The Fighters arrived in Okinawa today.  A welcoming ceremony was held a Naha Airport.

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Hideki Kuriyama visited the spring camp training grounds after today's general meeting and put out salt to ward off bad spirits.

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The Fighters announced today that Kensuke Tanaka will be the 2012 team captain.

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Eiichi Koyano visited a hospital in Nago, Okinawa today and was informed after a general team meeting that he had the flu (type B).  Koyano has been isolated from the other players and will rest a few days until his fever goes away.

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Sho Nakata returned from his workouts in Hawaii on Monday.

Since the end of the season last year, Nakata has gained about 8kg and currently weighs 100kg.  And even though the team requested that he arrive at spring camp closer to 90kg, he feels he will be able to drop his weight before the start of the season.

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Micah Hoffpauir arrived in Japan on Monday.

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Makoto Kaneko did not like getting massages because they made his body feel tired.  But after having problems with his calf and Achilles last year, he has decided to enlist the help of the trainers to keep his muscles loose this year.

The Fighters held a staff meeting at Kamagaya on Thursday to discuss schedules for spring camp.

They also announced that their team slogan for 2012 will be "9+," or "Nine Plus."

• Nine = ninth year since becoming Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, nine post-season appearances
• Plus = the extra work the players need to do, the fans, local companies, team sponsors

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Yuki Saito worked out at Kamagaya on Wednesday and told reporters that the time he learned a lot during his training sessions with Masahiro Yamamoto (CHU) this winter.  He also said that his shoulder was currently at about 90% and would be at 100% by the start of spring camp.

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Kensuke Tanaka will be the team captain this season.

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5th round draft pick Toshiharu Moriuchi tossed about 50 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday.  This was his second bullpen session where he had the catcher squat.

3rd round draft pick Shingo Ishikawa suffered a left hamstring injury on Tuesday.

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The Fighters announced that they will be opening an official team store called On-Deck at Sapporo Station (South Exit) on February 10.

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Sanspo also posted the following interview with Yuki Saito from Wednesday:

How did you spend your off-season?

I went home to Ota, Gunma, practiced in Tottori, went to my university and high school.  Things like that.

Is your training going well?

It is just as [Hideki] Kuriyama said, the off-season is really important.  I think I did pretty well, considering it is my first official off-season [since turning pro].

What are you goals for 2012?

Same as last year, make the opening day roster.  To build up a strong body.  Numbers?  As long as I can improve on what I did last year.

You tossed a bullpen session today.

I have been throwing all along.  And I will continue to throw and run.

How is your shoulder feeling?

Good.  I think it has improved.  I can feel it while playing catch.

What are your plans for spring camp?

I want to [start] spring camp at 100%.  I would also like to toss a bullpen session [on the first day].

Do you feel confident about getting an opening day start?

Not really.  That is not something that comes out now.  [It is something that will come around] during spring camp.

The second block of training camp for the 2011 draft class ended today.

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5th round draft pick Toshiharu Moriuchi tossed 30 pitches in the bullpen on Tuesday (he also switched to pitching out of the set position after his 20th pitch).  If he makes it to the active roster, there is a good chance it will be as a reliever.

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The media learned on Tuesday that Kensuke Tanaka (30) is in a serious relationship (marriage is in the cards) with Sapporo TV reporter Chiho Nishimori (26).

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Mayor Masahito Nishikawa sent the Nippon Ham Fighters a letter of appreciation for their 200M yen donation to help promote sports in Asahikawa City.

Kensuke Tanaka told reporters that he plans to sit directly in front of Hideki Kuriyama when in the dugout so that he can eavesdrop on his conversations to get a better feel for what the manager is thinking.

Tanaka's workouts in Miyakojima, Okinawa on Thursday included running, playing catch, fielding practice, BO, and weight training.

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Sho Nakata worked out for about seven hours on Thursday.  His workouts included running and fielding practice.

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6th round draft pick Naoyuki Uwasawa woke up today with sore muscles, particularly his hamstrings.

7th round draft pick Takumi Oshima botched a number of chances during fielding practice on Thursday, but swung the bat well (115 swings) during BP.

