Takuro Ishii donated 1,082,212 yen to relief efforts in northern Japan (specifically, to help schools and children) via Hearts of Gold, date January 30.

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Akihiro Higashide spent about an hour and thirty minutes giving Yuta Shirahama advice on his swing after general practices on Monday.  The two were also seen taking swings in the cages this morning.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura arrived in Okinawa today -- he was in Tokyo taking final exams at his university.  Nomura bumped in Yuki Saito (HAM) before boarding his flight at Haneda Airport.

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4th round draft pick Shohei Habu had five teeth capped with gold -- he was initially planning to get his cavities fixed using silver crowns but was told gold was the better option for athletes.

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Kenta Kurihara spent about 30 minutes giving Shota Dobayashi advice on his swing on Monday.

"I wanted to go home early today, but Dobayashi was just swinging the bat really badly.  And I could not allow him to head into camp in such bad shape," said Kurihara.

He added, "There are things you can also learn by teaching."

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The Carp coaches will have a much easier time keeping track of player workouts this year.  With the help of NTT Docomo, live feeds of the bullpen and indoor practice area in Okinawa (Ichi-gun) and the bullpen in Nichinan (Ni-gun) will be sent to five smartphones.

Yakult Swallows

Junji Ogawa arrived in Okinawa on Monday and said to reporters, "We scheduled a lot of practice games to give everyone a chance to play.  The only every day players we have right now are Shinya Miyamoto and Ryoji Aikawa."

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Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi, Tsuyoshi Ueda, and Hitoshi Yamamoto did two thirty-minute zazen meditation sessions at Seiryuji Fudoin in Wako, Saitama on Sunday.

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A new clubhouse was built at Saitobaru Sports Park and will be ready for the Ni-gun players to use during spring camp.

The one-story building, complete with three meeting rooms, lockers, and shower facilities, cost about 70M yen.  The city of Saito in Miyazaki paid for the construction out of money they received from the government through a military base grant.

Up until this year, the Swallows spent about 3M yen each spring to build a temporary clubhouse.

Hiroshima Carp

The Carp announced on Monday that Nick Stavinoha's registered name will be "Nick" and "Stavinoha" will appear on his uniform.  Kam Mickolio's registered name will be "Mickolio."

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Dennis Sarfate told reporters on Sunday that he was excited about the current arms in the bullpen:

There is [Takahiro] Aoki from the left and [Takeru] Imamura from the right.  I heard [Katsuhiro] Nagakawa is also throwing.  If [Ryuji] Yokoyama returns we will have a strong bullpen. ...  I do not plan to give up the closer role, but Imamura has what it takes to become a closer in the future.

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Bullpen session:

Sunday

Takeru Imamura threw 15 pitches to a standing catcher.  It was his first session of the year.  Imamura worked on his mechanics during the off-season and is reportedly looking a lot like Takuya Asao (CHU).

Said Imamura, "I am not thinking about [Asao].  I have not even watched any of his footage.  I just looked at my own and thought about [what I need to do].  I made my back motion smaller and I throw the ball further out in front.  Doing that allows me to put my weight behind my pitches.  It also makes it difficult for the batter to time my pitches."

Yokohama Bay Stars

The Bay Stars held a press conference for Giancarlo Alvarado on Monday.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata appeared on NHK's Sunday Sports on Sunday night and said that he wanted to play Yoshitomo Tsutsugo every day and that he imagined him as a number three hitter.

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The new Bay Stars' online store opened on Sunday.  The Bay Stars also sold about 40 new items during their uniform unveiling ceremony.

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84 members of the media from 38 different companies covered Sunday's uniform unveiling ceremony.

Chunichi Dragons

Morimichi Takagi observed players working out at Chatan on Sunday and told reporters he was not very impressed with what he saw.

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The sixteen members of the coaching staff arrived in Okinawa on Saturday.  Pitching coach Hiroshi Gondo told reporters he saw Kenshin Kawakami as a possible replacement for Wei-Ying Chen.

Chen could get the heads up to start at Ichi-gun spring camp.

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Takagi spent about 30 minutes watching Victor Diaz working out on Saturday and said, "[Diaz] has a nice easy swing and he has that strong upper body.  Not bad.  There is a chance he could end up being a bargain."

Takagi was also impressed with 1st round draft pick Shuhei Takahashi's bat speed.

