http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin...b20051007j2.htm

Marines pumped for long-awaited return to postseason

By STEPHEN ELLSESSER
Staff writer

CHIBA -- The Chiba Lotte Marines are battling more than the Seibu Lions in this weekend's Pacific League first-round playoffs.
The Marines are attempting to rewrite history, one game at a time.

Perhaps the most maligned team in Japanese baseball, Chiba has posted losing seasons in 17 of the past 20 years and hasn't won a pennant in 31 years, the longest drought among the 12 pro clubs.

Last year, the Marines finished the season a half-game out of the playoffs, and as the regular season wrapped up, Chiba had to watch the scoreboard and hope the team just ahead in the standings, the Nippon Ham Fighters, lost.

The Marines were postseason spectators in 2004, which apparently motivated Bobby Valentine's squad. Lotte finished second this season behind the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, giving it home-field advantage for the best-of three series starting Saturday at 2 p.m. in Chiba.

"It's hard to wait for a team to lose and pray to get into the playoffs," Marines outfielder Benny Agbayani said.

"People understood the way Bobby wants to program (better) this year. They started playing Bobby Valentine's baseball."

Last season was Valentine's second as Chiba's manager and his first since 1995. The Marines ripped off one of the best seasons in club history this year, finishing 84-49-3.

Seibu (67-69) didn't finish above .500 but still held the final playoff position by three games over the Orix Buffaloes.

Lotte finished 18 1/2 games ahead of this weekend's foe, and the only advantage it enjoys is playing on its home field for all three games (if necessary).

"They seem calm, and that's how they should feel," Valentine said of his team. "They're very calm and confident."

Agbayani and teammate Matt Franco both understand "Bobby Valentine's baseball" very well. Valentine led the New York Mets to the World Series in 2000, and both Agbayani and Franco played for Valentine then as well.

There is a dearth of postseason experience elsewhere on Chiba's roster, but those who have been there before are doing everything to make sure no one settles for the good feeling of just being in the playoffs.

"We've got to let them know that once you get to the second round, it is a different atmosphere," Agbayani said. "This is your season right here. Once you get here, it's all or nothing. We're playing for who is going to be the best team in Japan."

Having any postseason experience on the roster is an asset, and Valentine said his team would respond when the stakes were raised.

"I don't think you can teach experience," Valentine said. "It will be a wonderful thing to watch develop."

This year's success has changed the Marines fans as well. Playoff tickets sold out in less than two hours for the series with Seibu.

The Marines are opening practice Friday to the public before hosting a pep rally in front of Chiba Marine Stadium on Friday night.

Chiba fans are camped outside the stadium behind right field, and some have been there since Monday. The Marines fans' tent city is growing each day. In addition to supporting the Marines, fans are hoping to get the best position in the general admission outfield seats.

"I think many of them have had dreams of watching baseball games when other fans are home thinking of next year," Valentine said. "I'm glad we have the chance of fulfilling those dreams for them."

But it will take more than enthusiasm to unseat the defending Japan Series champs, even on Chiba's home turf. The Lions bring Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-13, 2.30 ERA) and a powerful lineup, although they will be without Venezuelan slugger Alex Cabrera (broken arm).

Among the screaming fans this weekend will be major-league scouts checking out Matsuzaka and his powerful arm.

"He's a very good pitcher," Agbayani said. "He will attack the zone and come right after you. He's probably one of the top pitchers, but you want to face the best. Win or lose, you want to face the best and give it your all."

The Marines will send Shunsuke Watanabe (15-4, 2.17 ERA) to the hill in Game 1.

Although Matsuzaka has the reputation, Valentine likes his ace's chances in the opener.

"(Seibu has) what most people consider to be the best pitcher in Japan," Valentine said. "We have a guy who is establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in Japan. He's pitched big games, and he's pitched consistently."

Chiba will look to maintain its winning ways with the same attitude that got it back into the playoffs.

"They're a big, strong team with some guys who can pop it right out of the park, but our No. 1 thing is that we're kind of a scrappy team," Agbayani said. "We're not going to give anything up."

Agbayani is one key returnee to Chiba's lineup. He missed more than 30 games this season because of a torn quadriceps, spending time in the minors to hone his swing and fully recover. He hated not being on the field every day, but Agbayani's return is coming at the right time for the Marines.

"I just wanted to make sure I was ready for this," he said. "You really want to be 100 percent for the playoffs. If I wasn't ready, I would tell (Valentine). I wouldn't want to hurt the team."

