Midori no Ya! An *** Expansion Dynasty

[tehsuigi]

2030 Opening Day Roster
How often do you get to inaugurate a new ballpark with a flag-raising? The Japan Series champion Shizuoka Arrows will open their season at the brand-new Ito En Park against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (who signed LF Kota Inoue to a 7yr/41.3M deal in the offseason).

Pitchers
Rotation: RHP Ethan Smith, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LHP Kikuo Aoki, RHP Jon Duplantier*, LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto, RHP Daichi Ishii
Bullpen: RHP Danny Bergeron, RHP Yasunaga Suzuki*, RHP Hironori Watanabe, RHP Mitsukuni Matsuda, RHP Katsumi Ikeda, LHP Isamu Hiratsuka
Closer: LHP Yoshimitsu Ota

Fielders
Catcher: Yasutoki Kato, Motosugu Fujiwara*
First Base: Hirotaka Hayashi, Kikuo Kawamoto (DH)
Second Base: Meiji Onishi, Taisei Murakami
Third Base: Takahiko Arakawa, Yohsuke Matsumoto*
Shortshop: Takeshi Saito*, Shinji Nakamura
Left Field: Seisaku Ishikawa*, Kenjyu Kuwahara
Center Field: Eric Santana*, Kintaro Sasaki*
Right Field: Shizue Uchino, Kuemon Kamimura

Centerfielder Yuki Okabayashi is starting the season on the injured list.

[tehsuigi]

The Quiver - May 1, 2030
Your Shizuoka Arrows News Source!

The campaign to defend the pennant is off to a rolling start, with the Arrows 18-9 and half a game back of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for the PL lead. So far, they haven't fared too well in their new digs, going 5-7 in Ito En Park's inaugural season, but that will change soon I bet.

And no, that batting report doesn't lie - Uchino has been on FIRE to start the season, putting up 2.5 WAR in 28 games thanks to that ridiculous .363/.449/.784 slash line and 12 for 13 stolen base success. No wonder he's won Batter of the Month in April!

On the pitching side of things, Ethan Smith picked up where he left off last season with a Pitcher of the Month for April. 5-0 in 5 starts, 1.11 ERA over 32 1/3 IP, striking out 39.

Some attention needs to be given to Takeshi Saito playing his way out of a starting role (way to go Shinji for picking up the slack!), and Takahiko Arakawa having another slump to start the year. Time may be fast approaching where a captaincy change needs to be made. And here's hoping for a speedy recovery for Yoshinobu Yamamoto's sprained ankle; he's expected back before interleague ends.

[tehsuigi]

GM Notebook - June 1, 2030

Okay, 19-6 in May with interleague two games ahead of us. With the Hawks going 14-13, we are now 5.5 games ahead of SoftBank for the PL lead, and firmly in a playoff spot so far. Even with Yamamoto not quite back yet, we're doing great.

We swept the monthly awards this month:
* DH Kikuo Kawamoto batted .373 with half of his hits being dingers (11 of 22), counting for 23 RBIs. He leads the PL in batting average right now.
* LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto went 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA over those 5 starts, with a .142 oAVG and 50 Ks. Just ridiculous.
* and CF Eric Santana got some Rookie of the Month recognition for his .315 batting average and 4 home runs!

I still have to figure out what's eating my middle infielders - Shinji is in a deep slump, and none of Saito, Onishi, or Murakami are really shining. At least Arakawa's working his way out of his deep slump. Meanwhile, the back end of the bullpen is looking rough - Ota and Bergeron need to get back to impressing soon.

[tehsuigi]

Shizuoka Volley - July 1, 2028
Arrows updates, quick and on target!

* The Arrows went 16-8 in Interleague play, tying the Hawks and Arrows for the top record! It's the first time in franchise history Shizuoka has won or shared an interleague title.
* Overall, a 16-10 June keeps Shizuoka 5.5 games ahead of SoftBank, and adds two games to their lead over Orix in 3rd. Can you smell the playoff push?
* RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto is nearing the end of his rehab, and will join the top club before games resume. Just in time, as we heard RHP Daichi Ishii may be injured again...
* Speaking of injuries, C Yasutoki Kato is gone until August. It'll be up to Fujiwara and new backup Asakichi Shimoda to make up the ground
* We saw DH Kikuo Kawamoto play first base a lot during interleague...is he going to stay there? What's gonna happen to 1B Hirotaka Hayashi if so?
* Make sure you get your ballots in for the All-Star Game soon! Let's wash it out in a sea of green!!

