Wednesday's Ni-gun game against the Seibu Lions at Giants Stadium (Lions 6 - Giants 3): Shun Tono started the game and gave up six runs on seven hits, including two homers. [Nikkan Sports] ... Hiroki Sanada tossed a shutout inning in relief and struck out one.  He also topped out at 140km/h. [Nikkan Sports] ... Daisuke Fujimura started at short and batted second.  He collected two hits, both singles to center. [Nikkan Sports]

===

The Giants shut reporters out of their workouts on Wednesday for about fifty minutes.  Pitchers and catchers also attended a meeting.  Position players will have a meeting after practice on Thursday.

===

4th round draft pick Kyosuke Takagi is the only player from the 2011 draft class that made the Giants' opening day roster.

===

Sponichi and Sanspo note that Shinnosuke Abe will bat fourth this season.

The Giants held a pep rally at a hotel in Tokyo on Thursday.  About two hundred people attended.  And Tatsunori Hara announced that Tetsuya Utsumi will be the opening day starter.

===

Hirokazu Sawamura's workouts at Giants Stadium on Thursday included running and long distance throwing (about 100 meters).

===

Ryosuke Miyaguni worked out at Giants Stadium on Thursday.  He will likely pitch against the Oakland A's on March 25.

===

Shuichi Murata and Shinnosuke Abe are still competing for the clean-up spot in the line-up.

===

Shun Tono has not allowed a run in any of the four exhibition games he has pitched in (12 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 10 SO).

===

The Giants decided to demote Daisuke Fujimura and Tetsuya Matsumoto due to their struggles at the plate.

===

Yuya Kubo tossed a bullpen session at Giants Stadium today and could pitch in a Challenge Match game on March 20.

===

Shun Tono tossed a bullpen session today for the first time since he felt some tightness in his right shoulder during his last start against the Hiroshima Carp on March 6.  Tono told reporters he felt a little tightness after the session, but no pain.

===

Yoshihito Ishii is currently working his way back from lower back pains at Ni-gun.  He kept his workouts light at Giants Stadium today and told reporters that he was feeling much better and a little more rested.

===

Scott Mathieson worked out for about two hours at Giants Stadium today (running, bullpen).  Mathieson will most likely 

===

D.J. Houlton's next start will likely be against the Seibu Lions at Seibu Dome on March 17.

===

The Giants would ideally like to go with a five-man rotation pitching on five days of rest up until the start of Inter-league play instead of a six-man rotation pitching on six days of rest.  In other words, have their best pitchers start as many games as possible to put their team as many games above 500 as possible before the start of Inter-league play.

===

Veteran players took part in extra batting practice at Kyocera Dome before tonight's game the Orix Buffaloes.

===

D.J. Houlton tossed some live batting practice today and appears to be closer to being ready to pitch again after taking a batted ball off his right hand during an exhibition game against the Seibu Lions on March 4.

===

Shun Tono was scratched for an exhibition game start against Chunichi on March 15.  Ryosuke Miyaguni was supposed to start a Kyoiku League game against Seibu today but will instead take Tono's start on the the 15th.  The Giants will test Miyaguni's stamina by having his toss about eighty pitches.  Depending on how the start goes, he could win himself a chance to pitch in the season opener against the Yakult Swallows (at Tokyo Dome).

Scott Mathieson is also a candidate for the starting rotation.

===

Tono told reporters that he was not too concerned about the tightness in his right shoulder and that he was going to be ready for the start of the season.  He worked out at Giants Stadium with Tetsuya Utsumi, Toshiya Sugiuchi, and Hirokazu Sawamura on Monday.

===

Shunichi Murata and Kazunari Sanematsu watched some sumo on Monday.

===

The Giants will be hosting Mosugu Orange Day Nighter on April 12.

What is Orange Day?  Ehime Prefecture is trying to set up a new day like Valentine's Day where people give each other something orange.

====== UPDATE 3/14 @ 12:47am

Hirokazu Sawamura is apparently having a hard time adjusting to his bigger frame -- he added seven kilograms during the off-season.

The Giants announced today that marathon runner Arata Fujiwara will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day.

===

Shigeyuki Furuki returned to Tokyo on Sunday after suffering a contusion to his left shoulder on a defensive play at second on the 8th inning of Saturday's game against the Softbank Hawks.

===

Shun Tono has been scratched from his next outing on March 15 (vs Chunichi) because of tightness in his right shoulder.

===

Shuichi Murata does not have a hit in his last sixteen trips to the plate (span of five games).

===

Ikusei pitcher Kyohei Odachi has pitched well enough to make the Giants consider adding him to the seventy-man roster and using him as another lefty option out of the bullpen.

Shun Tono worked out at Giants Stadium today.  He is scheduled to start and toss four to five innings in tomorrow's exhibition game against the Hiroshima Carp.

===

Yuya Kubo faced live hitters for about ten minutes during indoor workouts today.

