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Takahiro Shiomi is working on a new change-up and screwball.

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Rakuten chairman Hiroshi Mikitani visited the team in Kumejima, Okinawa today.  A team BBQ was held outside of the player hotel.

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4th round draft pick Takero Okajima wears wrist bands weighing 500 grams during fast-paced soft-toss BP (one swing a second).

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Early morning practices begin at 7:30am with about thirty minute of warm-ups.  That is followed by about an hour and half of batting practice.  On Friday, Hiromoto Okubo added "early meetings" to the schedule, right after early morning batting practice.  These meetings will be geared toward helping players go over issues they need to work on.  They will also provide players with an opportunity to meet with a team scout on an individual basis.

Teppei, Akihisa Makida, and Ryo Hijirisawa were the first three players called in for early meetings on Friday (about ten minutes each).

Assuming this goes well, Okubo plans to continue holding these kinds of meetings throughout the course of the season.

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If batting coach Hiromoto Okubo could have his way, he would most likely bat Kazuo Matsui forth this year.

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Matsui will be testing a new bat based on the model he used in 2001: 33.5 inches long and around 890 grams.

He was named captain of the team during a team meeting today.

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Keiji Uezono is a candidate for the starting rotation.

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Senichi Hoshino hit a total 223 baseballs during fielding practice for pitchers on Thursday.  Masahiro Tanaka, Takahiro Shiomi, and 1st round draft pick Yoshitaka Muto were part of the group (a total seven pitchers were in the group).

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Norihiro Akahoshi visited Hoshino today.  When reporters asked if he would be interested in hiring Akahoshi as a special instructor, he jokingly replied, "I want to give him a tryout!"  Akahoshi responded, "I am still working out so I am ready to be called up at any time."

Senichi Hoshino was present during early morning practices again today (7am start time).  He also did some jogging along the outfield wall.

Hoshino spent about 20 minutes hitting grounders to pitchers today.

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4th round pick Takero Okajima stayed back and spent sixteen consecutive minutes in the batting cages hitting off-speed pitches (no rest) during his workouts today.

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The Eagles were presented with a number of local items today, including a 20kg yellowfin tuna.

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Keiji Oyama caught Masahiro Tanaka's bullpen session on Wednesday.

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Tanaka has been focusing on weight placement on his back leg during his bullpen sessions -- on Wednesday it took an average 1.87 seconds for his front foot to land after he picked it up during his delivery.  FYI: Yu Darvish taught Tanaka how to use his back leg more efficiently this past winter.

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Kazuo Matsui told reporters after practice on Wednesday that he woke up at 5:20am and was completely beat.  The first day of practices began at 7am and ended at around 4pm.

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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."

Early morning workouts began at 7am.  Many players apparently swung the bat close to 2,000 times.

The first day of spring camp lasted about ten hours: from 7am until around 5pm.

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Senichi Hoshino showed up on the field at around 6:58am.

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Takahiro Shiomi participated in early morning (around 7:20am) calisthenics on the beach.

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The Eagles have set up three home plates in the batting cages: the first, 18.44 meters away from the machine; the second, 14 meters away; and the third, 12 meters away.  The closer the batter gets to the machine, the faster the ball will feel (at 12 meters, pitches will appear to go around 175km/h).

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The Eagles announced today that they will run a one-year softball school in Koriyama, Fukushima for elementary school kids, beginning in April.  This will be in addition to the two schools they will be running in Miyagi.

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Masahiro Tanaka threw 54 pitches to a standing catcher.

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1st round draft pick Yoshitaka Muto threw 50 pitches.  Motohiro Shima caught the session.

Before leaving for Kumejima, Okinawa, around 80 players and staff members attended a send-off party at Sendai Station.  About 1,500 fans attended the event.

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The Eagles held a press conference for Jose Fernandez and Luis Terrero today in Kumejima, Okinawa.

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The Eagles announced today that Hitoshi Taneda (40) stepped down as Ni-gun infield / base-running coach due to personal reasons.

They also announced the following personnel updates:

Makoto Kosaka - from Ikusei coach to Ni-gun infield / base-running coach

Yoshinori Okihara - hired as farm director

Tomoki Sano (? 佐野 朋生) - hired as an interpreter

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Senichi Hoshino strongly denied reports that the team was going after Hideki Matsui.

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Kazuo Matsui could become the next team captain.  He also plans to take part in early morning practices.

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1st round draft pick Yoshitaka Muto found out on Monday that he will be starting at Ichi-gun spring camp, not Ni-gun spring camp.

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The Eagles may decide not to sign Ken Kadokura because Hoshino is concerned about his conditioning/stamina.