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Jorge Sosa told reporters on Saturday that Sammy Sosa is one of his relatives.

Yakult Swallows

Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi, Tsuyoshi Ueda, and Hitoshi Yamamoto did zazen meditation at Seiryuji Fudoin in Wako, Saitama on Sunday.

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Orlando Roman worked out at Jingu Gaien on Saturday.  Workouts included playing catch and lifting weights.  He also had a chance to meet Ryoji Aikawa.

Roman plans to toss a bullpen session on the first day of spring camp.

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Via Sanspo, Wladimir Balentien's advice to Lastings Milledge on what is necessary in order to succeed in Japan:

- Learn how to speak Japanese -- try to communicate without the use of an interpreter
- Be open and friendly with teammates and coaches
- Get used to eating Japanese food since fast food will not cut it

Sports Hochi and Sponichi mentions a slightly different list:

- Be open and be prepared to listen
- Develop good relationships with your teammates and other personnel
- Learn Japanese

Hanshin Tigers

1st round draft pick Hayata Ito hit a ball that traveled an estimated 115 meters (off a right-handed pitcher, toward right) during outdoor BP at Ginoza on Sunday.

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Keiichi Hirano spent about an hour and a half visiting kids at Koniya Junior High School in Kagoshima on Sunday.

Hiroshima Carp

Bryan Bullington, Dennis Sarfate, Brian Barden, Kam Mickolio, and Nick Stavinoha spent some time speaking to the media at a hotel in Hiroshima on Sunday.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura threw his 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday at about 50%.

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Bullpen sessions:

Sunday

Yuya Fukui threw 22 pitches (11 from the wind and 11 from the stretch) in the bullpen (standing catcher).  It was his first session of the year.

Saturday

Ryosuke Ikenouchi threw 30 pitches (mostly fastballs) to a squatting catcher.

Yokohama Bay Stars

In addition to unveiling their uniforms for 2012, the Bay Stars also formally introduced their 2011 draft class on Sunday.  About 5,000 fans showed up.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata tried to recruit Hideki Matsui again during a wedding party on Saturday and was told that he would have to wait five more years.

1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura threw 30 pitches in the bullpen (standing catcher) at the Ono training facilities today.

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Kenta Maeda twisted his left leg while running on Friday -- he did not go to the hospital and just had the leg taped and iced.

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Kenjiro Nomura does not mind if Nick Stavinoha hits for a low average so long as he also hits for power.  For now, it seems he could bat fifth.  As for Kam Mickolio, he will probably be used as a set-up man.

Regarding their registered names, the team is thinking about "Nick" and "Kam" to make it easier for fans to remember.

Yakult Swallows

Orlando Roman arrived in Japan on Friday.  Roman played winter ball in Puerto Rico through to December 26 and has tossed bullpen session once every two days since then.

Wladimir Balentien also arrived in Japan on Friday.

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2nd round draft pick Ryohei Kiya, 4th round draft pick Yuya Ota, and 6th round draft pick Masato Furuno all tossed bullpen sessions on Thursday (squatting catchers).

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Nikkan Sports provides the following quotes from Lastings Milledge:

My friends know what kind of person I am.  My image will change if I put up good numbers. ... It usually takes me about twenty minutes to get to the airport, but there was an accident that caused a traffic jam and it took me an hour and twenty minutes.  It is not as if I did not want to come, or got scared about coming.

Milledge could end up batting fifth in the line-up while playing left field.

Hiroshima Carp

Kam Mickolio and Nick Stavinoha arrived in Japan on Thursday.  The Carp held a press conference for both players at Mazda Stadium today.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura plans to proactively introduce himself to each and every player on the team beginning on January 31.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Alex Ramirez visited the DeNA offices in Shibuya on Friday and met about 100 or so of the company employees.  Incidentally, it was Ramirez that pushed for the visit.

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Takehiro Ishikawa managed to gain three kilograms without any change in his fat content (7.8%).

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Taketoshi Goto is ready to play anywhere he is needed: outfield (left), third, first.  He also dropped his weight from 94kg to 85kg.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata plans to have players work on the base-running skills during spring camp.

Chunichi Dragons

Early training camp begins tomorrow.  Players attending camp left for Okinawa today out of Chubu International Airport.

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Kazuhiro Wada arrived at Nagoya stadium early this morning and spent about two hours doing various workouts (like running and BP).  Wada will head to Okinawa on January 29.

