Motonobu Tanishige (Chunichi) tied Katsuya Nomura's NPB record of twenty-five consecutive seasons with at least one home run today.  He also left the game with tightness in his left hamstring.

Source: Sports Hochi 4/7/2013

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Shinnosuke Abe (Yomiuri) notched his 1,500th career hit with a single to right off Masato Kobayashi in the bottom of the 7th inning of today's game against Chunichi.  He is the 113th player in NPB history to reach the milestone.  His first hit came on March 30, 2001.

Source: Daily Sports 4/7/2013, Sponichi 4/7/2013

The Giants won their seventh straight game today (7-0-1) and tied the franchise record for consecutive wins at the start of the season, set in 1941.  The NPB record of eleven victories to start off a season was set by Nishitetsu in 1954 and Chunichi in 1999.

Source: Nikkan Sports 4/7/2013

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The Yakult Swallows and Yokohama Bay Stars combined for eight home runs today (all solo home runs).

Tony Blanco (Yokohama) was responsible for three of them (two in consecutive at bats).  This was his first three-homer game of his NPB career.

The Swallows hit three home runs in a row in the 2nd inning (Akinori Iwamura, Shinichi Takeuchi, and Yuhei Nakamura) for the first time since August 17, 2005 (Alex Ramirez, Ryuji Miyade, and Adam Riggs).

Source: Sponichi 4/7/2013, Nikkan Sports 4/7/2013

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Seiichi Uchikawa (Softbank) recorded his 4,000th at bat in the 1st inning of today's game against Nippon Ham.

Source: Sponichi 4/7/2013

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Tony Blanco borrowed Alex Ramirez's bat for his last seven swings during batting practice on Friday and hit six over the fence, including four in a row.

Source: Sanspo 2/9/2013

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Former Lotte manger/Yomiuri head coach Koji Yamamoto will be a special batting instructor -- three-day period beginning today.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/9/2013

The Yokohama Bay Stars announced their signing of Tony Blanco today.  He has been assigned the number forty-two.

Regarding his contract, according to Daily Sports, it is a two-year deal worth a total 500 million yen a year (200 million yen plus 50 million in incentives per year).

They have released the following statement from Blanco:

"I am very happy about joining the Yokohama Bay Stars.

The Bay Stars appear to be a very energetic team.  Yokohama Stadium is very nice and I love it there.  I think Yokohama fans are very passionate.  I also love Chinese food.

[Alex] Ramirez has given me good advice since my first year in Japan.

I hear the manager does a good job of communicating with players.  I want to get used to the team as soon as possible and take great care of my teammates and teamwork.  I want to help this team win a championship by winning a home run title with the power I have.

Please come to HamaSta and cheer for me!"

Source: official announcement, Daily Sports 12/11/2012

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UPDATE @ 11:16pm - Chunichi Dragons' team rep Ryohei Sato on losing Blanco to the Yokohama Bay Stars:

"Blanco hit a game-changing grand slam in the third game of the First Stage of the Climax Series this year.  He helped the team win last year by hitting a game-tying three-run home run against Yokohama.  It was hard to tell how things were going to end until the very last moment.  He was the kind of player that allowed us to sell that kind of dream.  After the end of the season, one of our people visited him in the Dominican Republic.  We did our best to work something out, but unfortunately he did not choose Chunichi.  But this is a business.  We can only respect his decision. ... It will obviously be scary [to face him next year].  But it will also motivate us in games against Yokohama."

Source: Nikkan Sports 12/11/2012

The Yokohama Bay Stars are apparently very close to finalizing deals with both Tony Blanco (32) and Enyelbert Soto (30).

According to Nikkan Sports...

Blanco is expected to sign a two-year deal worth 500 million yen.  An announcement could be made some time today.  He could be assigned the number forty-two.

Soto could signed a two-year deal worth 150 million yen plus performance bonuses.  An announcement about him could be made within the next couple of days.

