The Seibu Lions announced that Takayuki Kishi will not be able to participate in the Suzuki Japan All-Star Series as a member of Samurai Japan because of discomfort in his right side. They posted the following statement from Kishi:

I had some discomfort in my right start near the end of the season. It got better so I kept practicing. But the discomfort returned. I decided to withdraw from the team because I do not want to create any problems for the coaches.

Source: official announcement

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Samurai Japan announced that Hanshin's Minoru Iwata will take Kishi's spot on the Samurai Japan roster.

Source: official announcement

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Fans attending games at Koshien on November 11 and Sapporo Dome on November 18 will receive a clear file featuring the Samurai Japan Manga team.

Source: official announcement

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A temporary Samurai Japan Museum will be set up at the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk between November 8 and 10. Admission will be free.

Source: official announcement

Minoru Iwata has plans to work out in Phoenix, Arizona next month.  He will also spend some time at World Wing in Tottori.

Source: Sports Hochi 12/27/2013

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Yamato weighed sixty-two kilograms before the start of the season this year.  He is hoping to start next season at about sixty-seven kilograms.  He currently weighs 69.1 kilograms.

Source: Nikkan Sports 12/27/2013

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The Tigers will most likely limit the amount of times Seung Hwan Oh faces Central League teams, especially the Yomiuri Giants, during the pre-season (exhibition, practice games).

Source: Daily Sports 12/27/2013, Sponichi 12/27/2013, Nikkan Sports 12/27/2013

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Naoto Tsuru (26) filed marriage papers on the 5th with a twenty-four-year-old woman he dated for three and a half years.  They started living together in Hyogo on the 1st.

Source: Sponichi 12/27/2013, Nikkan Sports 12/27/2013

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The Tigers originally did not give players drafted out of high school permission to own cars until after their second year.  They changed the rule to three years.  The organization modified the rules because they want players drafted out of high school to focus on baseball during their first three years.

Players out of college or the Industrial League are free to own cars after their first year.

Source: Daily Sports 12/27/2013, Sanspo 12/27/2013

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Teams are only allowed to have up to seven coaches in the dugout during games.  The Tigers already have seven: the head coach, two batting coaches, a battery coach, a pitching coach, and two infield/outfield base-running coaches.  Assistant Batting Coach Thomas O'Malley is the odd man out.  However, their plan to make him a scorer means he will be allowed to sit in the dugout during games.

Source: Sponichi 12/27/2013

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The Tigers will not have a decision on their compensation for losing Yasutomo Kubo to the Yokohama Bay Stars via free agency until next month.

Source: Daily Sports 12/27/2013

They could announce their decision as early as January 6.

Source: Sponichi 12/27/2013

1st round draft pick Shintaro Fujinami threw about fifty pitches in the bullpen on Thursday in preparation for his next start on the 28th against Yokohama at Yokohama.

Source: Daily Sports 4/26/2013

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Atsushi Nomi (broken middle finger nail) started playing catch on Thursday (distance of about twenty meters).

Source: Nikkan Sports 4/25/2013

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Kenichi Tagami was taken off the active roster today.  During Thursday's game against Chunichi, Tagami made a costly base-running mistake that kept the Tigers from tying the game at one -- he entered the game as a pinch-runner at second base in the 9th inning and was thrown out at home plate after briefly slowing down between second and third to make sure pinch-hitter Kentaro Sekimoto's hit to left was really a hit.

Source: Nikkan Sports 4/26/2013

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Ni-gun game against Hiroshima on Thursday:

Minoru Iwata started started the game and gave up two runs (none earned) on six hits over seven innings of work.  He topped out at 145km/h.  Source: Daily Sports 4/26/2013, Sanspo 4/26/2013 ... Brooks Conrad started at third and batted third.  He went 1-for-2 with a walk and HBP at the plate and committed a fielding error in the 4th inning.  Source: Sanspo 4/26/2013

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Sun TV broadcast their 3,000th Hanshin game on Thursday night.  The first broadcast took place on May 6, 1969 (vs Hiroshima at Koshien).