The Japan Times: Oct. 7, 2005

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Agbayani delivers key hit as Marines down Hawks in Pacific League playoffs

Canadian Press

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) - Benny Agbayani came up with another big hit Wednesday, driving in two key runs as the Chiba Lotte Marines downed the Softbank Hawks 4-2 in the first game of the Pacific League's second-stage playoffs.

Agbayani, who drove in the winning run in Lotte's decisive 3-1 win over the Seibu Lions on Sunday, hit a sharp liner down the left field line in the top of the eighth inning at Yahoo Dome that broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Marines a 4-2 lead.

Bobby Valentine's Marines defeated the Seibu Lions 2-0 in the best-of-three first-stage playoffs. They finished the regular season 4 1/2 games behind the Hawks in the Pacific League standings but are coming into the best-of-five second-stage playoffs at Yahoo Dome with momentum on their side.

The winner of this series will advance to the Japan Series to face the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

As long as Bobby doesn't add Franco and Benitez to the roster, they should do fine.

__________________
THE GREAT BABOO HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!

***************************
YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!!!!!

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
- Albert Einstein

"It is quite the honor to be dissed by morons."
- The Great Baboo

I heard that the playoffs will effect whether he gets offered a ML job.

Good for him. He was a God before they won in the playoffs, he must be the Emperor God now.

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

Bobby Valentine's Marines one win away from Japan Series

Canadian Press

Thursday, October 13, 2005


FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) - Bobby Valentine and his Chiba Lotte Marines are one win away from a trip to the Japan Series.

Matt Franco delivered the key hit Thursday and starter Naoyuki Shimizu went seven strong innings as the Marines defeated the Softbank Hawks 3-2 at Yahoo Dome to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Pacific League's best-of-five second-stage playoffs.

Jolbert Cabrera gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when he connected for a solo homer off a Shimizu breaking ball into the left-field stands.

But the lead didn't last long.

Franco connected off Softbank starter Kazumi Saito with a bases-loaded double to left in the sixth that scored a pair of runs and gave the Marines a 2-1 lead. Benny Agbayani, the hero of Wednesday's 4-2 win, made it 3-1 with a ground out that scored the runner from third.

Valentine, who is in the second year of a three-year contract as manager of the Marines, has made all the right moves in the first two games. The former New York Mets manager moved Franco up in the order for Thursday's game and the move paid off.

Softbank's Munenori Kawasaki pulled the Hawks to within one run on a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the sixth but the Hawks couldn't close the gap and now have to win three games in a row to advance to the Japan Series, which starts on Oct. 22 against the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers.

Shimizu, who went 10-11 in the regular season, struck out six and gave up two runs on four hits for the win. The Marines, who defeated the Seibu Lions 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, have now won four in a row and can book a spot in the championship with a win over Softbank on Saturday at Yahoo Dome.

Closer Masahide Kobayashi retired the side in the ninth for the save.

"My fastball was working tonight and I just tried to be as aggressive as possible," said Shimizu. "We knew if we won this game it would really put a lot of the pressure on them."

Saito, 16-1 in the regular season, took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Valentine's Lotte Marines reach Japan Series


Bobby Valentine gets tossed into the air by the Chiba Lotte Marines, who broke a 31-year drought to take out the Pacific League title by defeating the Softbank Hawks 3-2 Monday night in Fukuoka. (Mainichi)

FUKUOKA -- Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines are going to the Japan Series for the first time in 31 years.

Tomoya Satozaki doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning at Yahoo Dome on Monday as the Marines defeated the Softbank Hawks 3-2 in Game 5 of the Pacific League's second stage playoffs to advance to the Japan Series, where they will face the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers.

"I don't think either team should have lost," said Valentine. "The Hawks are a great team and the Marines are a great team, and I congratulate everyone in the organization."

The Marines, who last played in the Japan Series in 1974 when they were known as the Lotte Orions, will open the best-of-seven championship on Saturday at Chiba Marine Stadium.

Satozaki came through with the big hit in Monday's deciding game. Pinch-hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba reached first on an infield single to third that was misplayed by Tony Batista, Kazuya Fukuura singled to right and Satozaki doubled off the wall in left to score both runners.

"We won it with a lot of guts," said Valentine. "We were behind in this game and came back. Hatsushiba led it off with a hit and Satozaki had a huge hit for us."

Kazuya Fukuura drove in Lotte's first run of the game in the top of the sixth with a double to left-center that scored Tsuyoshi Nishioka from second to make it 2-1.

Soichi Fujita recorded an out in the seventh for the win and Masahide Kobayashi, who blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning of Saturday's 5-4 loss, worked the ninth inning for the save despite giving up a leadoff walk to Naoyuki Omura.

