The Carp Stay on Top

The Carp extended their lead to 7.5 games over the Giants today. After letting it drop to 4.5 games only a few days ago, their continued strong pitching and timely hitting have been enough. It seems very unlikely that the Giants can overcome such a large lead with so few games left in the season. If the Carp play even .500 baseball, the Giants would still face the difficult task of going 25-11 just to tie. Anything is possible but more and more, it looks like this is the season for the Carp to capture first place going into the League finals. I never thought they would be able to do this after losing Maeda to the Dodgers. If they pull it off, it has to considered one of the bigger surprises in Japanese baseball in a while.

Rough start

Wow. It doesn't take long for a season to take a wrong turn. The Carp are 2 and 7 at this point and the hitting almost doesn't exist. With Eldred's knee surgery and the loss of Ka'aihue to the Washington Nationals, the Carp are pretty meek at the plate. Maru and Kikuchi have been a little sporadic so far but they will probably get going soon. Still, at 4 games back already, the Carp are in a pretty deep hole. Hope they can turn it around.

Kuroda off to a fast start

Kuroda is already off to a fast start in Hiroshima. He pitched really well the other day and it looks like he will be a valuable addition to the Carp staff. My only complaint so far this year is the loss of Ka'aihue to the Washington Nationals. Also, so far this spring, Ka'aihue hasn't been able to get a single hit in his 4 games. He really doesn't look like a major leaguer. He should have stayed where he was productive. But I guess he may return if he doesn't make the roster for Washington.

Kuroda Returns

Unbelievable! It really happened. Hiroki Kuroda decided to finish out his career in Hiroshima. He is truly a man of honor. I'm sure he has just enough gas left in the tank to help push the Carp toward a championship. Maeda can only benefit by working on the same team as such an experienced and excellent MLB pitcher. I'm really looking forward to next season!

Maeda is staying

I have to admit that I'm glad that Maeda is staying. I think he might be able to get Hiroshima over the hump this year. I don't know what moves the Carp have made this off season but any fan always has to hope for the best. I'm still hoping that Kuroda might return. I haven't seen any signs of him being back in MLB. Anyway, I'm looking forward to Maeda's pitching and the awesome play of Kikuchi.

Congratulations Soft Bank Hawks

The Hawks did it with awesome hitting and pretty good pitching. They played well after winning the Pacific League by only a half game. They handled the Hanshin Tigers in only 5 games. They look like a really well-constructed team. I was sorry to see the Tigers lose (since I prefer the Central League) but it was a good season all around for Nippon Baseball. Now I hope the Carp can get it together next year. I think their biggest requirement is simply that their top players remain healthy.

The Carp Blew It

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.