By Jim Bouton, Naha Shisa correspondent

11/25/2013: Naha, Japan — I met Katsuhiko in his home to talk about his perceived role with the 2014 Naha Shisa.  When I entered his house, I was not surprised to see rubber bumpers attached to any piece of furniture that had a sharp edge or that represented an obstacle in any way.

Katsuhiko is a very talented 5-tool ballplayer.  Already, he has shown his hitting prowess by posting a .309 average in 677 at bats in his very young career.  Naha scouting director Daisuke Wakabayashi thinks he is capable of hitting 20 homers, stealing 15 bases and posting close to a .400 OBP at the top of the batting order.  Despite being a natural left fielder, he is capable of playing an adequate centerfield until highly touted prospect Yosai Ikeda matures to take that position.

That is, when he’s in the lineup.

During this past season, the team and all of Naha Shisa fandom has taken to calling Katsuhiko, “Ticky-tacky“.  This is due to the never-ending litany of ridiculous injuries that continually remove him from the playing field.  Let us look at the list, which covers the last two years:

5/19/2012: Deep bone bruise in knee, out for two months.  The coffee table was the culprit here and was the catalyst for the furniture bumper remodeling effort in the Yano household.

9/2/2012: Hamstring tightness, day-to-day for three days.  Was reaching for a can of tuna on the top shelf.  A stepping stool was introduced to the kitchen.

10/11/2012: Thumb contusion, out for four days.  Katsuhiko promised manager Yoshida that he would not take hammer in hand for home improvement projects during the season.

4/28/2013: Calf soreness, day-to-day for three days.  The pretty yoga instructor was not impressed by his attempt at the One-Legged King Pigeon pose.

6/18/2013: Oblique strain, out for two weeks.  The pretty yoga instructor was also not impressed with Katsuhiko’s interpretation of the Kama Sutra.

9/25/2013: Intercostal strain, out for three weeks.  Katsuhiko told his seven-year-old nephew to throw his best punch at the ballplayers stomach.  He did.

How does Katsuhiko react to his new moniker?  As carefree as he does the rest of his life.

“I have three philosophies in life that keep me grounded,” Ticky-tacky told me.  “Accept.  Accept.  Accept.

“People don’t understand how a professional athlete can be such a klutz and I don’t understand it myself.  I simply adjust as I go along and try to learn from my mistakes.  The new nickname doesn’t bother me at all because I’m not going to let it define me.  I’m working hard to make all the adjustments I can and show my teammates that I will be an iron man that they can depend upon!”

Finally, I got to the matter at hand and asked him what he believes his role will be on the team.

“I was told now that Shunsen (Kakuta) has been released, I will become the new leadoff man.  I’ve always thought of myself as a middle-of-the-order type of player, as I love to bat with runners in scoring position, but I will do whatever the team asks of me.  I was also told that the Naha Shisa will be active in the free agent market this year, so my leadoff spot is hardly set in stone.  My position in centerfield is also tenuous.  I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.  I am not very comfortable in center.”

As Katsuhiko escorted me out of his house, he tripped over the carpet edge strip and almost went head over heels.  “That’s a good place for a carpet runner,” he said, unperturbed.

Finally I got to the matter at hand and asked him what he believes his role will be on the team.

“I was told that now that Shunsen (Kakuta) has been released, that I will become the new lead-off man.  I’ve always thought of myself as a middle-of-the-order type of player as I love to bat with runners in scoring position, but I will do whatever the team asks of me.  I was also told that the Naha Shisa will active in the free agent market this year, so my leadoff spot is hardly set in stone.  My position in centerfield is also tenuous.  I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.  I am not very comfortable in center.”

As Katsuhiko escorted me out of his house, he tripped over the carpet edge strip and almost went head-over-heels.

“That’s a good place for a carpet runner,” he said, unperturbed.