Recently I was surprised of all the newspaper and webpage headlines that
features Ichiro's popularity and his playing.
I think he is doing fairly well and I am sure he will be a another great
newcomer like sasaki last season.
I was also impressed of Shinjo, who unlike Ichiro isn't a super-top-class
player (although probarbly the Tigers best) but is making a pretty good mark
in the Majors with his super catch yesterday and his hitting.
However I see the pitchers struggling especially NOmo....
How is everyone else think of the japanese majorleaguers??

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> Recently I was surprised of all the newspaper and webpage headlines that
> features Ichiro's popularity and his playing.
> I think he is doing fairly well and I am sure he will be a another great
> newcomer like sasaki last season.
> I was also impressed of Shinjo, who unlike Ichiro isn't a super-top-class
> player (although probarbly the Tigers best) but is making a
> pretty good mark
> in the Majors with his super catch yesterday and his hitting.
> However I see the pitchers struggling especially NOmo....
> How is everyone else think of the japanese majorleaguers??

First, a caveat: it's still quite early.

I'm a little worried about Ichiro.  He's not getting around on any kind of
heat.  His hits have all come off change-ups and slow sliders, with the
exception of his double off Kerry Wood.  That he was barely able to slap
fair down the third base line.  He's not hitting the ball with authority.
But, I think he'll be fine.  The Mariners have put so much money into
getting him, and he's gotten so much press, that they'll give him plenty of
time to adjust.  If I may make completely off the wall, unsubstantiated
predictions, I see him finally getting his groove in mid to late May,
hitting .290-.310 until the end of August, when he gets wore down by his
first major league season, finishing around .280.  However, his OBA will
take off, especially after he gets used to the strike zone of the various
umpires.  He'll draw lots of walks; he doesn't need to get around on high
speed pitches to foul them off.  He'll also steal many bases and show
stellar defense.  He's been injury prone the last couple years, so this is
all assuming he stays healthy.  Knock on wood.

I'm not so worried about Shinjo.  He has excellent defense and speed.  I
don't think his hitting will quite come around, at least not this year, but
he'll get in plenty of games because of the Met's outfield.  He gives
Valentine options, and playing with a bench is Bobby's forte.  Also, he's
lucky to be playing in the NL, where he'll get into games thanks to the
double switch.  At $700,000, he's a bargain, and unless he can't break .200,
I imagine the Mets will pick up his second option.  Or maybe trade him.  I
can't see him as the Mets regular center fielder, though.  But, as I said,
it's still early.

I'm not worried about Nomo based just on one spring training outing.  The
question with Nomo is whether he'll be the number 2 pitcher or the number 3
pitcher, and that looks to be partly based on how well David Cone does.
Nomo's lost some velocity, but he's added a slider to his arsenal, and
looked very nice after coming off the disabled list last season.  The Sox
have a decent pen, and should provide plenty of run support.  Crass
prediction: Nomo will win at least 10 games, and if the Sox get hot and make
a grab for the division, Nomo will win at least 15.  That's all assuming he
stays healthy.  Knock on wood.

Hasegawa: lookin' good.

Sasaki: lookin' good.

Irabu: the buzz is good.  I hear he's in the best shape of his major league
career...

Yoshii: will either get a rotation spot or get traded.  God, I hope he gets
traded.  Send him to Anaheim!  They could use starting pitching, and
Hasegawa's there.  Or say, maybe he might go to Texas.  Plenty of run
support...

Mac Suzuki: I haven't heard anything bad.  He's coming off arm surgery,
though.  I don't imagine he'll come flying out of the gate.

Ohka: With so many candidates for the rotation, the competition might be
tough.  Is Ohka willing to pitch relief?  Maybe he'll be a swingman.  I
can't imagine he'll go back to Pawtucket, unless he stinks up Florida...

Yuji Nerei: I heard he'll be starting on the Expos Double-A team.  A good
first half would probably get him back to Triple-A Ottawa pretty easily,
where he'd be just an injury or two and/or a September call-up away from a
cup of coffee.  I like Ichiro and all, but I was really hoping that Nerei
might somehow land on the Expos 25-man roster this year and become the first
Japanese position player in the majors.  Still, he's accomplished a lot.
And if he becomes position player #3 (and the first Japanese infielder),
I'll be beside myself with joy.  If he doesn't land on the big league roster
this year, well, let's hope for the Rule 5 draft!

