The 2011 draft class ran stairs at Hotto Motto Kobe as part of their workouts today.

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Mitsutaka Goto showed off his uniform with the letter "C" on the left chest area on Saturday.

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Mamoru Kishida is planning to donate a portion of the money he makes selling a wooden calendar and rice to relief efforts in northern Japan.

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One of Yuki Nishi's memorable event from 2011: catching a cold.

Nishi was scheduled to make a start on 6/11/2011 (vs Yomiuri at Kyocera Dome), but was scratched due to a cold.  The next day, he was taken off the active roster with Akinobu Okada complaining to reporters about how Nishi did not know how to take care of himself properly.

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About 90 people attended a Kintetsu Buffaloes' former players gathering in an Osaka hotel on Saturday.

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Former Orix Buffalo So Taguchi has been rehabbing his right shoulder in Arizona (arthroscopic surgery on right shoulder in October 2011) and is scheduled to return to Japan on 1/17.  His shoulder is now at about 80% and assuming no setbacks, he could begin a throwing program in about a month.

42-year-old So Taguchi had been feeling discomfort in his right shoulder for 10 years before finally opting for surgery in October.  He is now rehabbing the shoulder and hopes to start a throwing program some time in January 2012.

"I want to throw the ball as hard as I can again," said Taguchi.  "I want to throw when I am [100% healthy]."

He then added, "But I need to get better and make sure I can move around first."

Taguchi will most likely continue his training at his alma mater Kwansei Gakuin University during the winter.  He has not set any sort of hard deadline for his retirement.

Nikkan Sports briefly mentions that So Taguchi is scheduled to have surgery on his right shoulder today.  They also mention a post Taguchi made at his blog that, in a nutshell, says:

• He was approached by the club some time in mid-September about what his plans were.  Taguchi said he wanted to continue playing and the Buffaloes hinted that they might be willing to offer him a coaching job if he were to retire.
• He was never formally approached about a coaching position after the above interaction.
• He was told not to talk about his decision, and as a result, started practicing with the rest of the team in order maintain status quo.
• He was later approached by team personnel and told that they "heard what was going on."  Immediately after that, the papers started mentioning his Senryokugai status.
• During this time, the club denied the reports and simply said discussions were ongoing.  This is why he hasn't been listed in the first round of the Senryokugai reports.
• Some personnel with the team suggested giving him a press conference, like Takeshi Yamasaki, but it apparently didn't sit well with the others because he was essentially a "fired" player.
• Then came the announcement that he was leaving the club, followed by "he's leaving despite being asked to stay."  He denies he was ever given the option to stay and that he was senryokugai'ed, "fired."
• He also says that he hasn't spoken to the club since 9/30 and that reports that team's announcement were delayed because of discussions are false.  The claims by the team that he was hard-set on continuing to play were also apparently false, as he never received any concrete offers to stay with the team as a coach.

I'm not really sure what happened between the Buffaloes and Taguchi, but it seems like he got a raw deal.

The Orix Buffaloes announced today that they were parting ways with 42-year-old So Taguchi.

"As a player, he wasn't a part of our plans next year," said GM Yoshio Murayama.  "We told him that we'd be more than happy to give him a job as a coach, or even some other position with the club, but we wanted to respect his decision.  So we didn't really ask him to take a job with us, since he came to us and said that he wanted to continue playing."

The media learned today that the Orix Buffaloes gave 42-year-old So Taguchi a senryokugai notice.

Sports Hochi approached Taguchi for comment and he replied, "This is an important time for the team right now. I don't want to create a fuss so I'll withhold my comments."

In addition with information obtained by team personnel, Sports Hochi figures Taguchi received the notice a few days beforehand.

Taguchi suffered a right shoulder (mid-deltoid) injury during spring camp and never managed to fully recover. Since Taguchi would like to play next season, he will continue with his training and rehab.

UPDATE @ 6:41pm - Nikkan Sports is now reporting that Taguchi admitted to reporters that he was given a senryokugai notice.  He also said that he planned on getting surgery on his right shoulder as soon as possible, likely so that he can begin rehab work and be ready for the 2012 season.

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2011 Stats

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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Kazuki Kondo and So Taguchi were checked out at the hospital today.  Kondo was diagnosed with a bone spur in his right elbow and will not be allowed to throw the ball for 2 weeks; Taguchi was diagnosed with an injury to his right deltoid muscle and will not be allowed to throw the ball for 1 week.

Kondo might need surgery, but the club will wait to see how he's doing after two weeks of rest.

