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Matt Murton joined the team for practices today.  His workouts included warm-ups, playing catch, running, fielding practice, and batting practice against a machine.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito, Masahiro Nakatani, Kenichi Tagami, and Ryota Arai took extra fielding practice (about forty-five minutes) in the outfield at Kin Stadium today.  Takashi Toritani and Kentaro Sekimoto took extra fielding practice, under special instructor Tatsuro Hirooka, in the infield at Ginoza Stadium.

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Norihiro Akahoshi worked with players on their base-running skills (stealing bases) today.

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Shinjiro Hiyama started taking fielding practice a distance of about thirty meters (fielding and throwing) on Tuesday.

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Kenji Jojima started working on gloving one-hop throws from short and third during practices on Tuesday -- Takashi Toritani and Keiichi Hirano from short and Kentaro Sekimoto and Ryota Arai from third.

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4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito faced Issei Morita, Haruki Kurose, and 1st round draft pick Ito during batting practice on Tuesday.  He threw eighty pitches and allowed eighteen could-be hits.  Morita and Kurose each collected five could-be hits.  K. Ito threw a total thirty pitches to H. Ito, which resulted in twenty-three swings and eight could-be hits.

Takumi Akiyama faced Nakatani, Shunsuke, and Tagami on Tuesday and allowed five could-be hits on sixty-three pitches (or sixty-one pitches).  Nakatani collected one could-be hit and Shunsuke two could-be hits.

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Takahiro Arai's two hour workout with special instructor Hirooka on Tuesday began with making throws into a net while sitting in a chair.  From their, he got off the chair and moved further and further away from the net.  Toward the end, Yutaka Wada joined the group and started hitting grounders to Arai.  All told, 404 throws in the net along with fielding 112 grounders.

Sports Hochi Osaka provides a little more detail:

14:15 - a mirror is placed behind the net; picking up baseballs tossed to him with his bare right hand and then throwing them into a net while seated
14:45 - throwing into a net about five meters away after picking up baseballs tossed to him
15:10 - picking up baseballs tossed to him with his bare left hand
15:26 - picking up baseballs tossed to him with a glove
15:40 - fielding grounders hit by Wada and throwing into a new fifteen meters away
16:00 - picking up baseballs tossed to him and throwing into a net about five meters away
16:20 - end

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1st round draft pick Ito made a change to his batting stance on Tuesday, with help from batting coach Atsushi Kataoka: he dropped his hands down a little.

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The front four in the starting rotation will likely include Atsushi Nomi, Minoru Iwata, Randy Messenger, and Jason Standridge.  The remaining two sports are up for grabs and could go to Yuya Ando and Hiroyuki Kobayashi.

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The Murton's named their newest addition to family, Andrew Jacob Murton.

Matt Murton is working on starting up a personal site in Japanese.  He has also prepared some baseball cards and 5,000 bracelets with the phrase "Kami-sama wa watashi-no chikaradesu."

Murton did a lot of lifting during the off-season and gained three kilograms (currently weight 103kg) in the hopes of developing more opposite field power.  He also brought training equipment to the hospital so that he could work out while waiting for his wife to give birth.

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The Tigers announced that Matt Murton's wife gave birth to the couple's third child, a boy weighing 3,454 grams, on February 1 (US time).  The Tigers are expecting Murton to arrive in Japan some time around February 7.

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Shunsuke and Ryota Arai participated in early morning fielding practice at Kin Stadium today.  The session lasted about 35 minutes.

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Position players worked out as pitchers as pitchers worked out as position players today.

During infield drills, position players like Takashi Toritani and Keiichi Hirano worked from the mound while Kyuji Fujikawa spent time at first.  Toritani and Yamato spent some time pitching in the bullpen while Fujikawa took BP and hit a ball over the fence.

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Yutaka Wada worked on simulated close plays at home with catchers Taichi Okazaki and Takashi Shimizu on Thursday -- Mayumi pretended to barrel into home thirty times; battery coach Yasuo Yoshida threw the ball in toward home from around second base.

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Atsushi Nomi has been keeping up with the headlines from other teams.

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2nd round draft pick Hiroaki Saiuchi tossed a bullpen session on Thursday and is scheduled to toss another on Saturday.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto could begin taking BP with the rest of the players beginning on Saturday (February 4).

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:35am

Shinjiro Hiyama's person trainer, Ken Nakata, told reporters on Friday he feels Hiyama will be ready for opening day.