BREAKING: SS Sakamoto heads to Shizuoka

HIROSHIMA - July 1, 2030

41-year-old Hayato Sakamoto is going to get one more chance to win a title, and he'll be doing it with the team that denied him that ring last season. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp sent the legendary shortstop to the Shizuoka Arrows in exchange for SS Takeshi Saito (70% retained) and minor-league RHP Patrick Wiegel.

[tehsuigi]

All-Stars

* LHP Kikuo Aoki still has room to grow as a 22-year-old, but a 12-1 record with a 2.16 ERA over 95 2/3 IP and 1.16 WHIP should give you an idea of how good the kid is already
* RHP Ethan Smith's 2.17 ERA over 99 1/3 IP and 0.91 WHIP, and his 10.0 K/9, point to why he's included in this roster
* LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto has gone 9-0 with a miniscule 1.36 ERA and 0.73 WHIP over 92 2/3 IP. Simply studly.
* RHP Katsumi Ikeda celebrated his 3-year/2.4M contract extension with his second career All-Star nod. His 1.81 ERA and 0.87 WHIP over 49 2/3 IP are career bests.
* RHP Danny Bergeron's 18 saves are lower than this point last year, but not for lack of trying. 13.7 K/9 and 0.95 WHIP in 38 IP.
* C Yasutoki Kato will miss his first All-Star Game due to injury. His 1.2 WAR and 84 wRC+ are both solid for the position.
* 1B/DH Kikuo Kawamoto leads the PL in batting average, with a 230 wRC+ and 4.6 WAR already. Dominant.
* LF Seisaku Ishikawa makes his first All-Star Game with a .303/.406/.452 slash line and 31 stolen bases.
* RF Shizue Uchino's 20 HR and 25 SB are par for the course for him.

Future Stars
* AAA RHP Jon Looney's already picked up 0.9 WAR in 34 IP, with an 8.2 K/9 in his first *** season
* Teammate RHP Yoshihide Yonamine's 5-4 record and 4.10 ERA over 63 2/3 IP gives him a nod in this game
* RHP Yuifumi Nishimura joined the AAA Grandserows in his first season, and rewarded them with 10 saves and a 1.13 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 40 IP
* 3B Tomonori Nitta is banging on the door of the major league club with a .365/.427/.494 slash line and 2.5 WAR for AAA Shinano
* CF Shigejiro Matsunaga is earning plaudits as an 18 year old in AA Hamamatsu, with a .282/.315/.459 slash line.

[tehsuigi]

The Quiver - August 1, 2030
Your Shizuoka Arrows News Source!

A 13-3 July, heralded by Hayato Sakamoto's arrival and subsequent revival, is giving Shizuoka faithful hope for a repeat. The Arrows are 66-28, and 9 games ahead of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as the deadline passes.

Seriously, Sakamoto's put up a .365/.404/.788 slash line in 15 games in green! He's not as slick a fielder as Shinji, but he's also not a complete dud. We'll see when playoffs come if he sticks.

Losing Daichi Ishii for the rest of the season will continue to place strain on the rotation, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto has slid right in, and Kodai Umetsu remains a good contributor in the 6-spot.

The Arrows stayed quiet at the deadline, but arguably there's no need to make changes to a team running so well.

[tehsuigi]

The Shizuoka Volley - September 1, 2030
Arrows updates, quick and on target!

