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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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The Giants attracted 18,000 fans on Saturday.

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Hirokazu Sawamura tossed batting practice today (only fastballs) and said his goal for the session was to throw at 50-60%.

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Shuichi Murata stayed back after general practices today and spent fifty minutes taking about 500 swings against a pitching machine.

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Yi-Hao Lin faced Yoshiyuki Kamei and Tetsuya Matsumoto during batting practice on Saturday and threw fifty-one pitches (all fastballs).  Kamei and Matsumoto combined to make solid contact just four times.

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Scott Mathieson is scheduled to pitch in an intra-squad game on February 16.

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The Giants started practice indoors today for the second time in as many days.  While the wind died down a bit since yesterday, the weather was still cold.

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Miyazaki Prefectural Governor Shunji Kono and Miyazaki mayor Tadashi Tojiki visited spring camp today and presented the team with Miyazaki beef, Miyazaki chicken, Miyazaki Hamayu pork, hyuganatsus (citrus fruit), kumquats, and strawberries.  Tatsunori Hara in turn gave the governor and mayor autographed uniforms.

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Hara told reporters today that he planned to select his opening day starter sometime in March.  He also said that there would probably be three candidates.

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Ryosuke Miyaguni left practices early today because he was not feeling well.  He was examined at a hospital and tests for the influenza virus came back negative.  His status for tomorrow's practices are currently up in the air.

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Daisuke Fujimura stayed back after general workouts today for extra fielding practice.

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Max winds in Miyazaki on Thursday reached 19.6m/s at around 10am.  All workouts, other than fielding practices, took place indoors.

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Pitching coach Kazuhisa Kawaguchi spoke to Scott Mathieson about possible balk problems when he pitched out of the stretch during his bullpen session on Thursday.

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Shuichi Murata will attempt to be more selective at the plate after his old college manager, Hiroshi Suzuki, suggested that if he walked more, he could bat .300 and hit 30 homers.

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Evening swing practices began on Thursday.  There were plans to hold the session outdoors but the bad weather moved things indoors.

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Adidas adipure training shoes will be making an appearance at Giants' spring camp.

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:36am

The Giants invited the Miyazaki Police Department's Organized Crime Division to provide Ichi-gun players and coaches with a lecture on organized crimes today.

The Giants prayed for a successful season at a nearby shrine before practices this morning.

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Taishi Ota closed out his workouts with about 30 minutes of fielding practice in center.  Ota also hit one ball over the fence during BP.

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If there is time, Tatsunori Hara plans to put Shuichi Murata through one of his personal fielding drills during spring camp.

Murata spoke to reporters before practice today and said that he went to sleep at 11pm last night and got a night's sleep.

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Yoshinobu Takahashi told reporters on Tuesday that he was no longer sick.  Takashi missed two of the four days of early training camp due to a nose/throat cold.

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Takahiko Nomaguchi was named leader of the Ni-gun pitching staff during spring camp.

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Batting practice:

John Bowker hit two balls over the fence.

Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Tetsuya Utsumi threw 81 pitches.

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Toshiya Sugiuchi threw 70 pitches.

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1st round draft pick Ryuya Matsumoto threw 40 pitches to standing catcher.

Toshiya Sugiuchi and Tetsuya Utsumi tossed bullpen sessions side-by-side today.  Sugicuhi threw 25 pitches (standing catcher).

Hirokazu Sawamura also tossed a bullpen session -- 22 pitches with a standing catcher.

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Shuichi Murata worked out for about three hours on Friday.  He also narrowed down with bat he will be using this season -- he used two bats last year, one with a center of gravity closer to the bat head (good for power) and another with the center of gravity closer to the bat handle (good for line drives) and decided to go with the one that has the center of gravity closer to the bat handle.

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Position players were split into three groups for fielding practice before taking BP on Friday.  Hayato Sakamoto took an extra hour of fielding practice before working on his hitting.

