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Kazuhiro Hatakeyama has been working on shifting the strike zone in his head a little further out because he realized it had moved inward.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/14/2013

Katsuya Nomura visited Ichi-gun camp today and was pleased to see Hatakayama with a clean-shaven face.

Nomura spoke in front of the team again in the evening.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/14/2013, Sanspo 2/14/2013, Sanspo 2/14/2013

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Akinori Iwamura is scheduled to play in a practice game against KIA (KBO) on the 16th.

Source: Sponichi 2/14/2013

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Samurai Japan candidate Ryoji Aikawa cut his practices short today and headed to Miyazaki for the start of WBC mini-camp.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/14/2013

The Yakult Swallows took both Tsuyoshi Ueda and Kazuhiro Hatakeyama off the active roster today.

Ueda - a strain in the muscles at the front of his right thigh (quadriceps?).  Source: Sports Hochi Tweet 8/31/2012

Hatakeyama - a strain in the right flank (oblique) that will require two to three weeks for the pain to subside.  Source: Sports Hochi Tweet 8/31/2012

Morimichi Takagi told reporters that he is planning to select Kazuhiro Hatakeyama (Yakult) for the All-Star roster because of his ties to the Tohoku region (he is from Iwate).  He also mentioned other names like Shuichi Murata (Yomiuri), Wladimir Balentien (Yakult), and Daisuke Miura (Yokohama).

This coming just a couple days after Takagi said he was thinking about players like Tomoaki Kanemoto (Hanshin), Masahiro Yamamoto (Chunichi), Shota Dobayashi (Hiroshima), and Sho Aranami (Yokohama).  His change in thinking may be a result of wanting to select players with closer connections to the Tohoku region.

FWIW: Dobayashi received 248,231 fan votes, which was eighth most in the CL.

Source: Sponichi 6/28/2012, Sponichi 6/30/2012

Kazuhiro Hatakeyama was hit by a batted ball near his left eye during fielding practice at Jingu Stadium today.  He was examined at a hospital in Tokyo and diagnosed with an eye socket fracture.  The injury did not cause any problems with his vision and Hatakeyama told reporters that he planned to play.

UPDATE 4/4 @ 7:52pm - It will likely take a month for a full recovery.  Hatakeyama was in the starting line-up today at first batted fourth.

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Shinya Miyamoto still feels some pain in his left leg and told reporters today that while he can hit without any problems, he is holding back on running.  He also jokingly said that he did not want to go to the hospital because he would rather not know if there was really something wrong with his leg (like a fracture).

Junji Ogawa was planning to give Miyamoto the night off today but will most likely pencil him into the starting line-up on Wednesday.

Wednesday's Ni-gun game against Lotte at Toda: Shohei Tateyama started the game and gave up two runs on three hits over four innings of work.  He also topped out at 146km/h. [Sanspo]

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Kazuhiro Hatakeyama will most likely start at first and bat fourth on opening day.  If he does make the starting line-up, it will be his first opening day start in his twelfth season with the team.

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Yoshinori Sato was left off the 2012 Opening Day Roster.  He was also scratched from his Ni-gun start against Lotte on Thursday.  His next outing could come on March 31 (Ni-gun game vs Rakuten).

If Yoshinori needs more time to iron out his mechanics, the Swallows could turn to Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi.  Otherwise he could make his first Ichi-gun regular season start during a three-game series against Chunichi that begins on April 6.

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Of the new players the Yomiuri Giants added during the winter, Junji Ogawa told reporters on Tuesday that Dennis Houlton and John Bowker were the two players he had his eye on.

"Murata is not a batter we know nothing about.  We have also faced Sugiuchi a number of times. ... Bowker is a good hitter.  He showed his abilities during exhibition play.  We have not really played against Houlton.  He throws the ball at an angle and has good control," said Ogawa.

The Swallows announced today that Shohei Tateyama was hospitalized because the inflammation in his left leg worsened after getting a shot for the inflammation on Friday.  Tateyama reportedly had a bad reaction to the injection but is getting better and is expected to be released from the hospital on Tuesday.

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General coach Takao Ise worked with Kazuhiro Hatakeyama again today and said to reporters, "Another 240 baseballs today."

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Tsuyoshi Ueda may be the front-runner for the starting job in center: 9-for-34 (.265/.359/.500), three doubles, a triple, one homer, six RBI, four walks, and five stolen bases in six attempts.

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Yakult Swallows began their move to their new offices in Kita Aoyama in Minato-ku today.  The offices will re-open on March 21.

Shohei Tateyama had his left ankle examined at a hospital and was diagnosed with some arthritis.  The condition does not appear to be serious and will likely mean making a few minor adjustments to his workout schedule over the next two to three days.  His next start might also be pushed back a couple of days.

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Kazuhiro Hatakeyama has not been hitting very well (6-for-33) and is planning to take extra batting practice over the next few days (through to March 20).  He worked with general coach Takao Ise on Saturday.

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According to Nikkan Sports (and Sponichi), Wladimir Balentien's new blond hair color was not a hit with the players and coaches.  Sports Hochi notes the striking resemblance to female wrestler Aja Kong.

Nine players, including Junji Ogawa, Shinya Miyamoto, Masanori Ishikawa, and Yoshinori Sato, worked out at the indoor training facilities at Jingu before meeting with 300 season ticket holders for about an hour (played catch, signed autographs).

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Kyohei Muranaka's start against the Hanshin Tigers was rained out today.

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Wladimir Balentien showed up with blond hair today.

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Kazuhiro Hatakeyama worked out for about three hours today.

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Masanori Ishikawa will likely be the opening day starter after tossing five solid innings in his start against the Orix Buffaloes on Friday.  Assuming he really gets the opening day start, it will be his fifth opening day start in a row and seventh overall.

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The Swallows started handing surgical masks out to people visiting the team on Sunday.

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Junji Ogawa spent about an hour hitting baseballs to Kazuhiro Hatakeyama during extra fielding practice on Monday.

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Special instructor Tsutumo Wakamatsu worked with Tsuyoshi Ueda, Yuhei, and 3rd round draft pick Wataru Hiyane on Sunday.

Wakamatsu will be assisting the Swallows as a special instructor through to February 17.

The Swallows also increased the number of batting cages from two to three on Sunday.  The center cage will be reserved for bunt practices with Wakamatsu.

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Katsuki Akagawa is unofficially on tap to start a practice game against Samsung on February 13.

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Hiroyasu Tanaka is thinking about giving synchronized training a try.  He thinks it might help improve timing plays for middle infielders.

Kazuhiro Hatakeyama worked out at the Toda training facilities in Saitama on Saturday.  His workouts included playing catch, weight training, and running.

Hatakeyama also accidentally hit a Fuji TV camera while playing catch and destroyed the lens filter (about 10,000 yen).  The actual lens was also slightly damaged (about 2.5M yen), but still serviceable.

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The Swallows now have five foreign players on the roster: Chang-Yong Lim, Tony Barnette, Orlando Roman, Wladimir Balentien, and Lastings Milledge.  As of know, it appears as though Lim, Balentien, and Milledge will fill the first three foreign roster spots with Barnette and Roman competing for the final spot.

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Amongst the intro song candidates the Swallows are considering for Roman: Kome Kome Club's Roman Hiko and CCB's Romatic-ga Tomoranai.

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1st round draft pick Ryuhei Kawakami finished in 6th (out of a possible seven) during a 1,500 meter run that took place during training camp for the 2011 draft class on Friday.  His time: 5 minutes and 42 seconds.