=== 3/11/2010 12:15am JST

...If Yohei Ohshima makes the Ichi-gun roster (which seems likely at this point), he plans on inviting his family to opening day.  Ohshima went 1-for-3 with a run and and RBI.

...Hirokazu Ibata told reporters on the 9th that he plans on playing in every remaining exhibition game on the schedule, beginning with the game on Wednesday.  Ibata was temporarily dropped from Ichi-gun due to stomach pains from cold on 3/3.  He started practicing again at Nagoya Stadium on the 6th, working on his lower body.

Ibata went o-for-3 with a strike out on Wednesday.

=== 3/10/2010 10:01pm JST

...Kei Nomoto hit two home runs in his first two at bats on Wednesday against the Seibu Lions.  He's likely back in the mix for potential outfield candidates.

...Ikusei 1st round draft pick Kento Yachi gave up 4 runs (all earned) on 4 hits and an HBP over 2 innings of work against the Seibu Lions on Wednesday.  He also struck out 2.  All four runs and all four hits (including the HBP) in the 4th, his second inning of work.  On his start, Yachi told reporters that he gives himself a 100% on his first inning of work and 0% on his second inning of work for a combined 50% overall.

...Masahiro Yamamoto is at Ni-gun working his way back from a left shoulder discomfort.  On Monday, pitching coach Mitsuo Inaba told reporters that Yamamoto likely won't be ready for the start of the regular season.  Yamamoto has yet to pitch in any games and there's currently no ETA on when he might be ready to pitch in any moving forward.  He also has not thrown any bullpen sessions.

It seems the Dragons are taking things easy with him because they feel he may have pushed himself too hard, too early this year.

...Hiromitsu Ochiai worked with Tony Blanco for about 20 minutes on his hitting during general practice at Nagoya Stadium on Monday.  Blanco is currently 2-for-19 over 6 exhibition games.

...Ikusei player Kento Yachi joined the Ichi-gun team on Monday (?).

...Ryoji Nakata, Ryosuke Hirata, Hiroki Kongo, and Shinsuke Saito were all demoted to Ni-gun on Monday.  Nakata apparently still has a chance to return to Ichi-gun depending on his performance at Ni-gun.

...Kazuki Yoshimi threw about 86 pitches in the bullpen on Monday.  It was his second bullpen session in as many days.  Yoshimi took a batted ball of his right leg while pitching against the Chiba Lotte  Marines on 3/1.  He told reporters on Monday that he wasn't feeling any pain.  It also seems there's a good chance he might pitch on the 11th against the Rakuten Eagles.

...Hitoki Iwase threw about 50 pitches in the bullpen on Monday.  It was also Iwase's second bullpen session in as many days.  Iwase missed two schedules exhibition game appearances (2/27 and 3/4) due to discomfort in his lower back.  His next chance will likely be on either the 13th or 14th (both against the Seibu Lions).

...Junki Ito's grandfather passed away on the 6th.  Ito took part in the wake that was held on the 8th, but did not go to the funeral services on the 9th so that he could attend practice with the team.  He told reporters that he thought his grandfather would have wanted it that way.

...Ryoji Nakata showed off his legs on Sunday.  He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 8th and blooped a hit in front of left fielder Takahiro Okada.  Okada apparently tried to make a sliding catch, but missed, allowing the ball to trickle past him.  Nakata took advantage of the miscue and slid into second with a double.  During the next play, he then tagged up to third on a Masahiro Araki fly ball to right field.  The crowd was apparently impressed and gave him a round applause.  Perhaps understandable since he weighs in at 118kg (260 pounds).

Interesting fact for those that don't know: Nakata is apparently ambidextrous when it comes to throwing.

...Akifumi Takahashi has been working his way back from back pains at Ni-gun.  He was called on to make an appearance during Sunday's game against the Orix Buffaloes at the last minute and arrived at the team hotel in Yamaguchi (where the game was taking place) at midnight.  Takahashi was in such a rush he didn't even have time to get his uniform cleaned, so he had to borrow Keiji Miwa's uniform (bullpen catcher).  Despite all that, he still managed to toss a scoreless inning: he faced 4 batters, threw 15 pitches, gave up 1 hit, and struck out 2.

