Lions edge Hawks to win PL pennant

Matchup stats: SL || FDH

Japanese Pro Yakyu 2004

Seibu Lions win 15th Pacific League title in club history (Photo Source: Nikkan Sports)

JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Pinch-hitter Toshiaki Inubushi hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning and Takashi Ishii retired the side in the bottom half on Monday, lifting the Seibu Lions to a 4-3 victory over the Daiei Hawks in the fifth and deciding game of the Pacific League playoffs.
It was a cliffhanger to the very end of the best-of-five series, but the second-place Lions bested Daiei 3-2 to set up a showdown with the Central League champion Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Series starting Saturday at Nagoya Dome.
October 11: Full Story
Related: Game Five photos (Seibu Lions official site, top to bottom): longtime Lions catcher Tsutomu Ito leads Seibu to PL championship in his first season as manager, Daisuke Matsuzaka helds Daiei to one run over 12 innings in two series' starts, Kosuke Noda blocks the plate twice in the 4th and 5th innings, pinch-hitter Yoshihito Ishii drives a 2-2 high and away Nagisa Arakaki fastball off the left-field wall for a 2-run double in the 6th, Lions' bench players run out to mob emergency closer Takashi Ishii after the final out, Seibu Lions win PL pennant.
Also: Nobuhiko Matsunaka singles and flies out to center twice on outside pitches, grounds out to second in the crucial 9th-inning at-bat (see a Sankei Sports photo)
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Lions' owner Tsutsumi to step down
Daily Yomiuri -- October 13: Full Story

IRCJ holds key to Hawks' future
Daily Yomiuri -- The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks' future was thrown into doubt Wednesday when their financially-struggling parent company Daiei Inc. agreed to accept aid from the state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ) for its rehabilitation.
October 13: Full Story

Matsunaka hospitalized for hepatitis
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- October 13: Full Story

Daiei puts outfielder Valdes on waivers
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- October 13: Full Story

Daiei's Iguchi reiterates hopes to play in MLB
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- October 12: Full Story

Hawks take series down to wire
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Fukuoka Daiei's dream of back-to-back Japan Series titles remained alive Sunday evening as the Hawks beat the Seibu Lions 4-1 to even the Pacific League playoffs' second stage at two games apiece thanks to six scoreless innings from right-hander Shinji Kurano.
"That was perhaps the most nervous I have ever been in my life," said the 30-year-old, right-handed journeyman, who went 9-1 with a sparkling 2.55 ERA this season.
October 10: Full Story
Related: Seibu Lions right-handed batters vs RHPs with less than/two strikes (through four games)

Hawks even series with 4-1 win
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Yusuke Torigoe, Munenori Kawasaki and Yudai Deguchi hit consecutive RBI singles in the fourth inning as the Daiei Hawks tied the series at two games apiece with a 4-1 victory over the Seibu Lions in the second stage of the Pacific League playoffs on Sunday.
Daisuke Matsuzaka will start Monday's game for Seibu on three day's rest while Nagisa Arakaki will take the mound for Daiei.
October 10: Full Story
Related: Lions' starter Kazuyuki Hoashi gives up six hits off 11 grounders, including four of the five hits in the 3-run 4th. Hawks convert all eight ground balls into outs

Matsunaka kept on tough diet
By Sergei Borisov -- As Daiei forces the fifth and deciding game with a 4-1 victory on Sunday, Hawks' cleanup hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka is still silent with the bat. The first baseman went 1-for-14 in four games, with a solo homer and four strikeouts. His production was very similar to that of Lion catcher Kosuke Noda: 1-for-11, the lone hit being again a solo blast - that eventually won Game 3 for Seibu - and one whiff.