"The third game was a heartbreaker for us," said Valentine. "And the guy whose heart was broke the most _ Kobayashi _ was out there tonight for the save."

Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who had a league-leading 46 homers in the regular season, picked up his first hit of the series with an opposite field single to left in the third inning that gave Softbank a 2-0 lead.

The Hawks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second.

Julio Zuleta walked and then advanced to third on a double to left by Jolbert Cabrera before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Yusuke Torigoe.

The Marines, once a perennial Pacific League doormat, have made rapid progress since Valentine returned for his second stint with the club.

They just missed the playoffs last season and challenged the Hawks this year for first place in the standings, finishing just 4-1/2 games back of Softbank.

Valentine, who is in the second year of a three-year contract, is a fan favorite at Chiba Marine Stadium. He was mobbed by his players after Monday's win and tossed in the air.

The Marines cruised past the defending Japan Series champion Seibu Lions in the first-stage playoffs and won the first two games of this series.

Valentine, meanwhile, becomes the first foreign manager of a Japanese team to reach the Japan Series since Hawaiian Wally Yonamine did so in 1974 with the Chunichi Dragons, who lost to the Orions in six games.

The Marines finished first in interleague play in May and June when they also held first place in the Pacific League standings.

They got solid pitching performances from submariner Shunsuke Watanabe (15-4), rookie Yasutomo Kubo (10-3) and Hiroyuki Kobayashi (12-6). South Korean slugger Lee Seung Yeop led the team with 30 homers. (AP)

October 17, 2005

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Congrats to the Marines and Bobby V!

I had checked early yesterday morning and saw they lost the third game.

Glad they won the series. This is very cool!!

Bobby V. and Benny and Matt Franco

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

Hey! They have a Matsui too!

__________________
So this is how liberty dies...

Bobby's got a very bad back - I hope they didn't cripple him before the series!

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

On Pardon the Interruption they showed a clip of BV getting tossed in the air when they made it to the Japan Series.

They were discussing whether or not all players should throw their coaches in the air, specifically the Eagles if they win and how they'd get Andy Reid in the air.

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

Associated Press


Bobby Valentine is content in Japan and plans to be back next season as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The former New York Mets manager has been mentioned as a possible candidate for managerial jobs with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

"I only know what I read [in the press]," Valentine, in the second year of a three-year contract with the Marines, said Saturday.

When asked if he planned to be back to honor the third year of his contract, Valentine said: "I'm happy here ... I have no other thought."

Valentine's contract reportedly has an out clause that would allow him to leave Japan but team officials declined to discuss specifics.

Valentine's Marines opened the Japan Series on Saturday against the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers.

__________________
Sprite the
3/2/94-2/10/06

The poster formerly known as GoodGirl.

Under the weather
Marines pound Tigers to win first-ever Japan Series game called due to fog

Jim Allen Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Naoyuki Shimizu put the Hanshin Tigers in a fog, and a pea soup coming off Tokyo Bay put the Marines in the win column on Saturday in Game 1 of the Japan Series.

In the first game in Series history to be called because of fog, Shimizu went the distance as the Pacific League champs beat the Central League pennant winners 10-1 in seven innings at Chiba Marine Stadium.

"I have never seen a fog out," Marines manager Bobby Valentine said. "I have seen snow outs and once in the minors we had a [game called because of a] sand storm."

The Marines banged out four homers, including shots by Tomoya Satozaki and Benny Agbayani in the seventh inning, just before umpires cleared the field. After a 34-minute delay, the umpires called the game.

The weather came too late to save the Tigers from Shimizu and 22-year-old Marines star Toshiaki Imae, who had four hits including a first-inning homer and twice drove in runs that put his team in front.

Shimizu walked the first man he faced to start the game but escaped the first inning unscored upon. He allowed a run on five hits, while striking out six.

"He pitched like the champion he is," Valentine said. "He had some runners on base and had to make some great pitches and he did."

The Tigers' Norihiro Akahoshi opened the game with a walk and the five-time CL stolen base king was off on the second pitch to Takashi Toritani, who fouled it off.

"He [Toritani] did me a great favor by fouling off that pitch," said Shimizu. "I didn't pitch that well tonight--made too many fat pitches--but Sato [catcher Satozaki] called a great game and got me ahead in the count by calling pitches they wound up fouling off."

Imae, whose first-inning homer gave Shimizu the early lead, broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth with an RBI double off Hanshin lefty Kei Igawa that put men on second and third.