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Seven members of the 2011 draft class spent time introducing themselves to about 50 fans (they handed out business cards) at Sendai NAVIC in Aoba-ku, Sendai on Monday.

The Rakuten Eagles unveiled their spring camp uniforms on Monday.

Ichi-gun players will use the uniforms between February 4 and 14; Ni-gun players between February 4 and 26.

The coaches held a meeting at Kleenex Stadium today to go over spring camp practice schedules.

"I do not know about the foreign players, but everyone at Ichi-gun and Ni-gun will take part in early morning practices (7am)," said head coach Koichi Tabuchi.  "Last year we checked on the strengths of the younger players, this year we will check on strengths that are needed to win.  There will be competitions at multiple positions."

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Ni-gun infield / base-running coach Hitoshi Taneda will be stepping down due to personal reasons.  Ikusei coach Makoto Kosaka will take over for Taneda; no one will be hired to take Kosaka's old role.

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The Eagles held a press conference for Keiji Oyama at Kleenex Stadium today.  He was assigned the number 65.

Oyama is scheduled to attend Ichi-gun spring camp.

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The Eagles will be streaming footage from spring camp at Nico Nico Nama Hoso (from February 1 to February 14).  The first day of spring camp will begin at 7am.

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The coaching staff, front office, and players visited Osaki Hachimangu Shrine today in order to pray for a successful season.

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Luis Terrero [and Darrell Rasner?] arrived at Narita Airport on Sunday.

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Masahiro Tanaka is thinking about changing his intro song.  Tanaka used Funky Monkey Babys' Atohitotsu (あとひとつ) last season.

On Sunday, he told reporters that he was working on making some changes to his pitching mechanics (he avoided going into details).

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Senichi Hoshino would love to sign Hideki Matsui as a clean-up hitting DH.  Hoshino has already expressed his interest to team chairman Hiroshi Mikitani.  While Matsui has continually stated that he does not intend to return to Japan this year, circumstances could change if he does not get any MLB offers.

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Ken Kadokura topped out at 138km/h during his tryout on Sunday.  Head coach Tabuchi and the head of team development watched over his session.  Video footage was also recorded and will be reviewed by Hoshino.

Kadokura  is not ready to retire yet and his first choice is to return to Japan.

Yosuke Takasu attended a fan club party at a hotel in Sendai today.  About 250 fans attended.

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2nd round draft pick Yoshinao Kamata plans to take a book on pitching by Hisashi Iwakuma to spring camp.  Kamata did not toss a bullpen session during training camp for the 2011 draft class and told reporters that his shoulder was at about 60-70%.

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Senichi Hoshino told the younger players working out at Kleenex Stadium that they should work on identifying their weaknesses and turning them into strengths (not overcome them).  For example, there is no need to try and throw a straight fastball, if it has a natural bend, figure out a way to take advantage of it.

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Bullpen sessions:

Sunday

Ken Kadokura threw 70 pitches in the bullpen as part of his tryout and told reporters he has no desire to retire yet.  The Eagles are expected to inform Kadokura of their decision within the next couple of days.

Saturday

1st round draft pick Yoshitaka Muto threw about 70 pitches (mostly fastballs) in the bullpen on Saturday (standing catcher).

Nippon Ham Fighters

Hideki Kuriyama and the 2011 draft class attended the Nippon Ham product fair at Tokyo Big Site on Saturday.

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Four members of the 2011 draft class met five students from the Japan Horse Racing School in Shiroi, Chiba on Saturday at Kamagaya.

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Yu Darvish's room in the player dorm at Kamagaya will become empty for the first time in eight years.  While Darvish was no longer living in the player dorm, they allowed him to continue using it, but now that he is leaving, the team will likely re-open the room for the 2012 draft class.

Orix Buffaloes

Team owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi plans to visit the spring camp facilities sometime during the third block of practices (three day period beginning on February 10).

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Miyakojima Mamoru-kun may end up reminding people of traffic safety around the Buffaloes' facilities in Miyakojima during spring camp.

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The insurance policy taken out at the secondary field in Kobe (for damages resulting in batted baseballs that go over the netting): 200M yen.  This is the same amount as last year  The year before that, it was 100M yen.

Rakuten Eagles

Training camp for the 2011 draft class ended on Saturday.

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Masahiro Tanaka worked out for about four hours on Friday.  His workouts included running, playing catch, fielding practice, and weights.

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Kelvin Jimenez arrived in Japan on January 15 and has been working out regularly since then.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Members of the front office, Ichi-gun and Ni-gun staff, and five players visited Naritasan Temple in Saturday to pray for a successful season.