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Matt Murton joined the team for practices today.  His workouts included warm-ups, playing catch, running, fielding practice, and batting practice against a machine.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito, Masahiro Nakatani, Kenichi Tagami, and Ryota Arai took extra fielding practice (about forty-five minutes) in the outfield at Kin Stadium today.  Takashi Toritani and Kentaro Sekimoto took extra fielding practice, under special instructor Tatsuro Hirooka, in the infield at Ginoza Stadium.

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Norihiro Akahoshi worked with players on their base-running skills (stealing bases) today.

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Shinjiro Hiyama started taking fielding practice a distance of about thirty meters (fielding and throwing) on Tuesday.

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Kenji Jojima started working on gloving one-hop throws from short and third during practices on Tuesday -- Takashi Toritani and Keiichi Hirano from short and Kentaro Sekimoto and Ryota Arai from third.

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4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito faced Issei Morita, Haruki Kurose, and 1st round draft pick Ito during batting practice on Tuesday.  He threw eighty pitches and allowed eighteen could-be hits.  Morita and Kurose each collected five could-be hits.  K. Ito threw a total thirty pitches to H. Ito, which resulted in twenty-three swings and eight could-be hits.

Takumi Akiyama faced Nakatani, Shunsuke, and Tagami on Tuesday and allowed five could-be hits on sixty-three pitches (or sixty-one pitches).  Nakatani collected one could-be hit and Shunsuke two could-be hits.

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Takahiro Arai's two hour workout with special instructor Hirooka on Tuesday began with making throws into a net while sitting in a chair.  From their, he got off the chair and moved further and further away from the net.  Toward the end, Yutaka Wada joined the group and started hitting grounders to Arai.  All told, 404 throws in the net along with fielding 112 grounders.

Sports Hochi Osaka provides a little more detail:

14:15 - a mirror is placed behind the net; picking up baseballs tossed to him with his bare right hand and then throwing them into a net while seated
14:45 - throwing into a net about five meters away after picking up baseballs tossed to him
15:10 - picking up baseballs tossed to him with his bare left hand
15:26 - picking up baseballs tossed to him with a glove
15:40 - fielding grounders hit by Wada and throwing into a new fifteen meters away
16:00 - picking up baseballs tossed to him and throwing into a net about five meters away
16:20 - end

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1st round draft pick Ito made a change to his batting stance on Tuesday, with help from batting coach Atsushi Kataoka: he dropped his hands down a little.

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The front four in the starting rotation will likely include Atsushi Nomi, Minoru Iwata, Randy Messenger, and Jason Standridge.  The remaining two sports are up for grabs and could go to Yuya Ando and Hiroyuki Kobayashi.

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The Murton's named their newest addition to family, Andrew Jacob Murton.

Matt Murton is working on starting up a personal site in Japanese.  He has also prepared some baseball cards and 5,000 bracelets with the phrase "Kami-sama wa watashi-no chikaradesu."

Murton did a lot of lifting during the off-season and gained three kilograms (currently weight 103kg) in the hopes of developing more opposite field power.  He also brought training equipment to the hospital so that he could work out while waiting for his wife to give birth.

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Matt Murton arrived in Japan today and is scheduled to join the team for spring camp tomorrow.

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4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito faced three batters during batting practice today and allowed fourteen could-be hits on seventy-nine pitches.

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Special instructor Tatsuro Hirooka worked with Takahiro Arai on his throwing today -- he had Arai throw 404 baseballs into a net over about a two hour period.

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Kyuji Fujikawa has been eating four meals a day since he first started working out this year.

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No players that worked out at Ginoza Stadium on their day off Monday.

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Six athletes that worked out with Shinjiro Hiyama in Guam this winter will be visiting spring camp some time around February 20 in order to show their support for the forty-two year old.

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Sanspo's Tigers Promise with Yutaka Wada:  If the team wins a championship, Sanspo will give away an onsen trip and Wada will hold a baseball clinic for six youth baseball teams (elementary and junior high).  If the teams does not win a championship, Wada will autograph and give away six personal items.

