By Yuri Kikuchi, Kure Daily

5/21/2012: Kure, Japan – As Ryosei Goto raced home in the bottom of the 10^th to score the winning run in yesterday’s 6-5 win over the Niihama-shi Ghosts, the 23,801 Kure Arsenal faithful cheered in unison.  There’s been something new in the air in Kure this spring – winning.

However, the light mood that’s been almost tangible since the new Nisshin Steel Dome opened just a few weeks ago got a bit heavy in the hours after the game when it was announced that 1B Yasuyuki Hashimoto would miss the remainder of the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament.

Sadly, Hashimoto, who’d hit a three run HR earlier in the game, tore his PCL sliding into second after hitting a double to the center field wall.  He was just starting to find his stroke after starting the season slowly.

“What can you say?  We were counting on him to be the catalyst of the offense.  He was the cleanup hitter and you don’t just replace someone like that,” said bench coach Izo Fujimoto.  “We’re going to be facing an uphill battle.  Even more so than before.”

Hashimoto will finish his 2012 campaign with a modest .311/.380/.533 line.  Ironically, his 4.3 VORP was nearly equal to his entire 2-year career in the LRS.

“It’s especially disappointing because I worked so hard in the offseason.  This was my third year in the league and I was starting to feel very comfortable at the plate.  I’m familiar enough with most of the pitchers that I more or less know what to expect,” said Hashimoto to reporters outside Kure Methodist Hospital.  “There’s not much to do but get ready for next year and try to come back strong then.”

In an effort to replace Hashimoto’s production, the Arsenal will recall 1B Toshiro Okamoto, who, after an impressive spring, has been hitting well at AAA Ikari.  Through 13 games, Okamoto has a .438/.486/.688 line.  Okamoto had a brief call-up in 2010, during which he was just 8-for-61.

Manager Toyokazu Morita said Okamoto will receive some starts at 1B and DH, and that Hashimoto’s absence will likely result in more starts for Naizen Nakayama, who was mostly starting versus LHP.  Nakayama’s increased workload at 2B means a likely shift to 1B for Naizen Shimizu.

“We’ll see what we can come up with,” said Morita to reporters outside Nisshin Steel Dome, “but there’s no doubt… we’ll miss him.  You don’t just replace a bat like that overnight.  We’ll need a number of contributions from a number of people.”

Hashimoto’s is the second major injury the team has suffered in the early going to the 2012 season.  Doctors say reliever Ryunosuke Saito will need at least two more months to recover from a sprained acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder.  Pitcher Chris Simmons is still expected to miss two months recovering from a hamstring injury suffered during spring training.  On the plus side of the ledger, Kaoru Matsumoto has been taking groundballs and is expected to return to the lineup in about three weeks.

The Arsenal will travel to Hiroshima to face the local rivals, the Hyakujuu Shinkansen, who were just swept in three straight one-run games by Shin Seiki.