The Lion Dog Report: A note from the Naha Shisa GM and owner Brinnon Morrison

December 2009 edition

Starting in December the Naha Shisa are going to be starting a monthly magazine called the Lion Dog Report.  It is an exciting avenue that I hope will give our fans insight into team happenings and a chance to not only know what we are doing on the field to be successful, but what we are doing behind the scenes and in the community to be successful.  Additionally, I will also be doing a weekly interview session focusing on the Naha Shisa with a local radio station that will be translated into Japanese.

Each monthly report will contain a review of what we did the previous month, including transactions and highlights, an announcement of the Shisa player and Shisa minor league player of the month and a preview of what is to come.

It is important for me as the owner to make sure that our fans understand our goals.  Our goals define who we are as an organization and are what we will strive daily to accomplish.  Without our goals and without moving towards these goals daily we are doing our fans a disservice. 

My goals and the goals of my management team are as follows:

1. That the Naha Shisa Baseball Club honor, support and uplift the surrounding Naha community and Okinawa Islands through respectful behavior and community service.
2. That the Naha Shisa Baseball Club is operated in a manner that makes it a competitive team on a yearly basis with the goal of making the playoffs and winning the Neo-Tokyo Cup without sacrificing financial responsibility.
3. That the Naha Shisa Baseball Club is operated in a fiscally responsible manner which will ensure its longevity and competitive sustainability.

My vision is that the Naha Shisa compete yearly for the playoffs.  Some years we will be more successful than others, but every year our fans will have hope.  Every year our fans will know that, as an owner and general manager, I am doing my best to put the players on the field that bring honor to the game, that bring wins to the box scores and bring championships and pride to the city.

A Review of November

In November we were able to financially and operationally take control of the team.  The league made several structural and rule changes, with the most substantial move being the addition of a second minor league club.  This presents several challenges, especially combined with trying to analyze what the best moves are for a very small market franchise that finished 14 games out of first and below .500.  We took the steps to sign several minor league players some with professional experience and others who are looking for their big break.  We currently have 12 guys signed or assigned to our Single A affiliate Magami and expect several more to sign in December.

A Preview of December

The biggest events happening in December is the Winter Meetings and free agency getting into full swing.  The Winter Meetings are a chance for the owners and general managers to sit down face to face and talk through the vision and needs for each ball club.  I always want to be straight as possible with the fans when I am able to without comprising our competitive edge or strategy.  I believe this is one of those times.  The Shisa are very limited financially.  While we have some money for extensions in the 2010 seasons, we will be very limited in adding payroll either through trades or free agency acquisitions.  From a personnel perspective my goals for this offseason are to position the Shisa strategically to have more financial freedom for the 2011 season.  So in summary, expect some minor league signings in December and continuing through the start of the season in May and the slight possibility of making some trades during the winter meetings provided they don’t come with much added payroll.

Shisa Player of the Year

Every year we will have an organizational awards banquet to celebrate our successes.  Some years we will be more successful than others but every year we will reward those who were successful.  Although we took the team over in November, it was important for me to start it off right and so it is with great satisfaction that I was able to have our first annual Naha Shisa Baseball Club Awards Banquet.  We have two player awards that we will give out every year; the Naha Shisa Player of the Year and the Naha Shisa Minor League Player of the Year.  This year it is with great privilege that I give the Shisa Player of the Year Award to third basemen, #14, Ton “Dracula” Nakamura.  Ton hit 48 homeruns and racked up a 1.038 OPS.  He currently is second on the LRS all-time most HR list with 133.  Additionally, his leadership ability and work ethic can not be talked about enough; he is continually working with the younger players to improve their game as well as working daily to improve his own.  While third base  is not his best position he only allowed nine errors in 410 total chances.   

Shisa Minor League Player of the Year

While playing for the Shizuoka Anguirus starting pitcher Nobukazu Horiuchi started 21 games and pitched over 173 innings, going 11-3 with a .213 ERA and a .212 batting average against.  It is a very likely possibility we will be seeing him with the big club during the 2010 campaign.