=== 10:51pm JST

...A DVD chronicling Hiroyuki Nakajima's progress from childhood to the present day (Japanese title: 中島裕之　進化する若獅子　背番号３) will hit store shelves on 4/16.  He will become the first Seibu player to get his own DVD published.

...More on Yusei Kikuchi's BP session: of the 97 pitches he threw, 23 were balls; he threw 35 pitches from the set position; and he also held a bullpen session afterward and threw an addition 103 pitches.

And according to advice Kikuchi received from Kimiyasu Kudo, the best way to get your body to memorize something is to repeat the motion at least 3000 times.  To that end, Kikuchi threw 300 "shadow pitches" in his dorm room before going to bed the previous day -- he's hoping to hit 3000 in 10 tens

...The Lions turned a triple play in the 8th inning against the Chiba Lotte Marines on Friday.  With runners on first and second and no out, third baseman Hiroshi Hirao made a nice grab of a ball down the third base line that almost got through.  From there he stepped on third and then threw to second.  Takuya Hara kept the play going by throwing the ball over to first.

Hirao hit into a triple play last year on 4/23 against the Orix Buffaloes.

=== 5:06pm JST

...The Seibu Lions will be lifting their ban on jet balloons this season, beginning on the 13th during an exhibition game against the Chunichi Dragons at Seibu Dome.

...Kazuhisa Ishii told reporters after his outing on Thursday that he'd like to try and win as many games as Takayuki Kishi this season.

...Yusei Kikuchi apparently plans on reverting his pitching delivery back to what he used while in high school.  Kikuchi sat down with Ni-gun pitching coach Kazuyoshi Ono and watched footage of Kikuchi pitching last year in high school and Kikuchi pitching against the Yomiuri Giants on the 9th.  They're collective conclusion?  His high school form was better (specifically, how much he cocks his arm).

For some reason, I can't help but think that this could have easily been avoided, that is, the change-over to a new form to be begin with.

On Thursday, Kikuchi threw a 176 pitches in a bullpen session on Thursday, establishing a new pro career high.  He also met long-distance runner Naoko Takahashi (currently working as a sports reporters for TBS' The News), most likely for an interview.

On Friday, Kikuchi tossed 97 pitches to Ryo Sakata, Shogo Sato, and Masaru Misawa during BP and gave up 9 could-be hits.

Kikuchi's next outing will be against the Yakult Swallows in an Ikusei League game on the 17th.

=== 3/12/2010 1:30am JST

...It's obviously much too early to say anything definitive, but Takumi Kuriyama has done admirably since moving into the clean-up spot:

3/7: 2-for-3, RBI, SO

3/10: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, DP

3/11: 2-for-5, R, 2 SO

=== 7:18am JST

...Takeya Nakamura played some catch and also took some batting practice on Wednesday.  In all, he spent about 10 minutes practice swinging the bat and then lightly hitting some grounders.  He told reporters that he didn't feel any pain but wasn't sure if he'd be ready for the start of the season.  Based on how things are right now, Nakamura will likely begin soft-toss BP at some point in the  near future.

...Yusei Kikuchi was happy when he heard that Daisuke Matsuzaka wished he could teach Kikuchi how to pitch out of the set position.  And with that, Kikuchi has decided to go back to watching footage of Matsuzaka from his first two years to see if he can pick-up any hints on what to do.

Kikuchi actually studied footage from Matsuzaka's first two seasons when he first joined the club -- he asked the Lions to make DVDs containing the footage.

It seems Matsuzaka also sent Kikuchi a lengthy letter through the media.  Sponichi has a copy of it.

...Ginjiro apparently had an MRI on his left leg on Monday but the results came back inconclusive due to excessive swelling.  Moving forward, Ginjiro will likely work on his upper body as his lower body recovers.

...Takayuki Kishi threw 37 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday at the indoor training facilities at Nagoya Stadium.

...The Seibu Lions will be playing a practice game against the Orix Buffaloes on the 15, one day after their last exhibition game of the pre-season.

...Ginjiro's status for opening day appears to be up in the air.  The chief trainer Makoto Sasaki told reporters on Tuesday that the only thing the club can officially say at this point is that he'll be out for 7-10 days.