* A 16-11 August is actually the Arrows' worst month, but they gained 2.5 games on SoftBank!
* He may be 41, but his bat was #1 last month. SS Hayato Sakamoto batted .333 with 7 HRs and 21 RBIs in August to win Batter of the Month!
* C Yasutoki Kato returned to action from rehab! Asakichi Shimoda did well in his stead, so there's confidence in the Arrows catching tandem.
* RHP Katsumi Ikeda went down with a ruptured disc and won't be back for the rest of the season, and rookie RHP Yoshihide Yonamine has been through the firing line so far. Time will tell if the #14 prospect can hold onto a rotation spot into next season.
* Word on the street is 3B Takahiko Arakawa is losing his starting job for a while after an atrocious August. Can our captain pull through?
* RHP Eric Pardinho has been sent down to Shinano after a rough month - Konyo Nakayama is the corresponding call-up.

[tehsuigi]

At season's end
* The Shizuoka Arrows clinched their second-straight PL pennant and third in four years with a 7-4 win over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at Ito En Park on the 11th. The team then took precautionary measures to make sure stars RHP Ethan Smith, SS Hayato Sakamoto, and 2B Meiji Onishi could avoid injury.
* That gave SS Shinji a chance to work his way back into the starting lineup, and in 16 games he batted .320/.370/.380. He may get to keep that starting slot soon!
* 3B Yohsuke Matsumoto took over the starting role for all of September, slashing .330/.397/.493 and giving captain Takahiko Arakawa a chance to get his own swing back in order. Arakawa will be getting the starting role back for the postseason.
* Arrows first baseman Hirotaka Hayashi won the batting title with a .317 average (teammate Kawamoto fell off the pace in September, batting only .196 in the month)
* Closer Danny Bergeron picked up Pitcher of the Month honours, with 11 saves in 11 chances and a 0.84 ERA. That makes 40 saves for the second straight season. He's ready for the postseason!

2030 Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage

The PL champion Shizuoka Arrows will host the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, who swept the best-of-three First Stage against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The Arrows receive a one-game lead in the best-of-seven as pennant winners.

Game 1: Shizuoka 3, Tohoku Rakuten 2
For once, the Arrows secured a win in the first game of a Final Stage. It almost wasn't the case, as Arrows starter Kikuo Aoki allowed two solo home runs over 5 innings of work (10 Ks though), one each to Eagles RF Makoto Yoshimura and 3B Fumiya Kurokawa, but the Arrows offense came through. Arrows 2B Taisei Murakami (replacing an injured Meiji Onishi) stole 2nd, 3rd, and scored on a wild pitch in the same at-bat in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game, and Arrows pinch hitter Kenjyu Kuwahara took a 3-2 offering from Hirotsugu Hayashi deep in the 9th to seal the deal. Closer Danny Bergeron earned the win.

Game 2: Shizuoka 16, Tohoku Rakuten 3
This was just a slaughter. A 7-run Shizuoka first inning - Kuwahara RBI single, CF Eric Santana 2-run single, C Yasutoki Kato 2-run single, and 3B Takahiko Arakawa 2-run home run - put it away early. The Arrows added another 7-spot in the eighth. All told, Shizuoka banged out 15 hits - four of those were 1B Hirotaka Hayashi's. Eagles starter Kyoichi Oyama failed to get out of the 1st inning; Arrows starter Ethan Smith went 6 innings scattering 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned), with Kodai Umetsu pitching 3 shutout innings in relief to get the save.

Game 3: Shizuoka 6, Tohoku Rakuten 4
The Shizuoka Arrows have not lost a playoff game in their last eight. Four home runs - one each of SS Hayato Sakamoto, 1B Hirotaka Hayashi, RF Shizue Uchino, and series MVP Yasutoki Kato - made the difference here. Shizuoka starter Tetsuya Yoshimoto pitched into the 7th, striking out 10 and only allowing 2 hits; Arrows closer Danny Bergeron got a 2-out save allowing 2 runs himself.

This gives the Shizuoka Arrows their second straight PL Climax Series title, setting up a Japan Series against the expansion Ehime Honda Comets, who got past the Chunichi Dragons in 3 and Yomiuri Giants in 7 to win the Central League Climax Series.

[tehsuigi]

2030 Japan Series

Since it's an even year, the Shizuoka Arrows have home-field advantage, starting in Game 1.

