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Head coach Yutaka Takagi told reporters on Saturday that he was not fully satisfied with practices and that he felt as if there was something missing.  He also felt players were not being vocal enough during workouts.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata's meals on Friday (selected by a nutritionist):

Breakfast @ 7:30am - eggs, ham, natto, white rice, miso soup, yogurt

Lunch @ 12:30pm - beef curry, salad, corn soup, yogurt, a honey and lemon drink

Dinner @ 6:30pm - eel rice bowl, yaki soba, salad, hoikoro (Szechuan pork dish), kani-tama (crab omelet), mizutaki (hot pot), yogurt

Nakahata's hotel room is located on the 12th floor and has a great view of the training facilities (51,975 yen a night).  He watched over practices from his hotel room yesterday and again today.  Nakahata is also getting full reports and video footage of practices.

The Bay Stars announced today that the earliest Nakahata will be allowed to return to the field is February 7 -- while the fever has gone down, he is still having problems with his nose and throat.

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Team owner Makoto Haruta visited the Hiroshima Carp on Friday.

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The Bay Stars held a fan gathering on Friday.  About 1,000 fans attended.  A video message from Nakahata was also shown.

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Yuki Kuniyoshi faced two batters and tossed forty-nine pitches during batting practice today and allowed two could-be hits.  Of the forty-nine pitches he threw, one resulted in a swinging strike, one in a called strike, and twenty-six were called balls.

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Hiroyuki Fukuyama ran 4.2 kilometers in 17 minutes and 15 seconds on Thursday.

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At around 9:44am this morning, Kiyoshi Nakahata waved his hands at players from the balcony off his room during a team meeting.  According to reports, Nakahata went to sleep at 8pm last night and woke up around 6:50am.  He finished off his breakfast around 7:30am and his fever dropped to 36.5 degrees Celsius.  Assuming things do not get worse, Nakahata could return to the field as early as February 5.

Nakahata did watch over practices from his hotel room.

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Two members of the team staff were diagnosed with the flu after their arrivals at spring camp: bullpen catcher on January 31; and scout on February 1.  The team does not plan on testing any players, but they handed out masks today and have prepared some tamiflu.

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Team owner Makoto Haruta, team president Jun Ikeda, and GM Shigeru Takada met with the Nippon Ham Fighters on Thursday.

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:35am

The team announced on Friday that team president Ikeda was diagnosed with influenza A.  He is the fourth person in the organization to catch the flu.

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Nakahata allowed two Yomiuri Giants scouts into the bullpen on Thursday and was later told not to allow any more scouts (from other teams) into the bullpen.

Via Daily Sports: The Yokohama Bay Stars announced today that they will be giving the following three foreign infielders a tryout during spring camp: Wes Bankston (28), Chris Nowak (28), and Oscar Salazar (33).

The three are scheduled to arrive in Okinawa on February 4.  They will spend two days working out on their own.  Tryouts with the team will take place between February 7 and 12.  The Bay Stars plan to announce their decisions on February 12.

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Wes Bankston - Career Stats

Chris Nowak - Career Stats

Oscar Salazar - Career Stats

About 1,000 fans showed up on the first day of spring camp, in addition to the 178 members of the media.

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Team owner Makoto Haruta and team president Jun Ikeda visited Hanshin Tigers' camp in Ginoza.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata spent about four minutes hitting forty-one baseballs to Yuki Kuniyoshi, Hiroyuki Fukuyama, and Kota Suda at around 11:30am on Wednesday.  He also swung a missed a number of times.

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Nakahata was diagnosed with the flu today -- head coach Yutaka Takagi will take over while Nakahata recovers.

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Alex Ramirez apparently feels Yuki Yoshimura may be the team's best power hitter and Nakahata is worried about how Yoshitomo Tsutsugo's hitting mechanics are not as good as they were last year.

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Additional Updates (2/3 @ 1:03am)

Kazuhiro Sasaki visited the Ich-gun team on Wednesday.

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Nakahata was upset that players were not properly responding to greetings and questions and called them on it on Wednesday.

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Pitching coach Yu Tomori wants pitchers to throw at least 1,500 pitches during spring camp.  He also expects pitchers to do a lot of running to improve their stamina/conditioning.

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Team owner Haruta and team president Ikeda also met with Chunichi and Yakult.

Yakult Swallows

Head / pitching coach Daisuke Araki is thinking about three lefties (Masanori Ishikawa, Kyohei Muranaka, and Katsuki Akagawa) during their opening series against the Yomiuri Giants.

Yomiuri Giants

Toshiya Sugiuchi did not intend to throw 70 pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday but apparently did because Tetsuya Utsumi threw 80 pitches.

