=== 11:04pm JST

...The Hawks held a three-hour practice on Friday (simulated fielding drils, BP).

...Hiroki Kokubo will in all likelihood be batting fourth on opening day.

=== 5:01pm JST

...Shingo Tatsumi started an Ikusei League game against Hiroshima on Wednesday and tossed 8 inning while giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits.  He topped out at 144km/h.

...It seems the Hawks are floating the idea of pitching the SBM trio in all three games of the season opener (if needed).  With a three-day break in between the season opener and their next series against the Orix Buffaloes, the SBM trio would get whatever rest they needed after the opener.

...Koji Akiyama appears to be considering a line-up that has Yuya Hasegawa batting in the 6 hole in order to break up some of the right-handed bats.

...In preparation for his first start of the regular season, Tsuyoshi Wada supposedly started the Ni-gun season opener against Hanshin on Friday.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka will apparently invite close to 1000 people (kids and their caregivers) to games this year through his Matsunaka Kids Hawks program (60 games x 16 people = 960).

...Sadaharu Oh apparently gave a spirited speech during a team meeting on Thursday night.

"Even though opening day is on the road, what we do at the stadium doesn't change.  It's good that we're playing the [PL] champs [on opening day].  After all, we're challengers."

He also suggested that the team apply pressure on Yu Darvish by using their speed, specifically the first two batters in the line-up.

About 70 people -- manager, coaches, players, and staff -- attended the meeting.

=== 3/19/2010 12:10am JST

...The Hawks held their last practice (about 3 hours) at Yahoo Dome before the start of the regular season on Thursday.  This will be the first time in 11 years that the Hawks start the season on the road.

=== 5:29pm JST

...The team held batting practice after general practice on Wednesday.  All position players took participated in BP.  They work on things like bunts and slash bunts.  Each player shouted out a situation before seeing one pitch and then switching off to the next batter.  The big hitters like Hiroki Kokubo and Hitoshi Tamura also worked on their bunting.

...At the start of practice on Wednesday, Koji Akiyama rounded up both pitchers and position players on the field for a speech.

...Hiroki Kokubo took a total 34 swings during BP on Wednesday and hit 6 out.  He'll likely be batting in clean-up on opening day for the first time since 2002.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka announced that he will be inviting sick kids to Hawks' games this season (under the name Matsunaka Kids' Box).  And in order to accommodate various conditions, he purchased a 16-person Super Box.  Matsunaka's second child suffers from nephrotic syndrome and told reporters he wanted to help out other kids with similar conditions.

=== 3/18/2010 3:29am JST

...Seems the Hawks are estimating that it'll take Nobuhiko Matsunaka about 7-10 days.  On Wednesday, Matsunaka spent time working on his hitting at Yahoo Dome.  And he'll likely continue to work out at Yahoo Dome as the Hawks play the Nippon Ham Fighters.

=== 4:59pm JST

...About 20 Hawks' personnel (including Koji Akiyama and Sadaharu Oh) visited the Hawks Shrine near Yahoo Dome on Wednesday to pray for successful season.

...The Hawks announced on Wednesday that they signed a sponsorship contract with health food distributor, Everlife.  The company logo will be on the left uniform sleeve.

...It will be the first time Nobuhiko Matsunaka starts the year at Ni-gun since his rookie year in 1997.  Matsunaka went 2-for-18 with 2 walks in 7 exhibition games.

...Pitching coach Ikuo Takayama told reporters that Shota Ohba could be used as both a starter and a reliever.  And it seems Nishinippon thinks Ohba will likely be on the opening day roster.

...Munenori Kawasaki gave a mini-speech after Tuesday's practice game against the Island League.  He promised fans four things in the speech: health / excitement, courage / spirit, stress / anxiety, and emotional moments.

...The SBM trio all pitched in the same game for the first time this year on Tuesday: Tadashi Settsu in the 7th, Brian Falkenborg in the 8th, and Takahiro Mahara in the 9th.  The three each tossed 1 scoreless (and hitless) innings.  Settsu also struck out two.

...D.J. Houlton tossed 5 shutout innings while scattering just 2 hits during his start on Tuesday against the Island League.

...The Hawks will be running eight commercials, limited to the Fukuoka area, beginning on opening day (3/20).  The commercials will be aiming to informing the general public of how the Hawks played in 2009.  Like how the Hawks did not lose a game in which both Kawasaki and Yuichi Honda both stole bases; or how Toshiya Sugiuchi won every game where he surrendered 2 or more home runs.

=== 11:56pm JST

...It seems there's a good chance Nobuhiko Matsunaka could start the regular season at Ni-gun.  Matsunaka took part in the practice game against the Island League on Tuesday (DH batting fourth) but ended up going 0-for-3.

Incidentally, the Hawks beat the Island League, 6-0 (pdf file).  Hiroki Kokubo, Hitoshi Tamura, and Munenori Kawasaki all hit doubles in the game.

=== 5:01pm JST

...The Hawks held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that they added Ikusei player Hiroki Yamada to their roster.  His new uniform number will be 34.

...Yoshiaki Fujioka tossed about 50 pitches in a Yahoo Dome bullpen on Monday in preparation for an Ikusei League start against Hanshin on the 20th.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka worked out at Yahoo Dome for about 2 hours doing various knee strengthening exercises on Monday.

...The Hawks will likely start Toshiya Sugiuchi, Fujioka, and Kenji Ohtonari (in that order) against the Rakuten Eagles during the three games series at Kleenex Stadium beginning on 4/2.

