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Workouts began indoors today because of the rain and the condition of the field.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/4/2013

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Yoshiyuki Kamei suffered a left hamstring strain during workouts on Saturday.  The team will monitor his progress over the next few days before determining what course of action to take.  As of now, there is no timetable for his return.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/4/2013

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Shinnosuke Abe caught the last seventeen pitches of 1st round draft pick Tomoyuki Sugano's bullpen on Sunday.

About 18,000 fans showed up to Ichi-gun camp on Sunday.

Source: Sponichi 2/4/2013

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Scouting department director Yasuhiro Mitsui was at Hanshin camp today checking on 1st round draft pick Shintaro Fujinami.

Source: Sponichi 2/4/2013

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Tetsuya Utsumi is scheduled to toss batting practice on the 5th.

Source: Daily Sports 2/3/2013

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Nikkan Sports notes that Shuichi Murata topped out at 106 decibels during batting practice on Saturday.  For reference, Shinnosuke Abe topped out at 104 and Hayato Sakamoto and Hisayoshi Chono at ninety-nine.  The levels were measured using a sound meter set up about twenty meters away from home plate.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/3/2013

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Sakamoto stayed back after general workouts on Saturday and took about an hour of extra fielding practice with Daisuke Fujimura and Daisuke Nakai.  After that, he spent about thirty minutes taking extra batting practice.

Source: Sanspo 2/3/2013

Sakamoto and Chono stayed back after workouts today and spent about thirty minutes taking extra batting practice.

Source: Daily Sports 2/3/2013

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Jose Lopez is using an SSK bat.  The barrel is 6.6 centimeters and the bat weighs 880 to 890 grams.

Source: Sponichi 2/3/2013

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Yoshiyuki Kamei hurt his left leg during workouts and was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain on Saturday.  Ryuichi Kajimae also started feeling pain near his left ankle.  Dennis Houlton ended workouts early on Saturday because of tightness in his back.

Source: Sanspo 2/3/2013, Sponichi 2/3/2013

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Yoshinobu Takahashi will be captain while Shinnosuke Abe is away at the WBC.

Source: Sanspo 2/3/2013

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Abe caught parts of 1st round draft pick Tomoyuki Sugano's bullpen session today.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/3/2013

Sugano threw to a squatting catcher for the first time since December.

Source: Sanspo 2/3/2013

Sunday game (April 8), Yomiuri Giants vs Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium.

Giants up 4-0 in the top of the 5th.

Runners on second and third, two out.

Yoshiyuki Kamei up to bat for the Yomiuri Giants.  Tatsuya Kojima on the mound for Hanshin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSE1JZJhlJ4

Kojima became the first pitcher this season to get ejected from a game for throwing a dangerous pitch.  He also later said to reporters, "You can not throw those kind of pitches.  I feel really awful."

The Chunichi Dragons took Kenshin Kawakami off the active roster today with some pain in his left back.  Kawakami tweaked the back when he tried to field a grounder hit back to the mound during a game against the Yakult Swallows on Saturday.  Since the injury is not considered serious, Kawakami will remain with the Ichi-gun team as he recovers.

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Naoto Watanabe (Yokohama) was taken off the active roster today with inflammation in his lower back.  The team is hopeful he will be able to return after ten days.

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Yoshiyuki Kamei (Yomiuri) was hit by a pitch in the head in the 5th inning of today's game against the Hanshin Tigers.  Kamei was examined at the hospital and diagnosed with a broken nose.  He will be re-examined on Monday.

Tatsuya Kojima (Hanshin) was ejected from the game for throwing the pitch.

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Kenji Jojima (Hanshin) was taken out of today's game against the Yomiuri Giants on defense in the 3rd inning after he took a batted ball off the area near his left shoulder in the 2nd inning.  He was later diagnosed with a contusion near his left collarbone.  He is considered day-to-day.

The Yomiuri Giants announced today that Yoshiyuki Kamei suffered a fracture in his right finger while taking grounders during pre-game practice yesterday.  The Giants were taking a wait and see approach with the finger and when they saw that the swelling didn't improve over night, they had Kamei get the finger examined at a Hiroshima hospital today.

While Kamei was in the dugout for today's game, he'll probably be taken off the active roster tomorrow.

Kamei actually played in yesterday's game (started at third and batted sixth) and went 3-for-4 and was a single away from a cycle.

Today's practice game against Chuo University:

The game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Takahiro Tsuchiya gave Chuo University a 1-0 lead in the 4th with an RBI single to center.

Takahiro Ijuin hit a solo homer to tie the game at 1 in the 4th.

Chuo University made it 3-1 in the 6th by scoring two runs, including one on a solo homer Daisuke Iida off Shota Kimura.

Atsushi Fukumoto hit an RBI single to right in the 6th to make it 3-2.

