Akihisa Makida (Rakuten) was taken off the active roster today with a rupture in a tendon in his left wrist (左橈側手根伸筋腱部分/left radial carpal extensor tendon). He will require three to four weeks for a full recovery.  He does not plan on having surgery at this point in time.

Makida suffered the injury when swinging the bat during a game against Lotte on the 21st.  He was examined at a hospital on Tuesday.

Source: Sports Hochi 4/24/2013

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The Buffaloes took Tatsuya Sato off the active roster today with pain in his lower back.  He started feeling pain in his back during an outing against Softbank on the 20th and was later examined at a hospital in Kobe.  No serious issues were discovered.  He is not expected to miss an extended amount of time.

Source: Sports Hochi 4/24/2013

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Kenta Maeda (Hiroshima) started playing catch today.  Maeda spoke to reporters and said that the tightness he was feeling in his right arm was mostly gone and that he should be able to return to the active roster within ten days.

Source: Sports Hochi 4/24/2013

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Tomonori Maeda (Hiroshima) decided to undergo surgery after he was diagnosed with a fracture in his left wrist.  He will most likely miss two to three months.

Source: Sponichi 4/24/2013

Yakult Swallow Masaya Emura threw the pitch that hit Maeda and fractured his wrist.  Emura and pitching coach Daisuke Araki met Kenjiro Nomura at Jingu Gaien and apologized for the incident.

Source: Daily Sports 4/24/2013, Nikkan Sports 4/24/2013

Tomonori Maeda took an HBP off the area near his left wrist in the 8th inning of tonight's game against the Yakult Swallows (Masaya Emura on the mound).  He was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and was diagnosed with a ulnar styloid fracture.

Source: Daily Sports 4/23/2013

The Hiroshima Carp received twenty kilograms of bare oysters and 100 oysters in shells from the Hiroshima Fishery Cooperative today.

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Tomonori Maeda took about 400 pitches against the pitching machine during extra batting practice today.  The session lasted about an hour.  Maeda also moved up about a meter in the cages at one point because he felt the machine was throwing too slow.

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Kenjiro Nomura spent about forty-five minutes working with Shota Dobayashi and Yoshitaka Isomura on their hitting after general practices today.  Nomura also tossed pitches to the two players.

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Eishin Soyogi began rehab workouts on his left knee on Thursday.  Soyogi started feeling discomfort in the knee after sliding in an intra-squad game on February 19.  As a precaution, he skipped batting practice on Wednesday and got his knee examined at a hospital in Nichinan where he was diagnosed with a contusion on his left knee.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura threw the fork during his bullpen session on Thursday for the first time during spring camp.  The Carp also decided to have him pitch situational batting practice on Saturday.

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Members of the organization, including Kenjiro Nomura, Ni-gun manager Junzo Uchida, Hiroshima players' rep chairman Akihiro Higashide, and GM Kiyoaki Suzuki, visited Udo Jingu Shrine today and prayed for a successful season.

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With an umpire calling balls and strikes, 1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura worked on hitting the corners of strike zone during his bullpen session today.

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Masafumi Suenaga joined the Ichi-gun team for practice today.

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Yuki Saito and Takeru Imamura filed their taxes online today (part of a PR event for Japan's e-Tax system).

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Batting coach Itsuki Asai was not happy about how much heavier Takahiro Iwamoto looked during practices on Thursday.  Iwamoto told reporters he is currently at ninety-eight to ninety-nine kilograms (although it apparently seems like he is a lot heavier than that), which is about three to four kilograms heavier than his ideal weight.

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Shota Nakazaki's next start will be against the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday.

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Tomonori Maeda's (40) first day of workouts at Ichi-gun camp on Thursday included fielding practice, lunchtime batting practice, and extra indoor batting practice against a pitching machine for about an hour and a half.  The coaches have allowed Maeda to set his own training schedule.

Tomonori Maeda (40) worked out for about six hours on Saturday.  His workouts included soft toss BP and fielding practice.

Team owner Hajima Matsuda also spoke to Maeda for about five minutes and reportedly told him to aim for six more homers -- he is five homers from 300 but has only hit six since 2008.

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Team owner Matsuda watched the 2011 draft class working out at the Ono training facilities on Saturday and told reporters he was impressed with 1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura.  When Nomura was asked what he though, he replied, "It seems a lot of people talk about how close I am to being ready, but I have never thought that myself.  I think I am still at about 40%. ... My delivery and my mechanics are still incomplete.  And of the 60% or so that remains, about 30-40% is strengthening my body.  Once my body is set, the rest will fall into place."

When asked to compare pitching to something, he said, "A tree. ... Trees with many branches and leaves have thick trunks.  Strong trunks mean good balance.  And if the branches grow, they can bend more and provide an increase in power. ... Big trees have good roots.  And that is why it is important to strengthen the lower body."

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A group of players, including Kenta Maeda, Akihiro Higashide, Eishin Soyogi, and Takeru Imamura, took off for Okinawa on Friday.

Training camp for the 2011 draft class started at the Ono training facilities today.  Workouts lasted about four hours and included running and playing catch.

The players also had a chance to meet veteran Tomonori Maeda.

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Yuya Fukui's workouts this month have started at 10am and ended at 4pm.  He has also already tossed BP (while mixing in off-speed pitches) to Yasuyuki Kataoka (SEI).  Fukui will continue his practices at the Tokyo Gas training facilities until 1/21 before heading to Okinawa on 1/24.

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Tomonori Maeda worked out for about five hours at the Ono training facilities in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima on Wednesday.  His workouts included playing catch, soft toss BP, and fielding practice.

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Kenta Maeda's new wife has a license as a Dietary Life Advisor and has been giving Maeda tips on what kinds of foods to eat.