Game 1: Ehime Honda 8, Shizuoka 3
The Comets took advantage of a brief lapse in the Arrows bullpen to take the first game, with first baseman Ryuichiro Yamashta's 3-run 2-out home run in the 7th inning the dagger; the Comets would score 5 in the inning. Arrows reliever Isamu Hiratsuka got stuck with the loss, even though the bulk of the damage came against Yasunaga Suzuki and Hironori Watanabe. Arrows shortstop Hayato Sakamoto was injured while running the bases, and will likely be restricted to pinch-hitting duties going forward.

Game 2: Shizuoka 5, Ehime Honda 0
Arrows left-handed starter Kikuo Aoki struck out 10 batters in his second straight postseason start, only allowing one hit and no walks over 7 innings. Arrows second baseman Meiji Onishi drove in the go-ahead run in the 7th on a hit-by-pitch, and Shizuoka blew it open in the 8th with home runs by DH Kikuo Kawamoto and C Yasutoki Kato.

Game 3: Shizuoka 9, Ehime Honda 7 (10 inn.)
This one needed extras, and those extras were worth the price of admission alone. Both starters (Tetsuya Yoshimoto and Seung-Yeop Yanagida for Shizuoka and Ehima Honda, respectively) went 6 innings giving up 5 runs each, and the bullpens held firm for three scoreless. Arrows center fielder Eric Santana slugged a 2-run home run in the top of the 10th, as did third baseman Yohsuke Matsumoto. The Comets' big slugger Yamashta got a 2-run shot of his own before Shizuoka leftie Yoshimitsu Ota settled down and got three straight outs to seal the deal.

Game 4: Shizuoka 4, Ehime Honda 1
Arrows starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six effective innings allowing only five hits and one run to pace his squad to a win. Left fielder Kenjyu Kuwahara's 2-run rouble in the sixth would stand up as the game-winner. Arrows starter Kohsuke Ozaki struck out 10 over 6 innings, but got stuck with the hard-luck loss.

Game 5: Ehime Honda 7, Shizuoka 1
This series is heading back to Shizuoka after the Comets posted a 6-run first inning against Arrows starter Jon Duplantier. Duplantier walked seven and allowed four hits over 4 innings. The runs came on a pair of bases-clearing doubles, first by center fielder Kyota Fujiwara, then by catcher Hideo Sakata.

Game 6: Ehime Honda 5, Shizuoka 3
Once again, the Arrows bullpen faltered at home. Kyota Fujiwara was the hero this time, slugging a two-run home run off Shizuoka closer Danny Bergeron in the top of the 8th. The Arrows hit four doubles, but none in the right order, and it likely cost the squad their game.

Game 7: Shizuoka 4, Ehime Honda 2
There will soon be ballads written about Kikuo Aoki's legendary postseason pitching. This was another scoreless appearance, 7 shutout innings scattering 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 9. Arrows left fielder Kenjyu Kuwahara slugged a pair of solo home runs, with center fielder Eric Santana going back-to-back on the second of those in the 6th. Arrows reliever Yoshimitsu Ota did yield two runs in the top of the 8th off a Naoki Sato double, but slammed the four with five straight outs afterwards. The final out was Comets shortstop Keito Mori's fly out to right fielder Shizue Uchino.

Back-to-back. That's the Shizuoka Arrows - champions of Japanese baseball again.

Center fielder Eric Santana's .435/.519/.739 slash line, five stolen bases, and two home runs earned him Japan Series MVP honours.

[tehsuigi]

2030 Season Review

No practice tomorrow.

[tehsuigi]

Building a Champion - How the 2030 Arrows Came Together

Draft Picks
* LHP Kikuo Aoki, 1st round, 5th overall in 2025
* 3B Takahiko Arakawa, 1st round, 9th overall in 2024
* C Motosugu Fujiwara, 3rd round in 2024
* 1B Hirotaka Hayashi, 2nd round in 2024
* LHP Isamu Hiratsuka, 3rd round in 2025
* RF Kuemon Kamimura, 10th round in 2024
* DH Kikuo Kawamoto, 1st round, 9th overall in 2026
* 2B Taisei Murakami, 2nd round in 2025
* SS Shinji Nakamura, 7th round in 2023
* LHP Yoshimitsu Ota, 1st round, 18th overall in 2027
* C Asakichi Shimoda, 3rd round in 2026
* RHP Yasunaga Suzuki, 2nd round in 2028
* RF Shizue Uchino, 1st round, 2nd overall in 2021
* RHP Hironori Watanabe, 2nd round in 2027
* RHP Yoshihide Yonamine, 1st round, 15th overall in 2028
* LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto, 1st round, 3rd overall in 2023