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Shuichi Murata on his hitting: "First I focus on driving the ball the other way and once I get a hang of that, I turn to hitting the big ones. .. My style will be the same anywhere I go."

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Pitchers could have a chance to begin tossing BP as early as February 4.

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Ryosuke Miyaguni threw 54 pitches and struggled with his control.

Hiroshima Carp

Kenta Maeda twisted his left ankle during early training camp in Okinawa on January 27.  Even though the injury was not serious, Maeda kept his workouts light through to January 30 as a precaution.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Alex Ramirez took BP on the first day of spring camp, something he has not done over the last few years.

Kiyoshi Nakahata told reporters on Tuesday that other than Alex Ramirez, everyone else on the team had to compete for a spot.

Nakahata showed up on the field at 9:07am and showed the media his Yokohama uniform and the number 70.

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Daisuke Miura and Yuki Kuniyoshi left the team hotel at around 6:10 for an early morning walk (lasted about thirty minutes).

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Yoshitomo Tsutsugo took part in a fielding practice session that lasted about forty minutes.  It was originally supposed to last twenty minutes but the time was doubled by Nakahata.  Yuta Naito, attempting a possible position change to the infield, was also part of the group.

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Alex Ramirez spent some time giving Yuki Yoshimura pointers on hitting.

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Team owner Makoto Haruta plans to stick around in Okinawa until Sunday (February 5).

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Bullpen sessions:

Wednesday

Every pitcher at Ginowan tossed a bullpen session with squatting catcher.

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Shun Yamaguchi threw 73 pitches.

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Kentaro Takasaki threw 58 pitches to a squatting catcher.

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Masanori Hayashi threw 50 pitches.

Chunichi Dragons

Morimichi Takagi expects players to work on their small ball skills, like moving runners over and doing the other little things that help improve a team's chances at scoring a run.

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The Dragons announced that they assigned Toshiya Okada a new number: from 11 to 21 (Wei-Ying Chen's old number).

The number 11 was in turn given/returned to Kenshi Kawakami.

Nobumasa Fukuda's registered position was also changed from infielder to catcher.

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Bullpen sessions:

Monday

Yudai Ono threw 33 pitches in the bullpen and later told reporters he was throwing at about 80%.  It was Ono's second bullpen session in Okinawa.  Ono also mentioned that Wei-Ying Chen gave him advice on how to use his lower body more effectively and that he was trying to release the ball about 10cm farther out in front of him.

Yakult Swallows

The Swallows visited Naminoue-gu Shrine in Naha on Tuesday and prayed for a successful season.

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Ryoji Aikawa was named captain of the team.

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Junji Ogawa's to-do list during spring camp (according to Sanspo):

1) have intense competitions at various positions to improve overall quality
2) development the next player to take over for Norichika Aoki
3) help the new foreigners get used to playing in Japan

Ogawa also wants to see his players to sell themselves more, especially with the departure of one of the team's most popular players.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Kiyoshi Nakahata arrived in Okinawa on Tuesday and attended a welcoming ceremony at Naha airport.  About 300 fans showed up.

Nakahata does not plan on taking any early morning walks during spring camp because the days are already long enough as is. ... Nakahata got a hair cut at his sister's beauty salon in Izumi Ward, Yokohama on Monday.  He told reporters he does not care if players dye their hair, wear earrings, and have facial hair, so long as they are presentable, with an emphasis on presentable. ... Nakahata plans to take advantage of the Yomiuri Giants' weak middle infield defense. ... Nakahata is aware that neither Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Alex Ramirez are solid defenders.  But since he likes their offensive potential, he plans to work with both players during spring camp.

Regarding Tsutsugo: "We will work Tsutsugo hard on defense during spring camp."

Regarding Ramirez: "Ramirez is fast when he runs a straight line.  And while his main position will be in the outfield, I think working at an infield position will help him think more about his footwork.  I think it will also help him on offense."

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Team owner Makoto Haruta accompanied the team to Okinawa on Tuesday.  He also attended the general meeting held at the player hotel.

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 According to Nikkan Sports, the general meeting lasted about an hour.  Sanspo figures it lasted over two hours.

Yakult Swallows

Junji Ogawa arrived in Okinawa on Monday and said to reporters, "We scheduled a lot of practice games to give everyone a chance to play.  The only every day players we have right now are Shinya Miyamoto and Ryoji Aikawa."

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Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi, Tsuyoshi Ueda, and Hitoshi Yamamoto did two thirty-minute zazen meditation sessions at Seiryuji Fudoin in Wako, Saitama on Sunday.

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A new clubhouse was built at Saitobaru Sports Park and will be ready for the Ni-gun players to use during spring camp.

The one-story building, complete with three meeting rooms, lockers, and shower facilities, cost about 70M yen.  The city of Saito in Miyazaki paid for the construction out of money they received from the government through a military base grant.