CFiJ

I think Ichiro will be fine once he gets used to the better pitching. One
thing that tells me that is
an interview I saw with Lou Pinella during the off season where he talked about
Ichiro's first few days
with Seattle a couple of years ago in Spring Training. Ichiro felt he wasn't
showing much initially and then in his next 15 at bats in workouts  he hit every
ball on the screws (although not all of them fell in) as he got more determined.
Pinella has alternately compared Ichiro to Carl Yaztremski (don't see that one)
and Rod Carew (much more apt), so I think he'll be fine. Nevertheless, the
concern about how Ichiro is doing NOW is understandable considering that he is
3-14 (.214) after going 0-4 yesterday.
      One thing that backs up your point, though, about Ichiro having trouble
getting around on real heat is that Daisuke Matsuzaka has been very successful
against Ichiro. I have no idea about how well pitchers such as Seibu closer Mori
have done against Ichiro, but it would be interesting to know. But then again,
it needs to be said that Ichiro hadn't struck out yet until Wood whiffed him
in the first inning against the Cubs.
      Shinjo, btw, as of yesterday's game, was something like 2-11 (.181), but
2-3 with runners in scoring
position. I was very surprised how Shinjo hit during the NPB-MLB series and
still suspect that
Shinjo will struggle to hit .250 in the majors though his defense is stellar.
But given a lot of playing time (if the Mets trade Payton to L.A., perhaps, for
Sheffield and  if Escobar isn't given the job
in right) who knows? He could prove to be a wild card. How's that for hedgeing
bets. But there's also
the Stan Javier factor. Javier is an outstanding defensive outfielder who,
despite a lack of pop and
much of a batting average, has stuck around in the majors a long time due to his
speed and defense.
Shinjo may be able to do that. We'll see.
      As for Nomo, the secret to handling him would be letting him go six and
then take him out no matter what, as he almost always falls apart in the seventh
inning (that is, when he doesn't get hammered in the first). If Nomo can keep
the ball down and away to exploit the vast centerfield area
in Fenway he could do well. That slider could help him in doing so. But then
again, as anybody
who has even played in little league knows, there is nothing in a pitcher's
repetoire easier to hit than
a hung breaking ball.
      Irabu is indeed in the best shape of his career, reportedly shedding 30
pounds or more. But he
still has to show me he has the mental toughness to be a reliable major league
starter. His mechanics
have been so messed with that its really questionable if he can throw with some
movement on the
ball consistently as well.
      Hasegawa and Sasaki, just pencil them in and watch them handle the
opposition. Sasaki is working
on a two seam fastball and a changeup this spring, so he could give the hitters
more to worry about.
During the second half of last season, Sasaki's ERA was something like .75 iirc.
If he gives hitters
more to be concerned about, he could end up saving 45-50 games this year.
      Yoshii has done about as well as I predicted when he signed with the Mets,
that he would be a
.500 or below pitcher with a mid-4 ERA. I don't see that changing. I like the
guy and would really
like to see him have a breakout year, but at this juncture in his career that is
very unlikely.
      Ohka will win 15 games this year. He was great when he was called up last
year and I think that
will continue (though he got ripped the other day, but he'll get better).
      Anybody want to make any bets on how Ishii will do next year in the majors?
I think he has what it takes to be very successful in the majors, though he has
gotten hammered in his first two spring
appearances this year.

Gary
http://home.earthlink.net/~aladdinsane/index.html
http://www.japanesebaseball.com

Joshua A. Reyer wrote:

> > Recently I was surprised of all the newspaper and webpage headlines that
> > features Ichiro's popularity and his playing.
> > I think he is doing fairly well and I am sure he will be a another great
> > newcomer like sasaki last season.
> > I was also impressed of Shinjo, who unlike Ichiro isn't a super-top-class
> > player (although probarbly the Tigers best) but is making a
> > pretty good mark
> > in the Majors with his super catch yesterday and his hitting.
> > However I see the pitchers struggling especially NOmo....
> > How is everyone else think of the japanese majorleaguers??
>
> First, a caveat: it's still quite early.
>
> I'm a little worried about Ichiro.  He's not getting around on any kind of
> heat.  His hits have all come off change-ups and slow sliders, with the
> exception of his double off Kerry Wood.  That he was barely able to slap
> fair down the third base line.  He's not hitting the ball with authority.
> But, I think he'll be fine.  The Mariners have put so much money into
> getting him, and he's gotten so much press, that they'll give him plenty of
> time to adjust.  If I may make completely off the wall, unsubstantiated
> predictions, I see him finally getting his groove in mid to late May,
> hitting .290-.310 until the end of August, when he gets wore down by his
> first major league season, finishing around .280.  However, his OBA will
> take off, especially after he gets used to the strike zone of the various
> umpires.  He'll draw lots of walks; he doesn't need to get around on high
> speed pitches to foul them off.  He'll also steal many bases and show
> stellar defense.  He's been injury prone the last couple years, so this is
> all assuming he stays healthy.  Knock on wood.
>
> I'm not so worried about Shinjo.  He has excellent defense and speed.  I
> don't think his hitting will quite come around, at least not this year, but
> he'll get in plenty of games because of the Met's outfield.  He gives
> Valentine options, and playing with a bench is Bobby's forte.  Also, he's
> lucky to be playing in the NL, where he'll get into games thanks to the
> double switch.  At $700,000, he's a bargain, and unless he can't break .200,
> I imagine the Mets will pick up his second option.  Or maybe trade him.  I
> can't see him as the Mets regular center fielder, though.  But, as I said,
> it's still early.
>
> I'm not worried about Nomo based just on one spring training outing.  The
> question with Nomo is whether he'll be the number 2 pitcher or the number 3
> pitcher, and that looks to be partly based on how well David Cone does.
> Nomo's lost some velocity, but he's added a slider to his arsenal, and
> looked very nice after coming off the disabled list last season.  The Sox
> have a decent pen, and should provide plenty of run support.  Crass
> prediction: Nomo will win at least 10 games, and if the Sox get hot and make
> a grab for the division, Nomo will win at least 15.  That's all assuming he
> stays healthy.  Knock on wood.
>
> Hasegawa: lookin' good.
>
> Sasaki: lookin' good.
>
> Irabu: the buzz is good.  I hear he's in the best shape of his major league
> career...
>
> Yoshii: will either get a rotation spot or get traded.  God, I hope he gets
> traded.  Send him to Anaheim!  They could use starting pitching, and
> Hasegawa's there.  Or say, maybe he might go to Texas.  Plenty of run
> support...
>
> Mac Suzuki: I haven't heard anything bad.  He's coming off arm surgery,
> though.  I don't imagine he'll come flying out of the gate.
>
> Ohka: With so many candidates for the rotation, the competition might be
> tough.  Is Ohka willing to pitch relief?  Maybe he'll be a swingman.  I
> can't imagine he'll go back to Pawtucket, unless he stinks up Florida...
>
> Yuji Nerei: I heard he'll be starting on the Expos Double-A team.  A good
> first half would probably get him back to Triple-A Ottawa pretty easily,
> where he'd be just an injury or two and/or a September call-up away from a
> cup of coffee.  I like Ichiro and all, but I was really hoping that Nerei
> might somehow land on the Expos 25-man roster this year and become the first
> Japanese position player in the majors.  Still, he's accomplished a lot.
> And if he becomes position player #3 (and the first Japanese infielder),
> I'll be beside myself with joy.  If he doesn't land on the big league roster
> this year, well, let's hope for the Rule 5 draft!
>
> CFiJ
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