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Actor Ken Watanabe apparently likes the following line-up:

1: Toritani, 2: Hirano, 3: T. Arai, 4: Kanemoto, 5: Murton, 6: Brazell, 7: catcher, 8: pitcher, 9: Shibata, Shunsuke, or Nakatani.

====== UPDATE 2/8 @ 2:32am

According to Sponichi, Norihiro Akahoshi will be working with the Tigers as a special instructor.  He is expected to begin sometime during the second block of spring camp (which began on Tuesday).

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The Tigers announced that Matt Murton's wife gave birth to the couple's third child, a boy weighing 3,454 grams, on February 1 (US time).  The Tigers are expecting Murton to arrive in Japan some time around February 7.

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Shunsuke and Ryota Arai participated in early morning fielding practice at Kin Stadium today.  The session lasted about 35 minutes.

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Position players worked out as pitchers as pitchers worked out as position players today.

During infield drills, position players like Takashi Toritani and Keiichi Hirano worked from the mound while Kyuji Fujikawa spent time at first.  Toritani and Yamato spent some time pitching in the bullpen while Fujikawa took BP and hit a ball over the fence.

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Yutaka Wada worked on simulated close plays at home with catchers Taichi Okazaki and Takashi Shimizu on Thursday -- Mayumi pretended to barrel into home thirty times; battery coach Yasuo Yoshida threw the ball in toward home from around second base.

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Atsushi Nomi has been keeping up with the headlines from other teams.

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2nd round draft pick Hiroaki Saiuchi tossed a bullpen session on Thursday and is scheduled to toss another on Saturday.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto could begin taking BP with the rest of the players beginning on Saturday (February 4).

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:35am

Shinjiro Hiyama's person trainer, Ken Nakata, told reporters on Friday he feels Hiyama will be ready for opening day.

"When [Hiyama] first got hurt, I thought opening day would be impossible," said Nakata.  "But at this point, he is making great progress.  I think he will be ok for opening day.  Mending bones need calcium, vitamin D, and UV rays.  He also needs to continue hitting with his one hand.  And all of that is going well right now."

The Ni-gun Tigers arrived at Kochi Ryoma Airport today and were greeted by local fans.  In the evening, they held a general meeting to go over practice schedules through to February 26.

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Yasutomo Kubo officially signed for 140M yen (down 40M yen) today.

Keiichi Hirano also agreed to a deal today: 190M yen (up 30M yen).  Hirano was originally offered 180M yen plus 20M yen in bonuses but turned it down because he wanted more guaranteed money.  The Tigers came back today with a 190M yen off with no bonuses.

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The Tigers announced on Monday that Yuya Ando missed practice because he was not feeling well and had a fever.  Ando first started feeling sick on Sunday morning and was excused from practices.  A hospital exam on Monday revealed that it was not the flu.  Ando is currently recuperating at the player hotel.

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Yutaka Wada and members of the coaching staff checked out the new Kin Baseball Stadium on Monday.  The Tigers have been given permission to use the stadium through to February 10.

The stadium still does not have any batting cages so the Tigers will probably use it as a place for younger players to run and taking extra fielding practice.

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Jason Standridge's goal for 2012: toss 200+ innings.  If he manages it, he will become the first foreign Tiger to reach the milestone since Matt Keough logged 201.0 innings in 1989.

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Randy Messenger told reporters he can not wait until the team faces the Yomiuri Giants.

"I can not wait until we play the Giants.  There is something great about the rivalry between the Giants and Tigers.  I want to face the new Giants.  They made improvements to the starting rotation and they added [Shuichi] Murata.  I can not wait," said Messenger.

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Standridge and Messenger had the day off today but spent some of it working out at Ginoza Stadium.  Workouts included playing long distance catch for about 25 minutes (they maxed out at about 60 meters).

