Masanori Ishikawa set a new franchise record with his fourth career opening day victory.  The previous record of three was held by Masaichi Kaneda, Hiromu Matsuoka, and Kazuhisa Ishii.

Ishikawa was also just two outs away from becoming the first pitcher to toss a no-hitter on opening day.

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At forty-one years and four months, Shinya Miyamoto became the second oldest Central League player to record three (or more) hits in an opening day game.  The oldest: Hiromitsu Ochiai with three hits in 1998 at the age of forty-four years and three months.

Miyamoto is now twenty-two hits away from 2,000.

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The Swallows decided not to pitch Yoshinori Sato during a Ni-gun game on Saturday.  There does not appear to be any sort of set timetable for when Yoshinori will pitch, other than the team wanting to wait until he is 100% ready to pitch.

There is a chance Yoshinori will not be able to make it to the active roster until mid-April.

Wednesday's Ni-gun game against Lotte at Toda: Shohei Tateyama started the game and gave up two runs on three hits over four innings of work.  He also topped out at 146km/h. [Sanspo]

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Kazuhiro Hatakeyama will most likely start at first and bat fourth on opening day.  If he does make the starting line-up, it will be his first opening day start in his twelfth season with the team.

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Yoshinori Sato was left off the 2012 Opening Day Roster.  He was also scratched from his Ni-gun start against Lotte on Thursday.  His next outing could come on March 31 (Ni-gun game vs Rakuten).

If Yoshinori needs more time to iron out his mechanics, the Swallows could turn to Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi.  Otherwise he could make his first Ichi-gun regular season start during a three-game series against Chunichi that begins on April 6.

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Of the new players the Yomiuri Giants added during the winter, Junji Ogawa told reporters on Tuesday that Dennis Houlton and John Bowker were the two players he had his eye on.

"Murata is not a batter we know nothing about.  We have also faced Sugiuchi a number of times. ... Bowker is a good hitter.  He showed his abilities during exhibition play.  We have not really played against Houlton.  He throws the ball at an angle and has good control," said Ogawa.

The Swallows held a Kamidana Relocation Ceremony at their new offices in Aoyama today.

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Junji Ogawa and the players and staff visited Meiji Jingu today and prayed for a successful season.

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Ogawa told reporters that 3rd round draft pick Wataru Hiyane made the opening day roster.

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Yoshinori Sato is scheduled to start a Ni-gun game against Lotte at Toda on March 29.  Pitching coach Tomohito Ito told reporters that they may have to reconsider his first regular season start if he does not have a good outing.

Sports Hochi figures Yoshinori is out and that the Swallows will go likely with a five-man rotation of Masanori Ishikawa, Kyohei Muranaka, Katsuki Akagawa, Shohei Tateyama, and Orlando Roman for the time being.

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Junji Ogawa told reporters on Tuesday that he will probably have Yoshinori Sato pitch in a Ni-gun game to work through his control problems.

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According to Sanspo, the rotation for the first six games of the regular season could be: Masanori Ishikawa, Katsuki Akagawa, Kyohei Muranaka, Yoshinori, Shohei Tateyama, and Ishikawa.

Sponichi figures the first three will be Ishikawa, Muranaka, and Akagawa.  They also mention Orlando Roman as another arm in the rotation.

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Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi could begin the year in the bullpen.

The Swallows held a ceremony to introduce their newest additions before their exhibition game against the Orix Buffaloes at Jingu Stadium today.

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Chang-Yong Lim rejoined the Ichi-gun team today after spending the last two weeks or so dealing with tightness in his upper right arm.  Lim tossed a bullpen session during pre-game workouts.  The team will decide on his pitching schedule after they have had a chance to see how he is feeling.

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Yoshinori Sato's next exhibition game start will likely be against the Yomiuri Giants (at Kofu Kose Stadium) on March 20.

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The Swallows will be streaming Saturday's 2012 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Kick-off Event via Ustream.

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A calendar featuring Tsubakuro will go on sale on Saturday for 1,000 yen.

The Swallows held full-squad practices at Koshien today.

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Yoshinori Sato was re-examined again today and once again diagnosed with a contusion near his right knee.  He is not expected to miss his next start.

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Chang-Yong Lim may not be ready in time for the regular season.  Lim started complaining of the tightness in his upper right arm early this month.  He has yet to pitch in any games and there is no timetable for when he will be ready.

Lim threw thirty pitches to a standing catcher in the bullpen at the Toda training facilities on Sunday and told reporters he wanted to do his best to make the opening day roster.  The coaches, however, do not want to rush him back.

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Wladimir Balentien apparently only has until March 14 to show that he belongs on the opening day roster over Orlando Roman.

Yoshinori Sato left today's exhibition game against the Hiroshima Carp early after Ryuhei Matsuyama hit a come-backer to the mound that struck him near the right knee to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning.  Yoshinori was helped off the field and taken to the hospital.

"It was pretty painful the moment the ball hit, but it feels like the pain has subsided a bit since," said Yoshinori before leaving the stadium.

Yoshinori was diagnosed with a contusion on his right knee at the hospital.

Wladimir Balentien (coming back from right elbow pain) rejoined the team today for practices at Koshien.  After workouts, which included batting practice and playing catch, an upbeat Balentien told reporters he was fine.

Balentien was on with the team on their road trip to Sapporo.

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Nikkan Sports mentions that Lastings Milledge was seen taking notes after hitting a homer in the 4th inning of Sunday's game against the Nippon Ham Fighters.

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Yoshinori Sato's next outing will likely be against Hiroshima on March 11.

The Swallows closed out spring camp in Urasoe today.

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Masanori Ishikawa took things slow during practice today due to tightness in his left calf.  Ishikawa tweaked the calf during practices on Monday.

Ishikawa probably will not travel with team to Sapporo for their exhibition game against the Nippon Ham Fighters on March 3.  His status for the charity game on March 10 is unknown at this point.

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Yoshinori Sato has been testing cleats during spring camp that have one fewer spike than the version he used last season.  His next possible outings: an exhibition game against the Nippon Ham Fighters March 4 and an exhibition game against Hiroshima on March 11.

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Through Monday, Ueda is 15-for-34 over nine games.

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The Ichi-gun Swallows had the day of today.

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Kazuki Fukuchi worked out at Urasoe Stadium today and is set to fully rejoin the Ichi-gun Swallows tomorrow.

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Orlando Roman did some workouts (weight training) on his day off today.  Roman has worked out on every off day so far during spring camp.

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Through Monday, Tsuyoshi Ueda is 10-for-21 with five stolen bases over five practice games.

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Yoshinori Sato is scheduled to pitch in a practice game against KIA on February 27.

Atsuya Furuta observed Urasoe camp on Monday and said the following about Yoshinori:

• he is on the right track with the adjustments he is making to his delivery
• he needs to use off-speed pitches more effectively; even Yu Darvish does not throw every pitch at 100%
• wants to see him pitch a full season

Furuta was responsible for drawing the winning ticket during the 2007 player draft (five teams selected him in the first round).