The Carp closed out their spring camp in Nichinan today.  Kenjiro Nomura selected Tsubasa Aizawa as his Spring Camp MVP.

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Nick Stavinoha has been taking things slow due to tightness in his lower body.  He resumed soft-toss batting practice today and hit twenty baseballs.  Still no timetable on when he will be able to play in games.

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Hayato Shoji worked out at the Ono training facilities on Tuesday and spent some time checking over the newly installed artificial turf.  Construction to add the turf began on January 31 and work was completed on February 21.  Cost: about 30M yen.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura's next outing could come during an exhibition game against the Chunichi Dragons on March 4.

The Carp had the day off today.

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Kan Otake worked out on his day off today.  He will likely pitch in an intra-squad game on Tuesday.

====== UPDATE 2/28 @ 3:20am

The Ni-gun Carp closed out camp in Nichinan, Miyazaki on Sunday and returned to Hiroshima.  Eishin Soyogi, working his way back from a contusion on his left knee, re-joined the Ichi-gun team.

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Kenta Maeda could pitch in an intra-squad game on February 29.

The Hiroshima Carp received twenty kilograms of bare oysters and 100 oysters in shells from the Hiroshima Fishery Cooperative today.

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Tomonori Maeda took about 400 pitches against the pitching machine during extra batting practice today.  The session lasted about an hour.  Maeda also moved up about a meter in the cages at one point because he felt the machine was throwing too slow.

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Kenjiro Nomura spent about forty-five minutes working with Shota Dobayashi and Yoshitaka Isomura on their hitting after general practices today.  Nomura also tossed pitches to the two players.

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Eishin Soyogi began rehab workouts on his left knee on Thursday.  Soyogi started feeling discomfort in the knee after sliding in an intra-squad game on February 19.  As a precaution, he skipped batting practice on Wednesday and got his knee examined at a hospital in Nichinan where he was diagnosed with a contusion on his left knee.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura threw the fork during his bullpen session on Thursday for the first time during spring camp.  The Carp also decided to have him pitch situational batting practice on Saturday.

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Eishin Soyogi will begin rehabbing at San-gun due to left knee problem.  Soyogi started feeling some discomfort in the knee on Wednesday and told reporters it was nothing serious and that it was a chronic condition he had to work through.  The team is hopeful he will return without missing much time.

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Brian Barden picked up an acoustic guitar before the start of spring camp and has been practicing about thirty minutes everyday.

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Hiroshima's game against the Seibu Lions was rained out today.

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Takahiro Aoki had his left knee re-examined today and was diagnosed with a meniscal tear.  He will not be able to practice for about two weeks.

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Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui visited Nichinan camp today.

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Bryan Bullington sees himself as the number two pitcher in the starting rotation, behind Kenta Maeda.  As such, he wants to step up and help Maeda carry the team.

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Batting coach Kojiro Machida had a number of players swing around a bat with a wide flat fin during practice today.

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Yoshihiro Maru rejoined the Ichi-gun Carp for full practices today.  Maru was sent down to Ni-gun on February 12 after he was diagnosed with pharyngitis.

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According to Daily Sports, assuming no injuries during spring camp, the first five spots in the starting rotation could go Kenta Maeda, Bryan Bullington, Yuya Fukui, Kan Otake, and 1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura.

Jumpei Shinoda, Yuki Saito, Kyohei Nakamura, Keisuke Imai, and Shota Nakazaki could all end up competing for the last spot in the rotation.

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Shinoda is trying to shorten his delivery because he tends to think too much when he includes short pauses.  He is also planning to throw more curveballs this year.

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The Carp had the day off today.

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Yoshihiro Maru worked out a Tenpuku Stadium on his day off today.  His workouts lasted about two hours and included running and weight training.  Maru will be joining the Ichi-gun team tomorrow.

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Shota Dobayashi also worked out at Tenpuku Stadium on his day off today and spent about fifty minutes taking batting practice.

====== UPDATE 2/21 @ 12:52am

The Carp announced on Monday that they will be holding tours at Mazda Stadium this year.  Admission will be 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children.  Tours will run about eighty minutes and include views of the bullpen, dugout, and locker room.

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Today is the last day of the third block of spring camp for the Ichi-gun Carp and the end of the fourth block of spring camp for the Ni-gun Carp.  The team has the day off tomorrow.

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The Hiroshima Carp were presented with twenty Japanese amberjack (fish), twenty fluke, and four packs of strawberries from Saiki, Oita today.

Takahiro Aoki had his left knee examined at a hospital in Hiroshima on Friday and was told additional testing was needed.  Aoki is scheduled for another examination on February 22.  At worst, Aoki will need surgery, which means he will most likely not be ready by opening day.

Aoki was originally diagnosed in a hospital in Okinawa on February 5 with a ligament injury in his left knee that needed a week for a full recovery.  He moved to Nichinan camp on February 7 to continue his rehab and ultimately return to Hiroshima on February 15.