The team had the day off today.

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Kazuhisa Makita took a 3.6km walk around the player hotel earlier today.  Makita was diagnosed with the flu on Friday and was given permission to go outdoors after his fever dropped.  He should be able to start working out again tomorrow.

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1st round draft pick Ken Togame and 2nd round draft pick Hirotaka Koishi went sightseeing on their day off today.  Their day included a tuna cut and clean demonstration and picking dekopons (citrus fruit) and kumquats.

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Fumikazu Kimura faced two batters during batting practice on Friday and allowed three could-be hits on 46 pitches.

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Tatsuya Oishi and Yusei Kikuchi will be starters for an intra-squad game on February 12.

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Today was the end of the first block of spring camp for the Lions. The team has the day off tomorrow.

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The Lions received 150 food items, like lunch boxes, rice balls, and bread, from Minami Kyushu Family Mart before practice today.

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The media presented Takeya Nakamura, Shogo Akiyama, and Takumi Kuriyama with a giant 50cm long eho-maki that weighed seven kilograms.

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Hiroyuki Nakajima and Takeya Nakamura took extra fielding practice with fielding/base-running coach Hiroshi Narahara today.

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Tatsuya Oishi, Yusei Kikuchi, and Fumikazu Kimura tossed batting practice today:

Oishi threw thirty-nine pitches and faced Yuji Onizaki and Mitsugu Ishikawa and gave up three could-be hits.

Kikuchi threw 41 pitches and faced Shogo Akiyama and Ryo Hayashizaki and gave up three could-be hits.

Kimura broke two of Hideto Asamura's bats.

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Hisanobu Watanabe was surprised at how big Kikuchi's lower body (particularly the thighs and buttocks) got during the off-season.  Kikuchi has also modified his delivery and is throwing over the top, instead of at around three-quarters.

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:34am

Nakajima and Nakamura also took fielding practice under a net about one meter off the ground during their extra session with fielding/base-running coach Narahara.

Hisanobu Watanabe tossed early morning batting practice today -- 100+ pitches over about a twenty minute span.

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Watanabe told reporters on Wednesday that he could call on Takeyama Nakamura to drop down a bunt during the season.  When told of the possibility, Nakamura replied, "I will do it.  I am actually pretty good [at bunting]."

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"Team Batting" was added to the training schedule -- setting counts during BP and having batters work on "advancing" imaginary runners.

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Softbank Hawks

Koji Akiyama does not want to go near the bullpen early on during spring camp because he does not want pitchers to push themselves too hard by trying to impress him.

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Special hitting instructor Futoshi Nakanishi was hired to help Ni-gun players but Ni-gun manager Kazuo Ogawa told reporters on Tuesday that he could also end up working with Wily Mo Pena.

Nippon Ham Fighters

Sho Nakata does not plan on taking any breaks during spring camp, even on days when the team has the day off.

"I plan to do a little work even on my days off.  When no one else is practicing, that is when I can begin closing the gap," said Nakata.

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The Fighters had an influenza "mini outbreak" back in 2009.  Shota Ono was diagnosed with it on 8/16.  Two days later, Naoki Miyanishi, Terrmel Sledge, and coach Junichi Fukura also had the flu.  On the following day, Tomoya Yagi, Kazumasa Kikuchi, Shinya Tsuruoka, Tomohiro Nioka, Eiichi Koyano, and Yoshio Itoi all showed symptoms.  Against the Rakuten Eagles on 8/20, the Fighters played with just nineteen players (seven pitchers, twelve position players).  Players slowly started coming back after that, but the Fighters lost six in a row between 8/18 and 8/25.

Seibu Lions

The Lions attended a tuna cutting performance on Tuesday at their team hotel -- a 50kg yellowfin tuna was cut and cleaned in front of the team and handed out to the players.

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Enrique Gonzalez wants a shot at starting.

Orix Buffaloes

Akinobu Okada thought Dae-Ho Lee lost 15kg from 130kg when it was actually from 142kg.  That was why he was concerned about Lee losing too much weight.

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Washlets were installed in the bathrooms at Miyakojima Stadium, but there were no electrical outlets in the individual stalls to power them.  Outlets were added in time for the start of spring camp.

Rakuten Eagles

There are about 25 volunteers assisting the Eagles at Kumejima.  Because of early morning practices and some players missing their breakfast meals, a handful have been assigned to deliver meals from the player hotel to the stadium.

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (trying out for team) threw about 40 pitches (standing catcher) under the watchful eye of Senichi Hoshino.  Hoshino later said to reporters, "He looked good out there.  But one day is not enough."

The first day of camp began at 9am with an welcoming ceremony at Nango Stadium.

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Fumiya Nishiguchi had to borrow Hideaki Wakui's uniform after forgetting that he was scheduled to toss a bullpen session.