http://www.latimes.com/sports/updates2/lat_newhan010309.htm

> http://www.latimes.com/sports/updates2/lat_newhan010309.htm
>

Good article, but if I read yet another one that tells its reader's to
pronounce Ichiro as E-she-row, then I'm going to have to do something
drastic...

Speaking of players making new-country adjustments, Cruz is looking good for
Hanshin these days.  Is he just having a good spring (if one can call snow
in March "spring"), or will this carry over well into the season?

CFiJ

--- "Joshua A. Reyer" <jreyer@...> wrote:
>
> >
>
http://www.latimes.com/sports/updates2/lat_newhan010309.htm
> >
>  <snip>
>
> Speaking of players making new-country adjustments,
> Cruz is looking good for
> Hanshin these days.  Is he just having a good spring
> (if one can call snow
> in March "spring"), or will this carry over well
> into the season?
>
> CFiJ

  Ivan Cruz has a great swing and can generate a  lot
of power. In '99 he hit 28 HRs in half a season in
AAA. The Pirates brought him up and he hit a pinch-HR
the first week up and when it looked like he was going
to get some playing time, he was injured. He never
really got another shot after that. He has always
displayed good power where ever he has played, the
minors, in Mexico... he should help the Tigers a lot.
Basebill
>
>


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Cruz was blocked before in both Yankees and Pirates organization,
pretty similar to Petagine's situation before. From TV it seemed like
among his HRs to a Seibu's rookie LHP, Lotte's rookie RHP submariner
Watanabe the swings were both pretty good. He probably will hit 30 or more
HRs this season, but Ribis may not be too much because of the weak OBPs of
batters in front of him.

--Steve Yin


>From: "W. STEVENS" <basebill@...>
>Reply-To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: RE: [j-ball] Ichiro article in today's LA Times
>Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2001 14:34:12 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>--- "Joshua A. Reyer" <jreyer@...> wrote:
> >
> > >
> >
>http://www.latimes.com/sports/updates2/lat_newhan010309.htm
> > >
> >  <snip>
> >
> > Speaking of players making new-country adjustments,
> > Cruz is looking good for
> > Hanshin these days.  Is he just having a good spring
> > (if one can call snow
> > in March "spring"), or will this carry over well
> > into the season?
> >
> > CFiJ
>
>  Ivan Cruz has a great swing and can generate a  lot
>of power. In '99 he hit 28 HRs in half a season in
>AAA. The Pirates brought him up and he hit a pinch-HR
>the first week up and when it looked like he was going
>to get some playing time, he was injured. He never
>really got another shot after that. He has always
>displayed good power where ever he has played, the
>minors, in Mexico... he should help the Tigers a lot.
>Basebill
> >
> >
>
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
>http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/

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It was mentioned in a particular website today that Nagashima-kantoku is
considering shifting Etoh to Left-field and replacing the 3B position with
Motoki.
The main reason for this seems to be to enhance the teams batting against
lefties since MOtoki had a good season last year especially against lefties.
Etoh has had some experience in the outfield playing 17games in 1990.

Now, the webpage I was talking about is www.sports-j.net
It is in Japanese but its a great sports news site with articles written by
former players and Pancho Itoh as well.
Go check it out
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A few months ago several people asked where they could buy Japanese
baseball hats.  One can now buy hats of classic japanese teams on my
website.  Just follow the link under the What's New heading from my
main page.
http://www.robsjapanesecards.com/default.htm

Ochiai-san wrote:

> A few months ago several people asked where they could buy Japanese
> baseball hats.  One can now buy hats of classic japanese teams on my
> website.

