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NPB Commissioner Ryozo Kato visited the team today.

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The Giants received 1200kg of rice from JA Akita and 880 serviings of udon noodles from Sato Yosuke Shoten today.

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Masumi Hoshino faced Daisuke Fujimura and Taishi Ota during batting practice today and allowed five could-be hits on fifty-one pitches (mostly fastballs away).  Tatsunori Hara is hoping Hoshino can become an effective option out of the bullpen.

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Takayuki Takaguchi worked out with the Ichi-gun players on Saturday and took fielding practice at both short and second.  He also showed some power during batting practice.

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Takayuki Terauchi participated in the morning walk at Ni-gun today.  Terauchi felt some pain while throwing the ball during fielding practice on Friday but appears to be ok.

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Yuya Kubo (right hip) told reporters this morning that he was able to do some long distance throwing at a max distance of about 100 meters (although without much power since his range of motion is still limited).

On Saturday, Hara told reporters that he was still hopeful Kubo would be ready by opening day and that he still had the lead for the closer role.  When asked about Scott Mathieson, he said, "If I talk about Mathieson too much it might make Kubo worry/rush."

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Hisayoshi Chono has been teaching John Bowker some Japanese.

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Asuka Kuramochi (AKB48) visited the Giants on Friday for an article she is writing for the Shukan AKB48 Group Newspaper.

Thursday was the first day of hearings in the Hidetoshi Kiyotake vs Yomiuri Giants/Tsuneo Watanabe lawsuit.  Both sides presented their cases and it seems there is a chance that Kiyotake and Watanabe might be called in to provide testimonies.  The court also decided to consolidate (joinder) the lawsuits for efficiency.

See also:

Hidetoshi Kiyotake officially files a lawsuit against Yomiuri

Kiyotake News and Notes: December 6, 2011

Yomiuri Shimbun Group and the Yomiuri Giants file lawsuit against Hidetoshi Kiyotake

Youtube Videos: Press conferences from Kiyotake Problem

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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 started their workouts indoors today because of strong wind and cold temperature.

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Shuichi Murata is going with the high sock look.

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Tatsunori Hara spent about five minutes giving Taishi Ota tips on hitting while watching Murata take BP on Wednesday (Hara was using Murata as a reference model).

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Shinnosuke Abe caught Ryosuke Miyaguni's bullpen session on Wednesday.

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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.

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.

The coaches and remaining players working out at Giants Stadium arrived at Miyazaki Airport today and attended a welcoming ceremony.  Players and staff later visited Miyazaki Jingu and prayed for a successful season.  At night, the entire team convened for a general meeting.

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D.J. Houlton gave himself a clean shave before heading to Miyazaki today.  The team also held a press conference for Houlton at the team hotel in Miyazaki.

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Shuichi Murata plans take BP without wearing batting gloves whenever he can, especially during soft-toss, so that he can get a better feel for hitting the ball.  Tatsunori Hara is also a strong proponent of taking BP without batting gloves.

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While Yoshinobu Takahashi did not visit Miyazaki Jingu with the rest of the team today because of his cold, he did attend the general meeting later in the day.  He should be ok for the start of spring camp tomorrow.

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In order to help break the ice, both Toshiya Sugiuchi and Murata suggested that teammates call them by his first names.  More specifically, by their "nicknames": Toshi-nee (literally, brother Toshi) and Shu-san (shortened version of Shuichi).

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The media learned that sumo wrestler Hakuho is planning to visit the team some time during spring camp in Miyazaki.

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Nippon TV announced their schedule for Yomiuri games today:

Terrestrial: twenty-two games (sixteen day games and six night games) down from twenty-three games (fifteen day games and eight night games) last year.

BS NTV: sixty-one games

CS NTV G+: seventy-two games

Giants Eye in Miyazaki: The Giants announced today that they will be setting up cameras in Sun Marine Stadium, Himuka Stadium, Konohana Dome, and in the bullpens at Miyazaki Sports Park during spring camp and will be feeding the footage to the big screens located in Ballpark G.

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The players closed out their early training camp in Miyazaki today.

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Team rep/GM Atsushi Harasawa observed players working out in Miyazaki today.

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Michihiro Ogasawara signed some autographs after staying back for extra batting practice today.

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Yoshinobu Takahashi was excused from practices today because he was still not feeling well.  Takahashi first missed practices on Saturday and managed to get through most of the workouts on Sunday.  Team officials are telling reporters it is not serious (no fever, but headaches and a sore throat).

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Levi Romero arrived in Japan on Sunday.

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When Shinnosuke Abe approached Shuichi Murata for advice on Taishi Ota's hitting mechanics on Sunday, Muarata replied, "[Ota] has a tendency to lunge forward so it might be better if he relaxes more when he starts his swing."

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Bullpen sessions:

Monday

Hirokazu Sawamura tossed 34 pitches, including his slider.  He later told reporters he was throwing at about 60-70%.

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Tetsuya Utsumi threw 49 pitches to a squatting catcher.

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Toshiya Suiguchi threw 28 pitches, including his slider, to a squatting catcher.  This was his third bullpen session in as many days (but the first time he threw to a squatting catcher).

D.J. Houlton arrived at Narita Airport today and told reporters that he already tossed two bullpen sessions before coming to Japan.

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Actress Masami Nagasawa participated in workouts (warm-ups, fielding practice) with the Giants at Miyazaki Sports Park today as part of a story for Kaze to Rock (free newspaper).

The Urawa Red Diamonds (soccer), also holding workouts in Miyazaki Sports Park, spent some time watching BP and bullpen sessions today.

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The Giants attending early training camp in Miyazaki worked out indoors on Saturday due to the rain.

Yoshinobu Takahashi was excused from practice because he was not feeling well, but he did suit up for photos in the afternoon.  Takahashi was back at practices today.

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Hisayoshi Chono spent time in the cages on Saturday working on bunts.

Chono's workouts today started at around 10am and lasted about three and a half hours.

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Hirokazu Sawamura signed an advisory contract with Under Armor.

Sawamura threw a cutter during his bullpen session on Saturday.  The pitch apparently is not for use during games, just during practice sessions.

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Ni-gun manager Masahiro Kawai does not want players to wear sunglasses during Ni-gun spring camp.

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Bullpen sessions:

Sunday

Toshiya Sugiuchi threw 26 pitches (standing catchers).  That is three more than he threw on Saturday.

Saturday

Tetsuya Utsumi threw 44 pitches.

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.