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Tatsunori Hara would like to see John Bowker compete for the starting left field job and the clean-up spot in the line-up.  But he does have his work cut out for him since Hara has also said he was thinking about batting Hisayoshi Chono, Shinnosuke Abe, and Shuichi Murata three, four, and five in the order.

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.

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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).

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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.

Team owner Kojiro Shiraishi visited Giants Stadium today for the first time since taking over in November and introduced himself to everyone that was there.  He also checked out the various facilities, played some catch, and took some soft toss BP.

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Shuichi Murata returned to Tokyo from his training session in Amamioshima today.  He will now prepare for the start of the team's joint training session that begin on January 26.

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Hayato Sakamoto and Daisuke Fujimura worked out for about four hours at Giants Stadium on Saturday.

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Team Utsumi, made up for Tetsuya Utsumi, Tetsuya Yamaguchi, Shun Tono, Jumpei Ono, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Yuki Koyama, convened at Giants Stadium at 9:30am on Saturday to begin their "second round of training sessions."

The group returned from their training session in Guam on January 20.

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Sawamura is hoping to toss one or two bullpen sessions before the start of spring camp.

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The 2011 draft class had a chance to introduce themselves to Utsumi on Saturday.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/21 @ 10:45pm

Hara, Utsumi, and other players / personnel, visited Okinogu shrine before practice today in order to pray for a successful season.

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The Giants decided to hold an autograph session after lunchtime BP.  At Hara's request, the first 400 fans to the field were invited onto the field.

The Giants will be holding another such session on the 25th, but with pitchers.

===== 2/21 @ 9:18pm

Sawamura threw 60 pitches in the bullpen today.  It was his second bullpen session in as many days.  As of now, Sawamura will likely have a shot at starting an exhibition game against the Seibu Lions (at Tokyo Dome, 3/2 or 3/3).  But he'll probably make one  relief appearance during a practice game before then.

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Utsumi threw 37 pitches in the bullpen today and checked on all his pitches.  He is expected to pitch in a practice game against the Orix Buffaloes tomorrow.

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Daisuke Fujimura and Hayato Sakamoto spent about an hour taking grounders hit by Tatsunori Hara.

===== 2/21 @ 2:46pm

Shun Tono and Tetsuya Utsumi are essential locks for the rotation.  The Giants may also turn to two foreign starters.  That leaves the rotation with 2 open spots.  If Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round) manages to nail down one of them, that'll leave room for only one more starter.

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Okinawa prefectural governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, visited the Giants' training camp facilities in Naha, Okinawa today.  Hara was presented with some flowers, fruits, and tea.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/10 @ 10:55pm

The veteran players (S group) joined the rest of the Ichi-gun players today.  They also took BP outdoors for the first time since the start of spring camp (excluding Shinnosuke Abe).  Yoshinobu Takahashi and Yoshitomo Tani both told reporters that they had a hard time hitting the ball during BP (timing issues).  Tani and Michihiro Ogasawara both faced Tetsuya Utsumi and Shun Tono.

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Utsumi threw 64 pitches during BP yesterday and gave up 5 could-be hits.  While he didn't throw his new fork, he did throw his fastball, slider, and change.

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Tono threw 62 pitches (all fastballs) during BP.

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Carlos Torres faced Hidetoshi Tsuburaya and Daijiro Tanaka during BP today (his 2nd BP outing) and threw 49 pitches while giving up 4 could-be hits.  Torres struggled with his control and threw 6 straight balls at one point.

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Itaru Hashimoto, Tomoya Inzen, and Daisuke Fujimura took part in Ichi-gun practice today.  During situational fielding, Hashimoto showed off his arm and inspired Tatsunori Hara to tell reporters that Hashimoto had the best arm in the Giants' system.

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Alex Ramirez visited Miyazaki Gakuen High School today and dropped in a on a number clubs (flower arrangement, Japanese calligraphy, koto music) for ideas on his HR dance.

===== 2/10 @ 4:57pm

Kentaro Nishimura told reporters today that the biggest thing he had to work on moving forward was his balance while throwing the ball.

