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tehsuigi 06-13-2020 11:19 PM

2023 Opening Day Roster Set

Your Shizuoka Arrows are reloaded and ready for the season to come!
Asterisks denote new faces.

Pitchers
Rotation: RHP Connor Greene, LHP Hiroki Tokoda*, RHP Naoyuki Uwusawa*, RHP Daichi Ishii, LHP Yudai Mori, RHP Tsuyoshi Sonoda
Bullpen: LHP Kyohei Nakamura, RHP Takuya Mitsuma, RHP Shunta Wakamatsu*, LHP Sachiya Yamasaki, RHP Makoto Aduwa*, LHP Shogo Noda
Closer: RHP Colby White

Fielders
Catcher: Xavier Valentin, Kenya Wakatsuki,
First Base: Sho Nakata*, Keita Sano
Second Base: Shuhei Takahashi*, Ryo Watanabe
Shortstop: Kiyoharu Sawano, Tomohiro Abe
Third Base: Shu Masuda, Ginji
Left Field: Omar Carrizales, Seiya Yamazaki
Center Field: Goro Suzuki*, Kosuke Ito
Right Field: Yuta Takano, Yuma Mune

RHP Azumamaro Masuda will be starting the season on the injured list due to a torn rotator cuff.

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 05:37 PM

GM Notebook - May 1, 2023

Well, wouldja look at that. A 14-10 April means we're 16-14 on the season. A winning record so far. First winning month in franchise history. It also means we're in 3rd place, 4.5 back of the Buffaloes for the PL pennant, and one game ahead of the Golden Eagles. Too early to be thinking playoffs, but a guy can dream, right?

At the moment, dreams are all I'll have unless I fix our pop-gun offense. I've only got 6 guys above 100+ OPS, and one is Keita Sano with only 27 PAs.

Xavier Valentin and Sawano are headed back to the minors for fixing their swings; coming up to replace them are Hideyuki Kuga and Fidel Mejia (time to see if he's gotten better with the bat). Kosuke Ito is two weeks away from losing his starting job again to Goro Suzuki (fractured foot) once Goro's rehab is done.

EDIT: oh, and Colby White took home Rookie of the Month! 15 Ks in 10 IP, no hits or runs allowed in the month, and 8 saves. So glad to see he's come back strong after his cup of coffee last season.

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 06:23 PM

GM Notebook - June 1, 2023

Back to back winning months! A step back to 13-12, but still better than last year. And Shunta Wakamatsu picked up Pitcher of the Month for his 2.12 ERA, 4-1 record, and over 17 innings, 13 Ks and only a 1.24 WHIP.

With Sho Nakata injured, Keita sano has had to step up at first base, and dang if he hasn't done a stellar job. Goro Suzuki and Fidel Mejia have done decent-ish, enough to keep them around, but Omar Carrizales is eating up a foreign player slot I could use to bring Xavier Valentin back. Offense is still last in the league, but the issue isn't our offense, thankfully.

I just wish Shuhei Takahashi wasn't such a pylon - how'd he get -0.6 WAR over 52 games?

Down: Hiroki Tokoda (5+ ERA worst among our starters), Taiki Sekine, Omar Carrizales (Yamazaki's earned that spot; may trade him), Hideyuki Kuda
Up: Yuki Takahashi (done the best on the farm so far), Kosuke Ito, Xavier Valentin, Yusuke Masago (might as well test his captaincy)

I need to figure out what to do with Toby Welk; he's batting .361 with 13 HRs and 69 RBI, but he's also a foreign player. Shizue Uchino needs one more season down at the farm, and he's ready to join the big club at last.

29-26 and 7.5 back of the Hawks for the PL pennant...and 2.5 ahead of the Golden Eagles for 3rd place. Hope springs green in Shizuoka.

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 08:50 PM

GM Notebook - July 1, 2023

I knew it was too good to last. An 8-17 June has knocked us out of 3rd place, as we sit 2.5 games back of Saitama Seibu. Our offense remains meek outside of the outfield - Takano, Yamazaki, and Kusumoto are doing their best out there. Tried calling up our #1 prospect, Shizue Uchino, but he's gone .056/.190/.111 in his first 6 games. If his defense wasn't so good, he'd be back down in Hamamatsu already.