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Ryosuke Hirata told reporters that he ate some bad oysters last week and was stuck in the hospital for two days.  He also said he lost about five kilograms, which was good for him because he about ten kilograms over his ideal weight (90kg).

Yakult Swallows

Training camp for the 2011 draft class ended today.

1st round draft pick Ryuhei Kawakami is having left ankle problems and got the day off today -- he was out getting his ankle examined.

2nd round draft pick Ryohei Kiya threw 50 pitches (with off-speed pitches mixed in) in the bullpen (squatting catcher) today.

4th round draft pick Yuya Ota also tossed a bullpen session today.

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Hayato Sakamoto (YOM) apparently advised Tetsuto Yamada to practice his hitting without batting gloves.

Yomiuri Giants

Ichi-gun players headed to Miyazaki for early training camp today.  Camp begins on Friday.

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The Giants decided to play one of their games at 7pm this season (July 25, vs Yokohama) after they found out, via surveys they handed out last year with the help from Yomiuri Shimbun, that a fairly large number of fans were interested in going to games after work.  Depending on attendance and how well things work out, the Giants may consider more 7pm games next year.

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GM Atsushi Harasawa sat in on the media training course given to the 2011 draft class on Wednesday.

Hanshin Tigers

Players left for early training camp in Okinawa out of Kobe Airport today.  Training camp begins tomorrow.

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Takumi Akiyama and Fumihito Haraguchi were both given Coming of Age commemorative items by the team today.

Hiroshima Carp

1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura worked out with Ikusei 4th round draft pick Kazuma Mike for about an hour on his day off at the Ono training facilities today.  Nomura threw the ball at about 50-60% during a game of catch.

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Kenta Kurihara spent about two hours working with Shota Dobayashi on his hitting today.

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The Carp usually break their Ichi-gun spring camps into two sessions: the first taking place in Okinawa and the second in Nichinan, Miyazaki.  However, the stadium they use in Okinawa will be closed next year because a new stadium is being built and will most likely not be ready in time for spring camp in 2013.  That means there is a good chance the Carp will spend both sessions in Nichinan.

Some info on the new stadium: 100 meters to right and left, 122 meters to center, brand new lighting system and covered training area for when it rains.

Yakult Swallows

The Swallows decided that they will be bringing back evening practice sessions during spring camp.    They will also have 16 of their 20 position players practicing their swings, in silence, over a one-hour period (every day, other than specified days off, beginning at 8:30pm).

The four players that have been excused: Shinya Miyamoto, Ryoji Aikawa, Lastings Milledge, and Wladimir Balentien.

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Junji Ogawa told reporters that he decided to assign Hitoshi Yamada to Ichi-gun spring camp after hearing about his waterfall meditations in the news.

Tsutomu Wakamatsu will also be at spring camp again this year as a special hitting instructor.

Hanshin Tigers

Daiki Enokida, Masahiro Nakatani, Akira Iwamoto, and Fumiya Araki participated in a ceremony at Osaka Tenmangu Shrine on Wednesday.  About 200 people attended the event.

Hiroshima Carp

Early training camp for 25 players began in Okinawa on Wednesday.

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Six of the eight members of the 2011 draft class, not including 4th round draft pick Shohei Habu and Ikusei 3rd round draft pick Kohei Tsukada, worked out at Mazda Stadium for the first time on Wednesday.

Habu and Tsukada were excused from practices because of exams.

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Yuya Fukui plans to toss a bullpen session with a standing catcher before the start of spring camp.  Fukui has already spent some time as a BP pitcher when he worked out with Yasuyuki Kataoka (SEI) earlier this month.

With regards to pitching against Tatsuya Oishi (SEI), Fukui said that he would rather face him during the season, when games counted, than during pre-season games.

Yokohama Bay Stars

The Bay Stars released player assignments for spring camp on Wednesday.

They also announced that they re-signed Kuan-Yu Chen to an Ikusei deal.  He was assigned the number 118.

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The Bay Stars are scheduled to unveil their new uniforms during a pres conference on January 29 at 1pm.  A number of players, including Alex Ramirez and Daisuke Miura, will participate in the event.  The 2011 draft class will also be introduced.

Yakult Swallows

The Swallows held a staff meeting on Tuesday to discuss spring camp schedules, player assignments, and the upcoming season.

