[tehsuigi]

The Shizuoka Volley & The Quiver SPECIAL 20th Anniversary Edition - July 1, 2041

I'm sorry, the Arrows did well in interleague? 14-10!? Shizuoka's still 2.5 back of the third playoff spot, but it's Fukuoka this time. They hung with Orix most of June, but a sweep by the Comets in Ehime put them behind. Rakuten leads the PL and tied with the Buffaloes for the interleague title at 17-7.

Injuries piled up this month, with RF Luis Alejandrez, CF Akiho Sana, and 1B Tomosaburo Morioka all getting dinged. Muneo Miyamoto earned a ticket to the farm with some rough play, but Kimura's been so good as closer few people noticed. And notable in promotions is center fielder Takatoshi Tamaki - the last of the Arrows' top 25 prospects - who will be starting with the club in July.

Kudos are due to Shigejiro Matsuomoto who turned his season around with a Pitcher of the Month series, going 3-0 in 4 starts with 49 K's and a 0.64 ERA. Unnnnstoppable.

Top 14 Trades
Shizuoka GM tehsuigi is known as a frequent dealmaker, but even he's been hard-pressed to compile 20 good trades in the risk-averse ***. Here's his highlights.

1. Kashima for Ota, straight up. This has to be the #1 pick, it pretty much killed baseball in Okinawa. Ota had one forgettable season with Kirin before bolting to SoftBank; Kashima's been Shizuoka's best captain and most consistent performer.
2. Yamamoto for Valentin and Nishiguchi. This was the signal that the Arrows were ready to contend, and Yoshinobu had a decade of great work in Shizuoka. Valentin did well for himself too, but catchers were in abundance.
3. Nakamura for Maruyama and Masuda. For the Arrows to add their franchise shortstop, they had to give up a middle reliever and a flop infielder. Oof.
4. Onishi for Morita and Ishikawa. This one's up the list because Ishikawa would rejoin the Arrows after the trade for a season. Meiji Onishi was the second baseman for both early championship teams, and handled himself quite well.
5. Tanigawa, Sana, and Nishino for Kawada, Taira, and Takeuchi. This is a tough call, as Tanigawa only lasted one season, Sana's been inconsistent, and Taira's tore the cover off the ball. Nishino's value, and Kawada's implosion, moves this up the ranks.
6. Sakamoto for Saito and Weigel. Two nobodies for the greatest batter in *** history, and Hayato was unstoppable in double-green for the 2030 title drive.
7. Inoue and Ono for Nakayama, Miyake, and Fujimoto. Miyake was a steep price, but Kota Inoue powered the team to that title in 2029, and Ono was a key contributor.
8. Watanabe, Tsuchiya, Sugiyama, Fujimori, and Kanakubo for Yoshimoto, Kawamoto, Murakami, Yonamine, and Ito. The big deal with Yomiuri helped power the Giants to a Japan Series or two, but it laid the groundwork for the Arrows to surge back stronger than ever, Sugiyama in particular.
9. Umeno and Kuwahara for Narita. Umeno had a good season for the Arrows, but Kuwahara's leadership and pinch hitting prowess made him a key component of the first two titles.
10. Komatsu, Maeda, and Miyata for Miyamoto and Sugiyama. Another deal with Yomiuri, but this one was a swindle to get Atsumori Maeda, a key rotation piece in the early dynastic years and Rookie fo the Year in 2036.
11. Collymore for Nakashima and Wada. Malik did swell as the Arrows had their first playoff run, first pennant, and helped contribute to the first Japan Series winning campaign.
12. Aoyama for Aoki and Fujimori. Even if Aoyama didn't quite do his best for the dynastic Arrows, the price was basically minimal.
13. Uwasawa for Nakatani. Sending a second-string outfielder for a legitimate front-half starter was a swindle of Nippon-Ham, as Uwasawa led the rotation while other Arrows prospects developed.
14. Narita, Kanno, and Okimoto for Rogers and Naki. This was a win-now move that worked to make the 2039 Arrows really stinkin' good. Yasushi was a little meh, but Tomohito Narita was as advertised. Losing Naki and Rogers hurts with the shape of the rotation right now.