...Prior to Friday's game against the Yakult Swallows, Hitoshi Tamura was 11-for-25 with an extra base hit in each of his last 5 games.

...Toshiya Sugiuchi's next start will be against the Hiroshima Carp on Saturday.  On Thursday, he threw about 40 pitches in the bullpen.

...Tsuyoshi Wada got the start against the Swallows on Friday at Jingu Stadium.  The last time (and only time since turning pro) he pitched at Jingu Stadium (May 2005) he tossed a complete game victory and recorded his first hit, his first run, and his first sac hit.  On Friday he gave up 2 runs (all earned) on 4 hits while striking out 3.  He faced a total 20 batters and tossed 6 innings.

...The Hawks will apparently be carrying three left-handed relievers during the season.  Yasushi Kamiuchi and Masahiko Morifuku will likely be two of them.  Shinsuke Ogura, Hiroki Yamada, and Reo Chikada are all candidates for the third spot.  Yao-Hsun Yang is currently with the Ichi-gun roster but likely won't be on the opening day roster because he requires a foreign player slot.

=== 3/12/2010 1:15am JST

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka played out a full game on Thursday and went 0-for-4.  After the game, he told reporters that he felt no pain.  He still has not had a chance to test his legs on the base paths.

...The Hawks announced on Thursday that they will send a total 20,000 employees to two games against the Nippon Ham Fighters at Tokyo Dome on 7/6 and 7/7.  That's 10,000 employees per game.

The Hawks also held a pep rally on Thursday at the company headquarters in Tokyo.

=== 3:24pm JST

...Kazumi Saito visited Chiba Marine Stadium on Thursday to provide the Hawks with an update on his progress.  Saito had surgery on his right shoulder in February and is still in the middle of rehab.  He told reporters that he's getting better and that he'll continue with his rehab in Chiba for just a bit longer.

...Koji Mise is currently working out at Ni-gun and threw about 80 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday, the first time since being demoted.  He pitched in five exhibition games but struggled to keep his pitches down and was hit pretty hard (10.80 ERA).

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka had two at bats in one game for the first time this year on Wednesday.  After the game, he told reporters that he was feeling fine and wanted to try three or four at bats during his next outing.  Matsunaka is 0-for-3 against the Chiba Lotte Marines (still in progress as of this writing).

...The cost of admission to the Sadaharu Oh Museum will be 1,200 yen for adults and 600 yen for elementary school children and younger.

=== 3/11/2010 1:34am JST

...Shingo Tatsumi didn't have a very good outing on Wednesday.  His final line: 3 IP, 17 BF, 65 NP, 4 H, 1 SO, 3 BB, 4 R, 4 ER.  Koji Akiyama told reporters that his future is currently up in the air.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka did join the rest of the team for general practice on Tuesday after their game was called.  But he ultimately didn't ramp up his exercises due to the extreme cold.

...The Hawks plan on using Bum-Ho Lee more at first and third from here on out.  Up until now, most of Lee's appearances have been as a DH.

...Tsuyoshi Wada threw 60 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday in preparation for his start against the Yakult Swallows on the Friday.  He's hoping to throw around 100 pitches during his start.

...Takahiro Mahara threw about 30 pitches to a squatting catch on Wednesday.  Mahara popped a blister on his right middle finger during his outing on 2/27 against the Hiroshima Carp.  It was his first bullpen since then.  He's likely to pitch in at least two more games before the start of the season.

...The Hawks international scout likely left for the US on Wednesday.  His job will be to visit all 30 MLB teams to open up lines of communication.  This is part of Sadaharu Oh's plan for strengthening the scouting department.

...Softbank held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that the Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum will open on July 3.

=== 3/10/2010 11:54pm JST

...The player on the Hawks that was hurt the most by Tuesday's rain-out was Nobuhiko Matsunaka.  With only 4 more exhibition games left on the schedule, his start on the active roster for opening day is still up in the air.  Matsuanaka was the starting DH on Wednesday against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Wednesday and went 0-for-2.  He has yet to really test his legs on the base paths (perhaps the biggest concern for the Hawks at this point).

A recap of his at bat: starting DH on 3/6 against the Yomiuri Giants, 0-for-1 (ground out to third); and starting DH on 3/7 against the Yomiuri Giants, 0-for-1 (ground out to short).

...Hiroki Kokubo picked up his first hit in his 26th plate appearance during Wednesday's game against the Yokohama Bay Stars.  He ended up going 1-for-3 with a walk, a run, an RBI, and a strike out.  Kokubo recorded the hit in his fourth at bat of the game.

...Due to the rain, a number of things have shifted.  D.J. Houlton was expected to start against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Tuesday.  He will now start the game against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Wednesday.  Sho Iwasaki was also supposed to make an appearance on Tuesday but will likely and will now likely be sent down to pitch in an Ikusei League game.

Shingo Tatsumi, the scheduled starter on Wednesday, will likely pitch a few innings in relief on Wednesday.  Depending on which media outlet you want to believe, Shota Ohba was either originally scheduled to pitch a few inning of relief on Wednesday, or on the 12th against the Yakult Swallows.  If it's the former, he likely lost his chance and could join Iwasaki in an Ikusei League game.

