There are a lot of ways to look at this season for the Carp and it may be cruel to see it only in the negative. This was their first winning season in some time so that was an achievement. The hitting was certainly the best I have seen in years as a Carp fan. They hit a lot of home runs and they also had people over .300. On the negative side, the defense was often questionable (not including Kikuchi) and the pitching did not come up to a high level during the stretch run for the league championship. Maeda was by far the most disappointing pitcher. Other than a couple of good games at the end, he pitched a really lousy second half and it seemed like his mind was already in MLB (where he most likely will be a colossal failure). I believe Maeda owes it to the Carp to stay and pitch with his whole heart and mind for one season. Otherwise, he leaves Japan as a failure on his way to probably a bigger failure. He just doesn't have the stuff of Tanaka or Darvish and now it's clear that he also lacks mental toughness and heart.
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