Said Nishimura, "I really need to think about my balance.  I mess up my balance if I try to throw too hard, so I want to keep it at about 80%.  I want to be able to throw a fastball with some good spin on it."

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Taishi Ota worked out for about an hour on his day off yesterday.  The Giants will play three intra-squad games between 2/13 and 2/17.  Ota told reporters he'd wanted to hit at least one home run during those three games and that he also wanted to do well against Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round) on the 15th so that he could get his name in the papers (Ota collected 3 could-be hits on 33 pitches the first time they faced each other during BP on 2/6).

Ota is competing against Rutsy Ryal and Yoshiyuki Kamei for the starting third base job.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/8 @ 12:36pm

Osamu Higashio's advice to Sawamura: hold on to the ball for as long as you can to mess with the batter's timing.

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Ramirez, Torres, and Albaladejo taught a course on Spanish conversation today.

===== 2/7 @ 10:59pm

Shun Tono threw 154 pitches in the bullpen (he also started throwing his fork and mixed in his curve and slider) today while Tetsuya Utsumi threw 134.

When Utsumi was told about the number of pitches Tono threw, Utsumi replied by saying that he would throw 200 tomorrow.

Both pitchers are competing for the opening day start.

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Tatsunori Hara worked with Taishi Ota on his hitting today.  Ota also faced Carlos Torres during BP.

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Torres faced Daijiro Tanaka and Ota during BP today and threw 43 pitches.  Torres was also hit by a comebacker to the mound (second pitch he threw Tanaka) but appeared to be fine.

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Hideki Sunaga threw 26 pitches in the bullpen today.  Sunaga struggled with his control (particularly with the fork) and got some tips from pitching coach Kawaguchi (his body was getting out in front).

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Jonathan Albaladejo held a 41-pitch bullpen session today.  It was Albaladejo's second bullpen session this spring.

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Both Yoshiyuki Kamei and Hisayoshi Chono were at practice today, despite suffering minor injuries yesterday*.  The Giants had another scare today with Shigeyuki Furuki when he ran into the pitcher.  It seems his injuries weren't major since he continued to take part in practice.

*The Giants originally thought about giving Chono the day off, but he wanted no part of that.  Said Chono, "I'm fine.  It was my fault for not being able to get out of the way."

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The veteran group (or the S Group, comprised of Michihiro Ogasawara, Alex Ramirez, Yoshinobu Takahashi, and Yoshitomo Tani) spent the first half of their day working out outdoors (base-running, fielding practice) and then went back indoors for BP.  It was the first time the veteran group practiced outside since the start of spring camp.

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Hara showed some interest in what Masahiro Tanaka (RAK) shouted yesterday during the Eagles' morning shout session on the beach.  Seems it reminded him of how Tanaka said he planned on winning the right to wear the number 18 for the next WBC.

===== 2/7 @ 4:15pm

Masumi Hoshino threw 134 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.  General pitching coach Kazuhisa Kawaguchi spent some time watching Hoshino, and even stood in the batter's box to get a closer look at his pitches.

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According to Sanspo, Daisuke Ochi threw 54 pitches during BP yesterday and gave up 9 could-be hits while Tetsuya Yamaguchi threw 48 pitches and also gave up 9 could-be hit.

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A number of advance scouts watched Hirokazu Sawamura toss BP yesterday.  Here are some of their comments (via Sanspo):

Chunichi -- "He does throw a hard fastball, but velocity means very little in this world.  He opens his body up while throwing the [curve], so it's very easy to see what's coming."

Yokohama -- "He throws fast, but he doesn't seem to be the strikeout type."

A little more on Sawamura's BP outing: he threw a total 55 pitches (at about 70%) and gave up 6 could-be hits.  He broke Hayato Sakamoto's bat on his 15th and 27th pitches.

Sakamoto's comment on the two fastballs that broke his bats: "They were fast.  Both pitches were inside.  I just couldn't get my body ready for it in time."

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The Giants drew about 15,500 fans yesterday.