The rotation is at least holding together, but we're dead last across the board at most stats. I need to start making moves to fix this offense...starting with benching Shu Masuda again.

TRADED: LF Omar Carrizales to Chunichi for LF Sota Kato. Not a major leaguer, but at least he's a local player.

EXTENDED: 1B Sho Nakata 1y/450K, C Kenya Wakatsuki 2yr+TO/1.275M.

Down: Yuki Takahashi, Yusuke Masago, Kosuke Ito
Up: Hiroki Tokoda (so disappointing, these two), Ryo Watanabe (and starting at 2B instead of Shuhei), Kohsuke Sakata (another handsy SS, and right-handed too)

Arrows All-Stars

RHP Naoyuki Uwusawa has been dynamite this season, with a 2.32 ERP over 93 IP and a 1.15 WHIP, good for 1.6 WAR. Worth every penny.
LF Seiya Yamazaki has been tearing it up lately, pushing his slash like to .303/.359/.542, with 13 HRs to boot for 2.2 WAR. He's why Carrizales was expendable.
RF Yuta Takano isn't too far behind, adding 2.6 WAR thanks to his .267/.344/.484 slash line and +2.7 zone rating in RF.

Post-script: Yu Darvish decided to retire, having failed to pitch with the major-league club this year. Ah well.

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 10:07 PM

Arrows and Tigers Complete Lone Deadline Deal

NISHINOMIYA - July 31, 2023

The Shizuoka Arrows must have seen something they liked when the Hanshin Tigers visited them last week, as they completed a substantial deal at the deadline. Joining the Arrows are infielder Fumiya Hojoh and third baseman Joh Endoh; Hojoh is sporting a 90 OPS+ but has a positive zone rating at every infield spot except 1B. Endoh batted .302 the prior two seasons for Hanshin's minor league team, but fell back a bit this year.

Heading to the Tigers are IF Fidel Mejia, formerly a top-50 prospect who slashed .238/.302/.330 with Shizuoka, CF Kosuke Ito, the second pick in the expansion draft for the Arrows (-0.7 WAR this season), and RHP Katsuo Yasuda, who appeared in 24 games with a 6.03 ERA for the Arrows' minor league team.

The Tigers will retain 55% of Hojoh's salary this season.

Concurrently, the Arrows have sent IF Tomohiro Abe to the farm team, calling up 1B Toby Welk (Welk slashed .375/.476/.603 in 87 games, and will be given a shot at the major league level).

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 10:52 PM

GM Notebook - September 1, 2023

This is when I realize we're probably not going to make the postseason. A six-game losing streak to end the month (10-15 August) has erased out hard work in July (13-6) and put us back below .500. We're in 5th place, 2.5 back of the Golden Eagles with the Lions in between us. Hojoh has been a bit of a disappointment, to where I've tabbed Sawano for starting duties again.

To his credit, Shu Masuda has gotten his batting average back up over .200 - having Edoh and Hojoh pushing him a bit probably helped. Ryo Watanabe also picked up his game, to the point where Shuhei Takahashi (whom I probably should not have extended) is stuck as a bench bat.

Xavier Valentin hit our team's first cycle in an extra-innings game at ZOZO Marine Stadium (the hits were all in the first nine innings, don't worry), so that's nice. Uwasawa (I've been typoing his name all this name, no wonder he was mad) became our first ever 10-game winner.

But with Jumpei Takahashi injured for the rest of the year, I'm kinda up a creek.

Still, let's see what this squad does down the stretch. We managed to get into 6th in runs scored, and the barn's still packed night after night.

tehsuigi 06-14-2020 11:22 PM

3 Attachment(s)
2023 SEASON REVIEW

68-74, nine wins better than last year. Fighting for a playoff spot most of the way, settling for 5th place. And with expansion looming, doing what I can to make my young squad better.