Prior to that, Sugiuchi, Ohtonari, and D.J. Houlton will likely start the opening series against the Nippon Ham Fighters (20th-22nd).  Tsuyoshi Wada will start the first game against the Seibu Lions on the 26th (Fri), followed by Sugiuchi and Ohtonari.  Houlton would then pitch again the the 30th and Wada on 4/1 (Nishinippon Shimbun doesn't mention anyone for the 31st).

...The Hawks will be holding a ceremony / meeting at a yakiniku restaurant in Sapporo on the night of the 18th.  Sadaharu Oh is also set to attend.

...Keiji Nakahara officially graduated from Asia University on Monday.

...Tsuyoshi Wada, D.J. Houlton, Kenji Otonari and Shingo Tatsumi worked out at Yahoo Dome on Monday.  Tatsumi is currently scheduled to pitch in an Ikusei League game on the 17th against Hiroshima.  Tatsumi told reporters that he'd like to try and throw about 100 pitches.

...Munenori Kawasaki leads all hitters (exhibition play) in RBIs (13), doubles (6), triples (2), and stolen bases (6).  And Bum-Ho Lee leads all hitters in walks with 10.

...It seems the Hawks won't be making decisions on their opening day rosters until the last minute.  But it does appear as though the 9 players in Sunday's starting line-up, in addition to Bum-Ho Lee, will at the very least be on the opening day rosters.

=== 3/15/2010 12:45am JST

...The Softbank Hawks ended the exhibition game portion of their pre-season schedule on Sunday with a 7-4-2 record.  They have a game against a roster full of Island League players at Yahoo Dome on the 16th.  The Hawks will then head to Sapporo on the 18th in preparation for the opening day game on the 20th against the Nippon Ham Fighters.

=== 10:13pm JST

...Kenji Otonari's exhibition game outings:

3/14 vs Hiroshima Carp: 5 IP, 23 BF, 97 NP, 5 H, 4 SO, 4 BB, 1 R, 1 ER

3/7 vs Yomiuri Giants: 5.2 IP, 25 BF, 99 NP, 7 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 4 R, 4 ER

...Ryuma Kidokoro joined the Ichi-gun team prior to pre-game practice on Sunday.  Kidokoro has been working his way back from pain in his right shoulder.

=== 4:13pm JST

...Shingo Tatsumi threw over 100 pitches in the bullpen on Saturday.  He still has his eye on the last spot in the opening day starting rotation.  Tatsumi's next start will be in an Ikusei League game against the Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday (3/17).

...Bum-Ho Lee committed two errors at third base in the 6th inning against the Hiroshima Carp on Saturday (a fielding error and a throwing error).  Nobuhiro Matsuda also committed an error -- his came in the third inning out in left.

...Takahiro Mahara pitched in his first game on Saturday since popping a blister on his pitching hand on 2/27 against the Hiroshima Carp.  His next appearance will likely come in an exhibition game on the 16th against a team full of Island League players.

...Nobuhiko Matsunaka finally had a chance to test his legs on Saturday when he hit a lead-off double off the wall in left in the second.  Matsunaka then proceeded to third on a balk and broke for home on Hiroki Kokubo's grounder to third.  He was thrown out, sliding into home plate, but no matter as it was more about testing his legs for Matsunaka.

He ended the day 1-for-4 with a double and 2 strike outs.

=== 11:30pm JST

...Toshiya Sugiuchi's exhibition game outings:

3/13 vs Hiroshima Carp: 5.1 IP, 30 BF, 104 NP, 11 H, 7 SO, 2 BB, 9 R, 4 ER

3/6 vs Yomiuri Giants: 5 IP, 16 BF, 57 NP, 1 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER

2/27 vs Hiroshima Carp: 4 IP, 13 BF, 53 NP, 1 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER

Against the Hiroshima Carp on Saturday, Sugiuchi didn't receive any help from his defense (they committed three errors in the game that led to 5 unearned) and also had some problems with the mound (seems it was too soft).

=== 4:07pm JST

...Tsuyoshi Wada had thrown 10 consecutive scoreless exhibition game innings prior to giving up a 2-run homer to Aaron Guiel (YAK) in the 5th inning on Friday.

...With his two scoreless innings performance on Friday, Shota Ohba likely improved his chances of winning a spot on the opening day rotation.  His final line: 2 IP, 7 BF, 34 NP, 1 H, 2 SO, 1 BB, o R, o ER.

...Koji Akiyama told reporters after Friday's game that while Nobuhiko Matsunaka had to work on his running, he also need to bring his hitting up to the next level.  It seems Akiyama does not feel Matsunaka is not ready for the regular season yet.

Conditioning coach Shuichi Yamakawa added that Matsunaka was behind schedule and that he's currently doing rehab-training while playing in exhibition games.  Yamakawa also said that once the exhibition season is over (3/14), Matsuanaka will likely return to Fukuoka so that he can focus solely on his rehab training (specifically, his running).

Based on what's being said, it would seem Matsunaka won't be on the opening day roster.

...Kenji Akashi and Hayato Doue were promoted to Ichi-gun.  Hiroaki Takaya was informed of his demotion after the Yakult Swallows game on Friday.

...Bum-Ho Lee has more or less secured a spot on the Ichi-gun roster.

=== 10:12pm JST

...Tsuyoshi Wada told reporters after his outing on Friday that he felt no tightness or pain.  He also said that he wanted to pitch a little more but had to come out to give other pitchers a chance.  The only thing left on his agenda now is throwing 100 pitches in a start.

...Nobuhiko Matsuanaka recorded his first hit in his 11th trip to the plate on Friday against the Yakult Swallows.  The hit came in the 7th inning with 2 outs and no one on base.  It was a bloop single into right.  Matsunaka told reporters that he still isn't at 100% and is hoping that he'll at least be able to pull things together to where he isn't holding the team back by the start of the regular season.

=== 3:31pm JST

...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 junior high 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.