Reserve infielder Masato Watanabe and leadoff man Tsuyoshi Nishioka set up the inning with back-to-back singles. Nishioka, who was a thorn in Igawa's side from the word "go," push-bunted his way on, to prime the pump for Imae.

"I had the sign to hit away but Igawa is a really good pitcher and it's not like I am going to hit him that easily," Nishioka said.

He rolled the bunt between Igawa and first baseman Andy Sheets and it kept rolling to the edge of the outfield.

"That was big for them," said Tigers manager Akinobu Okada. "First the No. 9 hitter gets on and then Nishioka burned us with that extremely good bunt."

"I figured at least I could get the runner to second and with Imae coming up, I might even get on base," said Nishioka.

Imae gave the Marines the lead, and with two outs, cleanup hitter Saburo Omura snapped an 0-for-12 skid by lining a drive off the wall in center for a two-run double, making it a 3-1 game.

Lee Seung Yeop, who was 1-for-8 with six strikeouts in the second stage of the playoffs, connected his third time up against Igawa with a solo homer well back in the right-field seats in the sixth.

He had struck out his first two times against the lefty.

"It was a hanging curve down the middle and I got all of it," said the left-handed-hitting slugger who sometimes sits against lefties.

"My dad is planning a visit, and if they took me out of the lineup [against a lefty], I think he might have canceled his reservations," Lee joked.

Igawa, who threw 106 pitches in six innings, allowed five runs on 10 hits to fall to 0-1 in three career Series starts.

With Igawa out of the game, the Marines hammered rookie Kentaro Hashimoto for five runs in the bottom of the seventh before the fog forced the umps to impose a ban on Tiger hunting for the evening.

Imae led off the inning with his fourth hit in four at-bats. Another hit put two on with one out for Satozaki, who unloaded for his third homer of the postseason and the first for Lotte with runners on base.

Agbayani then homered with a man on to close the scoring as the fog became so thick that fans behind the plate could not see the outfielders chasing the ball.

Although the game opened up in the fifth, it was touch and go for a long time, especially with Igawa looking tough on the mound.

Nishioka set the tone for the Marines early. The shorstop fielded a hot grounder up the middle to start an inning-ending double play in the first inning, and then struck out on 11 pitches to open the Marines attack in the bottom of the first.

"I think that was a meaningful at-bat," said Nishioka. "Igawa has such great stuff. I wasn't trying to foul him off. He's too good for that. He just kept jamming me with fastballs.

"He got me in the end but by making him throw a lot of pitches, I think I helped our cause."

Imae, who was batting second with regular second baseman Koichi Hori out of action with a bad back, took in the action from the batter's box. He credited Nishioka's persistence for helping him against Igawa.

"Nishioka hung in there so long leading off that I was able to get my timing down from the on-deck circle," Imae said.

He got a 2-1 hanging change up and gave the Tigers fans in left a souvenir.

"For a breaking ball, I think I got a lot of it."

JAPAN SERIES

(Best-of-7 Series)

Game 1

Marines 10 Tigers 1

HANSHIN -- LOTTE

ab r h bi -- ab r h bi

Akahoshi cf 2 0 0 0 Nishioka ss 3 1 1 0

Toritani ss 3 0 0 0 Imae 3b 4 3 4 2

Sheets 1b 3 0 2 0 Fukuura 1b 4 1 2 0

Kanemoto lf 3 0 0 0 Omura cf 4 0 1 2

Imaoka 3b 3 0 0 0 Satozaki c 4 1 1 3

Hiyama rf 3 1 1 0 Franco lf 4 0 1 0

Kataoka dh 3 0 0 0 Otsuka pr 0 1 0 0

Yano c 3 0 2 0 Agbayani rf 4 1 3 2

Fujimoto 2b 1 0 0 1 Lee dh 3 1 1 1

MWtnabe 2b 3 1 1 0


Totals 24 1 5 1 -- Totals 33 10 15 10

Hanshin Tigers 000 010 0 -- 1

Chiba Lotte Marines 100 031 5x--10

Game called with 1 out in 7th due to fog

DP--Lotte 1. LOB--Hanshin 4, Lotte 5. 2B--Fukuura (1), Imae (1), Omura (1), Sheets (1). HR--Imae (1), Lee (1), Satozaki (1), Agbayani (1). SF--Fujimoto.

Hanshin IP H R ER BB SO

Igawa L, 0-1 6 10 5 5 1 9

Hashimoto # 5 5 5 0 0

Lotte IP H R ER BB SO

Shimizu W, 1-0 7 5 1 1 1 6

T--2:14. A--28,333.