Kiyoharu Sawano's developing a bit of a bad personality, so he's likely gone at the Winter Meetings since I have Sakata and Hojoh for the shortstop role.
Colby White dominated this season, with 31 saves in 34 opportunities, good for 2nd in ***. That may get him a Reliever of the Year award.

Yamazaki and Takano are keepers, and just wait until Uchino finishes growing into his role in center field. All I need are good infielders and the rest, they say, is history.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 12:08 AM

BREAKING - *** TO ACQUIRE BCL AND SILP FOR NEW MINOR LEAGUE TIER

TOKYO - September 29, 2023

As the teams in the PL and CL Climax Series Final Stages finish their preparations, a bombshell of an announcement from *** headquarters in Tokyo - the league will be purchasing, in whole, the Baseball Challenge League and Shikoku Island League Plus, converting them from independent leagues to an "major-minor" system above the existing "ni-gun" farm teams.

*** commissioner Atsushi Saito commented that this was necessary to ensure players in Japan had sufficient opportunities to grow and contribute, both at the minor league and major league level. This also recognizes the substantial financial boon to be had with teams that can draw players to substantial ballparks instead of the smaller 500-5,000 seaters the ni-gun league uses. No word yet if the name of the lower league will change.

An insider with *** indicated that this also resolves the pending lawsuit with the SILP regarding the intrusion into their territory; it's effectively a moot point now.

The two Kansai area teams, Hiroshima, and the future Matsuyama franchise will be matched with the SILP, with the remainder matched with the BCL based on geography. This will pose some travel issues for any "shuttle squad" desired for teams like Fukuoka SoftBank, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, and the future Naha franchise, but *** has indicated a cost-sharing regime could be instituted if absolutely required.


Shikoku Island League Plus
  • Matsuyama TBD = Ehime Mandarin Pirates
  • Hanshin Tigers = Kagawa Olive Guyners
  • Hiroshima Toyo Carp = Kochi Fighting Dogs
  • Orix Buffaloes = Tokushima Indigo Socks

Baseball Challenge League
  • Chiba Lotte Marines = Ibaraki Astro Planets
  • Chunichi Dragons = Ocean Shiga Blacks
  • Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks = Ishikawa Million Stars
  • Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters = Toyama GRN Thunderbirds
  • Naha TBD = Fukui Wild Raptors
  • Niigata Komatsu Bears = Niigata Albirex
  • Saitama Seibu Lions = Saitama Musashi Heat Bears
  • Shizuoka Arrows = Shinano Grandserows
  • Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles = Fukushima RedHopes
  • Tokyo Yakult Swallows = Tochigi Golden Braves
  • Yokohama DeNA BayStars = Kanagawa Future Dreams
  • Yomiuri Giants = Gunma Diamond Pegasus

The acquisition is scheduled to be completed before the winter meetings in November 2023. By that time, the 2023 Expansion Draft will have been completed, with similar rules for the Matsuyama and Naha franchises as the Niigata Komatsu Bears and Shizuoka Arrows.

Sources indicate the Baseball Federation of Japan, the last remaining independent league in Japan, may expand to adjust for the loss of independent opportunities.

*note - run below only in Shizuoka editions*
Reached for comment on the development, Arrows GM tehsuigi was pleasantly surprised. "I'm chuffed to get the chance to work with my old ballclub again! I started my career with the Grandserows in Nagano, and I heard they won their second straight BCL title a few days ago."


UPDATE: issues with closing the transaction will delay its completion until late February, just a day before spring training commences.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 02:18 PM

STAMPEDE! BUFFALOES MAKE IT BACK TO BACK

HIROSHIMA - October 15, 2023

This will be a Japan Series for the ages, both teams pitching and hitting their hearts out. From Buffaloes LF Masataka Yoshida's 2 HR, 7 RBI day in Game 4, to the ninth-inning surges the Carp eked out in Games 3 and 5, there was never a dull moment.

Game 7 today was a tense one, with Kohei Suzuki throwing 8 shutout innings, allowing only 5 base runners, and Taisuke Kondo with a shutdown 9th. The Buffaloes banged out 11 hits to score 5 runs, and the Carp just couldn't keep up.