Free Agents
* RHP Danny Bergeron, 2027-28 offseason
* RHP Jon Duplantier, 2029-30 offseason
* RHP Daichi Ishii, 2021-22 offseason
* C Yasutoki Kato, 2028-29 offseason
* CF Yuki Okabayashi, 2028-29 offseason
* RHP Kodai Umetsu, 2029-20 offseason

Trade
* RHP Katsumi Ikeda, from Chiba Lotte for Masahiro Inui
* LF Seisaku Ishikawa, from Ehime Honda for LF Shuji Shibata and CF Soichi Shiotani
* RF Kenjyu Kuwahara, from Tohoku Rakuten with Yugo Umeno for LHP Kakeru Narita
* RHP Mitsukuni Matsuda, from Fukuoka SoftBank for LHP Yudai Mori and RHP Yuta Nakamura
* 3B Yohsuke Matsumoto, from Tohoku Rakuten for RHP Yuto Kanakubo and 3B Jo Endo
* RHP Konyo Nakayama, from Tokyo Yakult for LHP CC Mercedes
* 2B Meiji Onishi, from Ehime Honda for 3B Hiroshi Morita and LF Seisaku Ishikawa
* SS Hayato Sakamoto, from Hiroshima for SS Takeshi Saito and RHP Patrick Weigel
* RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, from Orix for Xavier Valentin and Naoto Nishiguchi

Acquisition
* RHP Ethan Smith, Road Warriors (ATL)
* CF Eric Santana, York Revolution (ATL)

EDIT: Found a backup and created a team picture. Can't forget these guys.

[tehsuigi]

2030-31 Offseason Summary

Arbitration Period
* The Shizuoka Arrows sent RHP Konyo Nakayama and LHP Hideo Matsumoto to the Orix Buffaloes for SS Chris Bowling
* The Niigata Komatsu Bears acquired RHP Eric Pardinho from the Shizuoka Arrows for 2B Teruhito Okumura.
* The Yokohama DeNA BayStars acquired 3B Yoshuke Matsumoto and RF Kuemon Kamimura from the Shizuoka Arrows for SS Yukio Arita and RHP Giichiro Kaji.
* LF Ryosuke Tatsumi was released from Shinano Grandserows (AAA)
* The Shizuoka Arrows have avoided arbitration with all remaining players
* The Arrows extended pending free agent RHP Kodai Umetsu for 2 years at 310K per.
* The following players left the Shizuoka Arrows as free agents: SS Hayato Sakamoto, 2B Meiji Onishi, LF Seisaku Ishikawa, RHP Jon Duplantier

Award Winners
* Three Golden Glove Award winners on the Arrows roster - catcher Yasutoki Kato, second baseman Meiji Onishi, and left fielder Seisaku Ishikawa (the latter two pending FAs)
* Kikuo Kawamoto's .305/.424/.673 slash line, 37 HRs, and 5.4 WAR earned him Best Nine honours at DH
* CF Eric Santana earned third place in PL Rookie of the Year voting, with Okinaka Kirin's first baseman Tamuramaro Tanaka taking the award
* Manager Andre Ethier won Manager of the Year for the third time during his tenure at Shizuoka.
* LHP Kikuo Aoki's 18-3 record, 177 strikeouts, and 2.01 ERA in 165 1/3 IP earned him a unanimous selection as the PL's Eiji Sawamura Award winner. RHP Ethan Smith, LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto, and RHP Daichi Ishii placed 3rd, 4th, and 6th in voting, respectively.
* DH Kikuo Kawamoto has become the first Arrow to win MVP, taking 12 of 16 first place votes. Other Arrows in the voting included Kikuo Aoki (5th), RF Shizue Uchino (9th), Ethan Smith (11th), Tetsuya Yoshimoto (13th), Daichi Ishii, and Eric Santana.

