9/29/2014: Fukuoka, Japan – On August 29, 2014, Jaime García’s career as a C-Warrior unofficially came to an end. While making a defensive play in a game against the Naha Shisa, Jaime broke his elbow. The league’s gaijin rule will force the C-Warriors and Jaime to part ways. With the team signing Francisco Pérez right before the injury, there will be no room for Jaime on the roster.

It was rumored the team was in negotiations with Jaime prior to the injury, but when he hit the DL for the fourth time in his two and a half years with the club, the team decided to wish Jaime good luck with his future endeavourers. While Jaime was with the C-Warriors, he had a quiet but productive career, amassing a VORP of 74.2 and winning the Gurabukin Award at both LF and CF.

“I have enjoyed my time here and wish the best of luck to this organization going forward. I know they would have brought me back if the rules were different and if I were healthy, but unfortunately, those aren’t the circumstances. I do like the kid they signed (Francisco) and see that he might be able to help this team for a long time going forward. I like it here in Japan, but I think my future now rests Stateside. But only time will tell,” said Jaime.

Other C-Warriors tidbits: Toshiki Nakagawa is finally coming back. Toshiki had Tommy John surgery in July of 2013 but suffered a setback in April that cost him three more months of recovery. The doctors have given him the “all clear”, and he is going to step right into the rotation. While the team doesn’t expect anything much from him, they will use this time to gauge if they want to offer him arbitration in the off-season.

“It feels like a lifetime ago since I have pitched in a real game. I am very excited, but I know I need to stay focused and not overthrow the ball. The doctor tells me my arm is fine and I should have zero problems. We will see,” said Toshiki.

With Toshiki going into the rotation, the team also decided to put Kisho Ageda in the pen for the rest of the year. Kisho was signed this off-season in hopes of him becoming the team’s #3 starter, but he just didn’t pan out and seems more fit for the pen. Kisho has expressed a desire to test the market this off-season, so this might be a way of the C-Warriors pushing him down the ladder.

Munemori Okubo, the #5 pick in the 2008 draft, finally made it to the LRS, beating Jung-ha Mun. They were the last two guys from the 2008 1^st round not to play in the league. In his first plate appearance, Munemori got a base hit.

It has been a struggle for Munemori to reach the LRS. Probably the only reason he made it was his popularity. The organization is hoping that he can show that he can be a somewhat decent 5^th outfielder.

Yasutoki Kikuchi has been placed on the 60-day DL and, like Jaime, it looks like Yasutoki’s career as a C-Warrior is over. Yasutoki was signed in April to a minor league contract but was expected to make the team. After a month in the minors, the team found an instant use for him, and he produced well enough to keep the team contending through May. Then in June and July, he just stopped hitting. The team tried to negotiate a deal with him, but his asking price was too high. With this injury, it is highly unlikely they attempt to sign him.

With Yasutoki getting injured, a spot opened on the 35-man roster and the C-Warriors decided to give it to veteran Naohiro Kumatani. Naohiro has been with the C-Warriors the past two years, mostly playing for the Nichibutsu Crestas. Last season, Naohiro was a September call-up, and the team decided to reward him similarly this year. Naohiro is 35 years old and this might be his last year, so the team figured why not? Hopefully, he can take over the loss of production from Yasutoki.

Salvador “The Gambler” Medrano injured his thumb and will be sidelined for two weeks, so the team had to decide who they were going to bring up to replace him. Was it going to be Tsurayuki Murakami or Akio Kouno? The team picked Akio, telling him that he will get plenty of plate appearances while “The Gambler” is out, and even some after his return. This is his audition for backup catcher in 2015. Hiroshi Shini has been a flop and the team can’t afford to spend over a million dollars on a bad backup catcher.

“I am going to go out there and play no different than I always do. The game doesn’t change. The talent might be higher, but the game is the same. I will study our opponents and do what I need to do to improve my stats. It has been a long time since I played in the LRS. While I had fun in the States, it wasn’t the success I was hoping for,” said Akio.

Amando Tapia was signed in June in hopes that he could step in as the #2 starter, a role left wide open by the failures of the pitching staff. Well, it took until 9/13 for Tapia to get his first win. Yes, that is correct; he was 0-7 up until that point (his record is now 1-8). Tapia started out well in June with an ERA of 2.54 but just couldn’t get a win. Later, Tapia just fell apart. The team is expected to release him when “The Gambler” comes back to stay within the gaijin rules.

Last rumor out of the clubhouse is that the team is hoping Eiichi Hosokawa gets his tenth win in his next start so that they can shut him down for the rest of the year. Eiichi has had the year the team expected of him, but with Fushigi Yugi out of contention, they want to rest him to avoid injury. The C-Warriors have a few guys they want to look at to see if they are worth bringing back next year.