Classic hats?  Wow!  I wear a Taiyo Whales cap everywhere I go on the weekends,
and it gets some response from people on occasion.  That's great!

> Just follow the link under the What's New heading from my
> main page.
> http://www.robsjapanesecards.com/default.htm

I'll add that to my links (as soon as it's back up - there seem to be some
problems up the line from server right now).

And Latham-san, are you still selling hats?  I wasn't sure if I should have you
listed as a shopping resource as well?

--
Michael Westbay
Work: Beacon-IT http://www.beacon-it.co.jp/
Home:           http://www.seaple.icc.ne.jp/~westbay
Commentary:     http://www.japanesebaseball.com/

I noticed that Ivan Cruz just hit his 6th homer of the pre-season.  This
reminded me of 1993 when Yuuji Yamaguchi for the Hawks (Hawks fanatic, this
is how I know) hit 6 home runs (and I think led all teams) during the
pre-season.  All of the pre-season took place in the old Heiwadai stadium
(305ft/92m down the line), and that regular season was when they moved into
the Fukuoka Dome (328ft/100m down the line, 18ft/5.8m fence).  Yamaguchi
played year round and subsequently hit 4 home runs the entire year.

I would guess that mister Yamaguchi has the record for fewest home runs by
the leader in pre-season (not out for the season because of injuries, etc).
Sure, it's a tough statistic to swallow, but I thought it was interesting.

Wesley


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Hi everyone,

Wish I could add something to the conversation other than just
informing you j-ball followers of another Pro Yakyu link on the
Russian League Baseball site. Anyway,  here it is

http://www.geocities.com/s_borisov/jb2001/

The page has been up for more than two months for now and I think
it's about time to "spread the word", one can fine tune a site
forever.

What I absolutely like about the net is that individuals (Michael,
Dan, Gary ...) can fill a void if "formal" resources, read the NPB
server and the likes, are lazy. Can't find a Seibu Lion play-by-play
you like, do it yourself! This might or might not help push the
latter into the right direction, but will help you learn a lot for
sure.

Sergei

Hey Sergei!

      Nice work! I've already bookmarked your page and sometime in the future
will ad a link to it on
my homepage. Incidentally, I have a lot of links to Japanese baseball sites
on my page, so if you
haven't already, have a look.

Cheers,

Gary
http://home.earthlink.net/~aladdinsane/index.html
http://www.japanesebaseball.com

s_borisov@... wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Wish I could add something to the conversation other than just
> informing you j-ball followers of another Pro Yakyu link on the
> Russian League Baseball site. Anyway,  here it is
>
> http://www.geocities.com/s_borisov/jb2001/
>
> The page has been up for more than two months for now and I think
> it's about time to "spread the word", one can fine tune a site
> forever.
>
> What I absolutely like about the net is that individuals (Michael,
> Dan, Gary ...) can fill a void if "formal" resources, read the NPB
> server and the likes, are lazy. Can't find a Seibu Lion play-by-play
> you like, do it yourself! This might or might not help push the
> latter into the right direction, but will help you learn a lot for
> sure.
>
> Sergei
>

.

Hi all-

I've noticed that Phil Clark is no longer on the Buffaloes roster. Has he
ended up somewhere else? Back in the states? or out of baseball?

Craig



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I have been looking around all the rosters from various websites and they
all say that Phil Clark is no longer in the team but it doesn't mention
where he has gone...

To all JBAll members my website is still under construction. I will let
people know when most of it is done. I am currently busy with Uni and work
(as a phone operator) so I can only spend little time on it each day,
however it should be done soon.


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> I have been looking around all the rosters from various websites and they
> all say that Phil Clark is no longer in the team but it doesn't mention
> where he has gone...

According to my 2001 Player Directory, Clark left the Buffaloes to resume
his career in American baseball.  I checked MLB's website, but according to
that, no team has signed him to major or minor league contract.  I'm
guessing he went the way of Hosey and signed on with a team in an
independent league.

CFiJ

He may go to Mexican league also, or other places.
I heard Donald Lemon went back to Taiwan to join his former team.

--Steve Yin


>From: "Joshua A. Reyer" <jreyer@...>
>Reply-To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>To: <j-ball@yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: RE: [j-ball] Re: Phil Clark
>Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 23:18:46 +0900
>
> > I have been looking around all the rosters from various websites and
>they
> > all say that Phil Clark is no longer in the team but it doesn't mention
> > where he has gone...
>
>According to my 2001 Player Directory, Clark left the Buffaloes to resume
>his career in American baseball.  I checked MLB's website, but according to
>that, no team has signed him to major or minor league contract.  I'm
>guessing he went the way of Hosey and signed on with a team in an
>independent league.
>
>CFiJ
>

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I was looking at the Sporting News' team profiles of
MLB spring training the other day, and to my surprise,
who's being listed as a candidate for the Pirates'
starting rotation but Balvino Galvez! Is this the same
Galvez who pitched for the Giants? I don't remember
hearing that he'd left Yomiuri in the first
place...anybody know what's up?

PS- How's his stuff? Does he have a shot at starting
in MLB or is J-ball his peak?