This ended a Cinderella season for Hiroshima, as they up-ended the Hanshin Tigers in the CL Climax Series First Stage in 3, and then the CL champion Yomiuri Giants in 6, and had two chances at home to win their first Japan Series since 1984. They came up empty-handed again.

The Buffaloes dispatched the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 6 themselves prior to the Japan Series, as the Eagles picked off the much-stronger Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 3 in their first-round match.

Yoshida would earn Japan Series MVP honours with a .519/.567/.852 slash line, complete with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs.


Other Champions in 2023
* MLB: Minnesota Twins
* KBO: Kia Tigers (they're 12-0 in Korean Series!)
* CPBL: Rakuten Monkeys

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 02:48 PM

2023 Offseason Updates

The Shizuoka Arrows announced the following personnel changes:
* Basilio Cabrera has been promoted from farm team manager to bench coach, replacing Eishin Soyogi, whose 2-year contract elapsed.
* Minor-league pitching coach Kiyohki Nakanishi has retired. Takehiro Hashimoto, with 3 years' experience in the amateur system, has been signed to replace him.
* Hitting coach Tomokatsu Kondo has resigned his post after the abysmal performance of the team's offense this season (we allowed 109 fewer runs, but still scored 2 fewer!). Paco Figueroa will be promoted from the farm team to take his place, and Troy Afenir (who spent the last 3 years with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars) has joined the farm team. GM tehsuigi has indicated these two may change places if Figueroa doesn't right the ship.
* Brian Schneider has been signed to manage the farm team.

October 23, 2023
The Arrows have announced that they have avoided arbitration with all players except one - LHP Yuki Takahashi will be non-tendered. IF Tomohiro Abe will also not be offered arbitration.

2023 Award Winners
* Kiyoharu Sawano wins his second consecutive Golden Glove at Shortshop
* Yuta Takano wins his first Golden Glove at Right Field
* Connor Greene finished 4th in Eiji Sawamura voting, with Eagles SP Yuki Matsui winning the honour.

October 30, 2023 - Trade Call!
The Shizuoka Arrows have acquired minor-league short-stop Satoru Matushta for LHP Hikaru Nakao and RHP Kaname Yamaoka, avoiding arbitration with both.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 04:26 PM

4 Attachment(s)
Expansion Team Identities Revealed

TOKYO - November 3, 2023

As expansion lists are submitted from teams across the ***, the two newest franchises revealed their names and uniforms.

The Naha franchise has been named the Okinawa Kirin Spirit, with vibrant red, black, and gold as their primary colours. They will play in a slightly expanded Okinawa Cellular Stadium (note: similar to Rakuten, Seibu, and Nippon-Ham, home fans will be in the left-field bleachers).

The Matsuyama franchise will be the Ehime Honda Comets, with yellow and red their primary colours, and their team flag a most striking design. Botchan Stadium has had additional seating added to their right-field stands to bring more home fans in for games.


Sidebar - Shizuoka's protection list was submitted:
C Xavier Valentin
C Kenya Wakatsuki
1B Sho Nakata
1B Toby Welk
2B Katsuya Seno
2B Ryo Watanabe
3B Jo Endo
3B Shu Masuda
SS Fumiya Hojo
SS Kiyoharu Sawano
LF Seiya Yamazaki
RF Yuta Takano
DH Taishi Kusumoto
SP Connor Greene
SP Daichi Ishii
SP Jumpei Takahashi
SP Hiroki Tokoda
SP Naoyuki Uwasawa
RP Shunta Wakamatsu
RP Takuya Mitsuma
RP Kyohei Nakamura
CL Colby White

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 06:09 PM

2023 First Year Draft

TOKYO - November 15, 2023

It was time to launch another two new franchises, with all the pomp and circumstances appropriate. The Okinawa Kirin Spirit, the first *** team to play in Naha, selected high school right-hander Mincho Nozawa with the first overall pick; although not the consensus #1 pick, he was without a doubt the best pitcher in the draft.

Drafting second, the Ehime Honda Comets took Kansai University's left-handed starter, Kohsuke Ozaki. Ozaki stumbled a bit in his junior year, but went 6-2 with 2.4+ WAR each of the prior two seasons.