Source: Daily Sports 4/26/2013

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Naoto Tsuru turned twenty-six on Thursday.

Batting Practice	Bullpen Sessions / Batting Practice
Tuesday Tsuyoshi Nishioka: ninety swings, eight over the fence Source: Sanspo 2/20/2013	Today 1st round draft pick Shintaro Fujinami: bullpen, sixty-four pitches, had someone stand in the batter's box, umpire behind the catcher, ball-strikes were counted Source: Sports Hochi 2/20/2013, Nikkan Sports 2/20/2013 Tuesday Minoru Iwata: situational batting practice, faced twelve batters, one hit, two strikeouts Source: Sanspo 2/20/2013

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Minoru Iwata is scheduled to pitch in a practice game against Lotte on Thursday.

Source: Sanspo 2/20/2013

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Takahiro Arai's workouts on Tuesday lasted about four hours and included playing catch at a distance of about forty meters, swinging the bat, and shoulder/trunk strengthening exercises.  He is currently taking things day-by-day.

Source: Sponichi 2/20/2013

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1st round draft pick Shintaro Fujinami tossed batting practice on Tuesday at about seventy to eighty percent.

Source: Sponichi 2/20/2013

Special spring camp instructor Tatsuro Hirooka is worried about Fujinami's mechanics and feels the rookie could do some serious harm to himself if the problems are not addressed.

Source: Sponichi 2/20/2013

Three of the thirty-two pitches Fujinami threw during batting practice on Tuesday were cutters.  The rest were fastballs.

Fujinami is next scheduled to toss something similar to situational batting practice on the 24th.  If he continues to make good progress, he could pitch in a practice game against Seibu on March 3.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/20/2013

Of the seventeen pitches Fujinami threw to Issei Morita during batting practice on Tuesday, eight were balls.  And of the fifteen pitches he threw to 4th round draft pick Shinya Azuhata, four were balls.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/20/2013

Fujinami could pitch in the following games: exhibition game against Lotte on March 7, exhibition game against Yokohama on March 15, exhibition game against Orix on March 22, Western League game against Hiroshima on March 28, regular season game against Chunichi on April 3.

Source: Sanspo 2/20/2012

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The Giants, Dragons, Swallows, and Carp had scouts in the stands on Tuesday.

Source: Daily Sports 2/20/2013

Shinjiro Hiyama is scheduled to travel with the Ni-gun team on their three-game road trip against Chunichi that begins on Tuesday.

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Minoru Iwata will likely pitch in one more game before the start of the regular season: against the Seattle Mariners on March 25.

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The Tigers decided to send Takashi Shimizu to Ni-gun on Sunday to make room for Akihito Fujii.

Fujii worked out at Naruohama before heading to Marugame, Kagawa today.  He is slated to play in tomorrow's exhibition game against the Hiroshima Carp.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto temporarily returned to Osaka on Saturday and worked out at Koshien on Sunday.  He will rejoin the Ichi-gun team on Wednesday. 

Today's Kyoiku League game against Softbank, at Naruohama: 2nd round draft pick Hiroaki Saiuchi entered the game in the 6th and allowed a run (on a solo homer) one hit over an inning of work.  5th round draft pick Ryoma Matsuda tossed a shutout inning in relief and struck out two in a row. [Nikkan Sports]

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Randy Messenger's next start will likely be against the Hiroshima Carp (at Rexxam Stadium) on March 20.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Hiroshima (at Kyocera Dome) in left. He did not play in today's game against Seibu and will not play in tomorrow's game against Hiroshima.

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Akihito Fujii and Shinjiro Hiyama played in a Kyoiku League game against Softbank today.  Fujii was the starting catcher and played through to the 5th inning and did not have a hit in two trips to the plate.  Hiyama entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the the 5th inning with runners on first and second and flied out to center.  He remained in the game as a DH and struck out swinging in his second at bat in the 8th.

Fujii could rejoin the Ichi-gun team on Tuesday and play in a game as early as Wednesday.

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Hiroki Uemoto started working out at Naruohama on Saturday.  Uemoto currently has his left elbow in a brace  (will need it for about three weeks) and will do exercises that focus on other parts of his body.  His workouts over the next two weeks or so will likely be limited to indoor exercises.

