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Today was the end of the second block of spring camp for the Buffaloes.  The team has the day off tomorrow.

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4th round draft pick Tomoyuki Kaida faced Makoto Moriyama, Issei Nakamura, 2nd round draft pick Takuya Shimada, and 7th round raft pick Shuhei Kojima during batting practice today and allowed six could-be hits on fifty-four pitches.

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Akinobu Okada likes 4th round draft pick as a left-handed option.

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Chihiro Kaneko spent about an hour with the trainer after he started complaining of stiffness in his right arm during a bullpen session on Tuesday.  Kaneko was seen playing catch at a distance of about thirty meters today.

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Dae-Ho Lee will likely play in an intra-squad game on February 11.  He will also likely start at first and bat fourth during a practice game against Hanshin on February 18.

Lee will probably get at least one or two plate appearances on February 11 because team owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi will be in town.

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Hiroshi Kisanuki faced Takahiro Okada and 7th round draft pick Shuhei Kojima during batting practice today and threw fifty-two pitches.  Kisanuki hit the bullpen after tossing batting practice.

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Chihiro Kaneko had to cut his bullpen session short today because of stiffness in his right elbow.  Akinobu Okada later told reporters that he did not think it was serious and that Kaneko would likely be back up and throwing in no time.

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Hayato Terahara threw a bullpen session today after canceling one on Monday.

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Ming-Chieh Hsu started throwing again on Monday.  Hsu was working out under a separate program after he started experiencing tightness in his lower back on January 3.

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Yuki Nishi faced Tomotaka Sakaguchi and Shinji Takahashi during batting practice on Monday and allowed eleven could-be hits on fifty-two pitches (Sanspo mentions nine could-be hits; Nikkan Sports ten could-be hits).

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Akinobu Okada told players during run-down drills between third and home on Monday that they should always try to run the runner back to third when trying to apply the tag, not when the runner is running toward home and is already fairly close to home plate.

On Sunday, Okada saw Masaki Ihara toss a bullpen session at Ni-gun spring camp on Sunday and later told reporters he planned to call him up to Ichi-gun spring camp because he was throwing the ball well.

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Shogo Akada was sent to Ni-gun camp on Monday after he was diagnosed with a bone spur in his left ankle on Sunday -- the bone spur apparently caused inflammation in the ankle when he stepped on a base during base-running practices.  Akada will remain at Ni-gun until the inflammation goes away.

Makoto Moriyama was called up to take Akada's spot at Ichi-gun camp.

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Track and field runner Shingo Akimoto gave players pointers on how to run during practices on Sunday.  Akimoto later told reporters he was impressed at how well Dae-Ho Lee moved around.

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Shogo Akada injured his left ankle during base-running practices today.  Akada had the ankle examined at a hospital and will receive an update on the injury within the next couple of days.

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Akinobu Okada spent about an hour observing Ni-gun workouts today.  This was the first time he checked out Ni-gun players since the start of spring camp.

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Hirotoshi Kitagawa (39) is worried about playing time because his competition will most likely be players like Dae-Ho Lee and Shinji Takahashi.

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The Miyakojima City Sports Division put up a sign outside of Miyakojima Stadium (near left-center) warning fans of baseballs -- netting would probably be a safer option, but the city cannot afford it.

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4th round draft pick Tomoyuki Kaida is scheduled to toss batting practice on March 8.

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Akinobu Okada told reporters on Saturday he will demote 5th round draft pick Ryuji Shoji to Ni-gun camp so that he can call up Tetsuya Yokoyama.  Okada made the decision because Shoji had difficulty handling Shinya Nakayama's off-speed pitches.

=== UPDATE 2/6 @ 12:34am

Koji Yamazaki threw out his back during fielding practice on Friday.

The team had the day off today.

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The ten members of the 2011 draft class relaxed at the Shigira hot springs in Miyakojima today.

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A number of players, like Shunta, Taiki Mitsumata, Masato Fukae, and Yusuke Kajimoto, worked out at the indoor training facilities at Miyakojima Stadium today.  Shunta spent about an hour in the cages.

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Dae-Ho Lee told reporters on Friday that no one will probably get to see him swing the bat at 100% during spring camp.

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Today was the end of the first block of spring camp for the Buffaloes.  The team has the day off tomorrow.

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Ming-Chieh Hsu cut his practices short today after he started feeling tightness in his lower back.  Koji Yamasaki also left practices early after he hurt his back during fielding practice.

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Dae-Ho Lee took 58 swings with a one-kilogram training bat during indoor BP on Thursday.  His regular bat will be slightly lighter than the one he used last year, from 930-940 grams to 920-930 grams.

Lee told reporters on Thursday that he was at 40-50%.

Dae-Ho Lee weighed in at 130kg during morning weigh-ins on Wednesday.

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Akinobu Okada told reporters on Wednesday that Lee currently had the lead over Takahiro Okada for the clean-up spot in the line-up.

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There was a drop in media from Korea.  Last year thirteen members of the media from six different companies covered the first day of spring camp in Miyakojima.  This year, there were only eight from four companies.

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Additional Updates (2/3 @ 1:01am)

The Buffaloes modified their practice schedule on Thursday because of the rain.