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The Ichi-gun Buffaloes arrived in Kochi today for their third leg of spring camp (which starts 2/24).  The Buffaloes also have two exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers (26th and 27th).

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/13 @ 10:54pm

Alfredo Figaro and Evan MacLane both made appearances as BP pitchers today and faced Mitsutaka Goto and T-Okada.

Figaro threw 36 pitches and allowed 5 could-be hits while topping out at 146km/h (he also mixed in his curve and slider).  MacLane threw 37 pitches and allowed 7 could-be hits while topping out at 136km/h (he also mixed in his off-speed pitches like his sinker, two-seamer, and change.

The two are also scheduled to pitch during an intra-squad game on the 17th and during a practice game on the 22nd.

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Taguchi will continue to work out with the Ni-gun roster when the 4th block of spring camp begins on the 15th.

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Runners Yoko Shibui and Reiko Tosa visited the Buffaloes' spring camp facilities in Miyakojima, Okinawa today.  Tosa was able to visit the club due to her high school connection (they both went to Matsuyama Shogyo HS in Ehime) with batting coach Eiji Mizuguchi.  The two runners also handed out chocolates to Seung-Yeop Lee and Takahiro Okada.

===== 2/13 @ 2:27pm

So Taguchi was back at practice again today after missing the last three days with a cold.  Akinobu Okada also told reporters that Taguchi would be working out with the Ni-gun group today.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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Today's intra-squad game:

Kazuki Kondo started for the white team and Shinya Nakayama started for the red team.  Both pitchers allowed runs in the first inning.

Masahide Kobayashi also made an appearance and manged to get out of a runners on first and second, 1 out situation by getting a big GIDP.  He ultimately ended up tossing a shutout inning in relief.

Masato Fukae (5th round) showed off his legs by beating out a grounder to second for an infield single in the 5th; and scoring in the 7th after stealing second and moving up to third on a bad throw by the catcher and ultimately crossing the plate on a wild pitch.

Yesterday's intra-squad game:

The whites beat the reds, 8-3 (8 innings).

Mike Hessman was the starting first baseman and batted 5th.  His 3-run homer came in the 5th inning with runners on first and second and two out.  Kentaro Kuwahara was on the mound.  The two batters before Hessman, Francisco Caraballo and Takahiro Okada, went down on strikeouts.  Hessman ultimately ended the day 1-for-3 with a walk.

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The middle of the line-up (3 thru 5) could look something like this: Mitsutaka Goto, Takahiro Okada, Seung-Yeop Lee, and Hessman.  Caraballo and Shinji Shimoyama are also considered candidates for the 5 hole.

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So Taguchi was not at practice again today and has now missed the last three days due to a cold.  A club rep told reporters that the team is just being careful and that he is showing improvement.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/10 @ 11:03pm

Chan Ho Park faced Seung-Yeop Lee during BP today and threw 15 pitches while giving up 6 could-be hits, including 2 that went over the fence.

"He told me he couldn't hit the inside pitches, so I asked him why he was able to hit them," said Park while smirking.

Park also faced Takahiro Okada and threw an additional 20 pitches.

===== 2/10 @ 5:25pm

So Taguchi took the day off today due to a cold.  It doesn't appear to be the flu.

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The Buffaloes are currently thinking Chihiro Kaneko will return in June, perhaps in time for, or in the middle of, the Inter-league series.

Said Akinobu Okada, "This can't be a partial recovery.  It doesn't matter if he takes his time.  We just need to make sure the team is in a position where it makes sense for him to return.  And that means other players will need to pick up the slack until then."

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One of the Buffaloes' mascots took a cue from Ichiro's suggestion that Takahiro Okada wear a thong in order to make his nickname T-Okada stick out more, by giving Okada a mask in the shape of a thong as a birthday present yesterday.  Okada told reporters he would wear the mask if the team won a championship.

Akinobu Okada also told reporters that he expected Okada to play out a full season without taking any days off.

The Orix Buffaloes took out an insurance policy on Wednesday to cover any damages that Takahiro Okada might cause when he hits the ball out of Kobe 2 Stadium.  The policy will pay up to 200M yen per event for damage to cars and injuries to people.  The cost of the premium is unknown, but the contract is for 1 year.

The Buffaloes took out a similar policy last season, but doubled the damages after Okada finished the 2010 season with 33 homers.

In other team related news:

So Taguchi worked out at his old college, Kwansei Gakuin University, today, along with teammates Tomotaka Sakaguchi and Tetsuya Yokoyama.