On Takeya Nakamura, Sasaki said that his right eye was functioning properly and that he could make the start of the regular season depending on how he's doing.  On Tuesday, Nakamura spent time working out at the indoor training facilities at Seibu 2 Stadium (it was the first time he worked out after fouling a ball off his face on 4/3).

...The Lions announced on Monday that the Tokorozawa police arrested two men, including a 29-year-old Tokyo company employee (Daisuke Hayasahi ?), on charges of purchasing tickets for the purchase of reselling them.  The two men allegedly purchased 15 tickets to a game in September 2009 on July 18th, 2009 at a total cost of 50,000 yen while using their fan memberships.  They apparently then turned around and sold the tickets at a profit.

The Lions started working together with the police after reports of someone purchasing large quantities of seats to some of the more popular seats at the stadium were filed.

=== 11:43pm JST

...Yusei Kikuchi actually threw 85 pitches off the Seibu Dome mound on Monday.

=== 8:49pm JST

...Takayuki Kishi is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Chunichi Dragons.  He told reporters he'll be especially careful when facing Tony Blanco.

=== 3/8/2010/7:12pm JST

...Yusei Kikuchi will be facing Tetsuya Yamaguchi during his start against the Yomiuri Giants on the 9th.  Kikuchi threw a few pitches off the Seibu Dome mound on Monday in preparation of the start (he had a coach stand in the batter's box for him).

On Sunday, Kikuchi also happened to be wearing the t-shirt Ryo Ishikawa gave him back in Janauary.  He told reporters that he looks up to Ishikawa and hopes to become like him some day (in terms of how he handles himself in front of the media and how he handles himself as a professional athlete).

...The Lions plugged Takumi Kuriyama in the four hole during Sunday's game against the Hanshin Tigers.  Kuriyama ended up coming through with the game's only RBI and went 2-for-3.  Not really sure why they don't just move all the hitters up a spot and bat Kuriyama further down in the line-up.  I suppose they could do worse.

=== 10:35pm JST

...Hisanobu Watanabe told reporters after Sunday's game that he informed the pitcher he selected of his opening day pitcher assignment on Saturday.  He wouldn't tell them media whom he selected, but did say that it might not be Hideaki Wakui.

...Yusei Kikuchi threw 118 pitches in the bullpen on Sunday.  He's still scheduled to throw 2-3 innings in an Ikusei League game against the Yomiuri Giants on the 9th.  Kikuchi told reporters he'll likely keep his workouts light on Monday.

...Ginjiro was tagged hard while trying to run out a grounder to short during Sunday's game against the Hanshin Tigers.  He was carried off the field and taken to an area hospital to get checked out -- Ginjiro was diagnosed with a bruise on his left thigh bone (左ひざ大腿骨骨挫傷).  He'll have his leg checked out again on the 8th.

=== 3/7/2010 6:06pm JST

...The Lions batted Takumi Kuriyama in the four hole on Sunday against the Hanshin Tigers, a possible first for Kuriyama (he told reporters he may have batted fourth during a Phoenix League game but doesn't remember).  He ended up going 2-for-3 and driving in the lone run of the game (for either team).

...Hideaki Wakui was set to start Saturday's game against the Hanshin Tigers.  But with the rain cancellation, he ended up throwing 4 shutout innings in relief on Sunday.

...About 100 members of the media showed up at Hanamaki Higashi to cover Yusei Kikuchi's high school graduation.  That doesn't include the 500 or so fans from the area that also showed up at the entrance of the school.

Kikuchi also received a letter from his former high school manager, Hiroshi Sasaki, advising him not to fear failure and not to fear giving up lots of hits during his first year.  Sasaki told reporters that Kikuchi is the type of player that learns from his mistake.

...The Lions decided on Friday to have Alex Graman begin his training at Ni-gun.  Graman participated in Ichi-gun practice on Friday and threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session.  Hisanobu Watanabe watched Graman and wasn't convinced that he was ready and decided it would be best for him to return to Ni-gun.  It also seems as though he won't be ready for the start of the regular season.

...Takeya Nakamura is hoping that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season.  He's currently taking time away from practice and is scheduled to have his right cheek examined sometime early next week.  According to the chief trainer, it all depends on the amount of swelling in his face.

