Masahiro Yamamoto (47), Takeshi Yamasaki (43), Hitoki Iwase (37), and Kenshin Kawakami (37) are all planning to continue their active careers next season.  The media learned on Monday that the Chunichi Dragons met all four and broached the topic of retirement.

Team president Katsuhiko Sakai, team rep Ryohei Sato, and chief of team developement Takashi Ide met each of the players at a hotel in Nagoya on October 31.  They pushed each to continue playing in 2013.  They also said they planned to approach each of them during the season next year to discuss their future plans.

Said Sato, "Retirement did come up.  We asked what they thought about it.  We want them to consider becoming coaches at some point."

Bottom line, it seems the Dragons do not want to dance around the issue and want to keep things open.

Yamamoto and Yamasaki were uncertain about their futures before they decided to commit to 2013.  The other two are still probably a couple years away from retirement: Iwase led the league in saves this year and Kawakami just finished year one of his NPB comeback.

Source: Sponichi 11/2/2012, Sports Hochi Osaka 11/2/2012

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UPDATE @ 10:15pm - Nikkan Sports has a quote from Sato that explains what the Dragons are trying to do.

"We cannot just think a player's career is over and assume they know what we are thinking.  It also is not good for the player to be in a situation where they might not know if it is ok for them to stick around or they are not sure about what to do.  I just said that beginning next year, we should speak openly about these things and not assume/suspect what the other is thinking."

Source: Nikkan Sports 11/2/2012

According to Sports Hochi, forty-three-year-old Takeshi Yamasaki spoke to team officials on Wednesday and finalized his decision to put off retirement for at least one more season.  According to the report, Yamasaki decided to return next season after hearing about the team's plans for the future.

Yamasaki is expected to inform everyone of his decision during a team meeting at Nagoya Dome today.

Source: Sports Hochi 11/1/2012

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UPDATE @ 1:38pm - Yamasaki met with team president Katsuhiko Sakai, team rep Ryohei Sato, and chief of team developement Takashi Ide at a hotel in Nagoya for about an hour.  Source: Daily Sports 11/1/2012

UPDATE @ 5:00pm - Yamasaki attended a full-team meeting at Nogoya Dome today and later held a press conference to officially announce that he will play in 2013.  Source: Nikkan Sports 11/1/2012

UPDATE 11/2 @ 4:10pm - Yamasaki is not looking to drag out his career.  He hinted that next season could be his last.  Source: Sports Hochi Osaka 11/2/2012

Takeshi Yamasaki was taken off the active roster today after he was diagnosed with a fracture in his left ring finger.

Yamasaki suffered the injury when he caught a baseball that was hit by Takashi Toritani during a game against the Hanshin Tigers on August 22 -- the ball likely hit the ring finger directly.  The injury was originally thought to be a jammed finger, but he was taken to a hospital for an evaluation on Monday because the pain was not subsiding.

The finger will be immobilized for a week to ten days.  During this time, Yamasaki will continue his workouts at Nagoya Stadium.  His goal will be to play in a Ni-gun rehab game on September 21.

Source: Daily Sports 9/4/2012, Sponichi 9/4/2012

Roster moves: Takeshi Yamasaki and Kei Nomoto were taken off the active roster today because they were diagnosed with influenza B.  And Masahiko Morino was taken off the active roster after he was diagnosed with a minor contusion on his right abdominal oblique muscle.  There is currently no timetable on his return.

Tony Blanco and Victor Diaz were called up to fill the open spots.

The Dragons announced today that Kazuki Yoshimi will donate 10,000 yen for every inning he pitches this season to a foundation that helps kids that lost parents during the Tohoku Earthquake.  He also plans to raise money by holding a charity auction, via his official blog.

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Kenshin Kawakami will likely make his first regular season start on March 31 against the Hiroshima Carp (Nagoya Dome).

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Sanspo wonders what kind of car Takeshi Yamasaki might buy during the next off-season.  They also list out his past off-season purchases:

2006 - Ferrari 512M (~23M yen)
2007 - Lamborghini Murcielago (~35M yen)
2011 - Lamborghini Aventador (30M~40M yen)

And Sponichi notes that if Yamasaki finishes exhibition play leading the league in homers, he will be the first forty or over player to do so since Katsuya Nomura led the league with with five in 1975 at the age of forty.

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Daola successfully turned a back-flip, with a twist, after the 7th inning today.

Nikkan Sports notes that the Dragons have dropped hints to reporters that Kazuki Yoshimi may be their opening day starter.

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Takeshi Yamasaki is looking forward to the chance of facing his former teammate Masahiro Tanaka when the Dragons play three exhibition games against the Rakuten Eagles at Nagoya Dome between March 23 and 25 at Nagoya Dome.

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Kenshin Kawakami and Kenichi Nakata will likely get starts during the second series of the season: vs Yokohama at Yokohama, April 3-5.

The Dragons practice game against the Yakult Swallows at Nagoya Stadium was canceled due to poor ground conditions.

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Morimichi Takagi told reporters on Tuesday that he felt Takeshi Yamasaki was a better quality hitter than Tony Blanco.  And Blanco has not been able to prove otherwise because of a bad lower bad.

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Akifumi Takahashi (coming back from left shoulder problems) and Enyelbert Soto (coming back from lower back pain) tossed batting practice at Nagoya Stadium today.

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Yamasaki does not plan on changing his intro music: Diamond Yukai's Babe-na Takeshi.

According to Nikkan Sports and Daily Sports, Takeshi Yamasaki arrived at Nagoya Stadium in his black Lamborghini Aventador.  Yamasaki ordered the car last Fall and received it at the end of last year.  There are only three of these cars in Japan right now and they carry a price tag between 41M and 43M yen.

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The team worked out indoors on Sunday after their exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers was rained out. Workouts were kept light.  The team also has the day off tomorrow.

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Tony Blanco started taking batting practice on Sunday (about thirty minutes).  Said Blanco about his lower back pains, "It is getting better everyday.  I am still a little worried so I will take it one step at a time."

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Pitching coach Hiroshi Gondo told reporters on Sunday that the team can not take twenty pitchers to Nagoya Dome on March 2.  The plan at this point is to give nine young pitchers a chance to pitch in a practice game against the KIA Tigers on February 28 in order to begin the elimination process.  The Dragons are expected to carry twelve pitches.

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Morimichi Takagi apparently left 1st round draft pick Shuhei Takahashi and Masahiko Morino out of the starting line-up on Saturday against the Chiba Lotte Marines because he heard reports that 2nd round draft pick Yuhei Nakaushiro was still having problems with the ball slipping out of his hand on occasion.

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Takeshi Yamasaki will be forty-three years and four months on opening day.  If he is in the starting line-up batting fourth on opening day, he will break Tomoaki Kanemoto's (HAN) previous record of forty-one years and eleven months.  If Kanemoto manages to make the starting line-up as well, he will break his own record since he will be forty-three years and eleven months.  The NPB record is Hiromitsu Ochiai at forty-four years and three months.

FYI: Yamasaki played a February exhibition game on Saturday for the first time since 2004.

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Kei Nomoto took things a little slow during practice today due to fasciitis in his right calf.  There are no plans to send Nomoto to a hospital at this stage but he will spend time away from Ichi-gun.

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Hitoki Iwase will likely get to start an exhibition game against Hiroshima on March 2.

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1st round draft pick Shuhei Takahashi spent some time signing autographs after practices on Thursday.

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Through Thursday, 1st round draft pick Takahashi is 7-for-24 with five extra base hits and four RBI over seven games.