Here are some easy to use links to various posts about Spring camp that have been posted at Yakyu Baka.

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Below are links to the Spring camp photos Sanspo is posting.  If by chance any of you visiting Yakyu Baka have taken any Spring camp photos, drop me a line (news at yakyubaka.com) with a link to them and I'll be more than happy to add it to the list below.

...Marc Kroon threw 33 pitches while facing three Ikusei players (Atsushi Fukumoto, Yukinori Momiyama, and Takahiro Ijuin) during BP on Wednesday and gave up one could-be hit and broke two bats.  It seems he also told the batters what was coming before throwing his pitches.

Prior to the BP session, he also tossed 34 pitches in the bullpen.  Kroon managed to mix in his fork and slider as well.

...Yoshinobu Takahashi will apparently be using a Flex Cushion in the dugout to help ease his back pains by making him sit in proper form.  He's been using the cushion during exhibition games and feels that it has made a difference.

...Seems Tatsunori Hara will go with 6 starters and 6 relievers for a total 12 pitchers on the opening day roster.

...Takeya Nakamura played some catch and also took some batting practice on Wednesday.  In all, he spent about 10 minutes practice swinging the bat and then lightly hitting some grounders.  He told reporters that he didn't feel any pain but wasn't sure if he'd be ready for the start of the season.  Based on how things are right now, Nakamura will likely begin soft-toss BP at some point in the  near future.

...Yusei Kikuchi was happy when he heard that Daisuke Matsuzaka wished he could teach Kikuchi how to pitch out of the set position.  And with that, Kikuchi has decided to go back to watching footage of Matsuzaka from his first two years to see if he can pick-up any hints on what to do.

Kikuchi actually studied footage from Matsuzaka's first two seasons when he first joined the club -- he asked the Lions to make DVDs containing the footage.

It seems Matsuzaka also sent Kikuchi a lengthy letter through the media.  Sponichi has a copy of it.

...Yasutomo Kubo was supposed to start the rained out game on Wednesday.  Kubo will now likely pitch in Saturday's against the Yokohama Bay Stars.

...Akihiro Yano will be starting behind the plate for the Hanshin Tigers on Thursday against the Orix Buffaloes.  It'll be his first start this year.  Casey Fossum will be on the mound.

...Minoru Iwata threw 101 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday at Naruohama.  He's still set for an Ikusei League game start on the 14th against the Chunichi Dragons.  Due to the cold weather, Iwata apparently thought about cutting the bullpen short after 50-70 pitches, but was able to keep throwing.  He threw a lot of fastballs over his first 30 or so pitches.  After that, he had Yuhei Kai stand in the batter's box and he started mixing in his other pitches (curve, slider, fork, cutter, two-seamer).

...Yuya Ando worked out for about 2 hours on Wednesday.  His training included playing catch and some running.  Ando will likely start an exhibition game on the 14th against the Yomiuri Giants.  He also plans on throwing the new change he's been working on against the Giants.

...Both Kazuhito Futagami and Tatsuya Kojima will likely pitch on Friday against the Hiroshima Carp.  The Tigers appear to be leaning towards using the game on Friday as a measuring stick to see who belongs.

...Ando, Atsushi Noumi, Kubo, and Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi will likely be in the starting rotation.  Casey Fossum probably has a spot as well.  Minoru Iwata will likely have a spot as well.

...After some tee-batting on Wednesday, Matt Murton took 62 swings in the cages.  After speaking to batting coach Yutaka Wada for about 30 minutes, he did some more tee-batting and then spent 45 minutes taking swings against a BP machine that throws curves.

I thought I'd start sharing the Calbee baseball cards I tend to collect during the course of the year.  Here's two cards from the first pack of chips I bought.

From Calbee 2010

Seibu Lions vs Yakult Swallows @ Jingu Stadium - 1:00pm

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Nippon Ham Fighters vs Yokohama Bay Stars @ Yokohama Stadium - 1:00pm

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Rakuten Eagles vs Chunichi Dragons @ Hamamatsu Baseball Stadium - 1:00pm

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Softbank Hawks vs Chiba Lotte Marines @ Chiba Marine Stadium - 1:00pm

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Hanshin Tigers vs Orix Buffaloes @ Kyocera Dome Osaka - 1:00pm

The All Japan Baseball Foundation (AJBF) met on Wednesday to discuss the current state of the player's pension plan.  From what I can gather, the NPB wants to do away with the system altogether for the AJBF and has even submitted a proposal to them.  The AJBF, on the other hand, would like to see the system renewed system many of their members rely on it for a living.