Lotte leads series 1-0.

(Oct. 23, 2005)

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

I checked the Marines site early this morning to see who won, and couldn't figure out why the game seemed to end in the 8th. Not being able to read Japanese didn't help, but the numbers are the same in either language so I figured whatever happened the Marines won.

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

28,000 people at a JS game? What is this, Atlanta?

__________________
So this is how liberty dies...

Chiba Lotte's stadium seats 30,000 so 28,000 doesn't look quite as bad. However, in the Japan Series for the first time in eons? You'd think they'd have a SRO crowd.

__________________
Rob
http://raford3.podomatic.com/

"You can take the boy out of NYC, but you can't take NYC out of the boy."

Bobby Valentine's Marines on a roll in Japan Series

Jim Armstrong
Canadian Press


October 23, 2005

TOKYO (AP) - Saburo Omura, Matt Franco and Lee Seung-yeop all homered in the sixth inning Sunday, leading Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines to a 10-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers in Game 2 of the Japan Series.

The Marines, bidding for their first Japan Series title in 31 years, take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven championships.

After scoring single runs in the first two innings, the Marines blew the game open in the sixth with five runs.

Omura connected for a two-run homer off Hanshin starter Yuya Ando to make it 4-0. Franco followed with a solo shot just over the wall in right field and Lee gave the Marines a commanding 7-0 lead with his second homer of the series, a two-run blast off reliever Hirotaka Egusa.

"I got all of it and knew it was gone the second I hit it," said Omura. "It felt great to come through for the team in such an important game."

Lotte starter Shunsuke Watanabe picked up the win after holding the Central League champion Tigers to four hits over the distance.

"It was a great team effort," said Valentine. "Watanabe was fabulous and the hitters were just as good. This is a team that I'm very proud of."

The Pacific League champions added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to complete the one-sided rout.

Lotte's Toshiake Imae is 8-for-8 over two games, a new Japan Series record for consecutive hits to start a series.

The Marines defeated the Tigers 10-1 in Saturday's opening game, which was called in the seventh inning because of a thick fog that rolled in off Tokyo Bay.

The Tigers came into the series after a 17-day layoff and have looked sluggish. The series will shift to Koshien Stadium for Game 3 on Tuesday.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

And a picture from the Game 1 fog out:


Umpires confer during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the Japan Series between the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Hanshin Tigers at Chiba Lotte Marine Stadium on Saturday. For the first time in Japan Series history, a game was called because of fog. The Marines won 10-1.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

may not LOOK as bad, but even if the place seated 50,000, that's only 28,000 who still would have gone apparently. If they'd sold out, you could say, well there's only 30,000 because that's how many seats there are. But they didn't sell out, so only 28,000 apparently wanted to/were able to go.

Maybe it's 28,000 paid attendance and the other 2,000 were giveaways.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Marines in driver's seat
10/26/2005


By ANDREW MITCHELL Staff Writer

JAPAN SERIES GAME 3 : Lotte 10 Hanshin 1

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Prefecture-The Hanshin Tigers were deep in the hole heading into Game 3 of the Japan Series on Tuesday night. They're even deeper in the hole now.

The Chiba Lotte Marines exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh to crush the Tigers 10-1 on Tuesday at Koshien Stadium and take a commanding three-game lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Marines have outscored Hanshin 30-2.

Kazuya Fukuura hit his first home run of the series, a grand slam in the seventh, and starter Hiroyuki Kobayashi pitched three-hit ball over 6 innings for the win.

"I knew I would get something juicy to hit because the bases were loaded, so I decided to swing aggressively," Fukuura said of his grand salami. "I hit the ball low in the strike zone so I didn't think it would be a home run, but it turned out to be the best possible result."

Third baseman Toshiaki Imae, who came into the game hitting 1.000, struck out in his first at-bat but went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. He is now hitting .833 in the series.

For the third time in as many games, the Marines scored first and early.

In the top of the second, Benny Agbayani hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored Saburo Omura from third base.

Kentaro Sekimoto replied for the Tigers in the bottom of the frame by slapping a grounder to third that brought in Makoto Imaoka.

The Marines retook the lead for good in the fourth on a poor call from the first-base umpire. With the bases loaded, catcher Tomoya Satozaki hit into what should have been a 6-4-3 double play, but the ump called the runner safe at first despite replays clearly showing the opposite.

Imae then plunked a slow infield grounder that enabled Koichi Hori to score from third to make the score 3-1.

