By Saruwatari Tsuyoshi, Kyoto Shimbun News

May 5, 2013: Kyoto, Japan – Scents of rosin, glove leather and hot dogs hang lazily in the brisk spring air.  Fresh grass, impossibly green to be real this time of year, drapes the park from dugouts to walls.  Crisp reports of bats sending baseballs on fleeting journeys to the heavens, only to be brought back to the damp soil like so many hopes of Icarus and fans alike.

Spring training is complete.  On the eve of Opening Day in the LRS, here are some of our observations and opinions of the state of the Edo Battousai.

Catcher Kenko Nakamura was a revelation last year, and this year he seems to have tapped the fountain of youth again, looking even stronger than last year.  Batting cleanup, he’s made a statement, posting .356 AVG 1.082 OPS with 5 HR and 12 RBI.

Kenko’s move to the 4-spot was done to allow LF Morihiro Nakamura to move to the 3 spot to get more ABs.  The more at-bats “Homu-Ran” gets, the better he does, and so far it looks to be paying off.  He’s put up a .397 AVG, a 1.081 OPS, 3 HR and even a SB this spring.

Nakamura’s move to the 3-spot was also designed to benefit 1B “Wheels” Chien.  Simply stated, pitchers now have to pitch to him or risk putting a dangerous runner on base before facing the Nakamura twins.  Last year, he was drawing walks at a 0.39 BB/G rate.  So far, that’s been brought down to 0.33 BB/G.  That bodes well for the dangerous Chien, who hss a .406 OBP and 4 SB.

Leading off is surprise free agent acquisition RF Shimpei Adachi, who, despite having limited appearances due to a mild injury, still managed 4 SB with a .464 OBP.

The rest of the lineup looks solid and performed well throughout the spring.  SS Rivera and 2B Bailey have posted strong numbers, hitting .339 and .309 and sporting an OPS of .850 and .914, respectively.  CF Bigalow notably had 7 SB but, with a .150 AVG, has not yet recovered from the slump he started in last year’s Neo-Tokyo Cup.  Reserve 1B Hisashi Kitakawa will be expecting some more playing time after his spring statement of .387 AVG, 1.099 OPS.   

The club took a huge gamble by trading away the stellar Domingo Hernández and putting the burden on starting pitchers whose average age is 25.4 years.  The results thus far have been promising; an average 2.72 ERA and 62 Ks, with 20 BB / 28 R / 4 HR allowed.  We’re eager to see how they improve once they start getting seasoned a bit.

The bullpen always gets hammered a bit in spring, as it’s not built for all the extra innings they throw, but overall, they looked good, as well.  Once the starters get to carrying more of the load, these guys should be solid in their roles.  The problematic (for Edo) closer role is well in hand under MR Masamichi Takachi, who struck out 23 batters and walked eight while notching a 2.16 ERA and holding opponents to a .163 AVG.

The farm system has some promising talent that we should hope to see in a couple of years.  The club needs to do some work at the A level and identify new talent if it wants to stay competitive in the 5-10 year range.

In summary, the outlook is good.  The competition has not been idle and changes were needed to keep up.  The major new free agents – 1B Chien, 2B Bailey, RF Adachi – look very good thus far.  The rotation is full of strong young arms with promising futures.  The bullpen is sound.  Financially, the club is healthy and looking forward to a good multi-season run with a core of All-Star-caliber talents.  Play ball!