Tomoya Inzen tied the game at 3 with a single to left in the 7th with runners on first and third and 2 out.

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Yoshiyuki Kamei is 3-for-24 through 9 spring games (intra-squad, exhibition, and other practice games).

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The new lights at Giants Stadium were turned on during batting practice today.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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The Ichi-gun roster has the day off today.

===== 2/24 @ 2:08pm

Hayato Sakamoto worked out on his day off today (including running).  He also took part in a photo shoot for adidas.  After that, he jogged the distance back to the team hotel.

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Club rep Hidetoshi Kiyotake and Yoshinobu Takahashi visited Heiwakinen Park today.

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Ryota Wakiya and Hisayoshi Chono visited DFS Galleria Okinawa during their day off today for an event commemorating the Giants' spring camp in Naha this year.  The two players also held an autograph session for the first 30 fans that arrived.

===== 2/23 @ 11:30am

Yesterday's practice game against the Orix Buffaloes (Ichi-gun):

The game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Shun Tono gave up 3 runs on 4 hits over 3 innings of work.  All 3 runs came on a 3-run homer by Seung-Yeop Lee.

Yoshiyuki Kamei started in center and went 0-for-4.

The Giants had a bit of a scare in the 4th: Masato Fukae (ORI, 5th round) dropped a bunt down the third base line.  Rusty Ryal fielded the ball and made a wide (and low) throw to first (on the home plate side) that Michihiro Ogasawara tried to glove (left hand).  But as Ogasawara stretched out, Fukae ran into his glove.  Ogasawara went down in pain and was removed from the game.  He later told reporters after the game that he was feeling alright and that he would see how things felt today.

Yesterday's practice game against the Yakult Swallows (Ni-gun):

The Swallows beat the Giants, 4-3.

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Yoshiyuki Kamei may have a shot at winning the starting job in center, especially if Tetsuya Matsumoto continues to struggle at the plate.

Said Tatsunori Hara, "I don't get the feeling that Matsumoto will start hitting soon.  That means there's a chance for Kamei."

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/7 @ 12:33am

Tetsuya Yamaguchi made an appearance as a BP pitcher and tossed 48 pitches while giving up 10 could-be hits, including a home run to Sakamoto.

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Daisuke Ochi also tossed BP today and gave up 8 could-be hits to Ryota Wakiya and Tetsuya Matsumoto.

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Yuya Kubo tossed 51 BP pitches today and gave up 13 could-be hits.

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Matsumoto faced Ochi and Kubo today during BP and worked on reading the strike zone.

===== 2/6 @ 9:44pm

Two Giants were injured today:

During fielding practice today (specifically, while working on bunt plays), Hisayoshi Chono took a throw from Jumpei Ono off his face.  Chono was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a bruise on his left face.  The Giants expect him to be ok for practice tomorrow.

Yoshiyuki Kamei ran into Ken Kato while practicing rundowns and suffered a minor cervical spine sprain.  Kamei did not go to the hospital and instead returned to the team hotel for rest.  He is listed as day-to-day.

Both Chono and Kamei were scheduled to take BP against Sawamura today.

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Tatsunori Hara apparently had to order Rusty Ryal to return to the team hotel today.

Said Hara, "Ryal left early today. ... He's the type that wants to go through the entire training.  And so for the first time, I had to order him.  I told him he could leave after BP.  But then he said he wanted to do some running afterward.  So then I told him he to leave after he finished running.  He's the type that wants to do it all, so I had to order him!"

BTW: just in case this wasn't obvious, Hara was happy about Ryal's attitude.

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Sawamura made an appearance as a BP pitcher and tossed 55 pitches (including his slider and curve) against Hayato Sakamoto and Taishi Ota.  He also managed to break two of Sakamoto's bats using his fastbal.

===== 2/6 @ 1:17pm

The Giants received a number of items from Miyazaki prefecture and Miyazaki city today, including 20kg of ripe kumquat, 20kg of citrus tamurana, 10 boxes of strawberries, 100 broiled eels.  The Giants in turn donated 3M yen to in support of relief efforts for bird flu and the volcano.

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In addition to Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round), Tetsuya Utsumi and Shun Tono could also pitch in an intra-squad game on the 15th.

Utsumi and Tono both made appearances as BP pitchers yesterday -- Utsumi threw 53 pitches and gave up 6 could-be hits; Tono tossed 60 pitches and surrendered 2 could-be hits.

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Shinnosuke Abe caught 185 pitches thrown by 5 pitchers yesterday -- Dicky Gonzalez, Jonathan Albaladejo, Daisuke Ochi, Masumi Hoshino, and Jumpei Ono.  This in addition to all his other workouts, like taking grounders before entering the bullpen and taking BP immediately after.