...Houlton gave up 22 home runs last season.  As such, he told reporters on Monday that he wanted to work on keeping his pitches down this season.  Houlton is scheduled to pitch in a game on the 17th against a roster of players from the Island League.

...Koji Akiyama told reporters on Monday that he has no intention of moving Hiroki Kokubo out of the clean-up spot just because he hasn't picked up a hit in his 25 exhibition game plate appearances.

...Hitoshi Tamura has been trying out four different bats since the start of Spring camp.  It seems he's now decided that he'll keep all four bats with him during the season and pick which bat to use based on how he's feeling on that particular day.

...It appears Bum-Ho Lee's bat will not be allowed because it's white and because it carries the label of the company that manufactures the bat.  The NPB currently allows the use of four colors for bats: natural wood, dark brown, reddish brown, and black.  They also do not allow logos they feel might be used for advertising purposes.

Lee has already placed an order with a domestic bat manufacturer for a similar bat and should get his first batch of bats by the 13th.

...Looks like Sadaharu Oh will be stepping up to the plate during contract negotiations with Munenori Kawasaki and  Tsuyoshi Wada.  Both players are expected to earn the domestic FA options this year: Kawasaki as early as 5/27 and Wada as early as 8/11.  The Hawks hope that Oh will be able to persuade the two players into staying with the team.

...Bum-Ho Lee hit his first home run during exhibition play on Sunday.  It was a 2-run homer in the 7th inning off Yomiuri Giants Masahide Kobayashi.  Lee is currently 8-for-27 with 4 RBI during exhibition play.  He also has 9 walks.  The home run came in his 31st trip to the plate.

Lee apparently has been taking notes about each of his at bats once he returns to the dugout.  He also writes down any information he can glean from his teammates.

...Hiroki Kokubo continues to struggle at the plate.  He has now gone 7 straight exhibition games without a hit (no hits in 25 trips to the plate).  On Sunday he went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strike out.

...Koji Mise gave up 3 runs (all earned) on 4 hits over an inning of work on Sunday and will likely be demoted to Ni-gun.

...Tadashi Settsu faced 5 batters in the 9th inning on Sunday and gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out three.

...The Hawks liked what they saw during Reo Chikada's first exhibition game outing on Sunday.  He threw 10 pitches and tossed a perfect 8th.

...Kenta Imamiya recorded his first "pro" hit during an Ikusei League game on Sunday.  It was a 2-run home run in the 8th inning off Hanshin Tiger Shuhei Takada.

...Kenji Ohtonari was hoping to throw 7 innings with 100 pitches on Sunday.  Instead he lasted only 5.2 innings and threw 99 pitches.  Ohtonari's next start will likely be on the 14th against the Hiroshima Carp.  For that game, he'll probably pitch about 5 innings.  Ohtonari told reporters that he'd like to get throw 5 innings at about 70-80 pitches.

...Toshiya Sugiuchi required only 57 pitches to get through 5 innings of work (and that's with 7 strike outs, of which three came on three pitches).  Of the 15 outs he recorded, 10 came within 3 pitches.

Through the first three innings, he threw only 25 pitches: 8, 9, and 8.  He averaged about 15.98 pitches an inning last season.  Nippon Ham Fighter Yu Darvish averaged 14.79.

...Prior to the game on Saturday, the Hawks introduced eight new players and coaches, like Bum-Ho Lee, Kenta Imamiya, and head coach Daijiro Ohishi, to the fans.

...Yuichi Honda did not play in Saturday's game after he fouled a ball off his right leg in an exhibition game against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Friday.  He did play on Sunday and went 1-for-5.

...Prior to Sunday's game against the Yomiuri Giants, Hiroki Kokubo did not have a hit in his last 18 trips to the plate.  On Sunday, he kept the streak intact by going 0-for-3 with walk and a strike out.

...Brian Falkenborg is scheduled to pitch on consecutive days: on the 10th against the Yokohama Bay Stars and on the 11th against the Chiba Lotte Marines.  He tossed a perfect 9th on Saturday against the Yomiuri Giants

=== 3/7/2010 1:41am JST

...Toshiya Sugiuchi may have nailed down the opening day start with his outing on Saturday: 5 IP, 1 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER.

=== 3/6/2010 3:13pm JST

...Satoru Morimoto and Takeshi Tsuji, were promoted to Ichi-gun while Yusuke Kosai and Tomoaki Egawa were demoted to Ni-gun for additional training.  Due to a lack of playing time, Ichi-gun players Hayato Doue, Kenji Akashi, and Kenta Nakanishi will begin playing in Ni-gun games on the 6th.

Reo Chikada and Hiroki Yamada also apparently joined the Ichi-gun team on Saturday.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka took some BP on Friday and also tried some base-running (from first to third).  Koji Akiyama told reporters that Matsunaka will likely join the rest of the Ichi-gun team for general practice beginning on Saturday (he's been working out under a different training menu).

