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Masaki Ihara was scheduled to pitch in a game against Lotte on March 1, but his fate was sealed when he gave up three runs on four hits in the 8th inning of Tuesday's practice game against the LG Twins -- he was informed of his demotion to Ni-gun after the game.

It should also be noted that Ihara has now allowed seventeen runs over five innings of work (three games, through Tuesday).

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Hayato Terahara tossed his bullpen session on Tuesday to a standing catcher.

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The Buffaloes could start their opening series against the Softbank Hawks with Chihiro Kaneko, Shinya Nakayama, and Alfredo Figaro.

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C. Kaneko, Hayato Terahara, Mitsutaka Goto, Hirotoshi Kitagawa, and Koji Yamasaki all rejoined the Ichi-gun team in Kochi on Monday.

Cha-Seung Baek, Masato Fukae, and 2nd round draft pick Takuya Shimada were sent down to Ni-gun.

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Akinobu Okada is hoping Terahara will be, at the very latest, ready to pitch either during their opening series against the Softbank Hawks, or during a three game series against the Nippon Ham Fighters that begins on April 3.

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Dae-Ho Lee could get up to three at bats during the two games they play against the Chiba Lotte Marines on Wednesday and Thursday.

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The Buffaloes are showing footage of the top base-stealers in the league, like Yuichi Honda (SOF) and Yasuyuki Kataoka (SEI), during evening study sessions.

The Buffaloes had the day off today.  And while they did close out their camp in Kochi on Sunday, they will remain in Kochi through to March 1.

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Hayato Terahara (returning from right shoulder tightness) rejoined the Ichi-gun team today.  He will likely get to pitch in a game sometime on or after March 6.

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Mamoru Kishida, Hiroshi Kisanuki, and Even MacLane worked out at Kochi Tobu Baseball Stadium on their day off today.

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Possible upcoming starters:

• MacLane on February 28, practice game against the LG Twins
• Kisanuki on March 1, practice game against the Chiba Lotte Marines

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The Buffaloes announced today that a DVD featuring Buffalo Bell will go on sale on March 21 for 3,990 yen.  A picture book featuring both mascots will hit store shelves on March 23 for 1,050 yen.

====== UPDATE 2/28 @ 3:21am

The first five spots in the starting rotation will likely go to Chihiro Kaneko, Hayato Terahara, Shinya Nakayama, Yuki Nishi, and Alfredo Figaro.

The last spot could go to one of the following: Kisanuki, MacLane, Satoshi Komatsu, Shohei Tsukahara, and 4th round draft pick Tomoyuki Kaida.

The Buffaloes closed out their camp in Kochi on Sunday.

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Mamoru Kishida played some light catch at about thirty meters on Sunday.  He told reporters that the tightness in his lower back was considerably better and that it no longer gave him any problems.

Akinobu Okada worked with both Keiji Obiki and Taiki Mitsumata during extra fielding practice on Friday -- he showed the two players how they should turn double plays as second baseman.

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Sports Hochi Osaka notes that six position players will have to be sent down to Ni-gun before opening day.  They also mention that there is one more spot in the starting rotation and one more spot in the bullpen.

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Dae-Ho Lee spent some time signing about 100 autographs after practices today.

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Yoshihisa Hirano cut his bullpen short today because of a blister on his right middle finger.

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Mamoru Kishida also cut his practices short today because of tightness in his lower back.  He did not go to the hospital and instead returned to the player hotel to rest.  Kishida is essentially considered day-to-day.

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Keiji Obiki worked on turning double plays as a second baseman during fielding practice today and also received some tips from Akinobu Okada.

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Cha-Seung Baek is actually working through some right elbow tightness.

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1st round draft pick Ryoichi Adachi started his rehab workouts (fracture in his right thumb) on Thursday.  Adachi had surgery on his thumb in Kobe and returned to Miyakojima on Wednesday.

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Workouts a Kochi Tobu Baseball Stadium began today.  A ceremony took before practices and the team was presented with a number of local food items, like buntan (citrus fruit) and melon.

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Things do not look good for Cha-Seung Baek, at least in terms of making the active roster.  After throwing ninety-four pitches during his last outing, Baek was shut down until today.  Said Akinobu Okada, "Baek probably will not pitch again while we are in Kochi."

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Buffaloes officials told reporters today that fans that purchase tickets to their game on April 28 should be able to simply stick around and catch Becky's concert after the game (in other words, they should not have to pay an additional fee).

Team official also said that they are the first pro yakyu team to hold a concert after a baseball game.

The Ni-gun Buffaloes had the day off today.  The Ichi-gun Buffaloes traveled to Kochi today.

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Dae-Ho Lee does not want to waste his energy hitting home runs during practice/exhibition games and told reporters on Tuesday not to expect any until the season begins.

Through Tuesday, Lee was 4-for-6 with three walks and no strikeouts over four games.

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Talento Becky will be holding a concert after a game against the Seibu Lions at Kyocera Dome on April 28.

====== UPDATE 2/23 @ 1:29am

Lee is at about 60-70%.

Today was the last day of the fourth block of spring camp for the Ni-gun Buffaloes.  The Ni-gun Buffaloes have the day off tomorrow.

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Tomotaka Sakaguchi was hit by a pitch on his right upper arm during Monday's game against the Yakult Swallows.  He skipped today's game against Samsung because there was still some swelling in his arm and because he was having a hard time bending his pinky finger.

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The Buffaloes posted an updated list of player assignments for the next leg of spring camp.

Tomotaka Sakaguchi was hit by a pitch during today's practice game against the Yakult Swallows and taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a contusion.  He is considered day-to-day.