advantage for all games, but will even begin the series with a 1 win advantage. This means that the Fighters will only have to win three games to advance to the Nippon Series, while the Eagles will have to win four. It won't be easy for either team though. There are a couple of interesting subplots that have been brewing since the end of the regular season for both teams, let's take a look at those first before diving into the head-to-head numbers.
Eagles vs Hawks Climax Series Game 2 Preview
Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
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With fifteen runs scored to kick off the 2009 NPB postseason, one has got to wonder if this afternoon's game will be a slightly tighter affair. Rakuten exploded out of the gate with four home runs to chase Toshiya Sugiuchi. Seven Eagles batters recorded at least one run batted in, and pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma went the distance, giving up only two earned runs.
2009 Playoffs, 1st Stage
16th Win 11-4
17th Win 4-1
Eagles win 2-0
2009 Playoffs, 2nd Stage
21st Loss 9-8
22nd Loss 3-1
23rd Win 3-2
24th Loss 9-4
Fighters win 4-1
2009 Season Standings
Archives
- March 2010 (3)
- November 2009 (1)
- October 2009 (40)
- September 2009 (16)
Recent Comments
- Andrew on Regular Season Report Card: #3 Linden
- Chuck Stark on Regular Season Report Card: #3 Linden
- Andrew on 2010 Season Preview, Part 2
- Kyle on 2010 Season Preview, Part 2
- Andrew on 2010 Season Preview, Part 1
Multimedia
- Climax Series Game 1, Oct 16 2009
- Eagles Magazine Covers
- Eagles vs Buffaloes, Oct 9th 2009
- Various Stadium Photos
- Video Clips From Games
- #3 Todd Linden Gallery
Yakyu Baka » NPB
- Softbank Hawks: March 15, 2010 March 16, 2010...Tsuyoshi Wada, D.J. Houlton, Kenji Otonari and Shingo Tatsumi worked out at Yahoo Dome on Monday. Tatsumi is currently scheduled to pitch in an Ikusei League game on the 17th against Hiroshima. Tatsumi told reporters that he'd like to try and throw about 100 pitches. ...Munenori Kawasaki leads all hitters (exhibition play) in RBIs (13), doubles [ […]
- Hiroshima Carp: March 15, 2010 March 16, 2010...Mike Schultz rejoined the Ichi-gun team on Sunday (?). Schultz had been working out at San-gun, getting his shoulder ready for the regular season. On Sunday, he threw 50 pitches in a bullpen session and told reporters that he was a little weak at Spring camp but managed to build his body up with a [...] […]
- Chunichi Dragons: March 15, 2010 March 16, 2010...The Dragons announced on Monday that figure skater Kanako Murakami will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to their opening day game against the Hiroshima Carp. Murakami won the ladies world junior championship on Saturday. ...Wei-Ying Chen gave up 8 runs over 5.1 innings of work on Saturday. Kazuki Yoshimi gave up 2 over [...] […]
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