"I didn't know what would happen so I just ran as fast as I could," the 23-year-old third baseman said. "It made a huge difference to get an extra run after we got the first run that inning, so needless to say I'm happy to have produced in that situation."

The Marines loaded the bases again in the sixth, this time with reliever Kyuji Fujikawa on the mound. Lotte manager Bobby Valentine replaced pitcher Kobayashi with pinch hitter Tasuku Hashimoto and it paid off. Hashimoto cranked a full-count fastball into center to score two runs and drive one-third of the famous Hanshin JFK relief combo off the hill.

Masashi Sajikihara offered little in the way of relief either, allowing another run on his first pitch to Nishioka, walking Koichi Hori and coughing up the grand slam to Fukuura.

"We played very well tonight but we still have one more game to win," Valentine said. "The guys are hitting well right now and are very confident and are playing baseball the way it's supposed to be played."

Tomoaki Kanemoto, who hit .327 with 40 home runs and 125 RBIs for the Tigers in the regular season, has gone 0-for-10 in the series.

The Tigers will now prepare to become the first team since the Yomiuri Giants in 1989 to overcome a three-game deficit to win the Japan Series.(IHT/Asahi: October 26,2005)

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

That's great!!

I saw that the Daily News actually had a blurb about the second game win the other day.

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP! Way to go Bobby V!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2204173

__________________
"When it comes to Mike Wallace, the story ends with me putting him into a wall" - Warren Wallace


Maxwell Smart: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Chief: "Are you thinking 'Holy shit, Holy shit a swordfish is about to go through my head'?"

Whoa!!

BV is

__________________
Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head

Woot!

Attached Images

bobbyv.JPG (90.0 KB, 48 views)

__________________
"Years from now, the children and grandchildren of Leiter and Franco, Alfonzo and Piazza, Ventura and Zeile, will be proud that as New York rose from the ashes, their fathers and grandfathers were New York the way the policemen, firefighters and EMT workers were New York."
--From an October 2001 issue of ESPN the Magazine

Doug Mientkiewicz upon seeing David Wright's buzzcut: "How are we going to be the best-looking corner infielders, if you do something like this?"

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Mission accomplished Marines sweep past Tigers for 1st Japan Series title in 31 years

John E. Gibson / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

The Chiba Lotte Marines took a lengthy 31-year march to get to the Japan Series. Once they arrived, they club took a brief four-game run to complete Japan baseball's ultimate mission.

Behind skipper Bobby Valentine, the Marines shuffled their lineups all season and hit their stride as the playoffs rolled around.

Chiba became the fifth team to sweep to victory in the Japan Series, whipping the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 Wednesday night before an overflow gathering at Koshien Stadium. The win made Valentine the first foreign manager to guide his team to a Series title.

It was also the third championship for the franchise, which last won in 1974 as the Lotte Orions and also won the first-ever Series in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions.

In a season during which he pushed all the right buttons, Valentine hit the jackpot again, starting Lee Seong Yeop.

Lee went 4-for-4 with all three RBIs. He launched his third home run of the Series in the second inning, a two-run shot that gave Lotte a 2-0 lead, and doubled in Lotte's third run in the fourth.

His only mistake was trying to stretch a double into a three-base hit in the sixth inning. He was gunned down easily. But that didn't spoil the party as the Marines held on.

"I feel wonderful," Valentine said, finally cracking the rough exterior he had shown all season amid the excitement his team generated in the media and with Chiba's jump-happy fans.

"We started in spring training with a dream of being here in the last game of the season. And we wanted to play in that last game and we wanted to win it, and we did," said Valentine, in his second stint with the team after guiding the team to a second-place finish in 1995.

Valentine, who is under contract for next season but has been named as a possible candidate to fill openings in the major leagues, thanked Tatsuro Hirooka, the man who first brought him to Japan and had him fired after one season.

The Tigers mounted a short-lived ninth-inning rally off closer Masahide Kobayashi, who hadn't worked since Game 5 of the Pacific League's second playoff stage.

The stopper walked the first man he faced, but catcher Akihiro Yano popped into a double play--Hanshin's fourth of the game--and suddenly there were two outs.

Kobayashi struck out Atsushi Fujimoto to send the Marines into celebration.

Toshiaki Imae, who started off with a Series record eight consecutive hits, was named the MVP. He had a .667 batting average and knocked in four runs.

Lee, Shunsuke Watanabe--who pitched a four-hit shutout in Game 2, Lotte cleanup batter Saburo Omura were honored as outstanding players.

Yano was selected as the top Hanshin performer.

The Tigers, who were unable to get into the groove that propelled them to the Central League title, had no answer for the Marines' relentless charge.