2030 First-Year Draft Summary
1. Masari Miyamoto, a college second baseman who hasn't batted below .359 in three college seasons. Good intangibles too.
2. Masao Yamamoto, college third baseman who seems like a well-rounded player
3. Matsuyo Sugiyama, a center fielder/pitcher out of high school who is likely best in the outfield, but has decent stuff and five pitches.
4. Tadasu Shimizu, high school shortstop with a noodle bat but maybe the best hands I've seen in years
5. Yukitsura Kimata, high school left fielder who has a DH bat and fielding
6. Yuya Harada, high school reliever with a solid three-pitch mix; if his stuff develops, he'll fit right into a bullpen
7. Masataka Funaki, college reliever who could turn into a decent groundballer
8. Yasuyuki Nakano, high school second baseman who probably fares better on the other side of the diamond
9. Noriyoshi Ito, college catcher with high ability, as tradition
10. Ryuzo Kimura, high school outfielder with decent range. Bat is meh.
(I clearly missed the boat on the good pitchers)

Winter Meetings and Adjacent
* The Shizuoka Arrows added two players on minor league deals - RF Bobby Ochampaugh and LHP Hidenori Kawasaki. Both will report to AAA Shinano.
* At the winter meetings, the Chunichi Dragons and Shizuoka Arrows made a swap of minor leaguers, with C Tokita Yamano and 2B Shigeru Nakashima heading to Nagoya and 2B GG Yuasa coming back the other way. Arrows GM tehsuigi did comment that Yuasa likely plays better at 3B.
* The Shizuoka Arrows announced the signing of LHP CC Mercedes for 1 year at 345K. CC earned his domestic free agency status, and will not consume a foreign player slot. Mercedes spent parts of 2025 and 2026 as an Arrow, and returns to them after four successful seasons in the Swallows rotation.
* RHP Eric Pardinho returned to the Arrows organization on a minor league deal.
* RHP Akira Yamane joins the Arrows organization on a minor league deal, and will report to AAA Shinano. Yamane was rushed to the Fighters rotation the last two years, and struggled; this is a chance at redemption.

What's a Puikkonen? Arrows Sign Finnish Phenom
SHIZUOKA - December 18, 2030

No, it's not the latest Pokemon in Gen XV. Aatu Puikkonen is the Shizuoka Arrows' latest foreign signing, a right-handed starter on a one-year deal worth 3.13M.

Finland isn't exactly known as a baseball powerhouse; they prefer a domestic/mutated version called pesapallo. So it came as a bit of a shock when the Shizuoka Arrows announced the signing of Puikkonen.
Hopes are high the 25-year-old Puikkonen can build on his 3.1 WAR performance over 27 starts at AAA Memphis in the Raleigh Capitals system. As a groundballer with three plus pitches, he'll fit right in with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ethan Smith, and Kikuo Aoki.

[tehsuigi]

2031 Opening Day Roster
The back-to-back champs are...uh, back! Some intrigue with the roster this year as RHP Yoshihide Yonamine heads to Shinano, Takahiro Arakawa is fending off a challenge from Tomonori Nitta, and Kenjyu Kuwahara gets the LF starting role to himself finally. A few new faces, marked with asterisks.

Pitchers
Rotation: LHP Kikuo Aoki, RHP Ethan Smith, RHP Aatu Puikkonen*, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LHP Tetsuya Yoshimoto, RHP Daichi Ishii
Bullpen: RHP Danny Bergeron, RHP Yasunaga Suzuki, RHP Hironori Watanabe, RHP Mitsukuni Matsuda, LHP CC Mercedes*, LHP Isamu Hiratsuka
Closer: LHP Yoshimitsu Ota (although I said that last year and Bergeron still got 40 saves to lead the league)

Fielders
Catcher: Yasutoki Kato, Asakichi Shimoda
First Base: Hirotaka Hayashi, Kikuo Kawamoto (DH)
Second Base: Taisei Murakami, Satoshi Onishi
Third Base: Takahiko Arakawa, Tomonori Nitta*
Shortshop: Shinji Nakamura (he prefers to just go by Shinji), Yukio Arita*
Left Field: Kenjyu Kuwahara, Atsushi Fujimoto*
Center Field: Eric Santana, Kintaro Sasaki
Right Field: Shizue Uchino, Reizo Nishimoto*

RHP Katsumi Ikeda and SS Seishiro Sakaguchi are starting the season on the injured list.