...Yohei Ohshima went 2-for-3 on Saturday to raise his exhibition series batting average to .467.  He went 0-for-3 with a walk on Sunday.

...Wei-Ying Chen is hoping to become the first foreign opening day pitcher on the Dragons' since Genji Kaku in 1992.

...Kazuki Yoshimi will be appearing in a TV commercial (targeted for the Chubu region) for Sky Perfect TV! this season.  They already held a recording session on the 5th at the Nagoya Dome indoor training facilities.

...Edward Valdez will be starting Sunday's exhibition game against the Orix Buffaloes at Kyocera Dome Nagoya.  Valdez could end up becoming the third pitcher in the rotation, behind Yoshimi and Chen.

...Yusuke Matsui and Orix Buffalo Takahiro Okada were selected to a team full of players from the Osaka / Hyogo region during their third year in high school -- Okada batted 4th and Matsui batted 6th.

Matsui had the day off on Friday but he still spent about 30 minutes working out at Nagoya Stadium.  Later in the day, he traveled back to Osaka with Ryoji Nakata and Masato Matsui.

...Tony Blanco hit a home run on the first pitch he saw from Shun Tono in his second at bat on Thursday.  Against the Yomiuri Giants last season, Blanco hit 7 home runs, all within the first 3 pitches he saw and four with the count at 0-1.  Prior to the game on Thursday, Hiromitsu Ochiai spent some time working with Blanco, who was hitless in his last 3 games.  If you include the practice games in Okinawa, Blanco had been just 1 for his last 16 with 8 strike outs.

Incidentally, Blanco has managed to get his weight back down to 110kg (he started camp at 115kg).

...Daisuke Yamai has not won a game in 2 years.  He hit a batter in the head during his last outing on 2/27 and was promptly ejected.  On Thursday, he appeared a lot more settled in and tossed 6 shutout innings while giving up two hits and striking out six; he did not walk, or hit, a batter.

...Takashi Ogasawara, Edward Valdez, and Junki Ito are apparently the only potential starters that have not suffered any injuries / problems since the start of Spring camp.  Wei-Ying Chen missed some time with a rash, Kenichi Nakata felt some discomfort in his right forearm, Kenta Asakura had pain in his lower back / hip, and Masahiro Yamamoto had some discomfort in his left shoulder.  Then in back-to-back games, Kazuki Yoshimi and Yudai Kawai were hit by come-backers to the mound.

...It appears as though Kazuki Yoshimi is ok after being hit by a batted ball during Monday's practice game against the Chiba Lotte Marines.  He was apparently hit in the fleshy area (muscle) below the right knee.  When he was first hit by the ball, his right leg felt numb and he could not walk.  But after testing the leg later on, he was able to walk.  He did not go to the hospital to get the area checked out.  Yoshimi had the area iced and taped before heading home on his own.  He is currently listed as day-to-day and will be working under a different training menu.

...Ryoji Nakata received word on Sunday that he will be able to graduate from Asia University.

...Kazuyoshi Tatsunami saw 11 pitches during his at bat on Saturday.  All fastballs.

=== 11:41pm JST

...Saturday was Kazuyoshi Tatsunami's retirement game.  He was the starting DH and batted in the lead-off spot.  In his one trip to the plate, he flied out to the second baseman.  This after Chiba Lotte Marine Kazuya Fukuura let a ball that was popped up in foul territory drop.  There was also a ceremony after the game.  32,000 fans showed up for the game.

...Hitoki Iwase was held out of the game on Saturday with lower back pains.  It seems he started feeling discomfort in his back on the 25th.  Iwase told reporters that it wasn't serious and that he doesn't see it being a problem for the regular season.  He also said that it wasn't time to try and force things yet.

=== 11:23pm JST

...Ryoji Nakata ended camp at the same weight he started camp at: 118kg.  He did gain 3kg between the time he signed and start of camp though.

...There's only one more opening left on the roster: either a left fielder or a right fielder.  The current list of players in contention are: Hidenori, Masaaki Koike, Ryosuke Hirata, Atsushi Fujii, Kei Nomoto, and the two rookies, Yusuke Matsui and Yohei Ohshima.

=== 2/27/2010 7:40pm

...Club president Junnosuke Ishikawa, player rep Masahiko Morino, and a number of other people from the Dragons visited Rokusho Shrine to pray for a successful season.