Catching Up with James Hunter
Saturday, April 2, 2016
By Joseph Kendall, KuwanaSteelDragons.com
The 2015 season wasn’t one to remember for the Kuwana Steel Dragons. After finishing in 2nd place the previous four years, the Dragons fell to 5th place in the Bright Blade Group. The task of getting the team back on track will fall to new GM James Hunter. I got a chance to catch up with James for a quick Q&A.
Joseph: Spring training is right around the corner. Have you had a chance to look at your team on paper yet?
James: Yeah, I’ve looked at all the stats from last year and had lots of discussions with Mr. Okabe about our roster. There are areas we would like to improve, and areas we feel we have strength and depth to work with.
Joseph: Can we expect any deals before the start of the season?
James: We’re always looking to strengthen our organization in any way we can. Mr. Sakaguchi and I will sit down before spring training to go over our players and see who fits both our short- and long-term goals. We will try to make changes accordingly.
Joseph: What are your goals for the coming season and beyond?
James: I’m still trying to figure out if we’re the team from last year that finished in 5th, or if we’re closer to the team from 2014 that finished 2nd-place in our division. Our long-term goals are to win the Neo-Tokyo Cup, but that’s probably not a realistic short-term goal to aim for.
Joseph: Have you had any talks with former GM Nigel Laverick?
James: Nigel and I have had a few talks since he took over the London Underground. He was in the middle of rebuilding and gave me a good rundown of his thoughts on the current and future state of the team. He’s definitely got a good head on his shoulders and I wish him nothing but the best in the PEBA.
Joseph: Have anything you want to say to the fans?
James: We have a lot of work to do to make this team a contender, but I feel we have the pieces in place both on and off the field to build toward our ultimate goal: a Neo-Tokyo Cup. We may not win the division or even make the playoffs in 2016, but we are going to work our butts off to improve this organization in every way possible to achieve our goals. Come on and out to the ballpark and help cheer us on as we work towards those goals for the people who really matter: you, the fans!