With their compensation pick from the 2022 draft, the Shizuoka Arrows took the 3rd of the big four arms off the board, selecting left-hander Tetsuya Yoshimoto from Doshishsa University. Yoshimoto's change-up is one of the best in the Big 6 leagues, and if his other pitches develop, he'll fit in nicely with the Arrows rotation.

As it happens, the Niigata Komatsu Bears finished last in *** last season again, so they selected fourth, taking shortstop Tsuneto Yamanaka from Kindai University, who was expected to go first overall. He was previously drafted 10th by Yomiuri in 2020, but failed to sign.

[...] With their normal selection in 10th, the Arrows selected right-hander Michito Nakayama from Kindai University. Nakayama unexpectedly slid to Shizuoka at 10th, as other teams weren't sure about his ability to start with only 3 quality pitches.

  1. Tetsuya Yoshimoto and Michito Nakayama, as above
  2. Ryuuichi Kono, a leftie reliever/CF from Keio University. Can't believe he fell to me, but he's got two-way potential!
  3. Maro Nakamura, a hulking 6' 6" RF/1B from Joso Gakuin HS.
  4. Kensaku Fujimoto, a small right fielder from Ritsumeikan University with pop in his bat.
  5. Shusui Iwata, a 1B/DH from PL Gakuen HS. Leadership and a decent bat.
  6. Yo Maeda, best high-catcher ability guy available.
  7. Shinji Nakamura, slick-fielding shortstop leader from Kasukabe Kyoei HS.
  8. Hiromitsu Yoshimoto, a potential starter from the same school. Two bad years, two good years, but I like his makeup.
  9. Chujiro Eguchi, first baseman from Kindai Univ again. He may fare better in the outfield.
  10. Masahiro Okada, a switch-hitting 3B from Tsuruga Kehi HS.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 06:40 PM

2 Attachment(s)
GM Notebook - 2023 Expansion Draft

Okay...Ehime Honda's got the first pick, and I've got two of my team leaders dangling in the open by accident. I've held off any FA signings to get to this point. Fingers crossed I don't lose anyone...

Round 3: Koji Chikamoto to the Spirit! Sad to see him leave the Tigers, but I'm surprised Kirin would pay that much.
Round 7: Kodai Umetsu from Chunichi to the Spirit? Damn, Kirin is opening the pocket books here!
Round 9: Yuma Mune, our back-up right fielder, taken by Ehime Honda. Hope he does well.
Round 9: Hiroki Yamada, a leftie pitcher who's a fan favourite in Hamamatsu, taken by Okinawa Kirin.
Round 11: Daiki Iwashta, who was one of our expansion picks, taken by Okinawa Kirin. Was hoping he'd have a bounceback season.
Round 14: Makoto Aduwa, a pitcher who I just traded for last season. Agh.
At this point, I can only lose 4 more players. Keita and Shuhei might just make it...
Round 16: I jinxed it. Shuhei Takahashi heads to Okinawa Kirin.
Round 18: Double-jinxed it. Keita Sano joins Takahashi in Okinawa.
Only two more players can be taken from me.
Round 20: Nigel Calmes, a catcher who I just signed to a minor-league deal. Ah well, only a foreign player. Kirin can have him.
Round 30: Tsuyoshi Sonoda is the final player taken from Shizuoka and heading for Ehime Honda.

Here's the final rosters. Honda's really counting on a lot of those injuries to clear up in time, aren't they.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 10:02 PM

2023 Winter Meetings Summary

NAHA - November 25, 2023

The Shizuoka Arrows were furiously busy today. They bolstered their rotation and bullpen in one fell swoop early on, adding left-handed closer Hiroto Fuku and right-handed starter Shota Suzuki from the Chunichi Dragons, with 100% and 15% retained respectively by Chunichi. Fuku has been worth 6.5 WAR over 4 seasons, racking up 32 saves each of the last two seasons. Suzuki made 18 starts last year, winning 8 of them, with a 1.05 WHIP and 2.84 ERA.