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Batting coach Atsushi Kataoka does not want Matt Murton messing with his hitting mechanics this year -- his attempts last year did not go very well.  Kataoka plans to talk things over with Murton.

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Shinjiro Hiyama took fielding practice (37 baseballs) on Monday for the first time since he fractured his left collarbone in November.  He also played catch at a max distance of about 60 meters (total 54 throws); threw 28 pitches in the bullpen (12 to a standing catcher and 16 to a squatting catcher); and took 88 one-handed swings with his right hand during soft-toss BP.  Hiyama also took 10 swings with both hands -- he removed his left hand prior to making contact.

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Batting coach Atsushi Kataoka told reporters on Monday that Tomoaki Kanemoto will probably outdoor BP during the first block of spring camp, assuming his right shoulder is feeling fine.  If he does, it will be something he has not done since 2007.

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Takashi Toritani took a total 171 swings (including a session in the batting cages that lasted about 40 minutes) on Monday.  Toritani also gave players like Ken Nishimura and Hiroki Uemoto advice on how to strengthen trunk muscles.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito took 36 swings during BP on Monday.

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Kyuji Fujikawa asked the grounds crew on January 25 to change the hardness of the mound.  The grounds crew in turn provided three kinds of mounds (from soft to hard): all black dirt, mixture of black and red dirt (similar to Koshien), and mostly red dirt (used at most domed stadiums).

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Bullpen sessions:

Monday

Fujikawa threw 18 pitches to a standing catcher.  It was also his first bullpen session of the year and his first January session since 2009.  Naoto Tsuru, Kazuhito Futagami, Ryuji Wakatake, and Hirokazu Shiranita all stopped what they were doing to watch the session.

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Tomoyuki Kubota threw 182 pitches.  Kubota has thrown 493 pitches since January 27: 109, 86, 116, and now 182.

Tomoyuki Kubota threw 109 pitches (including off-speed pitches) in the bullpen today.

Minoru Iwata tossed 21 pitches during his first session of the year (standing catcher).

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Tomoaki Kanemoto is planning to push himself hard on weights during spring camp so that he can maintain his current muscle mass.

Kanemoto worked out at Koshien on Thursday.

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Daiki Enokida is still looking for a hobby he can turn to when he needs to take a break from baseball.

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The media learned today that Yasutomo Kubo has agreed to a deal and will sign on the dotted line on January 31.

As for how the team plans to use him this year: they are still undecided and will most likely wait until some time in March (when they have a better idea of what the starting rotation will look like) to decide.  Until then, Kubo plans to prepare himself as a starter (unless he is told otherwise).  It seems he would also rather the team decide by the time spring camp starts.

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Keiichi Hirano still does not have a deal in place, but GM Eiichi Takano did tell reporters today that he felt a deal could be reached before the start of spring camp.

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Nikkan Sports reports that there is now more than a good chance Matt Murton will not make the start of spring camp since his wife has yet to give birth to their third child.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito told reporters he hardly brought anything with him to Okinawa, other than his baseball equipment -- he even left his laptop behind. ... Ito's family is planning to visit spring camp some time around February 19. ... Ito did not take a single day off from practices between January 7 (day he moved into the player dorm) and January 25 (the day before he left for early training camp in Okinawa). ... Ito worked out for about five and a half hours today.

4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito can not wait until he has the chance to face batters during spring camp.  Said Ito, "I would like to face good batters like [Tomoaki] Kanemoto.  I want to see how good my fastball is against pro competition."  He packed a book on forkballs by Kazuhiro Sasaki.

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Fumihito Haraguchi worked out at Naruohama on Thursday and told reporters some of the things he did during his workouts with Kenji Jojima in Sasebo, Nagasaki.

We did a lot more running and trunk strengthening exercises than I thought we would.  It was a pretty hard session.  There were days we ran poles 20 times.  Everyone did the same stuff.

That means Jojima ran about 2.4km on days they did poles (estimate of about 120 meters between poles).

