The opening day starting rotation could be: Tadashi Settsu, Vicente Padilla, 1st round draft pick Nao Higashihama, Kenji Otonari, Shota Takeda, and 6th round draft pick Hirofumi Yamanaka.

Kazuyuki Hoashi is scheduled to pitch in a Ni-gun game against Hanshin at Naruohama on the 31st.  Yamanaka will pitch in a Ni-gun game on the 29th before his first Ichi-gun start on April 4 (vs Seibu at Seibu Dome).

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/25/2013

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Bryan LaHair could end up batting fourth on opening day with Wily Mo Pena in the five-hole.  Pena missed the last three exhibition games after taking an HBP off his left wrist.  LaHair was tested as a clean-up over the last six games of the exhibition game season and may have won the chance to bat fourth on opening day.

Seiichi Uchikawa will likely bat third and Nobuhiro Matsuda sixth.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/25/2013

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The Kyushu Symphony Ochestra will perform the national anthem on opening day.  Golden Bomber's Kenji Darvish is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  

Source: official announcement

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A new entrance sign at YafuOku Dome was misspelled fuOku Dome.  The error was apparently caught after the sign went up.  The mistake was temporarily hidden with a white cloth.  A corrected version will be reprinted.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/25/2013

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Ever wanted to look like Wily Mo Pena?  Try the Be like Pena cap and beard.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/25/2013

Ichi-gun and Ni-gun camps had the day off today.

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Hayato Terahara is scheduled to start a practice game against WBC Brazil on the 28th.

Source: Daily Sports 2/19/2013

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Koji Akiyama spent about an hour hitting about 500 baseballs to Hiroyuki Kawahara at close range during workouts on Monday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/19/2013

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Sadaharu Oh does not want Bryan LaHair to worry about his pre-season numbers and instead wants him to focus on getting used to Japanese baseball.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/19/2013

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1st round draft pick Nao Higashihama could start an exhibition game against Yakult at Jingu Stadium on March 17.  He is also slated to start an exhibition game against Seibu at Ivy Stadium on the 24th.

Source: Sponichi 2/19/2013

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Bryan LaHair is having a difficult time adjusting to the velocity differences and said to reporters on Sunday, "The timing and the velocity is different.  It is faster [in the Majors]."

LaHair picked up his first hit in his eleventh intra-squad game plate appearance.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/18/2013

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1st round draft pick Nao Higashihama's next outing could come against Seibu on the 24th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/18/2013

According to a report by Daily Sports, the Softbank Hawks actually signed Bryan LaHair (30) to a three-year deal that could be worth up to fifteen million US dollars (or about 1.2 billion yen).

Details:

Base two-year deal worth 4.5 million US dollars.

Performance bonuses based on things like plate appearances, home runs, and titles that could max out at two million US dollars a year for the first two years.

Third year is an option.  If he records certain amount of plate appearances in his second year, his option will automatically kick in at 2.5 million US dollars plus performance bonuses.

Source: Daily Sports 12/7/2012

According to a report by Sports Hochi, the Softbank Hawks' deal with Bryan LaHair could be worth over 500 million yen a year.  The Hawks were looking for a left-handed bat and may see LaHair as their everyday first baseman next year.

Source: Sports Hochi 11/22/2012

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UPDATE @ 10:19am - Noticed a Sponichi article that mentions the possibility of a three-year deal worth up to 1.2 billion yen.  Source: Sponichi 11/22/2012

UPDATE @ 11:11am - Sanspo figures it will be a two-year deal worth one billion yen.  That's more in line with the Sports Hochi report.  Source: Sanspo 11/22/2012

UPDATE @ 7:59pm - According to the latest report by Sports Hochi, the Hawks signed LaHair to a two-year deal worth US$4.5 million (about 370 million yen).  The deal also include a club option for a third year.  LaHair has been assigned the number thirty-five.  Source: Sports Hochi 11/22/2012

The Hawks have also made an official announcement of the signing.  Source: official announcement

The Softbank Hawks are reportedly closing in on a deal with thirty-year-old Bryan LaHair.  No other details are known at this point in time.

Source: Nikkan Sports 11/21/2012

The Hanshin Tigers are hoping to finalize things with Kosuke Fukudome before the end of the year.  Source: Sanspo 11/13/2012

They may also be planning to bump their offer from two years to three years.  Source: Daily Sports 11/13/2012

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The Tigers want to avoid a drawn out bidding war for Ryota Igarashi and would like to know what they are going to do before the end of the month -- if they cannot get some sort of commitment from Igarashi, they will likely move forward with their plans to find a player on the overseas market.

Incidentally, there are some indications that Igarashi may wait until December to decide where he will play next year.  That does not mean the Tigers would not be open to some sort of preliminary agreement that would become effective should he decide to play in Japan.

A number of teams, like Softbank, Rakuten, and Yokohama, are said to be interested in Igarashi.

Source: Sanspo 11/13/2012, Nikkan Sports 11/13/2012, Sponichi 11/13/2012

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The Seibu Lions are interested in Bryan LaHair.  A number of NPB teams have shown interest in LaHair, but his high price tag, which has been estimated to be about 300M yen, may be too much of a risk.  Source: Sponichi 11/13/2012

According to a report by Nikkan Sports, the Softbank Hawks are interested in thirty-year-old Bryan LaHair.  The Hawks are attracted to him because he is a left-handed bat with power.

A number of NPB teams, including the Rakuten Eagles, are also looking into the LaHair.

Source: Nikkan Sports 11/8/2012

See also:

Rakuten Eagles interested in Bryan LaHair and his power

According to Daily Sports, the Rakuten Eagles are interested in twenty-nine-year-old infielder Bryan LaHair.  There is a chance it could cost the organization around 300M yen to acquire him, but they apparently do not mind the hefty price tag because they feel he might be able to fill their power needs.

The Eagles have had their eye on LaHair for a couple of years now.  Senichi Hoshino thinks highly of him and wanted the team to go after him last winter.  He and the other members of the coaching staff have already checked his footage from this past season.

A number of other NPB teams are also said to be interested in LaHair.

Source: Daily Sports 11/2/2012

(continue reading...)

Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Yomiuri Giants are interested in 28-year-old INF Bryan LaHair as a possible replacement for Alex Ramirez.

The Rakuten Eagles were also said to be interested in LaHair (includes stats).