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Not sure the chance he'll make to the opening day roster.
Will try to find more. But I know the last exhibition outing
he was hit pretty hard.

Balvino already didn't have a place in Yorimuri 1-gun last year
with 2 Koreans plus May. And this year, well,  there are 3 Koreans
in the Gaints' roster.

--Steve Yin


>From: Aric Wu <silvereagle4@...>
>Reply-To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [j-ball] Galvez?
>Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 11:01:34 -0800 (PST)
>
>I was looking at the Sporting News' team profiles of
>MLB spring training the other day, and to my surprise,
>who's being listed as a candidate for the Pirates'
>starting rotation but Balvino Galvez! Is this the same
>Galvez who pitched for the Giants? I don't remember
>hearing that he'd left Yomiuri in the first
>place...anybody know what's up?
>
>PS- How's his stuff? Does he have a shot at starting
>in MLB or is J-ball his peak?
>
>__________________________________________________
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>Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
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Being a candidate for the Pirates' rotation says little about his stuff--
three starters are hurt at the moment and they are desperate.  He has a
legit opportunity to start with the Pirates, but so does anybody who can fog
a mirror.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: Aric Wu [mailto:silvereagle4@...]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 2:02 PM
To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [j-ball] Galvez?


I was looking at the Sporting News' team profiles of
MLB spring training the other day, and to my surprise,
who's being listed as a candidate for the Pirates'
starting rotation but Balvino Galvez! Is this the same
Galvez who pitched for the Giants? I don't remember
hearing that he'd left Yomiuri in the first
place...anybody know what's up?

PS- How's his stuff? Does he have a shot at starting
in MLB or is J-ball his peak?

__________________________________________________
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Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/




Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Anyone watched any of the many interviews Shinjyo (his spelling) has been
giving recently? He looks like the cat that's got the cream. I agree with
Jim's piece in today's Yomiuri that his high average thus far in the
pre-season doesn't tell us much about how he will go in real games, but he
is so obviously happy with life that I wouldn't put it past him to surprise
us and have a very good season. Positive mental attitude goes a long way in
helping sportsmen. Anyway, it's a pleasure to see someone enjoying life and
the game (inspite of the pay cut!).

I hope Tatsuya Shindo, a former favourite of mine at Yokohama, is succesful
with Orix. He always seems like a decent guy and his fielding is excellent.
Can he be more productive with the bat in the Pacific league?

How will Kinjoh do this year? Over .350? Maybe not.

Keep the mails coming guys, and enjoy the new season. I hope I can get to
Yokohama stadium a bit more often this year - but that all depends on "she
who must be obeyed"!!

Cheers, Ben

There are a couple of articles in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
y'all may be interested in:

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/baseball/rising30.shtml

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/baseball/bbworldcup.shtml

      Also, a reminder for those of you in the L.A. market, the Yomiuri
Giants first two games will be broadcast live on Channel 18 starting at
2 a.m. tonight and also Sunday
morning at the same time.

Gary
http://home.earthlink.net/~aladdinsane/index.html
http://www.japanesebaseball.com

Starting today, I think there will be some very big changes in the Japanese
newspaper market that should improve the daily coverage of sports.

The newspaper I work for, the Asahi Evening News, has formally merged with
the International Herald & Tribune, and the first edition of the new paper
hit the newsstands earlier this morning.

The new IHT-Asahi is divided into two sections.  The IHT part includes a
24-30 page section published jointly by The New York Times and The
Washington Post and will provide comprehensive coverage of international
news.  The Asahi section will include 6-12 pages and focus entirely on Japan
news.

Because the IHT will have its own sports section, the Asahi sports pages
will deal exclusively with Japanese sports, so we're working hard to bulk up
our coverage of Pacific and Central League baseball as well as our soccer
and sumo coverage.  We also have four or five writers in North America who
will be providing regular (once or twice a week) stories on Ichiro, Shinjo,
and other Japanese players in the major leagues.

Shortly after we announced the merger in January, several things happened.

The Mainichi Daily News, apparently unable to keep up with the new
competition, announced they would cease publication.  Their last newspaper
went on the newsstands on Saturday, March 31, but I understand they will
continue to update their English-language Web site.

The Daily Yomiuri, which already has a strong sports section, has been
making some changes in the future and the Japan Times has been working hard
on their soccer coverage ahead of next year's World Cup.

The Daily Yomiuri also announced the inclusion of a one-page section that
includes articles from Sports Illustrated and I understand they will be
adding a world news section from the Chicago Tribune.

Likewise, the Japan Times will be introducing several other non-sports
features.  And shortly after we announced that the IHT-Asahi will sell for
150 yen, the Japan Times dropped their price from 160 to 150 yen -- the
first time in my seven years in Japan that I can remember any newspaper
cutting its price.  The Japan Times claimed the drop in price was due to
cost-saving efforts, but we all know the real reason.

At this point I can't predict which of the three surviving newspapers will
provide the best sports section.  But one thing is clear -- the competition
is going to force us all to provide better coverage or go the way of the
Mainichi.

As for my Web site, JBALL, I've received many messages asking when I would
continue providing news updates.  I'm not sure what the answer to that is.
I hope that the new IHT-Asahi sports section will provide the same
information and news that I put on my Web site in the past.

