...Hidetaka Kawagoe pitched 4 scoreless innings on Friday against the Seibu Lions.  After that the game, Norifumi Nishimura named Kawagoe his 6th starter.  He'll likely slide into the bullpen during Inter-league play when Nishimura plans to go with a 5-man rotation.

...Yuta Ohmine's pitches on Thursday against the Softbank Hawks: a fastball that topped out at 144km/h; a change and slider that was in the upper 120km/h range; and a curve in the lower 110km/h range.  He also started 11 of 20 batters off with first pitch balls and used his off-speed pitches to get back out in front.  Over 2 exhibition games, Ohmine has given up just 1 run on 6 hits over 10 innings of work.

...Bryan Corey has been a bit inconsistent.  After giving up 3 runs over an inning of work on 3/1, he followed that up with 2 scoreless innings over 2 games.  On Thursday, he once again gave up 3 runs over an inning of work.

...Kazuya Fukuura is just one home run away from 100 in his career.

...Lotte fans did the Nishimura Dance in left field after the Marines' beat the Swallows at Jingu Stadium on Wednesday.

...Tae-Gyun Kim did not play in Wednesday's game against the Yakult Swallows because of neck pains.  Norifumi Nishimura told reporters that Kim felt stiffness in his neck on Tuesday and that he should be ok to go tomorrow.

...Big day for the rookie Takashi Ogino on Wednesday.  He went 1-for-4 with 4 runs scored and 2 RBI: HBP, ground out to short, 2-run HR, ground out to pitcher, reached on error.  He also stole two bases (once in the first and once in the 6th when he reached first on a fielder's choice).

...It seems the Marines have given up on trying to acquire Eric Stults (Los Angeles Dodgers).  The team was thinking of using Stults as their 6th pitcher in the starting rotation, but price tag (over 100M yen) was simply too high for them.  They also felt that a player within the organization could still fill the 6th spot.  And it seems Hidetaka Kawagoe could be Nishimura's first choice.

...Yoshihiro Ito's wife gave birth to the couple's first child on Wednesday -- a boy weighing 2,750 grams.

...Changes to the pitching schedule due to the rain: Shingo Ono's start has been shifted to the 12th against the Seibu Lions.  The original starter on the 12th, Hidetaka Kawagoe, will be pitching in the same game in relief.

...The Marines announced that Yasuhiko Yabuta registered kanji changed from 藪田 to 薮田.

...Shunichi Nemoto will be appearing in the March 31st issue of the women's fasion mag anan.  The magazine is apparently running a feature on men with a variety of different business backgrounds.  Nemoto is the only baseball player in the feature.

...The fans in right will be doing a little jig, called the Nishimura Dance, after every game the Marines win at home this season.  It's apparently the same exact dance some fans did back when Norifumi Nishimura stood in the batter's box during his heyday.  The video I linked to is apparently from a practice run from 3/3.

...The Marines feel that Yuki Karakawa and Yuta Ohmine hold the key to a successful season.

...Tsuyoshi Nishioka was not with the team on Friday as he complained of pain in his teeth.  He'll be back with the team to play in an exhibition game against the Yakult Swallows on the 9th.

...The current rotation likely includes Yoshihisa Naruse, Shunsuke Watanabe, Shingo Ono, Yuki Karakawa, and Yuta Omine.  That still leaves room for one more pitcher.  And it appears as though Hidetaka Kawagoe is being considered for that spot.  The Marines will likely give him a chance to start an exhibition game at some point moving forward.

...Yuki Karakawa had a rocky start against the Yomiuri Giants on Friday, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits over 3 innings of work.  On Thursday, he did some sprints and played so catch in preparation for the game.  Karakawa has been struggling with a popped blister on his right middle finger.  He told reporters after his start on Friday that he was feeling fine and that his problem was more about being a little rusty from not pitching in any games in a while (first start since an intra-squad practice game on 2/19).

=== 3/5/2010 12:11am JST

...The Kim Chee Tae-Gyun Burger will go on sale at the stadium Lotteria beginning the 26th.  Depending on how well it sells, there's a chance it could go on sale at other locations in Japan.

=== 3/4/2010 9:54pm JST

...Yuta Ohmine told reporters after his outing on Wednesday that despite throwing 5 innings, he didn't feel tired at all.  Sponichi seems to think it has something to do with the fact that he was able to throw 2,366 pitches during Spring camp.  They also seemingly blamed Bobby Valentine for Ohmine getting tired in the 5th inning last year because he wasn't allowed to throw more than 100 pitches in a bullpen session.  It'll be interesting to see how Ohmine's arm is feeling a little later in the season.

Meanwhile, Nikkan Sports attributes Ohmine's better performance to pitching from the wind up, something that  he started working on last Fall with the help of pitching coach Takashi Nishimoto.

...The Marines won their first non-intra-squad game on Wednesday -- they had gone 6 straight games (3 exhibition) without a win.

...A little more on the Marines Baseball Academy TV program:

• The current plan is for 24 episodes
• The program will be broadcast on Saturday between 1:30pm and 2pm
• The program will begin airing on 4/10
• Main instructors that will appear in the program: Kazukuni Muto, Hideaki Takazawa, Kazumi Sonokawa, Mitsuchika Hirai
• The instructors will cover batting and pitching techniques
• Geared towards little leaguers

=== 3/3/2010 1:04am JST

...The Marines announced on Tuesday that a baseball program called Marines Baseball Academy will air on BS Digital TwellV beginning in April.  Active and retired players will make appearances on the show and provide advice / tips on a variety of topics, including various  stretches and nutritional information.

=== 3/2/2010 9:40pm JST

...Tae-Gyun Kim told reporters that he had been trying out a number of different things to get the timing down on his swing, but nothing was working.  At least not until Monday when he reverted back to what he used while in Korea and found some success.

He also told reporters that he was so impressed with Yu-na Kim's figure skating program that he spilled the soup he was drinking while watching a replay of it.

...Shoitsu Ohmatsu has his sights set on batting fourth in the line-up.  In order to help with his power, he's also using a bat that's 10 grams heavier than last year (910 grams > 920 grams).  Tae-Gyun Kim is also a candidate to bat fourth.

...Two of the things Shunsuke Watanabe likely tested during his outing on Sunday: his new slow curve (in the 90km/h range) and his new position on the mound (his foot doesn't touch the pitching rubber quite as much anymore).

...The Marines extended their business partnership with the Jiangsu Hopestars (China Baseball League) on March 1st.  They also announced that they will be dispatching technical coach Katsuo Soh (Sheng-Hsiung Chuang) to manage the Hopestars for a period of one year.

=== 11:17pm JST

...Yuta Kimura, Takumi Nasuno, and Tomohisa Ohtani were demoted to Ni-gun on Sunday.

=== 2/28/2010 7:18pm JST

...Prior to Saturday's game, Norifumi Nishimura was apparently ready to officially name Yoshihisa Naruse the opening day start if he pitched well.  Of course, Naruse ended up surrendering 5 runs over 5 innings of work.  He could still be named the opening day starter after his name start.

...Tomoya Satozaki was at practice on Sunday.  He told reporters that he was feeling fine other than some pain.  Satozaki was hit in the head during his at bat in the second inning on Saturday.

...The Marines plan on scheduling monthly meetings that will involve coaches (manager and head coach), a couple of players (Saburo and Tsuyoshi Nishioka), and the front office (vice team rep).  They are hoping to open up the lines of communication between all three groups to avoid problems that stem from too little, or no, communication.  It all goes back to their 2010 team slogan: Wa.