"When [Hiyama] first got hurt, I thought opening day would be impossible," said Nakata.  "But at this point, he is making great progress.  I think he will be ok for opening day.  Mending bones need calcium, vitamin D, and UV rays.  He also needs to continue hitting with his one hand.  And all of that is going well right now."

Hiroki Uemoto, Yamato, and Haruki Kurose took extra fielding practice this morning (starting at around 9:30am) before the start of general practices.  INF/base-running coach Teruyoshi Kuji worked with the three players for about 45 minutes.  Yutaka Wada observed the session.

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Kazuhiro Sasaki acted as a special pitching instructor today -- he gave a ten minute speech on how to throw and use the fork.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto played catch at a max distance of about 60 meters on Wednesday.

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Kyuji Fujikawa decided to have the word "bonds" stitched onto his glove.  Fujikawa originally had Xanax (glove manufacturer) stitch the Japanese word (結束) but was not happy with the balance and went with the English word.

Phrases, words stitched in Fujikawa's glove over the years

2005 - 本塁打厳禁 (no home runs)
2006 - 細心而剛胆 (meticulous and bold)
2006 (WBC) - Ｗｏｒｌｄ　Ｎｏ１
2007 - 気力一瞬, Ｏｎｅ　ｆｏｒ　ａｌｌ　Ａｌｌ　ｆｏｒ　ｏｎｅ (instant willpower)
2010 - Ｐｌｕｃｋ　ｕｐ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｈｅａｒｔ
2011 - Ｎｏｔ　ｗｏｒｄｓ　ｂｕｔ　ｄｅｅｄｓ

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A number of different coaches apparently kept a close eye on 1st round draft pick Hayata Ito during the first day of spring camp.  OF/base-running coach Koichi Sekikawa reached out to Ito while he played catch and also after fielding and base-running practice.  Yutaka Wada and batting coach Atsushi Kataoka both gave him hitting tips after batting practice.

FWIW: Ito had some problems during fielding practice on Wednesday -- he misjudged a ball in center and could not glove an easy liner while at short.  He also had some difficulty planting his feet properly before throwing the ball from the outfield.

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Fifty-one Chicken Hayata Rice Bowls (500 yen) were prepared on the first day of spring camp and all fifty-one were sold.

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Sanspo notes three focuses of the first day of spring camp:

1. Lunchtime batting practice for pitchers - Pitchers like Kyuji Fujikawa, Randy Messenger, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Atsushi Nomi, and Jason Standridge, all spent time taking batting practice while the position players had their lunch breaks.  Pitching coach Keiichi Yabu would like starting pitchers to aim for a .200 or better batting average.
2. Bunt practices - Players, even veterans like Craig Brazell and Takahiro Arai, were required to work on their bunts.
3. Swing speed - The team's scouts recorded bat speeds for every player that took batting practice.

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The Ni-gun Tigers arrived at Kochi Ryoma Airport today and were greeted by local fans.  In the evening, they held a general meeting to go over practice schedules through to February 26.

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Yasutomo Kubo officially signed for 140M yen (down 40M yen) today.

Keiichi Hirano also agreed to a deal today: 190M yen (up 30M yen).  Hirano was originally offered 180M yen plus 20M yen in bonuses but turned it down because he wanted more guaranteed money.  The Tigers came back today with a 190M yen off with no bonuses.

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The Tigers announced on Monday that Yuya Ando missed practice because he was not feeling well and had a fever.  Ando first started feeling sick on Sunday morning and was excused from practices.  A hospital exam on Monday revealed that it was not the flu.  Ando is currently recuperating at the player hotel.

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Yutaka Wada and members of the coaching staff checked out the new Kin Baseball Stadium on Monday.  The Tigers have been given permission to use the stadium through to February 10.

The stadium still does not have any batting cages so the Tigers will probably use it as a place for younger players to run and taking extra fielding practice.

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Jason Standridge's goal for 2012: toss 200+ innings.  If he manages it, he will become the first foreign Tiger to reach the milestone since Matt Keough logged 201.0 innings in 1989.

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Randy Messenger told reporters he can not wait until the team faces the Yomiuri Giants.

"I can not wait until we play the Giants.  There is something great about the rivalry between the Giants and Tigers.  I want to face the new Giants.  They made improvements to the starting rotation and they added [Shuichi] Murata.  I can not wait," said Messenger.

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Standridge and Messenger had the day off today but spent some of it working out at Ginoza Stadium.  Workouts included playing long distance catch for about 25 minutes (they maxed out at about 60 meters).

