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Yohei Oshima took outdoor batting practice today and is close to swinging the bat at a hundred percent.  He is also not throwing at full force right now because he wants to take things slow until the start of WBC mini-camp.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/11/2013

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Chief trainer Tetsuyoshi Fujita thinks the low doorways at the Chatan facilities are doing nothing to help Daniel Cabrera with his neck.  Fatigue and ill-suited bedding could also be a problem.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/11/2013, Sponichi 2/11/2013

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Hector Luna would like to play third, if possible -- it has been his primary position over the last eight years.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/11/2013

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4th round draft pick Shota Sugiyama arrived in Okinawa on Sunday.  He was away from camp because he had to take a ski course in Nagano for college (between February 6 and 9).

Sugiyama also celebrated his twenty-second birthday on Sunday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/11/2013

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The Japan Women's Baseball League announced today that the following four players will participate in Dragons' camp in Chatan on the 14th: Iori Miura, Miki Atsugase, Mika Miyahara, and Aya Takizawa.

Source: Dailiy Sports 2/11/2013

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Daniel Cabrera was excused from practices today because of neck pain (he slept on it weird).  His status for tomorrow is unknown.

Source: Sanspo 2/10/2013, Nikkan Sports 2/10/2013

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Soma Yamauchi's goal for spring camp is to throw 1,800 pitches.

Source: Sponichi 2/10/2013

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Yohei Oshima played catch at distances of twenty, thirty, and forty meters during workouts on Saturday.  He also swung the bat 165 times (eight-nine with both hands and seventy-six with just his right hand) over thirty minutes during soft-toss batting practice.  It was the first time Oshima threw and took batting practice since the 4th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/10/2013, Daily Sports 2/10/2013

Oshima took batting practice against a pitching machine today.

Source: Sponichi 2/10/2013

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If Hitoki Iwase records three saves against Yakult this year, he will become the first pitcher in NPB history to record at least fifty saves against each team in his league.  Iwase currently has sixty-four saves against Yokohama, sixty-one against Hanshin, fifty-eight against Hiroshima, fifty-four against Yomiuri, and forty-seven against Yakult.

Source: Sponichi 2/10/2013

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The players spent about eighty minutes executing signal plays during indoor practices this morning -- the media was "shutout" from the indoor facilities.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/9/2013, Sports Hochi 2/9/2013

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Hector Luna's goal is to bat .300, hit twenty home runs, and drive in eighty.  He is ok with playing first, second, third, and the outfield and will carry up to four gloves.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/9/2013

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Yohei Oshima (left elbow) could begin throwing again as early as the 10th.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/9/2013

Oshima ended up visiting three hospitals when he returned to Nagoya on the 7th -- the first two conducted a variety of tests to confirm his condition and the last hospital provided treatment.

Source: Sponichi 2/9/2013

Oshima rejoined the team today.  His workouts included playing catch and batting practice.  He told reporters he was feeling fine and that there was not as much pain.

Takagi is leaving everything up to Oshima.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/9/2013

The Chunichi Dragons announced today that Yohei Oshima received a shot of lubricant in his left elbow during a hospital visit in Nagoya today and is feeling better.  He is currently scheduled to rejoin the team in Okinawa on Saturday.

Doctors were able to confirm that a loose fragment in the elbow shifted.  The lubricant treatment was selected since WBC mini-camp in Miyazaki begins on the 15th.

Oshima started feeling tightness/soreness in his left elbow on the 4th and returned to Nagoya for tests on Thursday.  He developed a similar problem in August last year, but still managed to play a full 144-game season.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/8/2013

Team owner Bungo Shirai visited Ichi-gun camp today.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/7/2013

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Yohei Oshima left Okinawa today to get a full evaluation of his left elbow at two hospitals in Nagoya.  He is expected to be back at Okinawa camp on the 8th.

Oshima has not played any catch or taken any batting practice since the day he started complaining of tightness in his left elbow on the 4th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/7/2013, Daily Sports 2/7/2013

According to the chief trainer, Oshima is having problems bending and straightening the elbow due to a build-up of fluid.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/7/2013

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Kenichi Nakata, Yudai Ono, Yoshihiro Suzuki, and Ryuya Ogawa worked out on their day off on Wednesday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/7/2013

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Hector Luna is scheduled to arrive in Okinawa some time around midnight tonight.  Morimichi Takagi is planning to meet Luna in the hotel lobby.