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The Coming of Age commemorative items Takumi Akiyama and Haraguchi received from the team on Thursday: a bus pass case and a key case.

Takumi Akiyama tossed 36 pitches in the bullpen today (while mixing in curves).  Akiyama also had his hair buzzed short on Sunday.

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Kyuji Fujikawa worked out in Ginoza, Okinawa today.  As part of his workouts to strengthen his lower body, Fujikawa has been running eight to ten kilometers a day.

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Tomoyuki Kubota also worked out at Ginoza today and tossed BP to the other players in his group, like Taichi Okazaki.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito has not taken one day off since the start of training camp for the 2011 draft class. ... Ito does not remember laying down bunts while playing college or high school baseball (official team games only). ... A lunch box named after Ito will be sold during spring camp at Ginoza Stadium: "Chicken Hayata" is a rice bowl that will sell for 510 yen (the number 51 is taken from his uniform number). ... Ito's father celebrated his 55th birthday on Sunday.

4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito tossed 35 pitches in the bullpen today (standing catcher).

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It took Atsushi Nomi about an hour and twenty minutes to throw 238 pitches during BP on Sunday.

"I did not throw very hard.  (upon hearing the total) Are you serious?  But I was not throwing at regulation distances.  It did not feel like I threw 200 pitches.  I push through little by little," said Nomi.

Nomi threw 177 pitches at around the same time last year.

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Matt Murton may not make it back to Japan in time for the start of spring camp because his wife is expecting their third child (sometime later this month).  Murton has already received permission from the team.

The Hanshin Tigers announced today that they signed contract extensions with both Matt Murton and Craig Brazell at a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brazell's comments:

I am not satisfied with how I did this season.  I want to help the team win a championship, with the use of my bat, under the helm of new manager Yutaka Wada.

Murton's comments:

My family and I are excited about me playing for the Hanshin Tigers again next season.  Yutaka Wada was my batting coach for two seasons and I decided that my best option was to return and help him win a championship.  And for the many fans that supported me, I will make preparations during the off-season so that I am fully prepared for the new season.  I will do my best.

UPDATE @ 11:52pm - Sponichi figures Murton signed a one-year deal worth US$3M (up US$1M) with a team option for a second year.  Brazell is in the second year of a two-year deal and will be paid US$2M.

According to Daily Sports team president Nobuo Minami told reporters on Wednesday that the team was moving forward with keeping all four foreign players.  When asked about Murton he said that nothing was signed yet, but that negotiations were going well.

Both Sanspo and Daily Sports mention that the Tigers may have offered Murton a 2-year deal worth 600M yen.  Sanspo also mentions that Yutaka Wada said he could see Murton batting first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the line-up.

UPDATE 4:19pm - Sanspo notes that fast food rice bowl restaurant Yoshinoya is also excited about Murton (and Craig Brazell) returning.

Yutaka Wada told reporters on Monday that Craig Brazell, Jason Standridge, and Randy Messenger were all expected to return next year.  Matt Murton is still a question mark.

Nikkan Sports (1, 2, 3,) and Sponichi (1, 2) have posted articles about ESPN's Top 50 Free Agents.  Of interest:

• Yu Darvish - 3rd
• Hiroki Kuroda - 13th
• Wei-Ying Chen - 19th
• Kyuji Fujikawa - 45th
• Hisashi Iwakuma - 48th

Sponichi also makes mention of Yahoo Sports' list of free agents:

• Yu Darvish - 3rd
• Hiroki Kuroda - 13th
• Hisashi Iwakuma - 18th
• Tsuyoshi Wada - 39th
• Hideki Matsui - 42nd
• Takashi Saito - 48th
• Matt Murton - 58th
• Kosuke Fukudome - 64th

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As mentioned yesterday, the Hiroshima Carp are interested in Hiroki Kuroda and plan on checking in with him.

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According to Nikkan Sports, Kosuke Fukudome has yet to receive any offers.

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Sponichi notes that the Milwaukee Brewers have yet to contact Takashi Saito.