Eagles vs Marines, Rained Out

No game tonight, as it was raining pretty constantly over the course of the day here in Sendai. The Fighters are in town tomorrow, so hopefully the rain will let up so we can see these two teams battle for the basement of the Pacific League.
2010 Season Preview, Part 5

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
With the 2010 season now underway, with Rakuten trying to avoid a 3-game sweep at the hands of the Orix Buffaloes, let's wrap up the 2K10 preview with some pressing questions facing the team this year.
2010 Season Preview, Part 4

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
Finally, the relievers. I'm only going to discuss those who I believe have the best chance at success in their role. Those who have read my work will already have guessed that we won't be seeing Kanehisa Arime on this list.
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.
13th: Win 4-0
17th @ 6:00 pm
16th Win 11-4
21st Loss 9-8