Takagi went out for dinner with the foreign players on Wednesday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/7/2013

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The Dragons announced that Eddy Rivera did not make the team.  Rivera pitched against Hanwha today and tossed a shutout inning.  He did not allow a hit, walked one, and topped out at 138 km/h.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/5/2013

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Yohei Oshima will be shut down until the 6th with some tightness in his left elbow.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/5/2013

Oshima will reportedly head to Ni-gun camp for rehab.

Source: Sanspo 2/5/2013

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The NPB does not currently plan on punishing Matt Clark for taking medication that may or may not have contained amphetamines because tests have been inconclusive (basic urine and medicine tests came back negative).  At this point, they just want him to cooperate with authorities (which he has been doing).

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/5/2013

Clark is trying to get an alternative prescription for his condition, but the team has not been able to schedule an appointment.

Source: Sponichi 2/5/2013

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1st round draft Koji Fukutani donated a pitching machine (with a value around one million yen) to his Alma mater, Keio University, on Monday.

Source: Sponichi 2/5/2013

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Yohei Oshima worked out under a different training menu today because of tightness (discomfort) in his left elbow.  He will also sit out Tuesday's practice game against Hanwha.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/4/2013

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Samurai Japan coaches Masataka Nashida and Kazuyoshi Tatsunami showed some interest in Shuhei Takahashi (Chunichi) and spent some time working with him during their visit today.

Source: Sponichi 2/4/2013

There are kintaro candies that carry Doala's face.  Immediately after the All-Star break, Daola started giving one to Yohei Oshima before games.

"Before games, I put Doala candy in my back right pocket.  It was a like a good luck charm," said Oshima.

He also said, "If I can have some, I would like to take them [to the WBC].  I should be okay with about ten. ... Doala has them.  At first, he handed the candy to me.  But soon, I was asking him for some."

Result: before the All-Star break Oshima batted .288; after the All-Star break he batted .340.

Source: Sponichi 12/25/2012, Tokyo Sports 12/25/2012, Sports Hochi 12/25/2012

According to Nikkan Sports, the Dragons will likely go with Masahiko Morino, Takeshi Yamasaki, and Kazuhiro Wada in the three, four, and five spots in the batting order.

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The 2012 Cheer Dragons were introduced to fans today in their new uniforms.

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Yohei Oshima did not play in Saturday's exhibition game against the Rakuten Eagles because he fouled a ball off his right wrist during an at bat in the 6th inning on Friday.  Oshima was back in the line-up on Sunday.

Kazuki Yoshimi will be working out at the Toyota facilties beginning on 1/6/2011..

"I feel like I can get back to the basics where I go back to Toyota," said Yoshimi.  "It's easy to give-up if you're alone, but at Toyota I can really push myself.  Players from other clubs also spend some time there, so it's good for seeing what other are up to."

Players like Chihiro Kaneko (ORI), Takashi Ogino (LOT), and Tsuyoshi Kawagishi (RAK) will also be spending time at the Toyota facilities in January.

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Yohei Oshima told reporters on Tuesday that he plans to approach the 2011 season with a new pair of cleats.

"They showed me a number of models and one of them just clicked," said Oshima.  "I'm looking for [cleats] that will help provide me with stability when I'm batting.  Kind of similar to the ones Saburo (LOT) and [Kenta] Kurihara (HIR) wear.  I'll get the new pairs in January and give them a test run."

In addition to the method in which the spikes are attached to the bottom of the cleats, the new model also has more spikes (over 10 compared to the 9 that were on Oshima's old pair).

"[The clears] are geared more towards hitting, rather then fielding and base-running," said a rep from manufacturer.  "The spikes run along the edges so they provide a lot of support."

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Hirokazu Ibata, Masahiro Araki, Hidenori, Kenta Asakura, and Junki Ito appeared at a fan event held at the Nagoya Red Cross Hospital on Tuesday.