Up until this year, the Swallows spent about 3M yen each spring to build a temporary clubhouse.

Hiroshima Carp

The Carp announced on Monday that Nick Stavinoha's registered name will be "Nick" and "Stavinoha" will appear on his uniform.  Kam Mickolio's registered name will be "Mickolio."

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Dennis Sarfate told reporters on Sunday that he was excited about the current arms in the bullpen:

There is [Takahiro] Aoki from the left and [Takeru] Imamura from the right.  I heard [Katsuhiro] Nagakawa is also throwing.  If [Ryuji] Yokoyama returns we will have a strong bullpen. ...  I do not plan to give up the closer role, but Imamura has what it takes to become a closer in the future.

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Bullpen session:

Sunday

Takeru Imamura threw 15 pitches to a standing catcher.  It was his first session of the year.  Imamura worked on his mechanics during the off-season and is reportedly looking a lot like Takuya Asao (CHU).

Said Imamura, "I am not thinking about [Asao].  I have not even watched any of his footage.  I just looked at my own and thought about [what I need to do].  I made my back motion smaller and I throw the ball further out in front.  Doing that allows me to put my weight behind my pitches.  It also makes it difficult for the batter to time my pitches."

Yokohama Bay Stars

The Bay Stars held a press conference for Giancarlo Alvarado on Monday.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata appeared on NHK's Sunday Sports on Sunday night and said that he wanted to play Yoshitomo Tsutsugo every day and that he imagined him as a number three hitter.

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The new Bay Stars' online store opened on Sunday.  The Bay Stars also sold about 40 new items during their uniform unveiling ceremony.

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84 members of the media from 38 different companies covered Sunday's uniform unveiling ceremony.

Chunichi Dragons

Morimichi Takagi observed players working out at Chatan on Sunday and told reporters he was not very impressed with what he saw.

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The sixteen members of the coaching staff arrived in Okinawa on Saturday.  Pitching coach Hiroshi Gondo told reporters he saw Kenshin Kawakami as a possible replacement for Wei-Ying Chen.

Chen could get the heads up to start at Ichi-gun spring camp.

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Takagi spent about 30 minutes watching Victor Diaz working out on Saturday and said, "[Diaz] has a nice easy swing and he has that strong upper body.  Not bad.  There is a chance he could end up being a bargain."

Takagi was also impressed with 1st round draft pick Shuhei Takahashi's bat speed.

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Jorge Sosa told reporters on Saturday that Sammy Sosa is one of his relatives.

Yakult Swallows

Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi, Tsuyoshi Ueda, and Hitoshi Yamamoto did zazen meditation at Seiryuji Fudoin in Wako, Saitama on Sunday.

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Orlando Roman worked out at Jingu Gaien on Saturday.  Workouts included playing catch and lifting weights.  He also had a chance to meet Ryoji Aikawa.

Roman plans to toss a bullpen session on the first day of spring camp.

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Via Sanspo, Wladimir Balentien's advice to Lastings Milledge on what is necessary in order to succeed in Japan:

- Learn how to speak Japanese -- try to communicate without the use of an interpreter
- Be open and friendly with teammates and coaches
- Get used to eating Japanese food since fast food will not cut it

Sports Hochi and Sponichi mentions a slightly different list:

- Be open and be prepared to listen
- Develop good relationships with your teammates and other personnel
- Learn Japanese

Hanshin Tigers

1st round draft pick Hayata Ito hit a ball that traveled an estimated 115 meters (off a right-handed pitcher, toward right) during outdoor BP at Ginoza on Sunday.

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Keiichi Hirano spent about an hour and a half visiting kids at Koniya Junior High School in Kagoshima on Sunday.

Hiroshima Carp

Bryan Bullington, Dennis Sarfate, Brian Barden, Kam Mickolio, and Nick Stavinoha spent some time speaking to the media at a hotel in Hiroshima on Sunday.

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1st round draft pick Yusuke Nomura threw his 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday at about 50%.

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Bullpen sessions:

Sunday

Yuya Fukui threw 22 pitches (11 from the wind and 11 from the stretch) in the bullpen (standing catcher).  It was his first session of the year.

Saturday

Ryosuke Ikenouchi threw 30 pitches (mostly fastballs) to a squatting catcher.

Yokohama Bay Stars

In addition to unveiling their uniforms for 2012, the Bay Stars also formally introduced their 2011 draft class on Sunday.  About 5,000 fans showed up.

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Kiyoshi Nakahata tried to recruit Hideki Matsui again during a wedding party on Saturday and was told that he would have to wait five more years.

The new Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars uniforms were unveiled at Queen's Square Yokohama today.

You can can see more images at the official team site.