Tatsunori Hara spoke to reporters at Haneda Airport today and said that the team will figure out his comeback schedule after they have a chance to see him pitche in a Ni-gun game on March 20.

===

The Giants called up Jin Nakatani and sent Tomoya Ichikawa down to Ni-gun today.

===

Tatsunori Hara has been messing around with the batting order.  His next version will likely be, for the top half: Hayato Sakamoto, John Bowker, Hisayoshi Chono, Shinnosuke Abe, and Shuichi Murata.

===

Nikkan Sports and Sponichi figure Tetsuya Utsumi and Hirokazu Sawamura will pitch in the home opener (March 30 - April 1 vs Yakult at Tokyo Dome) and Toshiya Sugiuchi and D.J. Houlton in the road opener (April 3 - April 5 vs Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium).

Sponichi also adds that Ryosuke Miyaguni could start the final game of the home opener.

===

Kyoiku League game vs Rakuten on Sunday: Dicky Gonzalez tossed three shutout innings while allowing two hits; Taishi Ota started in center and batted first and went 0-for-4. (Sponichi)

===

Tatsunori Hara spent about an hour working with Taishi Ota on his hitting today.  He also personally threw him ninety-three pitches.

===

With the exhibition game against the Chiba Lotte Marines canceled due to the rain, Takayuki Takaguchi ran onto the field, introduced himself as a player that arrived from the Chiba Lotte Marines, and proceeded to run and slide across the tarp on the field.  Kenji Yano and Chiba Lotte Marine Shota Ishimine also joined in.

===

Hirokazu Sawamura was scheduled to start Sunday's exhibition game against the Chiba Lotte Marines but the rain out pushed his outing to Monday (practice game vs SK Wyverns).

Ryosuke Miyaguni is also scheduled to pitch on Monday.

===

General pitching coach Kazuhisa Kawaguchi told reporters on Saturday that at this point, Shun Tono will likely make the starting rotation.

Today was the last day of the fourth block of spring camp for the Ichi-gun Giants and the end of the third block of spring camp for the Ni-gun Giants.  The team has the day off tomorrow.

===

Shun Tono may be fighting to secure a five or six spot in the starting rotation, since Tetsuya Utsumi, Toshiya Sugiuchi, Hirokazu Sawamura, and D.J. Houlton will most likely take the first four spots.

===

Shigeo Nagashima can see Shuichi Murata batting three, four, or five in the line-up.

===

Today was the end of the first block of spring camp for the Ni-gun Giants.  The team has the day off tomorrow.

===

Ichi-gun practices started indoors today because of the rain.

===

Tetsuya Utsumi faced Kenji Yano and Daisuke Fujimura during batting practice today and allowed eight could-be hits on forty-eight pitches.

Shun Tono faced Shinnosuke Abe and Kazunari Sanematsu and allowed three could-be hits on forty-five pitches.

===

Tomoya Inzen and Ryota Wada worked out with the Ichi-gun group today.

===

Yuya Kubo could begin playing catch in the bullpen sometime during the second block of spring camp (begins February 9).

===

Ryosuke Miyaguni could get to pitch in an intra-squad game on February 14.

====== UPDATE 2/8 @ 2:29am

There is a change Toshiya Sugiuchi will get to pitch in an intra-squad game on February 16.  Incidentally, he does not like tossing batting practice because he feels it does nothing for him to throw pitches batters can hit.

The Giants held a press conference at their team offices to introduce Scott Mathieson and John Bowker today.  Both players arrived in Japan earlier in the day.

Tatsunori Hara was also at the press conference -- the last time he attended a press conference for a foreign player: 2006 when Seug-Yeop Lee joined the team.

===

Shun Tono tossed a bullpen session (standing catcher) today, the first day of early training camp in Miyazaki.

===

Tetsuya Utsumi tossed 35 pitches in the bullpen (standing catcher) today.

Utsumi organized a meal-time gathering at a Yakiniku restaurant for pitchers attending early training camp in Miyazaki on Thursday.  The outing lasted about three and a half hours and allowed players Toshiya Sugiuchi the chance to get to know other pitchers on the staff.

Sugiuchi also had a chance to introduce himself during a team meeting at the player hotel on Thursday.

===

The Giants may give Taishi Ota a look in center during spring camp (they want to take more advantage of his speed and arm).

===

Shuichi Murata apparently wants to sign about 1,000 autographs during spring camp.

===

Seems the Yomiuri Giants are not the only ones high on Ryosuke Miyaguni: Hanshin Tiger Yasutomo Kubo told reporters on Thursday that he was impressed with the 19-year-old prospect.

===

A weight room was added to the facilities at Sun Marine Stadium -- a training room on first base side near the indoor bullpens was converted and equipped with weight training equipment.  The Giants "donated" the weight room to Miyazaki by footing the bill (about 14M yen).

===

Sugiuchi worked out in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima between January 4 and January 23.  He returned to Fukuoka after that and traveled to Miyazaki on Thursday by himself.