The current Asahi Web site < http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html > is
in transition now, but I believe we have a few Shinjo and Ichiro stories
on-line from our writers in North America.  I hope in the near future we
will be including most of our sports stories on the Web as well as in print.

Now I have one request.  I do not know what the situation is at the other
two papers, but at the IHT-Asahi, we've been given the freedom to create a
sports section from scratch.  We're all excited because this is going to
give us an opportunity to try out a lot of new ideas.  But I'm also very
interested to find out what our readers would like to see.

So if you have any ideas for stories you would like to read -- more coverage
of foreign players, more high school baseball, more stories on Ichiro, more
stories on the top Japanese players, or anything else -- please let me know
either through this mailing list or by sending me a message directly at
< drlatham@... >.

Thank you,

Dan Latham
Assistant sports editor,
Asahi Shimbun, International Division

Cheers All,

I am a baseball fan and was looking for someone who
might be able to tape me a few japanese ball games
through the season. I live in Sydney, Australia so we
don't get anything out here. I'd be more than happy to
pay for the costs of a tape and postage, etc.

If you could email me at the above email address or at
sunny@... I would be mots appreciative.

Thanks in advance

Greg Stock
Sydney, Australia

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/?.refer=text

Latham-san wrote:

> The newspaper I work for, the Asahi Evening News,

Ah, so that's where you're working.  Really, you don't have to be
imbarrased by it.  I was starting to think you got a job at ToSpo, since
my inquiries into where you landed this upwordly mobile job were all
passed over.  Well, then, congratulations.  The Asahi group very
respectible, and knowing that you've joined them give me that much more to
continue throwing money their way (albeit for Nikkan Sports).

> As for my Web site, JBALL, I've received many messages asking when I would
> continue providing news updates.  I'm not sure what the answer to that is.
> I hope that the new IHT-Asahi sports section will provide the same
> information and news that I put on my Web site in the past.

That was the division that I was hoping you were going into.  Oh, well.
Can't win them all.  My thought was that with you in charge (or in
influence) of the Internet section, we'd start to get better coverage from
the "mainstream" media that has the information and staff to do the job right.

> The current Asahi Web site < http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html > is
> in transition now, [...]

When it becomes stable, drop me a line personally, or to the list.  I'll
be sure to include a link from my front page then.  (Even though you won't
link to my site.)

> Now I have one request.  I do not know what the situation is at the other
> two papers, but at the IHT-Asahi, we've been given the freedom to create a
> sports section from scratch.  We're all excited because this is going to
> give us an opportunity to try out a lot of new ideas.  But I'm also very
> interested to find out what our readers would like to see.

Some things that I find important, but not often found in the English
press:

   1. Don't have articles continued on separate pages.  This is very
      inconvienent while riding a crowded train.

   2. Layout the pages in quarters, since, like millions of other Japanese
      salarymen, I fold my newspaper in half vertically, then horizontally,
      so as to take up less room in the train.  Having one section in the
      middle of the fold causes all kinds of trouble for me (and the people
      around me) in the train.  Having columns of the same article in
      different vertical halves is fine, as is the text running down (no
      vertical type setting problems in English).  But box scores in the
      middle of a divide, or even in a different quarter, get to be quite
      combersome.

> So if you have any ideas for stories you would like to read

The thing I want most for my web site, but haven't the budget for, is to
have Chiba Isao-san's articles from _Shukan_Baseball_ translated - or
better yet - have original, exclusive articles by Chiba-san.  He's the
main reason I pick up _Shukan_Baseball_ every week.

Furthermore, if you have any influence over the Internet section, see if
you can't get them to put some RealPlayer video footage up.  People all
over the world are crying out for video streams of Japanese baseball.
Surely your ties with Asahi Telebi can pull something off.

Well, thank for the update on what you're up to.  It was very nice to hear
from you again.

> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hey, when did this become "j-ball@yahoogroups.com"?  Is this where all
that smap from Yahoo started coming from about a month ago?  (Not that I
see anything but a few SMTP headers thanks to my spam filters, but...)

--
Michael Westbay
Work: Beacon-IT http://www.beacon-it.co.jp/
Home:           http://www.seaple.icc.ne.jp/~westbay
Commentary:     http://www.japanesebaseball.com/

Hi Craig!

      I think that one problem you may have in trading with someone is that
Japan and the U.S. have
a different video standard than Australia. You are on the PAL standard, iirc,
and Japan and America
are on NTSC. Of course, there are vcr's that will play both, so you might
want to keep this in mind
before initiating any trades. Good luck.

Gary
http://home.earthlink.net/~aladdinsane/index.html
http://www.japanesebaseball.com

Craig Peters wrote:

> Cheers All,
>
> I am a baseball fan and was looking for someone who
> might be able to tape me a few japanese ball games
> through the season. I live in Sydney, Australia so we
> don't get anything out here. I'd be more than happy to
> pay for the costs of a tape and postage, etc.
>
> If you could email me at the above email address or at
> sunny@... I would be mots appreciative.
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Greg Stock
> Sydney, Australia
>
>
>

Michael and all.
Could you direct me to the site where I could download the software for
Kanji.   I had it but lost it some time ago.
There was a gentleman whose son found the site in order to "read" the
boxscores from Yahoo Sports-Japan.
Now If Don could get the boxscores on the Asahi Evening News online then
that wouldn't be needed.   And I bet the other papers would follow suit,
since most would follow the j-ball league through the boxscores.
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Also, please note the change in my e-mail.
Regards, Henri             rocwwm@...