Lee put the Tigers under the gun in the second with a long homer to right, and Dan Serafini and three relievers made it stand up.

He got the start for Lotte and battled through a 5-1/3-inning, five-hit performance to earn the win. Serafini got two double plays and struck out three, but walked three and was charged with both of Hanshin's runs.

He worked through a pesky first-inning jam when Norihiro Akahoshi led off with an infield hit and Takashi Toritani's bunt attempt was good enough for another infield single, putting two on with none out.

But Andy Sheets got jammed on an inside pitch and lined out to short. Struggling slugger Tomoaki Kanemoto got a pitch to hit, but skied out to left for the second out.

Regular season RBI leader Makoto Imaoka followed and Serafini jammed him to get a soft roller to third to end the inning.

In the second inning Serafini walked Yano with one out. But he erased the Hanshin backstop with a quick move to first base that caught Yano off guard. Kazuya Fukuura's quick tag made it two outs and Serafini got Kentaro Sekimoto to ground to short to end the inning.

Akahoshi used Lotte's first error of the Series to reach base with one out in the third. He stole second and was halfway to home plate on a two-out line drive by Sheets.

But Matt Franco hustled in and picked it off the blades of grass in right to end the inning.

Franco drew a walk to lead off the fourth and trotted home on Lee's second extra-base hit of the game, a double to left-center on the first pitch from rookie Atsushi Nomi to make it 3-0.

"I wanted to go after the first pitch," Lee said. "It was a big run for us," the South Korean slugger said after taking a 3-1 fastball deep to right.

(Oct. 27, 2005)

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It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

THE HOT CORNER: Mild exteriors mask Lotte's hearts of steel

Jim Allen / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Things went badly wrong this past week for the Hanshin Tigers. Although many expected the Central League champs would have their hands full in the Japan Series, no one anticipated such a record-setting Series bloodletting.

Few who carefully compared the Tigers' record this season with the Pacific League champion Chiba Lotte Marines could conclude Hanshin had the better club, but many people care little for objective evidence.

The Tigers came into Chiba Marine Stadium last weekend like the French at Agincourt, completely unprepared for the bloody surprise to come.

After all, Lotte is a club with a history for mediocrity, and the Marines were only runners-up in the Pacific League's regular season. Hanshin, on the other hand, has one of the biggest budgets in baseball and fields a veteran team that led the CL in wins in two of the last three seasons.

In recent decades, Lotte has become Japan's most cuddly franchise. Lotte fans are innovative, vocal and as loyal as they come--while also being good natured and well mannered.

The Marines had cute mascots and--before Bobby Valentine first arrived in 1995--even had pink trim on their uniforms. The Marines have always been well supplied with competent, hardworking and extremely likable players along the lines of veteran third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba and second baseman Koichi Hori.

The best player on the Marines now may be slightly built, cheerful right-hander Shunsuke Watanabe, whose fastball couldn't put a dent in a slice of bread.

Their cleanup hitter is Saburo Omura who never batted fourth in high school. Omura has developed into a solid all-round player over the past four seasons, but his 14 home runs this season are a career high.

Yet, looks can be deceiving.

The Marines are the prototypical PL team: They don't get serious media attention but can play serious baseball.

Lotte was long Nippon Professional Baseball's joke franchise. Playing at decrepit Kawasaki Stadium, it often seemed there were as many men on the field as fans in the stands.

In 1989, when the Kintetsu Buffaloes took a 3-0 Series lead over the Yomiuri Giants, one of the Buffaloes quipped that the "Giants were weaker than Lotte." This ulitimate insult inspired the Giants to four straight wins and a Series title.

Until interleague play arrived this season, PL teams only rarely appeared on nationwide TV in prime time. So it comes as no surprise that some wondered whether the second-best team in the PL's regular season could tackle the Tigers--especially in their Koshien Stadium lair.

Those who witnessed the second stage of the PL playoffs in Fukuoka, however, know the Softbank Hawks fans are as enthusiastic, loyal and noisy as they come. The Marines defeated the Hawks on their home turf, but many still wondered if Lotte could handle Hanshin's Koshien cauldron. Because this team was still Lotte, many didn't see that--behind their mild-mannered exteriors--these Clark Kents could possibly be super men.

Certainly, Hanshin's hitters have been handicapped by having 16 days off between their last league game and their unpleasant trial by fire. The Tigers have lacked timing at the plate, but the only explanation for a slaughter of this magnitude is preparation and execution.