Nobuhiko Matsunaka goes down on strikes during Game 3 of PL playoffs (Photo Source: Sankei Sports)

So what do we make out of it? Matsunaka (.358 BA, .715 SLG, .464 OBP in 2004), the first Triple Crown winner in 18 years, hitting worse then Seibu backup receiver (.239-.380-.276 in 92 at-bats). Will Matsunaka be the biggest goat should the Hawks lose the series? Maybe the Hawks' owners have to let the left-handed batter go to the Giants (for nothing, as usual), find someone like Noda and use the vast difference in their salaries to improve the troubled Daiei's financial outlook?

But let's first take a look at what menus the two hitters were served by opposing pitchers.
Matsunaka put only two fastballs into play, getting a groundout and a home run. On all other pitches, he was 0-for-8. Lions hurlers have done a great job by avoiding the middle (top to bottom) portion of the plate, while using fastballs to find the strikezone only 46% of the time and locating them well when they did. Given mostly outside stuff with two strikes, Matsunaka probably needs to look away more instead of waiting for something to pull, an aproach that helped him hit a homer off a 2-2 9^ fastball in Game 1.
As for Noda, the righty put nine fastballs in play, going 1-for-9 with a home run, despite having aplenty of good chances: 81% pitches in the zone were fastballs, and most of them in what is normally a right-handed hitter's wheelhouse - high and high and away.
The bottom line? Matsunaka, sooner or later, will show his strength - they won't be able to pitch to him this good forever. The one who has to be really worried about his non-performance should be Noda.
October 10 Symbols and notation

Lions one win away from Japan Series
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Hiroyuki Nakajima hit a game-tying solo homer and Kosuke Noda homered for the go-ahead run in a 6th-inning rally as the Seibu Lions pulled off a 6-5 victory over the Daiei Hawks to take a one-game edge in the Pacific League playoffs on Saturday.
Jose Fernandez homered twice off starter Kazumi Saito (0-1) and drove in four runs on a 4-for-5 night.
"I'm having fun. This is the playoffs but I'm relaxed and having fun so that's important," said Fernandez. "Pressure is fun too. This game was huge for us and I'm glad we came away with the victory."
Game 4 will be played on Sunday with Shinji Kurano taking the mound for the Hawks and Kazuyuki Hoashi starting for the Lions.
October 9: Full Story
Related: Jose Fernandez' big day (PA-by-PA graph)
Also: Lions' righties - Fernandez twice, then Nakajima and Noda - hit four dingers, all against Hawks RH starter Saito, do well vs RHPs overall
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Lions edge Hawks 6-5
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- Jose Fernandez continued to make the post-season a personal celebration, hitting two home runs and driving in four runs.
October 9: Full Story
Related: Game Three photos (Seibu Lions official site)

Lions' skipper expects tighter Game 3
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- With the battle for the Pacific League pennant tied at one butt-kicking each, Seibu Lions manager Tsutomu Ito expects a less one-sided game tonight in Game 3 of the PL playoffs' second stage at Fukuoka Dome.
"One game we scored a lot of runs, the other we gave up a lot of runs, that won't continue," Ito said Friday as his team wrapped up a two-hour practice.
"Therefore, I have to think of changing pitchers very early and if we have a chance to get an early lead I will go for it, because we don't want to fall behind. They have to be thinking the same thing on the other side of the field, as well."
October 8: Full Story

Lions righty batters need to adjust before it's too late
By Sergei Borisov -- Having never actually seen a Japanese pro game, even on video, I tried to keep my opinions to myself, unless, of course, it was Ihara-kantoku's having former Lion and now a Hawk Katsuhiko Miyaji bat third in the Lions lineup.
But as I've finally managed to get Japanese pitch-by-pitch data and my baseball software together, I'd like to comment on a few little things going in the PL playoff series.
The Lions' 2004 lineup is mostly right-handed (T. Sato, Fernandez, Cabrera, K. Wada, Nakajima), and it showed in their Game 2 trouncing of Hawks lefty starter Tsuyoshi Wada.
But the point is the batters have to turn it up versus Daiei RHPs or Seibu is in for trouble as the Series resumes on Saturday.
In fact (see the graph here), the Lions RH hitters, excluding switch-hitter Akada, got hits on just 3% of their swings on fastballs, mostly because they fouled it off 59% of the time, way too many.
Maybe they were looking for breaking stuff and thus were often late on straight offerings? Hardly so, as they kept chasing low and away sliders out of the zone, missing with their swings at an ugly 44% rate.
Their rather questionable hitting aproach is only underscored when you look at what they did with the first pitch in an at-bat (see another graph). The Lions' righties take hittable high fastballs, probably look for something middle-low, but chase slow stuff below the knees instead.
While it's only two games worth of data, it seems the Lions RH hitters have work cut out for them.
October 8 Symbols and notation