The current pension system is set to expire at the end of March, 2012.  Under the NPB plan, they would then provide AJBF members with a one-off payment.

The NPB is also trying to do away with the pension system for the Japan Profession Baseball Players Association (JPBPA) as well.  Similar to the AJBF, the JPBA also appears to want to set up a new system after the old one expires.

Players, managers, coaches, and umps all pay into the player's pension.

...Ginjiro apparently had an MRI on his left leg on Monday but the results came back inconclusive due to excessive swelling.  Moving forward, Ginjiro will likely work on his upper body as his lower body recovers.

...Takayuki Kishi threw 37 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday at the indoor training facilities at Nagoya Stadium.

=== 3/11/2010 1:34am JST

...Shingo Tatsumi didn't have a very good outing on Wednesday.  His final line: 3 IP, 17 BF, 65 NP, 4 H, 1 SO, 3 BB, 4 R, 4 ER.  Koji Akiyama told reporters that his future is currently up in the air.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka did join the rest of the team for general practice on Tuesday after their game was called.  But he ultimately didn't ramp up his exercises due to the extreme cold.

...The Hawks plan on using Bum-Ho Lee more at first and third from here on out.  Up until now, most of Lee's appearances have been as a DH.

...Tsuyoshi Wada threw 60 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday in preparation for his start against the Yakult Swallows on the Friday.  He's hoping to throw around 100 pitches during his start.

...Takahiro Mahara threw about 30 pitches to a squatting catch on Wednesday.  Mahara popped a blister on his right middle finger during his outing on 2/27 against the Hiroshima Carp.  It was his first bullpen since then.  He's likely to pitch in at least two more games before the start of the season.

...The Hawks international scout likely left for the US on Wednesday.  His job will be to visit all 30 MLB teams to open up lines of communication.  This is part of Sadaharu Oh's plan for strengthening the scouting department.

...Softbank held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that the Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum will open on July 3.

=== 3/10/2010 11:54pm JST

...The player on the Hawks that was hurt the most by Tuesday's rain-out was Nobuhiko Matsunaka.  With only 4 more exhibition games left on the schedule, his start on the active roster for opening day is still up in the air.  Matsuanaka was the starting DH on Wednesday against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Wednesday and went 0-for-2.  He has yet to really test his legs on the base paths (perhaps the biggest concern for the Hawks at this point).

A recap of his at bat: starting DH on 3/6 against the Yomiuri Giants, 0-for-1 (ground out to third); and starting DH on 3/7 against the Yomiuri Giants, 0-for-1 (ground out to short).

...Hiroki Kokubo picked up his first hit in his 26th plate appearance during Wednesday's game against the Yokohama Bay Stars.  He ended up going 1-for-3 with a walk, a run, an RBI, and a strike out.  Kokubo recorded the hit in his fourth at bat of the game.

=== 3/11/2010 1:43am JST

...I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Hiratsuka Stadium was apparently one of the first stadiums in Japan to fix the way they display balls and strikes.  And it seems they made preparations to have everything ready for Tuesday's game, which ended up getting rained out.  They will have another chance on the 22nd during an Eastern League game (Shonan vs Yakult).

=== 3/10/2010 11:37pm JST

...Yokohama Stadium president Hiroshi Tsuruoka told reporters that he's thinking about changing the order of balls and strikes on the scoreboard for the sake of the players and fans.  Tsuruoka has received approval from the Bay Stars.  The plan is to have the new order ready for the start of the regular season.

...Hayato Terahara apparently changed the kanji spelling of his name on the advice of a friend.

...As long as there are no rain cancellations or injuries, Hisashi Iwakuma will be pitching on Saturdays and Masahiro Tanaka on Sundays (at least until about mid-May).  Pitching coach Yoshinori Sato told reporters that there are currently no reasons for the rotation to fall out of a 6-day rest pattern for the foreseeable future.

It's also possible that the team jumbles things up a bit if the rest of the rotation doesn't perform well.

...Marty Brown will likely turn to Juan Morillo, Kazuo Fukumori, and Tsuyoshi Kawagishi for the final three innings of any game the team has a lead in.  It doesn't seem like an order has been set though.

...Takeshi Yamasaki told reporters after Wednesday's game that he's at about 70% right now.