The Dragons in turn acquired right-handed starter Anderson Reynoso, a former top-50 prospect, and right-handed starter Arata Shiino.

Although this adds money to the Arrows' slim payroll, it does mean their bullpen now has three top arms in Kyohei Nakamura, Colby White, and Fuku.

Later in the day, the Arrows completed a deal with PL rivals, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Heading to Sendai was Gold Glove shortshop Kiyoharu Sawano (who was originally drafted by Rakuten) and left-handed specialist Shogo Noda. Coming back were IF Maaki Yamazaki and right-handed starter Masaya Kyoyama.


People were talking to me today, I assure you.

November 26: The Shizuoka Arrows made a buy-low deal with right-hander Kota Futaki, formerly of Chiba Lotte. He started 26 games with the Marines and lost 15 of them, but the previous four seasons he averaged 2.35 WAR.

tehsuigi 06-15-2020 11:17 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Arrows Introduce New Captain - Sosuke Genda

SHIZUOKA - December 10, 2023

There was a reason the Shizuoka Arrows didn't name a new captain after Keita Sano and Shuhei Takahashi were selected by the Okinawa Kirin Spirit in the expansion draft. There was also a reason that Sho Nakata didn't change his jersey number back to 60 after Tomohiro Abe left the team.

The Shizuoka Arrows introduced their new captain, shortstop Sosuke Genda, newly minted to a 5 year (plus team option), 12.3M USD contract, at a press conference today.

"We reached out to Genda as soon as the regular season ended, inviting him to join our team and to lead it into the playoffs. He readily accepted, and we're over the moon to have him here."

Genda becomes the first major free agent deal issued by the Arrows, who now sit 13th in team payroll. Genda had a down year last season, with only a 62 OPS+ and 0.3 WAR, but he's been good for an average of 3 WAR per 162 games over his career.

tehsuigi 06-16-2020 10:42 PM

2024 Opening Day Roster Set

Our third season of operation, with maybe the best team we've put together yet. A lot of these guys are here because they played well in spring training. Eager to see if that translates; if not, we now have the Shinano Grandserows as our AAA team (where Fumiya Hojoh, Daichi Ishii, and Taiki Sekine have been exiled to.

Pitchers
Rotation: RHP Connor Greene, RHP Kota Futaki*, RHP Naoyuki Uwasawa*, RHP Masaya Kyoyama*, RHP Shota Suzuki*, RHP Jumpei Takahashi
Bullpen: LHP Kyohei Nakamura, LHP Hiroto Fuku*, RHP Takuya Mitsuma, RHP Shunta Wakamatsu, LHP Sachiya Yamasaki, RHP Katsumi Ikeda
Closer: RHP Colby White

Fielders
Catcher: Xavier Valentin, Kenya Wakatsuki
First Base: Toby Welk*, Sho Nakata
Second Base: Ryo Watanabe, Maaki Yamazaki*
Shortstop: Sosuke Genda*, Kohsuke Sakata
Third Base: Shu Masuda, Joh Endoh
Left Field: Seiya Yamazaki, Atsunori Nishiyama* (DH)
Center Field: Shizue Uchino, Goro Suzuki
Right Field: Yuta Takano, Taishi Kusumoto

RP Azumamaro Masuda remains on the DL to start the season (second surgery on his shoulder funnn)

tehsuigi 06-18-2020 05:13 PM

2 Attachment(s)
The Quiver - Your Shizuoka Arrows News Source

April 2024 Update

Nothing like the optimism of a new season, and so far your Arrows have it in spades. 15-12 to start the year, with a few important figures kicking butt.

* Toby Welk won PL Rookie of the month, with a .287/.360/.402 slash line. We knew he was ready for the big time!
* Cap'n Genda won a Player of the Week earlier this month, and has a .319/.382/.451 slash line through 24 games with 4 stolen bases. I know it can't last, but he's already outpaced last year's WAR figure by a factor of 6.
* Connor Greene went 4-0 to start the season, and his ERA of 1.40 is best in our rotation
* Yuta Takano (still our team's heartbeat) with a .316/.381/.487 slash line. What a guy.
* Colby White had a 22-save streak end (sadly), but he's been nails.