Lions roar back behind ace
By Jim Allen, Daily Yomiuri -- October 7: Full Story

Lions pound Hawks in Game 2

Kazuhiro Wada of the Lions opens up early on a 3-1 high and away cutter from Hawks' right-handed reliever Shintaro Yoshitake, but has enough power to drive it over the right-center field wall for a 6th-inning grand slam in Game 2 of PL Playoffs on Thursday, Oct. 7 (Photo Source: Sportsnavi)

JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Kazuhiro Wada hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Seibu Lions romped to an 11-1 victory over the Daiei Hawks to even the series at a game apiece after Game 2 of the second stage of the Pacific League playoffs Thursday.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-0) set the pace for the Lions by holding the Hawks to four hits over six innings and the Seibu offense came alive in a 10-hit attack at Fukuoka Dome. Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1) got chased after allowing five runs in just 1 2/3 innings.
October 7: Full Story
Related: Lions' RH batters in Game 2 (pitch-by-pitch graph)
Also: Hawks get four of their five hits with 2 strikes in count
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Sapporo story: Fighters' first season in Hokkaido a big success
By Wayne Graczyk, Japan Times -- October 5: Full Story

Nippon Ham sweeps PL monthly MVP honors
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- Right-hander Carlos Mirabal was named the best pitcher and outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo the best position player in the Pacific League in September as Nippon Ham players won both monthly MVP awards on Thursday.
October 7: Full Story

Arakaki, Jojima lead Hawks past Lions 9-3
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks outslugged the Seibu Lions to win the opener in the second stage of the Pacific League playoffs 9-3 on Wednesday.
Nagisa Arakaki (1-0) pitched seven strong innings and received home run support from Kenji Jojima, Tadahito Iguchi, Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Julio Zuleta, who all hit solo shots at Fukuoka Dome.
Jojima went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead a 14-hit offense.
October 6: Full Story
Related: Hawks' Arakaki vs Lions' right-handed batters in Game 1 (pitch-by-pitch graph)
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Hillman re-signs with Nippon Ham
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The Nippon Ham Fighters on Tuesday signed manager Trey Hillman to a new one-year contract, which will keep him in charge of the Pacific League team for a third year next season.
October 5: Full Story

Hawks eyed merger with Lions, Marines
Asahi Shimbun -- October 4: Full Story

Lions win first stage of playoffs
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The Seibu Lions came from three runs down to defeat the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-5 in Game 3 of the first stage of the Pacific League playoffs Sunday, earning a ticket into the best-of-five second stage.
Entering the finale at Seibu Dome with one game apiece, the Fighters rallied to tie the game at 5-5 in the ninth inning, but Kazuhiro Wada hit a sayonara homer in the bottom half to secure victory for the second-place finisher in the regular season.
October 3: Full Story

PL to stick to playoff system in 2005 season
JapanBall.com/Kyodo -- The Pacific League agreed Tuesday to maintain the playoff system, which is designed to decide the regular-season winner.
September 28: Full Story

2005 to see interleague play
Daily Yomiuri -- In addition to its decision not to reschedule the 12 games hit by strikes on Sept. 18 and 19 NPB's executive committee agreed Monday that from next season, each club will play three home and three road games against each team from the other league.
September 27: Full Story