Softbank Hawks

Koji Akiyama does not want to go near the bullpen early on during spring camp because he does not want pitchers to push themselves too hard by trying to impress him.

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Special hitting instructor Futoshi Nakanishi was hired to help Ni-gun players but Ni-gun manager Kazuo Ogawa told reporters on Tuesday that he could also end up working with Wily Mo Pena.

Nippon Ham Fighters

Sho Nakata does not plan on taking any breaks during spring camp, even on days when the team has the day off.

"I plan to do a little work even on my days off.  When no one else is practicing, that is when I can begin closing the gap," said Nakata.

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The Fighters had an influenza "mini outbreak" back in 2009.  Shota Ono was diagnosed with it on 8/16.  Two days later, Naoki Miyanishi, Terrmel Sledge, and coach Junichi Fukura also had the flu.  On the following day, Tomoya Yagi, Kazumasa Kikuchi, Shinya Tsuruoka, Tomohiro Nioka, Eiichi Koyano, and Yoshio Itoi all showed symptoms.  Against the Rakuten Eagles on 8/20, the Fighters played with just nineteen players (seven pitchers, twelve position players).  Players slowly started coming back after that, but the Fighters lost six in a row between 8/18 and 8/25.

Seibu Lions

The Lions attended a tuna cutting performance on Tuesday at their team hotel -- a 50kg yellowfin tuna was cut and cleaned in front of the team and handed out to the players.

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Enrique Gonzalez wants a shot at starting.

Orix Buffaloes

Akinobu Okada thought Dae-Ho Lee lost 15kg from 130kg when it was actually from 142kg.  That was why he was concerned about Lee losing too much weight.

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Washlets were installed in the bathrooms at Miyakojima Stadium, but there were no electrical outlets in the individual stalls to power them.  Outlets were added in time for the start of spring camp.

Rakuten Eagles

There are about 25 volunteers assisting the Eagles at Kumejima.  Because of early morning practices and some players missing their breakfast meals, a handful have been assigned to deliver meals from the player hotel to the stadium.

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (trying out for team) threw about 40 pitches (standing catcher) under the watchful eye of Senichi Hoshino.  Hoshino later said to reporters, "He looked good out there.  But one day is not enough."

A welcoming ceremony, hosted by the Miyakojima Orix Camp Support Group, was held before the start of practices this morning.

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Dae-Ho Lee weighed in at over 140kg this winter but managed to lose 15kg.  He currently weighs 127kg, which is close to his ideal weight of 130kg.

Lee did not have any difficulties at first during situational fielding practice.

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Not really directly team related but...  Miyakojima Mamoru-kun's sister, Miykojima Maruko, made her debut in August 2011.

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Batting practice:

Wednesday

Lee took seventy-two swings and hit three over the fence.  He also hit forty-five could-be hits.

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Takahiro Okada took fifty-nine swings and hit nine over the fence.

Softbank Hawks

The Hawks participated in a night parade in Miyazaki on Tuesday and celebrated their Nippon Series Championship.  About 42,000 fans showed up to watch the parade.

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The Hawks announced that Alex Cabrera will be arriving in Japan on February 2 and will join the team in Miyazaki on February 3.

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Pitching coach Ikuo Takayama thinks Takahiro Mahara might end up missing a good chunk of time because of right shoulder.

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The Hawks are thinking about taking out an insurance policy to cover any damages that Wily Mo Pena might cause if/when he hits the big screen.  Incidentally, if Pena can hit the Yodobashi Camera ad out in left, he will be rewarded with 10M points from Yodobashi Camera.  No one has managed to hit the sign.

Seibu Lions

The Lions arrived in Miyazaki on Tuesday and attended a welcoming ceremony at Miyazaki Airport.

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The Lions held a press conference for Enrique Gonzalez at Nango Prince Hotel on Tuesday.

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Hideto Asamura will play anywhere if it means he gets more playing time.  Last season, Asamura played five different positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and RF.  He could end up playing at seven different positions this season (addition of SS and CF).

FYI: Hisanobu Watanabe does not plan on giving Asamura one set position and will instead make changes based on what the team needs.

Asamura worked on his lower body this off-season and increased his weight to 87kg (up 5kg from last year).

Orix Buffaloes

Dae-Ho Lee arrived in Miyakojima, Okinawa on Tuesday and made it to the general team meeting.  He later told reporters that he was at about 60-70%.

Lee had a chance encounter with Ichiro Suzuki when he dropped by Hotto Motto Kobe on Monday for photos.

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Akinobu Okada told reporters on Monday that Chihiro Kaneko will be the opening day starter (though he has not yet informed him).

Okada visited Miyakojima Stadium on Monday and was pleased with the improvements they made since last spring -- the city spent about 30M yen on renovations.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Norifumi Nishimura named Toshiaki Imae team captain.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka was the team captain in 2010.  The Marines did not have a team captain last year.

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1st round draft pick Takahiro Fujioka would like to toss a bullpen session (squatting catcher) on the first day of spring camp.  Fujioka currently weighs 88kg and is hoping to tone his body and drop about 3kg during spring camp.