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Adam Bright threw 43 pitches as a BP pitcher yesterday and gave up 2 could-be hits (including one that went over the fence).  Bright is drawing comparisons to former Hanshin Tiger Jeff Williams.

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Brian Bannister and Carlos Torres were amongst the foreign players that took part in a 30-minute English conversation course the Giants held yesterday.  57 people attended the session.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

=== 1/4 @ 1:50am

Taishi Ota is scheduled to rejoin the Ichi-gun roster beginning on the first day of the second block of spring camp (2/5).

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Tetsuya Utsumi threw his fourth bullpen session today in as many days under the watchful eye of Tatsunori Hara.

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Jonathan Albaladejo threw 44 pitches (including his off-speed pitches) in the bullpen today.

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Hara stood in the batter's box during Brian Bannister's bullpen session today.

Said Hara, "I wanted to see what he could throw.  When you stand in the batter's box yourself, it makes it easier to explain yourself, to say something good.  It puts you on the same page.  He showed good control."

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Hoshino tossed BP today.

=== 7:48pm

The six foreign Giants took part in a bean throwing ceremony today, as part of Setsubun.

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Seth Greisinger tossed his first bullpen session during spring camp today; he threw a total 51 pitches (fastballs and change-ups).  Greisinger plans on throwing at least three more sessions for a scheduled outing during an intra-squad game on the 17th.

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Seven Ni-gun Giants spent about an hour in the batting cages during early morning practice today (8:20am).  Genki Kawano was apparently one of them and took a slider that didn't slide off his back.  He later told reporters that he was fine.

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Despite all the hard training (there was an evening practice session on the first day of camp and yesterday's session lasted close to 7 hours), Takanori Hoshi told reporters today that he has managed to gain weight since the start of camp (from 81kg to 82kg).

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Masumi Hoshino tossed 136 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.  It was his second bullpen session in as many days (he threw 100 the day before).  The Giants are currently thinking of Hoshino as a potential starter.

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General pitching coach Kazuhisa Kawaguchi advised Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round) to slow down and take things easy yesterday.  He also old Sawamura that it wasn't the number of pitches he threw, but rather the quality of the pitches he threw.

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Rusty Ryal and Yoshiyuki Kamei took grounders at third during situational fielding practice yesterday.  And Hayato Sakamoto was at short and Ryota Wakiya at second.  The session lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.  Kamei also spent about 40 minutes working on back-handing the ball.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

=== 9:14pm

Yoshiyuki Kamei took grounders at third during situational fielding practice today.  He also got extra fielding work in after general practice.

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Sawamura threw 38 pitches (including a curve he didn't throw yesterday) in his second consecutive bullpen session today.  His fastball apparently didn't have much life and his off-speed pitches weren't very consistent.

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Takahiko Nomaguchi tossed 78 pitches in the bullpen today after getting some advice from pitching coach Masaki Saito yesterday.

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Tetsuya Utsumi threw 70 pitches in the bullpen today.  Including his session during pre-spring-camp joint mini camp, that's three consecutive bullpen sessions in as many days.  General pitching coach Kazuhisa Kawaguchi was impressed with Utsumi's new fork.

Said Utsumi, "My balance was good today.  I'd like to do some more throwing tomorrow if my shoulder if feeling alright."

=== 2:26pm

Tatsunori Hara started his day with a 40 minute walk today (the distance between the team hotel and the practice grounds).

=== 12:17pm

Comments on Hirokazu Sawamura's (1st round) first bullpen session yesterday:

Shinnosuke Abe - "It was a good [session].  Top class material.  He reminds me of [Koji] Uehara during his best year's, except [Sawamura's] pitches feel heavier."

Tatsunori Hara - "Just like the rumors.  He needs to find his own rhythm.  He should also steal away [as much information as he can from other players] to help him mature."

Tigers' advance scout - "To see a rookie pitcher [toss a bullpen session] on the first day of camp, and to see him throw like that from his first pitch...  The pitches that made the stands stir.  Amazing."

Chunichi's advance scout - "He was probably throwing around 145, 146km/h.  He was probably the fastest of all the guys that threw today.  He's a horse that the Giants lacked.  He's similar to Ma-kun (Masahiro Tanaka)."

When told that scouts were already talking about him, Sawamura replied:

"Scouts are already here?  That's scary.  That just means I need to become a pitcher that can do well even if they have a book on me."

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Shota Kimura threw 50 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.

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Brian Bannister tossed 27 pitches in the bullpen while Carlos Torres tossed 72 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.

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All players (including veterans and foreign players) were required to attend the evening practice session on bunting yesterday.

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Hayato Sakamoto stayed back after regular practice to get in some extra work yesterday - running and throwing exercises with INF / base-running coach Hironori Suguro.

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Yoshinobu Takahashi wrote 奮励努力 (extra effort) on his ema during the team's visit to Aoshima Shrine yesterday.