Tadashi Settsu is slated to get the opening day start.

Source: Sponichi 3/27/2013

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Brian Falkenborg will be the closer.  Ryota Igarashi will pitch the 8th and Sho Iwasaki the 7th.

Source: Sponichi 3/27/2013

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6th round draft pick Hirofumi Yamanaka's Ni-gun start was rained out today.  He will pitch in Thursday's game.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/27/2013

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The Hawks prayed for a successful season in front of the Taka Kanzenon Daibosatsu today.

Source: Sponichi 3/27/2013

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Masahiko Morifuku spent over thirty minutes signing autographs for the 100 or so fans that waited outside the stadium after Tuesday's Ni-gun game against Chunichi.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/27/2013

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Mizuho Corporate Bank signed a naming rights agreement for the premium seat section behind home plate at YafuOku Dome.  The section has been named Mizuho Premium Seats.

Source: official announcement, Nikkan Sports 3/27/2013

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Yuki Yanagita lost about three kilograms because of the flu.  He will work on getting his weight back to ninety-seven kilograms.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/20/2013

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Ryota Igarashi is setting up a fund to help support youth baseball in the Tohoku region.  Over the course of the season, he will put 100,000 yen into the fund for every save and hold he records.  His goal is to reach three million yen.

Source: Sponichi 2/20/2013

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Harry Hawk (mascot) is planning to undergo intensive training to improve his back-flips.  He can now do as many as nine in a row, but wants to push that figure into the double digits.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/20/2013

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Ichi-gun and Ni-gun players had the day off.

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Shota Takeda and 1st round draft pick Nao Higashihama are scheduled to start Thursday's intra-squad game.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/13/2013

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Ryota Igarashi is scheduled to pitch in an intra-squad game on the 17th.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/13/2013

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Higashihama and 6th round draft pick Hirofumi Yamanaka worked out for about an hour on their day off today.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/13/2013

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Kodai Senga was called up to Ichi-gun spring camp on Tuesday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/13/2013

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The Ichi-gun and Ni-gun teams had the day off today.

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Ryota Igarashi plans to use the backdoor cutter to get hitters to get themselves out by going after bad pitches.  He threw one to Honda during batting practice on Thursday and got a swinging strike.

Source: Sponichi 2/8/2013

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Vicente Padilla threw forty pitches during his bullpen session on Thursday.  He started with seventeen fastballs before he started mixing in other pitches.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/8/2013

Padilla worked out for about an hour on his day off today.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/8/2013

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The coaches had to stop Shota Takeda from tossing a bullpen on Thursday because they were concerned he was pushing himself too hard.

Source: Sanspo 2/8/2013

The Softbank Hawks held a press conference for Ryota Igarashi today.  Below is their Ustream footage of the event.

Video streaming by Ustream

Igarashi got a three-year deal worth as much as as estimated 600M yen.  He was also assigned the number fifty-three.  Source: Nikkan Sports 11/17/2012

The Softbank Hawks have reportedly announced that they have signed Ryota Igarashi.

Daily Sports notes that the Hawks have scheduled a press conference for Saturday.

Source: Sponichi 11/16/2012, Daily Sports 11/16/2012

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UPDATE @ 6:46pm - According to a report by Sports Hochi, Igarashi got a three-year deal that could be worth up to an estimated 600M yen.  Source: Sports Hochi 11/16/2012

UPDATE @ 7:05pm - Nikkan Sports notes that Igarashi was assigned the number fifty-three.  Source: Nikkan Sports 11/16/2012

The Hanshin Tigers are hoping to finalize things with Kosuke Fukudome before the end of the year.  Source: Sanspo 11/13/2012

They may also be planning to bump their offer from two years to three years.  Source: Daily Sports 11/13/2012

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The Tigers want to avoid a drawn out bidding war for Ryota Igarashi and would like to know what they are going to do before the end of the month -- if they cannot get some sort of commitment from Igarashi, they will likely move forward with their plans to find a player on the overseas market.

Incidentally, there are some indications that Igarashi may wait until December to decide where he will play next year.  That does not mean the Tigers would not be open to some sort of preliminary agreement that would become effective should he decide to play in Japan.

A number of teams, like Softbank, Rakuten, and Yokohama, are said to be interested in Igarashi.

Source: Sanspo 11/13/2012, Nikkan Sports 11/13/2012, Sponichi 11/13/2012

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The Seibu Lions are interested in Bryan LaHair.  A number of NPB teams have shown interest in LaHair, but his high price tag, which has been estimated to be about 300M yen, may be too much of a risk.  Source: Sponichi 11/13/2012

The Angels might offer Kyuji Fujikawa a four-year deal.  Source: Sanspo 11/11/2012

According to a number of unnamed sources close to the situation, Fujikawa asked to see the Diamonbacks' facilities.  The tour could take place some time next week.  Source: Nikkan Sports 11/11/2012

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The Milwaukee Brewers might be interested in Daisuke Matsuzaka.  He could be worth about US$2 million. Source: Nikkan Sports 11/11/2012

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The Hanshin Tigers are preparing the number fifty-three for Ryota Igarashi.  Source: Sanspo 11/11/2012

In addition to the Hanshin Tigers, the Softbank Hawks and Yokohama Bay Stars could be interested in Ryota Igarashi.  The Rakuten Eagles were also interested, but may have dropped out.

Now that the Tigers have done all they can with Tsuyoshi Nishioka (as in, the ball is now in his court), the Tigers may soon begin serious negotiations with Igarashi.

Source: Sanspo 11/10/2012

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Known offers to Tsuyoshi Nishoka, according to Sports Hochi Osaka:

Lotte - two-years, 400M yen
Orix - two-years, 500M yen
Hanshin - two-years, 600M yen

He has also spoken to one or more other teams.

Source: Sports Hochi Osaka 11/10/2012

The Orix Buffaloes are prepared to make time for Nishioka if he wants to meet again.  Source: Sports Hochi Osaka 11/10/2012

According to a report by Sanspo, the Rakuten Eagles may be one of three NPB teams interested in Manny Ramirez.  The Eagles are looking for a power bat from the right-side that can hit in the middle of their line-up.  Blanco was a possibility, but Ramirez's name has recently resurfaced.

"There are no problems in terms of he his achievements and his popularity.  But we we're still looking into things like his current condition and his personality," said a team official.

Rakuten is aware of his past problems and do not plan to rush into things.  If he is healthy and is serious about playing in Japan, he could end up giving the organization the exact kind of boost they have been looking for.

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The Eagles are also interested in Ryota Igarashi and may be willing to offer him a multi-year deal worth over 100M yen.

Source: Sanspo 11/3/2012