Marines skipper Bobby Valentine gave his players credit for their preparation and skill, and that is fitting since they were the ones on the field. Yet, Valentine deserves credit for keeping the guys relaxed. The manager incorporates enjoyment as part of a process that is, in Japan, often simply about exertion.

The Marines are as disciplined a team as there is, but they are also loose. The playoffs were a tough challenge, but the Marines acclimatized themselves and overcame serious setbacks to reach the Japan Series, where they have proven themselves to be equaly cool under fire.

Valentine's staff planned a sophisticated attack, and his troops executed that plan to perfection.

The Tigers' misfortune of having more than two weeks off was more than matched by their misfortune of being weaker than Lotte--something that is no longer an insult.

(Oct. 27, 2005)


One thing BV is good at is getting "mediocre" players to over-achieve.

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

Awesome! I always liked the Marines. Sometimes I play as the Marines on my Japanese baseball games. YES I play Japanese import video games.

FABULOUS PICTURE!!!

WOOHOO!!! CONGRATS TO BOBBY V. AND THE MARINES!!!

Who's the other guy (Upper left) in the picture?

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So this is how liberty dies...

The one whose face is getting blocked by Matt Franco's hand? I have no idea. He definitely doesn't look Japanese though, does he?

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"Years from now, the children and grandchildren of Leiter and Franco, Alfonzo and Piazza, Ventura and Zeile, will be proud that as New York rose from the ashes, their fathers and grandfathers were New York the way the policemen, firefighters and EMT workers were New York."
--From an October 2001 issue of ESPN the Magazine

Doug Mientkiewicz upon seeing David Wright's buzzcut: "How are we going to be the best-looking corner infielders, if you do something like this?"

The dark side of baseball's brightest star

Bobby Valentine is the first foreign manager to win the Japan Series in Japanese baseball's 70-year history.Bobby Valentine, "the gentleman of baseball," has his explosive moments off-camera, says Asahi Geino (11/3). "During a game, when one of his players is ruled out in a close call, he has been known to bellow what sounds like 'F**k!'" the no-nonsense weekly (which spells out the word in bold uppercase type) hears from a sports journalist. "He can be pretty aggressive."

He can be -- but quiet, friendly tact is more his style. It probably wouldn't work without the added ingredient of what Shukan Taishu (11/7) calls "Bobby magic," but with it it works fine. The Chiba Lotte Marines' championship -- the team's first in 31 years -- is proof. The Marines swept the Hanshin Tigers in four straight, making Valentine the first foreign manager to win the Japan Series in Japanese baseball's 70-year history.

"Bobby magic"?

It's a compound brew, made up in equal parts of profound baseball knowledge and a maybe no less profound knowledge of human nature.

"This season," a team insider tells Shukan Taishu, "he came up with no fewer than 128 batting orders." That's rare in Japanese baseball, the magazine comments. A juggling act on that scale had to be handled with delicacy if confusion and resentment were to be avoided.

"He'd size up the team on the day of the match, taking stock of each player's condition," the team insider continues. "And then he'd decide on his batting order."

One result: the opposing team never knew quite what to expect. If IT was thrown into confusion -- and maybe into a little resentment too -- so much the better.

"Baseball is fun," Weekly Playboy (11/8) has him lecturing his charges at a particularly intense point in the playoffs. "I want you to feel that with every fibre of your being. If you can't, you're better off looking for another job."

"Bobby" (everyone seems to be on a first-name basis with him) "never says a bad word about his players at the post-game press conferences," says a sports journalist Weekly Playboy speaks to. "On the contrary, he'd recite the names of all the players he thought had performed well. It was always a long, long list."

"He was one of the rare masters of the art of using praise to motivate people," adds another Weekly Playboy source.

Does Valentine, "known as a devoted husband," have a Japanese mistress? demands Asahi Geino. Rumors swirled. He was observed frequenting a little Chiba restaurant run by a woman in her 60s -- an unlikely suspect, you might think, but rumor, like love, is blind. "Of course there was nothing to it," Asahi Geino says. "He just liked the atmosphere of the place."
( Mary'd kill him. )

He likes the atmosphere of Japan in general, it seems. A former manager of the New York Mets, Valentine has a year left of his three-year contract with the Marines. No sooner was the Marines' championship secured than he expressed an interest in pitting Japan's best against America's best. "I know we'd win at least a couple of games," he said.

(By Masuo Kamiyama, contributing writer)

October 28, 2005

__________________
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
-Dave Barry

The Marines just offered Bobby a three year $8.6 Million contract.

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Even my emotional baggage is Coach
I'd rather wear a cat on my head