[tehsuigi]

GM Notebook - May 1, 2031

At some point, I'm going to warn ticketholders that games may cause cardiac issues. We've had like five walkoff wins in the first month alone, and an extra innings game here and there.

Yoshimitsu Ota has locked down the closer role so far, a perfect 11-for-11 in saves with a 1.13 ERA. A lot of our starters are getting BABIP'd hard, so I'm willing to forgive Aoki, Yoshimoto and Ishii their starts. Puikkonen is taking a while to adjust to the league too.

Arakawa had a decent start, but cooled off lately, neither Murakami nor Onishi are running away with the 2nd base job...this team is being powered by our outfield, as Kuwahara and Uchino each picked up a Player of the Week award during the month.

It's still early - only half a game back of SoftBank (and imagine what I could do with THAT budget), and 3 ahead of Kirin. But I got a good feeling about our chances once we regress to the mean.

[tehsuigi]

GM Notebook - June 1, 2031

When the injury bug bites, it bites. Kikuo Aoki's out for the season (it was off to a forgettable start anyway), Yoshinobu Yamamoto's lost a month, Yoshimitsu Ota's gone until late in the season, and Danny Bergeron's lost his closing touch.
That 1.5 game lead on SoftBank looks slim. Especially since they've won 9 in a row to counter our eight-game win streak earlier in May. Still we're 9.5 ahead of Kirin and Nippon-Ham - just gotta outpace those two and anything can happen.

Note to self: make sure Ethan Smith is well-supplied on diapers and essentials. He's a proud father now!

On the batting side, Arakawa had a fantastic month with the bat, as did Hayashi and Kawamoto. Heck, Shinji even batted .333! If those guys can bottle this performance for the rest of the year, we'll be in great shape.

EDIT: And now Eric Santana's injured! Great, just great...

[tehsuigi]

GM Notebook - July 1, 2031

I'm willing to forgive a rough interleague record (10-15 in June) because of all the injures we've had. Yamamoto and Santana will be back around the All-Star Game, Kikuo Aoki and Aatu Puikkonen are both gone for the season now. The Hawks went 17-8 in June and now have a 5.5 game lead on us. We're still 4.5 ahead of Kirin, so I'm not panicking...yet.

Interleague title this year was won by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, who went 18-6. Woof.

Oh, looks like Orix is looking to give Taiki Ono a new home. Sure, we'll bring him back in a trade. Buffaloes get one of our failed pitcher prospects, Motoshi Oshta.

I'm consistently surprised at how Isamu Hiratsuka does when starting. 2.11 ERA over 3 starts and 21 1/3 IP. May have to give him more if he keeps that up.

[tehsuigi]

All-Stars
* RHP Hironori Watanabe has been a bullpen godsend this season, working a 2.30 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 14.3 K/9 over 54 2/3 IP.
* DH Kikuo Kawamoto continues to earn plaudits for his work at the dish, with a .296/.410/.592 slash line and 18 HRs to date
* RF Shizue Uchino's 23 HR and 23 SB earn him a fifth straight spot on the All-Star squad.

Future Stars
* RHP Jon Looney pitched a start or two at the major league level, but his 5-2 record and 3.43 ERA at AAA Shinano earned him this spot
* 2B Masari Miyamoto is impressing in his first season with a .342/.405/.455 slash line and 0.4 WAR

ARROWS BUSY AT THE DEADLINE

The Shizuoka Arrows made a pair of deals to bolster their injured squad, sending RHP Eric Pardinho to the Hiroshima Carp for RHP Christian Reyes (10% retained), and moving 3B Tomonori Nitta to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for 3B Ryota Miyake and RHP Koki Sugiyama (90% retained).