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Batting coach Atsushi Kataoka does not want Matt Murton messing with his hitting mechanics this year -- his attempts last year did not go very well.  Kataoka plans to talk things over with Murton.

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Shinjiro Hiyama took fielding practice (37 baseballs) on Monday for the first time since he fractured his left collarbone in November.  He also played catch at a max distance of about 60 meters (total 54 throws); threw 28 pitches in the bullpen (12 to a standing catcher and 16 to a squatting catcher); and took 88 one-handed swings with his right hand during soft-toss BP.  Hiyama also took 10 swings with both hands -- he removed his left hand prior to making contact.

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Batting coach Atsushi Kataoka told reporters on Monday that Tomoaki Kanemoto will probably outdoor BP during the first block of spring camp, assuming his right shoulder is feeling fine.  If he does, it will be something he has not done since 2007.

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Takashi Toritani took a total 171 swings (including a session in the batting cages that lasted about 40 minutes) on Monday.  Toritani also gave players like Ken Nishimura and Hiroki Uemoto advice on how to strengthen trunk muscles.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito took 36 swings during BP on Monday.

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Kyuji Fujikawa asked the grounds crew on January 25 to change the hardness of the mound.  The grounds crew in turn provided three kinds of mounds (from soft to hard): all black dirt, mixture of black and red dirt (similar to Koshien), and mostly red dirt (used at most domed stadiums).

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Bullpen sessions:

Monday

Fujikawa threw 18 pitches to a standing catcher.  It was also his first bullpen session of the year and his first January session since 2009.  Naoto Tsuru, Kazuhito Futagami, Ryuji Wakatake, and Hirokazu Shiranita all stopped what they were doing to watch the session.

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Tomoyuki Kubota threw 182 pitches.  Kubota has thrown 493 pitches since January 27: 109, 86, 116, and now 182.

Kyuji Fujikawa spent time working with the younger players during early training camp on Friday.  His workouts included long distance throwing, fielding grounders, strength training, and running.

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1st round draft pick Hayato Ito took outdoor BP for the first time after turning pro on Friday.  He took seventeen swings against a right-handed pitcher and collected nine could-be hits and seventeen swings against a left-handed pitcher and collected eight could-be hits for a total seventeen could-be hits in thirty-four swings.  And of the seventeen could-be hits he collected, fourteen were hit between center and left.

Ito also took fielding practice in the morning.  After BP, he ran eight poles, hit the weight room, and took some BP in the cages (74 bunts, 24 slash bunts, and 56 regular swings).

He later told reporters, when asked when he might start pulling the ball, "If they tell me to swing hard then I will, but I will not do it on my own.  Do not expect home runs.  Like how many home runs in how many swings.  Zero, I am going for zero."

When asked to comment on him going the other way, he said, "I am just checking on things.  If the ball comes inside, I will try to pull it, but instead of trying to crank it, I will probably swing at about 70-80%.  I will imagine pulling it in toward me as I hit the ball."

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Bullpen sessions on Friday:

Tomoyuki Kubota mixed in about 10 curves during his 109-pitch bullpen session.

Naoto Tsuru threw 43 pitches in the bullpen.

Daiki Enokida tossed 22 pitches (while mixing in off-speed pitches).  He also had the catcher squat for the first time this year.

Takumi Akiyama threw 38 pitches (mostly fastballs).  He too had the catcher squat for the first time this year.

4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito threw 33 pitches to a standing catcher.

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Masahiro Nakatani took 35 swings during BP on Friday and hit zero over the fence.  He also spend some time in the cages.

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Shunsuke will be using a lightly larger glove this year.

"I used an infielder's glove up to now, but I will be using one that is a few centimeters longer [this year].  It will feel weird if I make the jump [to a larger glove right away], so I will go little by little," said Shunsuke.

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Kohei Shibata plans to attend spring camp from the very first day.  And depending on how he is feeling over the next day or so, he could also begin a throwing program on January 30.

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Shinjiro Hiyama closed out his rehab training at Koshien on Friday.  Team trainer Yasunori Gonda told reporters that he took 90 swings with his right hand during soft-toss BP on Thursday.  And while he can now hold the bat with both hands, he probably will not be able to swing the bat with both hands until after spring camp begins.

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Takahiro Arai brought a Phiten-made aqua titan pillow and mattress to spring camp.  He also appeared on Sun TV's Nekketsu Tigers-to on Friday.

During BP on the same day, he took thirty-four swings and hit two over the fence.