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Kyuji Fujikawa took a ball off his left leg during fielding practice on Saturday.  He was ok, but jokingly dragged his foot and told reporters that he was going to pitch even if his leg was broken.

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Matt Murton apparently tweaked his left hamstring during Friday's game against the Chiba Lotte Marines.  While the injury does not seem to be serious (Yutaka Wada told reporters he would be playing if this were the regular season), it is what it is and the team is playing it safe.  There is no set timetable for his return, but he could be back with the Ichi-gun sometime on or after March 21.

NOTE: Craig Brazell told reporters that while he had no interest in playing right because he was a first baseman, he would prepare accordingly since things can change during the season.

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Shunsuke returned to Osaka on Saturday because of fever (not the flu).

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Minoru Iwata worked out at the indoor training facilities at Koshien on Saturday and told reporters he really wanted more time to pitch before the start of the regular season (too much practice, not enough games).

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Takahiro Arai usually takes about eight minutes of batting practice, but on Saturday, he pushed that to about twenty minutes.

====== UPDATE @ 11:52pm JST

It seems there is a little more to the Fujikawa story...  According to Sponichi, Fujikawa was assisting with fielding practice drills by catching baseballs thrown in from fielders when Kazuya Tsutsui made an errant throw that bounced off the area above his left knee.  Fujikawa dropped to the ground and was later seen dragging his left foot around.  As he climbed into the bus he jokingly said, "I was taken out by Tsutsui.  Whatever.  I am actually ok."

Fujikawa must have really been ok since he tossed one shutout inning in relief against the Seibu Lions today.

Kohei Shibata rejoined the Ichi-gun team today after being out with inflammation in his left shoulder.

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The first three starters for the regular season will most likely be Atsushi Nomi, Jason Standridge, and Minoru Iwata (vs Yokohama at Kyocera Dome).

Yuya Ando and Yasutomo Kubo will likely pitch in the second series of the season (vs Yakult at Jingu).

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Standridge is scheduled to start Saturday's exhibition game against the Yakult Swallows (at Jingu).  Iwata is slated to start Sunday's exhibition game against the Seibu Lions (at Seibu Dome).

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Craig Brazell got some work in at left during pre-game fielding practices before Thursday's game against the Yokohama Bay Stars.

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Chuo University beat the Ni-gun Hanshin Tigers, 1-0, on Thursday.  Yosuke Shimabukuro started the game for Chuo University and tossed seven shutout innings while allowing three hits.

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The Tigers announced on Thursday that a Ni-gun player was diagnosed with the flu.  There are now three players in the organization with the flu.

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Team president Nobuo Minami attended an Organized Crime Prevention Conference that was held at the Koshien indoor training facilities on Thursday.

The Tigers announced today that Ryo Watanabe's wife gave birth to twins on Wednesday.

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Minoru Iwata is slated to start Saturday's exhibition game against the Nippon Ham Fighters.  Iwata has not pitched in a game since February 23 (intra-squad game, two inning outing).

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Atsushi Nomi's start got rained out today.  How it changes his schedule moving forward is not yet know, but as of Thursday, Sanspo notes that he may be slated to start exhibition games on March 16 (vs Lotte at QVC) and March 23 (vs Orix at Kyocera Dome).

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Takahiro Arai plans to play in Saturday's charity game and could take an early morning Shinkansen back to Kansai on Sunday in order to make the 1pm exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien.

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The Tigers will be giving 1st round draft pick Hayata Ito a "tryout" in center during an exhibition game against the Nippon Ham Fighters at Koshien on Saturday.  Depending on the results of that game, he could end up being dropped to Ni-gun to get more seasoning.

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It appears other players, like Tomoaki Kanemoto (LF), Craig Brazell (LF) and Kenji Jojima (1B) will also be tested at Koshien to see how well they can play the field.

"We have five games at Koshien so we need to make the best of them.  We also have some players that are learning new positions.  We need them to learn more about how Koshien plays.  They might have an idea of how things are, but that feel might be different when they actually take the field.  I want to check on those things and prepare for opening day" said Yutaka Wada.

