The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal He Made Me Raise My Game (March 2020) Two days later I’m in Nogoya, which is the capital of the Aichi prefecture, and is (more important to my purposes) home of the Shin Seiki Evas. To understand what the Shin Seiki Evas are to the League of the Rising […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal I Believe You (March 2020) We stood below the tree, my feet in the very same places that only minutes ago were filled by Don-o’s feet. “I am sorry you could not find your friend.” Ichihara said. “He was right here. I swear it.” He put his hand high […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal A Man, Leaning Against a Tree (March 2020) It was a beautiful day, mid-60s with a gentle breeze, but it could have been in the 20s with a gale force as far as I cared because after all this time, baseball had finally arrived. I was, you see, […]
The Ongoing Diary of Neal Casey The “Walters” Apartment (February 2020) I was standing in the “Walters” apartment in Kure, which is in Hiroshima prefecture. It is the ex-home of the Kure Arsenal, a team that won the Neo-Tokyo cup just three seasons ago but has now been disbanded in financial ruin. I was alone […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal I Can Still Hit the Curve (February 2020) There is no money in the foreign bank accounts. The news was devastating. Until this point, Ichihara’s investigation had focused in several areas, including identifying cohorts of Mister Slimeball, running background checks on the identities he stole, and attempting to locate […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal The Franklin Apartment (February 2020) My next story ran on the day that pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. While those players are stretching and doing their half-hearted calisthenics, my story was winging its way through the sports world with perhaps a bit more precision. It was an […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal Da (February 2020) Early the next afternoon I find myself seated on a bench in the middle of an open plaza, waiting for the Russians. It is Setsubun, and the plaza is filled with people in costumes dancing, and booths the smell of warm food. I’m eating a pastry, […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal Homu-Ran! (February 2020) The calendar has flipped again, and Spring Training is on the horizon. DK is talking baseball while we eat the rice and spinach concoction he made for dinner–a treat that is surprisingly yummy, if I can be forgiven for using that word. Morihiro Nakamura (or Homu-Ran!, […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal Connections (January 2020) I came “home” to discover two things. First, DK is a freaking godsend. Okay, I know the “big guy up there” and I haven’t always been on speaking terms. Half the time it seems like I don’t think he exists, and the other half I think […]
The Ongoing Diary of Casey Neal The Other Japan (January 2020) My calendar solved my immediate problem of personal safety. I was due to be in Okinawa the next day to speak with Iyou Seigyoki, the reclusive owner of the Naha Shisa. Seigyoki had asked for the questions in advance, and cleared an hour […]