GM tehsuigi was moderate in his comments. "We're in a tough slog to the postseason, especially with SoftBank's payroll ahead of us. We need to get healthy players to keep the team afloat."

[tehsuigi]

GM Notebook - August 1, 2031

The injuries have officially gotten the better of us. We had a rough July (comparatively speaking, we went 9-8) and slid into only a half-game ahead of the Okinawa Kirin Spirit, who are in 3rd place. The pennant is mostly out of reach.

Getting Taiki Ono back ought to help calm our bullpen down, and hopefully our starters can respond by performing better. I know I'm asking a lot of Yonamine and Yoshimoto, but their ERAs need to come down from 8-ish!

At least the batters are holding down the fort - Taisei Murakami had himself a good month!

All told, this year feels like the championship window is starting to slide shut. Maybe with declining arbitration to Puikkonen I can get some budget for a better push next season.

[tehsuigi]

The Quiver - September 1, 2031
Your Shizuoka Arrows News Source!

Could it be? Have the Arrows finally found their footing last month? 16-11 in August and 8-2 over their last 10 has them 6 games back of SoftBank for the PL pennant, and 2.5 ahead of Kirin for hosting the Climax Series First Stage. The problem is Rakuten gained a lot of strong, and they're only 5 behind Shizuoka. There's still a chance (slim one) that the Arrows fail to make the playoffs, but their schedule is the weakest of the bunch.

It's great to see a bounceback month from Tetsuya Yoshimoto and Danny Bergeron - guys had us worried! Christian Reyes has pitched OK since joining the Arrows, but someone has to give this guy a win already.

And WHOA what happened to Hirotaka Hayashi? A -0.9 WAR is one of the worst monthly scores we've seen, and it's not like he's lacking in the bat and basepaths. And congratulations to Kenjyu Kuwahara for his first 20-home run season!

The playoff push is going to be IN-TENSE. You ready?!

[tehsuigi]

At season's end
* The Shizuoka Arrows finished 86-57, second place in the PL after a 12-8 September.
* 1B Hirotaka Hayashi finished 6th in *** and 2nd in the PL in batting average at .314
* Hayashi also led *** in doubles with 35 and stolen bases with 62
* Also in the SB leaderboards were 2B Taisei Murakami (48) and OF Shizue Uchino (43)
* CF Eric Santana led *** in triples with 7
* RHP Ethan Smith finished 6th in the PL pitchers with 3.2 WAR
* DH Kikuo Kawamoto led the PL and was 2nd in *** in OPS at .976
* LHP CC Mercedes elected to retire after being sent to AAA Shinano and concluding the season there.
* The Shinano Grandserows win the 2031 BCL Championship, their first in four seasons.

2031 Pacific League Climax Series First Stage
The Shizuoka Arrows host the Okinawa Kirin Spirit in this best-of-three series. It's the first playoff appearance for the Spirit in their franchise history.

Game 1: Shizuoka 7, Okinawa Kirin 6
This was a nervous one, but the usual suspects stepped up in a big way. Arrows LF Kenjyu Kuwahara led the way with a 3-for-4 day (HR, double, 2-RBI single), and CF Eric Santana hit a triple in the 8th and came around to score for the winning run. Spirit starter Haruki Yamamoto is one of the league's best, but he allowed 6 runs on 9 hits and failed to get out of the 5th in a rude welcome to the postseason. Shizuoka closer Yoshimitsu Ota allowed a run in the 9th on Okinawa CF Masaru Nakamura's RBI single, but slammed the door with a fly-out and strikeout with the tying run at 3rd.

Game 2: Shizuoka 8, Okinawa Kirin 2
Count on the wily veterans to see you through, as Shizuoka starter Daichi Ishii scattered three hits and three walks, only giving up two runs on two homers and striking out seven to send the Spirit packing. The Arrows tied the game off Okinawa starter Ryunosuke Kato in the 6th, with SS Shinji scoring 3B Ryota Miyake on a triple, and coming home himself on 2B Taisei Murakami's single. The bottom of the seventh was when this game blew wide open, with a bases-loaded wild pitch, bases-loaded walk, 2-run double, and 2-run single put it away.

On to Fukuoka!