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The Tigers do not plan on putting Shinjiro Hiyama on the active roster on opening day unless he has had a chance to play in a number of games.  They want to make sure he is 100% when they activate him.

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Akihito Fujii took batting practice at Naruohama today (team staff threw easy pitches).

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Batting stats, through Thursday (includes practice and intra-squad):

• Brazell is 4-for-14 with one homer and four RBI over six games.
• Jojima is 5-for-17 with two homers and five RBI over seven games.
• 1st round draft pick Ito is 6-for-28 with two RBI.

Batting Practice	Bullpen Sessions / Batting Practice
Thursday Shinjiro Hiyama took 138 swings during batting practice and collected fifty-two could-be hits.  He also hit one over the fence.  Ni-gun batting coach / chief Ikusei coach Hiroshi Yagi and Ikusei coach So Tsutsui threw the pitches. (Sanspo)	Thursday Minoru Iwata threw sixty-five pitches off the mound. (Daily Sports)

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Depending on how things work out, Kenji Jojima could play some third during the season.  During pre-game fielding practice on Wednesday, Jojima took grounders at third while Takahiro Arai took grounders at first.

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Atsushi Nomi, Minoru Iwata, and Yasutomo Kubo worked out at Koshien today.  The three are expected to pitch during a three game stretch at Koshien Stadium that begins on March 9 -- vs Seibu on March 9, vs Nippon Ham on March 10, vs Yomiuri on March 11.

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Akihito Fujii took around 100 swings during soft-toss batting practice on Wednesday.  He also played some catch and caught some bullpen sessions.

Bullpen Sessions / Batting Practice

Monday Minoru Iwata threw fifty-four pitches in the bullpen.  He also tested his two-seamer. (Sanspo) Sunday Daiki Enokida threw forty-three pitches in the bullpen. (Sanspo)

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The Ni-gun Tigers closed out Aki camp today.

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It appears Yutaka Wada will use Yasutomo Kubo as a starter this season.

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Kyuji Fujikawa would like to try and throw his slow curve at under 100km/h.

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The Tigers originally planned to work on plays involving signs today, but pushed their plans up a day because of the rain out on Sunday.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito stayed back after practices on Sunday and spent about an hour hitting 392 baseballs.  His workouts ended at around 5:20pm.

Incidentally, Ito also swung the bat about 300 times before hand (during regular BP and a first round of extra batting practice).

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Shinjiro Hiyama took fielding practice in center at Naruohama on Sunday.  It was a first since his injury.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto will likely begin playing left field on March 9.  He is also slated to play left in the two exhibition games against MLB teams on March 25 and 26.

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Craig Brazell took some extra fielding practice on Sunday.  OF/base-running coach Koichi Sekikawa gave Brazell tips on how to use his feet when throwing the ball -- fifteen throws after fielding grounders and four throws after catching fly balls.

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Matt Murton told reporters on Sunday that he wanted to play in every remaining game until opening day (practice games, intra-squad games, and exhibition games).  Sanspo seems to think he meant only exhibition games.  In either case, at least seventeen games.

Murton also made sure to spend some time signing autographs on Sunday despite the rain.

Wada hinted on Sunday that he might try batting Murton in a slot other than first and third.

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The Tigers added eleven Mitsuya Cider Box Seat sections on the first base side (five for five people and six for four people).  That is in addition to the seventeen they already have on the third base side.  Tickets for this and other sections at Koshien Stadium will go on sale to the general public beginning on Tuesday.

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The media learned on Sunday that the Tigers are continuing to keep an eye on Ryota Igarashi and have apparently told his agent that they will be interested if he decides to return to Japan.

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

Former Tiger Masayuki Kakefu participated in a talk session held at the Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium on Sunday and told fans he was against the idea of playing Brazell in left.  He also said the Yomiuri Giants will likely take the Central League and that the Tigers could end up finishing anywhere between 2nd place and 5th place.

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Actor Takuro Tatsumi visited Ginoza camp on Sunday.