By Saruwatari Tsuyoshi, Kyoto Shimbun News

5/22/2012: Hiroshima, Japan – After struggling out of the gate to a 5-8 start, Edo learned that road ahead just got a little rockier when fan favorite and team leader LF Morihiro Nakamura was injured while running the bases.  Team physicians report he suffered torn ankle ligaments.  He’s expected to miss about 5 weeks.

When asked about the injury and the team’s slow start, Nakamura reflected briefly, then replied, “We are fortunate.  Our play has been poor.  I have been unable to lead my team properly.  This is an opportunity for the team to show its true potential.  We will emerge from this opportunity a better team.  When I was a boy, my father would go to sea early each morning to catch fish.  He always had the best catches when the storms came.  He used to say, ‘Water which is too pure has no fish.’  Our waters have been muddied.  We will flourish.”

If the roster is any indication, the waters in Edo, if nothing else, are deep.  After week with a .348 average (8-23) with 4 home runs, 11 RBI and 4 runs scored, CF Ben Bigalow was named the Bright Blade Group Player of the Week. The team will look to him to fill the gap in the order with Nakamura out, while CF Manabu Oka will assume the fielding duties in left.