----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Westbay <westbay@...>
To: <j-ball@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2001 10:58 PM
Subject: Re: [j-ball] The great Japanese newspaper war


> Latham-san wrote:
>
> > The newspaper I work for, the Asahi Evening News,
>
> Ah, so that's where you're working.  Really, you don't have to be
> imbarrased by it.  I was starting to think you got a job at ToSpo, since
> my inquiries into where you landed this upwordly mobile job were all
> passed over.  Well, then, congratulations.  The Asahi group very
> respectible, and knowing that you've joined them give me that much more to
> continue throwing money their way (albeit for Nikkan Sports).
>
> > As for my Web site, JBALL, I've received many messages asking when I
would
> > continue providing news updates.  I'm not sure what the answer to that
is.
> > I hope that the new IHT-Asahi sports section will provide the same
> > information and news that I put on my Web site in the past.
>
> That was the division that I was hoping you were going into.  Oh, well.
> Can't win them all.  My thought was that with you in charge (or in
> influence) of the Internet section, we'd start to get better coverage from
> the "mainstream" media that has the information and staff to do the job
right.
>
> > The current Asahi Web site < http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html >
is
> > in transition now, [...]
>
> When it becomes stable, drop me a line personally, or to the list.  I'll
> be sure to include a link from my front page then.  (Even though you won't
> link to my site.)
>
> > Now I have one request.  I do not know what the situation is at the
other
> > two papers, but at the IHT-Asahi, we've been given the freedom to create
a
> > sports section from scratch.  We're all excited because this is going to
> > give us an opportunity to try out a lot of new ideas.  But I'm also very
> > interested to find out what our readers would like to see.
>
> Some things that I find important, but not often found in the English
> press:
>
>   1. Don't have articles continued on separate pages.  This is very
>      inconvienent while riding a crowded train.
>
>   2. Layout the pages in quarters, since, like millions of other Japanese
>      salarymen, I fold my newspaper in half vertically, then horizontally,
>      so as to take up less room in the train.  Having one section in the
>      middle of the fold causes all kinds of trouble for me (and the people
>      around me) in the train.  Having columns of the same article in
>      different vertical halves is fine, as is the text running down (no
>      vertical type setting problems in English).  But box scores in the
>      middle of a divide, or even in a different quarter, get to be quite
>      combersome.
>
> > So if you have any ideas for stories you would like to read
>
> The thing I want most for my web site, but haven't the budget for, is to
> have Chiba Isao-san's articles from _Shukan_Baseball_ translated - or
> better yet - have original, exclusive articles by Chiba-san.  He's the
> main reason I pick up _Shukan_Baseball_ every week.
>
> Furthermore, if you have any influence over the Internet section, see if
> you can't get them to put some RealPlayer video footage up.  People all
> over the world are crying out for video streams of Japanese baseball.
> Surely your ties with Asahi Telebi can pull something off.
>
> Well, thank for the update on what you're up to.  It was very nice to hear
> from you again.
>
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
> Hey, when did this become "j-ball@yahoogroups.com"?  Is this where all
> that smap from Yahoo started coming from about a month ago?  (Not that I
> see anything but a few SMTP headers thanks to my spam filters, but...)
>
> --
> Michael Westbay
> Work: Beacon-IT http://www.beacon-it.co.jp/
> Home:           http://www.seaple.icc.ne.jp/~westbay
> Commentary:     http://www.japanesebaseball.com/
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Posting box scores would be a great idea!
rob fitts
RobsJapaneseCards.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Henri Roca" <rocwwm@...>
To: <j-ball@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 9:05 PM
Subject: Re: [j-ball] The great Japanese newspaper war