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Atsushi Nomi, Minoru Iwata, Daiki Enokida, Hiroki Uemoto, Yamoto, and Shunsuke visited Ginoza Junior High School after practices on Friday.

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Keiichi Hirano is scheduled to meet the Tigers on January 31 for another round of salary negotiations.

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Yasutomo Kubo reportedly agreed to a deal worth an estimated 140M yen (down 40M yen).  The deal apparently also contains language that will work if he is used as either a starter or reliever this season.

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The Tigers apparently are not happy with season ticket sales so far this year.  Sponichi quotes an unnamed source as saying, "The numbers are not bad, it is just that we have [high] goals.  Things are still in flux in January and February."

Tomoaki Kanemoto visited Koshien on Monday and met team president Nobuo Minami for the first time this year.  Minami later spoke to reporters about their meeting and said that he was surprised at how good Kanemoto looked.

"I met him for the first time this year and he looked really healthy.  Full of energy.  I was surprised," said Minami.

He continued, "When I asked how his right shoulder was doing, he told me it was great and that he was ok.  Very promising [news]."

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Shinjiro Hiyama returned from rehabbing in Guam on Saturday (January 21).  He took the day off on Sunday and was at Koshien on Monday to continue his training.  He also told reporters that he started playing catch during his last round of workouts in Guam.

"I can play catch now.  And I can move the glove around however I like.  No problems," said Hiyama.

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Masahiro Nakatani (19) is currently one of the Tigers' top prospects.  Or at least, they feel he is a one of their stronger hitting candidates that could have a future as their next cleanup hitter.  Nakatani will most likely workout out in all three outfield spots during spring camp.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito told reporters that he purchased a custom pillow for 26,250 yen from SleepING Factory during his last day off (January 19).  He also spent about two hours working out on his day off Monday (running, BP).  That is also 18 consecutive days of workouts since moving into the player dorm on January 6.

The 55th Kansai Sports Awards Ceremony took place at a hotel in Osaka today.  Takahiro Arai was presented with a Special Award for his efforts, as the JPBPA chairman, to get the leagues together for the start of the 2011 season.

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Kohei Shibata visited Koshien today to give the team an update on his left shoulder.  Seems Shibata is feeling pain when he lifts his shoulder and when he tries to throw the ball.  The team has also red lighted BP.

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Daiki Enokida threw 40 pitches in the bullpen today (standing catcher) and also mixed in his off-speed pitches (curve, slider, cutter, shuto, fork, and change).

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Since starting his training on 1/6, Yasutomo Kubo has taken one day off for every three to four days of workouts (at about eight hours of workouts per day).

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Hiroyuki Kobayashi worked out in Ishigaki, Okinawa on Thursday.  His workouts have included: lower body strengthening exercises, mini-soccer, playing catch, fielding practices, and weight training.  Kobayashi is also working out with former Lotte teammates like Yuki Karakawa and Saburo.

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Shinjiro Hiyama took 10 practice swings, with both hands, on Thursday.  He also took 64 swings with his right hand during soft-toss BP.  After that, throwing practices at a max distance of about 60 meter.  At closer distances, Hiyama is able to catch the ball as well.

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Tomoaki Kanemoto closed out his workouts out at Athlete (Hiroshima gym) on Thursday and will continue his workouts at Koshien.  Athlete rep Yoji Hiraoka told reporters that Kanemoto has managed to regain about 90% of the strength he had back during his prime years.

Miscellaneous information
Chest +5cm / Arms +3cm / Hamstrings +2cm
Bench: 90kg x 10 / Squats: 170kg x 8

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Yasutomo Kubo will remain in Ishigakijima through to January 25 and then return to the Kansai region to continue his workouts on January 26.

Kubo has also been somewhat adventurous during his stay in Ishigakijima by trying things like paragliding and scuba diving on his days off.

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Keio University manager Shozo Eto will be visiting spring camp next month in order to see how 1st round draft pick Hayata Ito is doing.

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1st round draft pick Ito reminds Yutaka Wada of a young Hiyama. ... Since moving in to the player dorm on 1/6, Ito has not taken one full day off from practices (as of Thursday, 14 consecutive days of workouts).

Ikusei 1st round draft pick Seiya Hirokami workouts on Thursday included BP and sitting in front of the pitching machines and catching about 150 pitches.

Shingo Matsuzaki tossed 31 pitches in the bullpen today (standing catcher).  Masanori Fujihara also tossed a bullpen session today (no mention on the number of pitches).