Source: Nikkan Sports 12/11/2012

The Chunichi Dragons informed reporters today that they do not plan include Tony Blanco (32), Jorge Sosa (35), and Enyelbert Soto (30) in their list of reserved players.  This means all three players will automatically become free agents on December 3.

Source: Nikkan Sports 11/28/2012

The Yokohama Bay Stars are currently looking into Tony Blanco, Jorge Sosa, Enyelbert Soto, and Maximo Nelson.

The Bay Stars may be preparing to offer Blanco, Sosa, and Soto two-year contracts.  Blanco's deal could be worth 600M yen, Sosa's 350M yen, and Soto's 250M yen.  That could give the team, in one fell swoop the power hitter they have been looking, a closer that will allow Shun Yamaguchi to finally make his move into the starting rotation, and a left-handed starter.

If the Bay Stars sign Blanco, he will likely start at first and bat fifth behind Alex Ramirez.

As for whether or not the Dragons still have a shot at re-signing Blanco, it seems there is little chance of that happening now -- negotiations have taken too long and the divide between the two sides may have grown too large.

The Softbank Hawks have also expressed an interest in Blanco, but it seems he has a desire to play for a team located near Tokyo.  The Bay Stars are also considered favorites because of Ramirez.

With regards to Nelson, the team is still looking into him as an option.  Their biggest concern with him is his right shoulder.  If he is healthy, they may attempt to sign him.

Source: Sponichi 11/20/2012, Sponich 11/20/2012, Sponichi 11/20/2012

According to Sports Hochi, the Yokohama Bay Stars are preparing a two-year deal worth about 200M yen for Jorge Sosa.

The Chunichi Dragons have most likely offered Sosa a one-year deal with a significant raise on his 2012 salary (23.1M yen).  However, the thirty-five-year-old reliever reportedly wants a multi-year deal and is not happy with how he was used this past season.  Because of this, there is a very good chance Sosa will hit the open market.  If he does, the Bay Stars will present him with a two-year deal that could be worth about 200M yen.

The Bay Stars are also said to be looking into Tony Blanco and Enyelbert Soto.

Source: Sports Hochi 11/10/2012

According to people involved, Tony Blanco (31) may have decided to turn down Chunichi's offer.  The Yokohama Bay Stars are said to be interested in Blanco and could be preparing a two-year deal worth 500M yen and uniform number forty-two.  But since his contract runs through to November, they will not be able to enter negotiations with the slugger until December.

Source: Sports Hochi 11/4/2012

According to a report by Nikkan Sports, the Yokohama Bay Stars are preparing to offer thirty-one-year-old Tony Blanco a two-year deal worth an estimated 500M yen.

The Chunichi Dragons are trying to keep Blanco in Nagoya and have yet to come to terms despite offering him both a one-year deal and a two-year deal.  Up until this year, the Dragons have always managed to sign him once the season ended.  This year, things have not gone so smoothly.  And while Blanco has told the media that he wants to play in Nagoya, there are rumors that he also wishes to play in Tokyo.

The Bay Stars are drawn to Blanco's power and his a proven track-record in Japan.  If he signs with Yokohama, he will most likely play first and Norihiro Nakamura will shift to third and compete for a starting job with Yoshitomo Tsutsugo.

Source: Nikkan Sports 10/31/2012

Tony Blanco left for the Dominican Republic out of Chubu Kokusai Airport today.  Before leaving, he spoke to reporters and said, "My feelings are in Nagoya.  I am satisfied with the amount they are offering me and I would like to return."

He also said he would feel more comfortable with a two-year deal, which could mean the two sides have moved on to discussing the length of the contract -- the Dragons are said to be offering a one-year deal.

Source: Sponichi 10/25/2012

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UPDATE 10/26 @ 5:55pm -

According to Sponichi, the Dragons offered Blanco a two-year deal worth 400M yen. Source: Sponichi 10/26/2012

Sports Hochi Osaka reports a one-year deal worth 170M yen.  Source: Sports Hochi Osaka 10/26/2012