> Michael and all.
> Could you direct me to the site where I could download the software for
> Kanji.   I had it but lost it some time ago.
> There was a gentleman whose son found the site in order to "read" the
> boxscores from Yahoo Sports-Japan.
> Now If Don could get the boxscores on the Asahi Evening News online then
> that wouldn't be needed.   And I bet the other papers would follow suit,
> since most would follow the j-ball league through the boxscores.
> Many thanks in advance for any help.
> Also, please note the change in my e-mail.
> Regards, Henri             rocwwm@...
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael Westbay <westbay@...>
> To: <j-ball@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2001 10:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [j-ball] The great Japanese newspaper war
>
>
> > Latham-san wrote:
> >
> > > The newspaper I work for, the Asahi Evening News,
> >
> > Ah, so that's where you're working.  Really, you don't have to be
> > imbarrased by it.  I was starting to think you got a job at ToSpo, since
> > my inquiries into where you landed this upwordly mobile job were all
> > passed over.  Well, then, congratulations.  The Asahi group very
> > respectible, and knowing that you've joined them give me that much more
to
> > continue throwing money their way (albeit for Nikkan Sports).
> >
> > > As for my Web site, JBALL, I've received many messages asking when I
> would
> > > continue providing news updates.  I'm not sure what the answer to that
> is.
> > > I hope that the new IHT-Asahi sports section will provide the same
> > > information and news that I put on my Web site in the past.
> >
> > That was the division that I was hoping you were going into.  Oh, well.
> > Can't win them all.  My thought was that with you in charge (or in
> > influence) of the Internet section, we'd start to get better coverage
from
> > the "mainstream" media that has the information and staff to do the job
> right.
> >
> > > The current Asahi Web site < http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html
>
> is
> > > in transition now, [...]
> >
> > When it becomes stable, drop me a line personally, or to the list.  I'll
> > be sure to include a link from my front page then.  (Even though you
won't
> > link to my site.)
> >
> > > Now I have one request.  I do not know what the situation is at the
> other
> > > two papers, but at the IHT-Asahi, we've been given the freedom to
create
> a
> > > sports section from scratch.  We're all excited because this is going
to
> > > give us an opportunity to try out a lot of new ideas.  But I'm also
very
> > > interested to find out what our readers would like to see.
> >
> > Some things that I find important, but not often found in the English
> > press:
> >
> >   1. Don't have articles continued on separate pages.  This is very
> >      inconvienent while riding a crowded train.
> >
> >   2. Layout the pages in quarters, since, like millions of other
Japanese
> >      salarymen, I fold my newspaper in half vertically, then
horizontally,
> >      so as to take up less room in the train.  Having one section in the
> >      middle of the fold causes all kinds of trouble for me (and the
people
> >      around me) in the train.  Having columns of the same article in
> >      different vertical halves is fine, as is the text running down (no
> >      vertical type setting problems in English).  But box scores in the
> >      middle of a divide, or even in a different quarter, get to be quite
> >      combersome.
> >
> > > So if you have any ideas for stories you would like to read
> >
> > The thing I want most for my web site, but haven't the budget for, is to
> > have Chiba Isao-san's articles from _Shukan_Baseball_ translated - or
> > better yet - have original, exclusive articles by Chiba-san.  He's the
> > main reason I pick up _Shukan_Baseball_ every week.
> >
> > Furthermore, if you have any influence over the Internet section, see if
> > you can't get them to put some RealPlayer video footage up.  People all
> > over the world are crying out for video streams of Japanese baseball.
> > Surely your ties with Asahi Telebi can pull something off.
> >
> > Well, thank for the update on what you're up to.  It was very nice to
hear
> > from you again.
> >
> > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> > Hey, when did this become "j-ball@yahoogroups.com"?  Is this where all
> > that smap from Yahoo started coming from about a month ago?  (Not that I
> > see anything but a few SMTP headers thanks to my spam filters, but...)
> >
> > --
> > Michael Westbay
> > Work: Beacon-IT http://www.beacon-it.co.jp/
> > Home:           http://www.seaple.icc.ne.jp/~westbay
> > Commentary:     http://www.japanesebaseball.com/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Craig,

Yes, as Gary said, Australia is annoyingly and inexplicably on a different
system to Japan and North America. However,I know of places in Melbourne
that will take your cassette from these countries and convert so that it can
be played on an Aussie VCR, so there are surely places in Sydney as well.
However, it would likely be quite costly; probably about $A20 an hour or so.
Nevetheless, if you`re that keen to get hold of Japanese baseball tapes,
there`s always that option.

I was hoping myself that my dad would be able to send me MLB tapes to Osaka
from Melbourne, but we were thwarted by this. My ex-boyfriend`s dad in
Mexico used to record the All Star games for me and hand them over when I
visited them in Mexico City, in exchange for tapes of the Japan Series. He`s
quite a Hawks fan!

Good Luck, Raquel




>From: Craig Peters <craigpeters2000@...>
>Reply-To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>To: j-ball@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [j-ball] Japanese baseball on tv
>Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2001 18:54:34 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Cheers All,
>
>I am a baseball fan and was looking for someone who
>might be able to tape me a few japanese ball games
>through the season. I live in Sydney, Australia so we
>don't get anything out here. I'd be more than happy to
>pay for the costs of a tape and postage, etc.
>
>If you could email me at the above email address or at
>sunny@... I would be mots appreciative.
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>Greg Stock
>Sydney, Australia
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
>http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/?.refer=text

_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Go to NJStar at:
http://www.njstar.com

Cheers,

Gary
http://home.earthlink.net/~aladdinsane/index.html
http://www.japanesebaseball.com

Henri Roca wrote:

> Michael and all.
> Could you direct me to the site where I could download the software for
> Kanji.   I had it but lost it some time ago.
> There was a gentleman whose son found the site in order to "read" the
> boxscores from Yahoo Sports-Japan.
> Now If Don could get the boxscores on the Asahi Evening News online then
> that wouldn't be needed.   And I bet the other papers would follow suit,
> since most would follow the j-ball league through the boxscores.
> Many thanks in advance for any help.
> Also, please note the change in my e-mail.
> Regards, Henri             rocwwm@...
>
> -.