Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News Special Report Naha, Japan – January 10, 2021: In the wake of the LRS merger with the PEBA, unusual events in Japan have caught the attention of baseball fans both here and abroad. One is the formation of a new League of the Rising Sun here in Japan, billing itself […]
11: June, 2020 Sittin’ in the morning sun I’ll be sittin’ when the evening comes Watching the ships roll in Then I watch them roll away again “So you got the day off, is that so very bad?” asks Miss Okano, before she takes a bite of her gyoza. I’m keeping one eye on the […]
I, Kusonoki 10: May, 2020 “Where have you been hiding yourself?” asks the voice on the telephone. It’s Miss Okano. She’s been leaving messages on my voicemail for the past couple of weeks, but I’ve been ducking her. I decided to answer the phone this time, mostly to apologize and try to explain myself. I’ve […]
Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News Naha, Japan – November 9, 2020: Shisa executives today unveiled some major changes to the Shisa brand heading into the club’s first season in the PEBA. Team president Hatsuo Ko explained to a group of reporters gathered at the Shisa offices in Naha that marketing the team to a now […]
Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News Toyama, Japan – October 7, 2020: Game two of the BBG Wasei Junkesshou began much like the first, and ended in a managing debacle, and perhaps unnoticed (at the time) medical emergency, that is sure to rank near the top of a list of post-season tales of woe among long-suffering […]
9: April, 2020 On the eve of the start of the season, the Shisa hold their annual banquet. The purpose of this fête is to introduce new players, remember past players, honor outstanding performances of the previous season, and to give the owner a venue to speak about his views on the state of the […]
8: March, 2020 Spring training is in full swing. There’s a nervous energy in the office, and a prickliness as well. The Shisa haven’t been getting good press lately, and there is some fan discontent over the trades of Yoritomo Masuda and Naomichi Nakagawa, two popular players. Everyone’s just hoping that Naha wins some games, […]
Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News Tuba City, U.S.A. – June 19, 2020: A group of Shisa club executives, led by Board Chairman and CEO John Sugitani, along with the president of the Navajo Nation and other tribal dignitaries announced today an agreement between the club and the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe regarding the construction […]
7: February, 2020 The short of it is that I got more from Makiko Okano than I had bargained for. Far more. My memory of our last meeting was pretty hazy when I sat down across from her at this yakiniku place on the east side of town. I knew the restaurant to be a […]
6: January, 2020 The blessing of working in baseball is that it doesn’t give you a lot of time to dwell on the recent past. The calendar marches relentlessly on, and you have new tasks, new goals to attend to. With the higher-ups attending the winter meetings, the office was a little quieter, though we […]