FYI: about 100 fans showed up for the first day of training camp for the 2011 draft class on Thursday.  That is down from the 2,500 or so that showed up for a chance to see Yuki Saito last year.

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Preliminary spring camp schedules were released on Thursday.  Rosters for Ichi-gun and Ni-gun camps will be finalized during a staff meeting on 1/26.  The Fighters have also decided to play 12 games over a span of 18 days, beginning with an intra-squad game on 2/7.

Nikkan Sports reports that 30-year-old Kensuke Tanaka will not exercise his international FA option and will remain with the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Nikkan Sports does not expect the Fighters to lose any players to free agency this winter.

Sanspo has compiled the following list of players that could be heading to the Majors next season*:

Via Posting:

Yu Darvish

Norichika Aoki

Via International FA Options:

Hisashi Iwakuma

Tsuyoshi Wada

Munenori Kawasaki

Kensuke Tanaka

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* likely not a complete list since players like Hiroyuki Nakajima (SEI) haven't been included.  I'll try to check the actual printed version of the paper out later.

Sponichi is reporting that the Tampa Bay Rays are interested in 30-year-old Kensuke Tanaka.

Tanaka he did sign a 3-year deal with the Nippon Ham Fighters before the 2011 season, but his contact contains a clause that allows him some flexibility if he decides he wants to play in the Majors (he still needs to get permission from the team).

Sponichi also mentions that at least 5 teams (including the San Francisco Giants) have been interested in Tanaka with the Rays being the most active -- Rays' international scout Tateki Uchibori has been tracking Tanaka and caught both a Phoenix League game and Saturday's First Stage Climax Series game against the Seibu Lions.

Concerning his FA requirement, Tanaka is currently at 8 years and 143 days and is 2 days short of 9 years (one year = 145 days).  Since Tanaka missed a significant amount of time due to injury (he was on the active roster for only 70 days this year), the Fighters have the option of awarding him with up to 60 days of active service time.

Career Stats

Even though Kensuke Tanaka doesn't actually have enough time to qualify for an international FA option because he lost time on the active roster with a fracture in his left foot, the Nippon Ham Fighters plan on awarding him with the necessary time.

Coming into the season, Tanaka had 8 years and 73 days worth of time on the active roster.  The foot fracture this season limited him to just 68 days on the active roster, which puts him at 8 years and 141 days, 4 days short of a 145-day year.  Because of all he has done for the team, and since he's managed to make good progress on an injury that was supposed to sideline him for 4-6 months, the Fighters are now thinking about awarding Tanaka with time to put towards the 9 years he needs in order to earn his international FA option (teams can give up to 60 days).

If Tanaka gets the option, he isn't expected to exercise is since he signed a 3-year deal before the start of the season.

Kensuke Tanaka was examined at a hospital in Sapporo today and was diagnosed with a fracture in his left talus bone.  Surgery is required and he is expected to miss 4-6 months.

Tanaka suffered the injury while sliding into second base during a game against the Hiroshima Carp on the 18th.

Yakult Swallows

Kazuki Fukuchi injured his left shoulder while trying to steal second in the 7th inning.  He was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a dislocated left shoulder.

Softbank Hawks

Alex Cabrera tweaked his hamstring while running out a single in the top of the 9th.  Cabrera iced the area down after being removed from the game and told reporters his status will depend on how he's feeling tomorrow.

Seibu Lions

Nikkan Sports mentions that Hideaki Wakui may have been removed from tonight's game because of an unspecified injury.

UPDATE @ 11:57pm - He apparently developed a cramp in his right calf.

Nippon Ham Fighters

Kensuke Tanaka sprained his left ankle while sliding into second base in the top of the 6th inning.  Tanaka had the area iced after being removed from the game.  The team will wait to see how he's feeling tomorrow before deciding on what to do next.

UPDATE @ 10:01pm - Testing apparently revealed no damage to the bones.  Tanaka could be taken off the active roster if the pain doesn't improve.

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Bobby Keppel was taken out of the game before the start of the bottom of the 7th because his back stiffened up after his at bat in the top of the 7th.  Keppel had his back iced and told reporters after the game that he was feeling fine.