On Saturday, Matsunaka was in the starting line-up as DH batting third.  He only had one at bat and grounded out to third.

...The Hawks stole eight (!) bases against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Friday: Yuichi Honda and Munenori Kawasaki in the first; Arihito Muramatsu in the second; Yuya Hasegawa and Hiroshi Shibahara in the fourth; Hiroaki Takaya in the fifth; Hasegawa in the 8th; and Tadaatsu Nakazawa in the 9th.

...Keiji Nakahara started in right and batted 8th in an Ikusei League game against the Hanshin Tigers on Friday.  Nakahara hit a home run off Hirokazu Shiranita in his first at bat (his second "pro" homer).

...Shota Ohba started the Ikusei League game against the Hanshin Tigers on Friday.  He tossed 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits.  He also gave up 3 walks / HBPs in the 4th that lead to a run.  Ohba topped out at 145km/h.

...D.J. Houlton and Brian Falkenborg were interviewed by Fukuoka Now (a monthly magazine in English that's handed out for free).  The interview will be included in the March 28th edition.

...A little late, but those interested in baseball cards might be interested in the Softbank Hawks Victory Card 2010 set.  They started accepted pre-orders on March 3rd.  There's a sample of the card here.

=== 3/6/2010 12:54am JST

...Koji Akiyama got a visit from Kobelco Steelers' rugby player Daisuke Ohata on Friday.

=== 3/5/2010 2:44pm JST

...With another solid outing, Yoshiaki Fujioka may have brought himself closer to one of two spots still open in the starting rotation.  Pitching coach Ikuo Takayama told reporters after his start that he was one of the top candidates.

...The SBM trio has hit a slight bump in the road: Tadashi Settsu hasn't been able to hit his spots (he gave up a run on 2 hits and an HBP on Thursday); Brian Falkenborg is working his way back from right elbow elbow problems; and Takahiro Mahara popped a blister on his right index finger.

...Hiroki Kokubo went 0-for-4 on Thursday and is 0 for his last 18 plate appearances.

...Nobuhiro Matsuda got his first start in the outfield (right field to be exact) on Wednesday.  He handled all three chances without any problems: 2 fly balls and 1 ground ball.

=== 11:59pm JST

...Koji Mitsui failed his tryouts with the Softbank Hawks on Thursday.  He faced 9 batters and gave up 1 could-be hit and struck out 4.  He also hit a batter.

Mitsui was released by the Seibu Lions in October 2009.  He tried out for the Eagles during Spring camp but failed.  Seems he also tried out for teams in the US but failed over there too.

...Koji Akiyama could be thinking about keeping Yuya Hasegawa (8th) and Hidenori Tanoue (9th) down at the bottom of the lineup.

=== 3/4/2010 4:02pm JST

...Yoshiaki Fujioka is scheduled to start Thursday's exhibition game against the Rakuten Eagles.

...After going 0-for-1 with a walk and an HBP, Hiroki Kokubo has gone 14 consecutive plate appearances without a hit.

...Shinsuke Ogura is currently at Ni-gun and tossed 61 pitches during BP on Wednesday.  Ogura had a bout with tonsillitis during the 4th session of Spring camp and has been working out at Ni-gun ever since.  He will likely pitched 2-3 innings in an Ikusei League game against the Hanshin Tigers on the 6th or 7th.

...Reo Chikada tossed a scoreless inning in an Ikusei League game against the Chunichi Dragons on Wednesday.  He also struck out two.  Chikada is scheduled to pitch in an exhibition game on the 7th against the Yomiuri Giants.

...Sho Iwasaki may have taken a few steps backward when he came out of Wednesday's Ikusei League game against the Chunichi Dragons with the following line: 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R.  Four of the six runs actually scored in the 6th, helped by a 3-run home run.

...Shingo Tatsumi watched the Seibu Lions' Takayuki Kishi pitching during the Nippon Series in 2008 and decided on the spot that he wanted to learn how to throw a curve like Kishi.  Seems he's finally getting a hang of it now -- he threw it a number of times during his outing on Wednesday with good results.

...Hiroshi Shibahara lost about 8kg during the off-season.

=== 3/4/2010 12:31am JST

...A number of players, including Hiroki Kokubo and Nobuhiko Matsunaka, stayed back after the game for extra BP.

...The Hawks announced on Wednesday that they have begun accepting submissions for the Shibahara Mécénat Seats.

=== 3/3/2010 4:20pm JST

...The Hawks' first four pitchers in the rotation will likely be Tsuyoshi Wada, Toshiya Sugiuchi, Kenji Ohtonari, and D.J. Houlton.

...Houlton has apparently been going to the sauna a few times a week in order to take warm & cold bathes.  Going back and forth between warm and cold bathes apparently helps improves metabolism.

...Shingo Tatsumi tossed about 80 pitches in the bullpen on Monday, did some light training on Tuesday that included running, and started Wednesday's game and tossed 5 innings while giving up 2 runs on 2 homers.

...As of Tuesday, Sho Iwasaki was scheduled to start Wednesday's Ikusei League game.