The biggest worry for the Ya right now is what to do with Shu Masuda. He's once again having a slow start, batting only .127 with 1 HR and 8 RBI. Joh Endoh's handled himself much better so far; is it time to replace him? Sho Time's also a bit concerning without a home run this year, but with Atsunori Nishiyama hitting 4 so far, not that much of one.

I heard Daichi Ishii worked his way out of Nagano, and will be in the rotation soon. Let's keep going at this through May!


Injuries
* Kota Futaki is on the IL for another week or two, ditto for Maaki Yamazaki

tehsuigi 06-18-2020 09:08 PM

2 Attachment(s)
GM Notebook - June 1, 2020

Well, that was slightly disappointing. A 13-13 May ended with a 2-11 stretch after coming within half a game of the PL lead. The important thing is that we're still competitive, and only 1.5 back of SoftBank for the third playoff spot.

* Toby Welk won PL Rookie of the Month again! .305 BA with 2 HRs and 12 RBIs.
* Joh Endoh took over the starting 3B role and had a great May, with a .753 OPS even including a rough streak
* On the downside, neither of Fumiya Hojoh or Ryo Watanabe ran away with second base, so Satoru Matushta had to get the nod.
* Pitching's been a bit of a revolving door, as Hiroto Fuku continues to not pitch too good. Then again, as long as our rotation holds together...

June is going to be important - we've got interleague play (and a surprisingly early All-Star Break; I need to fix that next season). Time to see if our pitchers can be batters too!

As long as our minor league stays 2nd ranked, I can clear that goal and THEN get to work trading away chaff. Sitting on my hands is so irksome.

tehsuigi 06-18-2020 09:32 PM

Assorted Updates

* Connor Greene pitched a 13-strikeout no-hitter at HARD OFF Eco Stadium Niigata at the start of interleague play; it's the first in Arrows history. He also earned a 3-year+team option/4.5M extension to buy out a few arbitration years.
* 3B Shu Masuda was traded to the Ehime Honda Comets for 1B/3B Keita Nakagawa and LF Taishi Ota. I just had to cut bait on him - Endoh's got the job now.
* We limp into the All-Star Break 34-33. Just above .500.

All-Stars
* SP Connor Greene, 1.51 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 77 2/3 IP
* CL Colby White, 17 saves with a 2.63 ERA and 17.1 K/9 over 27 1/3 IP
* 1B Toby Welk, slashing .293/.365/.414 for a 133 wRC+

Future Stars
* SP Darling Grullon, 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA for ni-gun Arrows
* SP Tetsuya Yoshimoto, 3-1 with a 4.02 ERA for ni-gun Arrows
* RP Hamilton Andujar, not that good for Shinano Grandserows
* RP Ryuuichi Kono, 12.6 K/9 over 5 IP for ni-gun Arrows
* CL Roy Garcia, 11 saves with 2.60 ERA and 10.7 K/9 for ni-gun Arrows
* 2B Toyoharu Miyake, .292/.417/.381 for Shinano Grandserows

tehsuigi 06-18-2020 09:52 PM

2 Attachment(s)
GM Notebook - July 1, 2024

Sweeping the Ehime Honda Comets at their place (hi Shu!) has given us a 9-8 June. We're 1.5 back of SoftBank for that oh-so-tantalizing playoff spot. The trade with Honda was perfect timing, considering we lost Yuta Takano for two months with a hamstring strain. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

Lemme review this press release...Connor Greene celebrated his PL Pitcher of the Month Award (27 Ks in 20 innings, 0.90 ERA, 1 no-hitter) with a 3 year + team option / 4.5M USD deal that will see him in green (har har) for the foreseeable future. Only one year of arb eligibility remains, and that could be bought out too. May have to look into the same thing with Shota Suzuki if he keeps this up too.

We've got a very good shot at the playoffs if things break our way. Our offense is middle-of-the-road instead of dead last, our pitching is 2nd in the league, and our defense is 1st.

(Taishi Kusumoto was demoted shortly after this picture was taken and replaced by Motohide Kinoshta)


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