They also decided on their 2012 team slogan: POWER OF UNITY ～心をひとつに～ (Power of Unity - Together as One -)

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Hitoshi Yamamoto did two waterfall meditation sessions (four minutes each) on Monday.  The water was under six degrees Celsius.  He also shouted out that he planned to stay healthy enough to remain in the rotation for the entire season and to record double-digit victories.

Yomiuri Giants

General practices at Giants Stadium were canceled on Tuesday due to the snow -- players did workout on their own.

Equipment/luggage for spring camp was also shipped out on Tuesday.

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Shuichi Murata visited Giants Stadium on Tuesday for the first time since joining the team and spent some time working out indoors (there was snow on the field).

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Daisuke Ochi would like to toss around 2,000 pitches during spring camp (double the amount he usually averages), including two 100-pitch bullpen session during the first block.

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Tetsuya Matsumoto showed up at Giants Stadium on Monday and told reporters that his workouts in Gunma lasted five to six hours a day (no breaks for lunch).

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The Giants have high hopes for both Ryosuke Miyaguni (starter) and Yi-Hao Lin (closer).

Hanshin Tigers

Kohei Shibata started his rehab at Naruohama on Tuesday.  Workouts lasted about five hours and included running and fielding practice.

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4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito tossed 31 pitches in the bullpen on Tuesday.  Ito mixed in his curve and slider and also had the catcher squat for the first time.

Hiroshima Carp

Player training camp in Okinawa began today (January 24) and will run through to January 31.

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Shota Dobayashi plans to do what he can to make the active roster as a third baseman.  Dobayashi struggled with his hitting at Ni-gun in 2010 and 2011.  But he started showing signs of life after making adjustments to his mechanics during fall camp last year (like going back to a high leg kick).

And Tomonori Maeda told reporters he is interested in how Dobayashi and Hayato Shoji perform during spring camp.

Chunichi Dragons

Maximo Nelson was the opening day pitcher last year.  If he gets the opening day start again this year, he will become the first foreign player in franchise history to record opening day starts in back-to-back seasons.

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Takeshi Yamasaki might end up crying if he is ever selected for the hero interview with Masahiro Yamamoto.

For the first time in about ten years, he will also be making a couple of changes to his bat: it will weigh the same at about 880 grams, but the barrel will be shaved down a few millimeters and the center of gravity will move a little further away from the handle of the bat.

Hiroshima Carp

Seventy-two members from the organization, including Kenjiro Nomura and owner Hajime Matsuda (54 personnel and 18 coaches), visited Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine on Monday to pray for a successful season.

The Carp also held a meeting to decide on player assignments for spring camp.

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Ikusei pitcher Ryosuke Ikenouchi tossed 25 pitches in the bullpen on Monday.  He also found out that he will be attending Ichi-gun spring camp.

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Masaya Kanemaru, Ren Nakata, Takahiro Aoki, and chief pitching coach Yutaka Ono participated in the Otake Kaki Suisan Festival on Sunday.

Ono told the crowd he wanted the pitching staff to aim for 80 victories this year.  He also plans to get them ready as soon as possible by having them toss BP during the first block of spring camp (they play their first practice game on February 11).

Hiroshima Carp

Yuki Saito threw 30 pitches in the bullpen on Saturday (standing catcher).  Saito had back problems last season and did not log any innings at Ichi-gun.  The Carp are hoping Saito can make a comeback this season because they want another lefty in the starting rotation.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura attended a Meiji University Victory Celebration on Sunday.  About 800 people, including university alumni and other officials, attended the event.

2nd round draft pick Ryosuke Kikuchi is a big fan of comedian Ken Shimura and is thinking about using one of his songs, involving his hometown Higashimurayama, for his batter intro.

4th round Kazuma Mike started off as a right-handed hitter but made a name of himself as a switch hitter beginning in his second year of high school.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Kiyoshi Nakahata visited Michinoku Kashima Baseball Stadium in Minamisoma, Fukushima on Sunday.  The stadium was badly damaged by the tsunami that followed the March 11 earthquakes. ... Nakahata would like to invite seven youth baseball teams (total forty-three players) from Minamisoma to games at Yokohama Stadium this year. ... Nakahata, with the help of Rakuten Eagles' batting coach Hiromoto Okubo, held a youth baseball clinic on Sunday for baseball teams from the Fukushima area.