...Yusei Kikuchi headed to his high school (Hanamaki Higashi) after practice on Friday.  On Saturday, Kikuchi attended his graduation ceremony.  He will be back at Ni-gun camp in time for practice on Sunday.

=== 10:01pm JST

...Yusei Kikuchi pitched in a simulated game on Friday.  He faced 15 batters and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3.  Kikuchi threw a total 52 pitches, of which only one went over 140km/h on the radar gun (he hit 143km/h).  He told reporters after his outing that he felt much better on the mound.

Kikuchi will be attending his high school's graduation ceremonies on Saturday.

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

...Hideaki Wakui will start Saturday's game against the Hanshin Tigers.  He told reporters that he need to work on his mechanics (balance) when pitching from the set position.

...Kimiyasu Kudo joined the Ni-gun team for practice on Thursday.  He played catch with Yusei Kikuchi (25-30 meters) and told reporters that he'll probably see how he feels over the next 2-3 days before throwing a bullpen.  There's a possibility he could be ready to pitch in an exhibition game on the 13th or 14th (both against the Chunichi Dragons at Seibu Dome).

...Kikuchi acted as ball boy during an Ikusei League game on Thursday.  It's all part of his plan for getting back to the basics.  He also threw 104 pitches in the bullpen in preparation for his BP session on Friday.

Oh, and his Ikusei League start against the Giants on the 9th...  The game was set to take place at Seibu 2 Stadium, but it now appears that it'll take place at Seibu Dome.  This actually won't be the only game the Lions are moving to the dome -- they're also moving another Ikusei League game against the Rakuten Eagles on the 12th to the dome as well.  Their biggest concern is the chance for more rain, as well as the number of fans that might attend Kikuchi's start.

...Fumiya Nishiguchi is trying to make his way into the starting rotation.  He threw three perfect innings during his start on Thursday against the Hiroshima Carp.  The rotation at this point probably consists of Hideaki Wakui, Takayuki Kishi, Kazuyuki Hoashi, and Kazuhisa Ishii.

...Takeya Nakamura returned to Tokyo after being released from an area hospital in Fukuoka on Thursday (a final check-up revealed no major problems to his right eye).  He told reporters that he currently can't open his eye due to swelling and that there's some pain in the area.  Nakamura will likely require a week's worth of rest before he'll be ready to start playing again.

...Takeya Nakamura doesn't seem to have much luck when it comes to his face.  He was hit in the face by a pitch on 5/11/2008 and suffered a fractured cheekbone.  He did miss much time though, returning to the field 2 days later (he was told 4 weeks for a full recover).  On 2/25/2010, Nakamura caught Dee Brown's back swing on the left side of his nose.  And on Wednesday, he took a foul ball of his face and was diagnosed with a bone fracture in the right orbital floor.

...Yusei Kikuchi's workouts on Wednesday lasted about 6 hours (from 9:30am - 3:40pm).  He also told reporters he wants to get back to the basics by remembering what got him into the pros (like toilet cleaning).  Kikuchi feels that if he can grasp those feelings from before, he'll have an easier time re-focusing his energies on baseball.

...Ohmiya Stadium finished updating their scoreboard to display the count, balls to strikes.

=== 3/4/2010 12:41am JST

...Tetsuya Iwasaki threw off a mound to a squatting catcher for the first time on Wednesday since right elbow surgery last year.  He told reporters that his elbow was feeling better and that there were good days and bad days.

=== 3/3/2010 10:57pm JST

...Takeya Nakamura hit a foul ball off his face during Wednesday's game against the Softbank Hawks.  Nakamura was taken to an area hospital during the game and diagnosed with a bone fracture in the right orbital floor (右眼窩底骨折).  There is currently no word on how long he'll be out.  While it doesn't appear as if he'll need surgery, he likely won't be ready for the start of the regular season.

...Kimiyasu Kudo was diagnosed with inflammation in his left triceps.  If he's feeling alright, he could begin playing catch on Thursday.

...Yusei Kikuchi threw 65 pitches in a bullpen session on Wednesday.  He also did some running and weight training.  He'll be pitching in his first simulate game on the 5th.