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Kazuhisa Makita has the flu and missed the first day of spring camp.  Makita was not feeling well on Tuesday and was examined at a hospital.  He was diagnosed with the influenza A virus.

Makita has been isolated away from the rest of the players and will most likely miss a few days of practice.

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Hisanobu Watanabe is excited about both Yusei Kikuchi and Tatsuya Oishi, which could be especially significant for the two young pitchers since no one has a guaranteed spot in the starting rotation right now.

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Oishi threw 113 pitches while receiving advice from pitching coach Tadashi Sugimoto.

This post will be updated with information as it becomes available so keep checking back if you have any interest in Yuki Saito, Tatsuya Oishi, and / or Hirokazu Sawamura.

===== 3/3 @ 8:40pm

Saito exchanged greetings with Yakult Swallows' pitching coach Daisuke Araki after pre-game practice today.  Like Saito, Araki is also a graduate of Waseda University.

===== 3/3 @ 1:59pm

Saito was originally scheduled to enter the game in the 6th last night, but ended up getting into the game in the 5th because Masao Kida had a problem with a fingernail (thumb).  And of the 24 pitches he threw, 7 were sliders.

Yoshio Itoi also made a nice leaping grab on a ball that was hit by the first batter Saito faced (Kazuhiro Hatakeyama).

Yesterday morning, Saito selected his intro song: Yuki 100% (勇気１００％, or Courage 100%).

Saito's next appearance will be in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants on the 6th.

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11 of the 27 pitches Oishi threw last night were off-speed pitches.  He told reporters after the game that he couldn't get into a good groove (seems he's been having a little trouble with his delivery lately) and that his pitches didn't have quite as much life on them.

Oishi's next outing will probably be in an Ikusei League game on the 8th against the Rakuten Eagles.  The Lions will also try to stretch him out a little longer than 2 innings.

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Of the 54 pitches Sawamura threw last night, he only missed the catcher's mark by a wide margin on 10 of them.  He threw nothing but fastballs during Hiroyuki Nakajima's first at bat (6 pitches, strikeout looking) in the first and didn't allow anyone to reach base (11 straight outs) until Nakajima hit a single off him during his second at bat in the 4th.

Sawamura will likely pitch again on the 8th against the Softbank Hawks.

Tatsuya Oishi (1st round) wants to use today's outing against the Yomiuri Giants to see just how effective his fastball can be against professional hitters.  Oishi will is scheduled to pitch 2 innings.

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Yusei Kikuchi threw 52 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.  He is expected to pitch one inning in relief immediately after Oishi.  Kikuchi told reporters that he was really excited to pitch against the team he used to buy a lot of memorabilia

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Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round) is expected to throw about 70 pitches over 5 innings in his exhibition game start tonight.  He threw 41 pitches in the bullpen yesterday in preparation for the start today.

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The Giants will most likely have all their core players in the starting line-up today, including Hayato Sakamoto, Michihiro Ogasawara, Alex Ramirez, and Shinnosuke Abe.  And while they'll 22 position players on the roster during their two games at Tokyo Dome against the Seibu Lions, they will probably leave at least 4 of them when they hit the road.  The four that stay will be sent down to Ni-gun to play in games and to continue their training.

Tatsuya Oishi threw 43 pitches in the bullpen on Tuesday (3/1) in preparation for his exhibition game start against the Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday (3/2).  He is expected to pitch 2 innings on Wednesday and will be allowed to mix in his off-speed pitches, like his curve and fork.

Yusei Kikuchi and Kazuhisa Makita are also scheduled to make appearances in the game on Wednesday.

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Yasuyuki Kataoka (right foot pain) worked out with the Ichi-gun roster at Seibu Dome on Tuesday.  He also took BP against Kazuyuki Hoashi.  Kataoka will likely be with the team for their exhibition games on 2/2 and 2/3 (both vs Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome), but whether or not he'll be able to play is still not yet known.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

=====2/25 @ 11:18pm

The Lions decided today that Fumiya Nishiguchi will be getting tomorrow's exhibition game start against the Yakult Swallows.  He is expected to pitch 3 innings.

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Oishi threw 64 pitches in the bullpen today.

===== 2/25 @ 3:17pm

Tatsuya Oishi (1st round) will start an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants on 3/2.  After that, he'll probably pitch on 6 days of rest.  There's also a chance the Lions may have him start some Ikusei League games in order to give him more innings to pitch.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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The Ichi-gun group (A group) closed out their spring camp in Nichinan, Miyazaki today.

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Sanspo mentions that Tatsuya Oishi (1st round) is feeling more confident about his new curve and that it's gotten to the point where he's beginning to think that it might be a pitch he can.  Nikkan Sports adds that Oishi checked on his new slide step using video camera footage.