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Takahiro Arai had a chance to meet the 2011 draft class during practices at Naruohama today.  Arai's workouts lasted about eight hours.

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Ryunosuke Yokoyama tossed about 30 pitches in the bullpen on Tuesday.  Takumi Akiyama also tossed a bullpen session on Tuesday (his second in as many days); he threw 43 pitches (mixed in off-speed pitches) to a standing catcher.

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Tomoyuki Kubota has his sights set on being a set-up man.  Kubota threw over 100 pitches to Taichi Ozaki during BP on Tuesday.

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Shinjiro Hiyama started taking soft-toss BP into a net with his right hand on Tuesday.  He swung at a total 67 pitches.  There is currently no set schedule for when he will be able to start swinging the bat with both hands.

Hiyama worked out a total four hours on Tuesday, with workouts beginning at 7:30am.

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The media learned on Tuesday that about 1.5M yen worth of iron fences (about 150cm high) were installed at three locations at Ginoza Stadium in order to keep fans out of restricted areas (or at least provide players with some room when they move between facilities).

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Ivy Travel tells Sanspo that their spring camp tour packages are selling well, most likely due to 1st round draft pick Hayata Ito.

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Seiryo High School general manager Tomoshige Yamashita (66) was named advisor to The Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium today.

The Tigers held a moment of silence for victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake at 10:00am before practices at Naruohama today.

Today marks the 17th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.

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Tatsuya Kojima threw about 80 pitches in the bullpen today -- about 20 to a standing catcher and 60 (all fastballs) to a squatting catcher.

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Yuya Ando, Tomoyuki Kubota, and Taichi Okazaki worked out in Ginoza, Okinawa today.  Both Ando and Kubota tossed BP to Okazaki.

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Kyuji Fujikawa is currently working out with Kazuya Tsutsui, Ken Nishimura, and Naoto Tsuru at Ginoza Stadium in Okinawa.

Fujikawa feels Tsuru might make a step forward in his development this year.

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Shinjiro Hiyama started working out in Guam again on Monday.  Due to poor weather, Hiyama spent about three hours working out indoors -- treadmill, inner muscle exercises.  He plans to begin one-handed BP once the weather clears up.

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1st round draft pick Hayata Ito started taking BP on Monday -- about a 100 swings in around 30 minutes, with a focus on hitting the ball the opposite direction.

The Tigers decided to hold off on allowing 2nd round draft pick Hiroaki Saiuchi to join the rest of the 2011 draft class for workouts on Monday because they do not want to rush him and because they want to give him a little more time to catch up.  Saiuchi is working his way back from a right ankle sprain.

About 20 members of the media watched 4th round draft pick Kazuo Ito toss a bullpen session on Monday.  ... Ito held another bullpen session today and threw 40 pitches (all fastballs) to a standing catcher.

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Minoru Iwata has posted three new possible designs for the cheer bracelets he will be selling this year.

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The Hokokai (後援会), a support group for Yutaka Wada, was launched on Monday.  About 50 people attended the group's first gathering.

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The Tenchikai (天地会), a group made up of coaches, players, and staff that were involved in the Hanshin team that won a championship in 1985 and finished in last in 1987, attended a New Year's gathering today.  Amongst some of the members: Yoshio Yoshida, Yutaka Wada, Akinobu Okada, and Akinobu Mayumi.

Yamato and Issei Morita worked out in Kanoya, Kagoshima on Friday.  Workouts included running and BP.

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Yuya Ando threw about 60 pitches in the bullpen on Thursday.

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The Tiger have not yet officially decided whether to convert Shinta Hifumi into an infielder or outfielder.  There are some rumblings that he could be converted into an outfielder.

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Keiichi Hirano may end up sending his agent to represent him during his next meeting with the Hanshin Tigers because he wants to focus on his training (he is scheduled to begin workouts with Yomiuri Giant Michihiro Ogawasara).  It seems there is also a chance that Hirano might end up to spring camp without a contact, which means he will have to pay for expenses out of his own pocket.

FYI: the last time Hirano used an agent was back in 2006.

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Shinjiro Hiyama ordered a shorter, lighter training bat (65cm and around 830 grams) that he can swing with just his right hand.  That bat arrived at Naruohama on Thursday.

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Team owner Shinya Sakai told reporters he plans to drop by spring camp sometime around 2/10.

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2nd round draft pick Hiroaki Saiuchi told reporters he was at around 60% and did not feel any discomfort during practices on Thursday.