The Hawks took Yuichi Honda off the active roster today with pain in his neck (inflammation in his trapezius muscle).

"[Honda] is improving so he will return in the minimum ten days," said Koji Akiyama.

Yuichi Honda was examined (MRI) at a hospital in Fukuoka today and was diagnosed with fasciitis in his trapezius muscle.  There is currently no timetable for his full recovery.

Honda will continue to workout at Yahoo Dome and the Saitozaki training facilities until the pain is gone.

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There is a good chance Yuichi Honda could end up batting lead-off for the Hawks this season.

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Seiichi Uchikawa has been testing a Pete Rose model bat made by Mizuno that is one inch longer longer than his other bat (33.5 to 34.5).

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Kazuyuki Hoashi tossed a bullpen session after his outing on Sunday against the Chiba Lotte Marines because he was not satisfied with how he pitched.

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Hiroshi Shibahara was tossed into the air eight times during his post-game retirement ceremony on Sunday.

The Hawks announced today that their team slogan for 2012 will be "VV."

The two V's stand for:

- the players and fans coming together as one to win
- two Pacific League championships (2010 and 2011)
- the hope for two straight Nippon Series rings (2011 and 2012)

They also announced that "otosan" dog will continue on as the team's oen leader.  The dog has been leader since 2009.

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Nikkan Sports reports that Sadaharu Oh wants Angel Castro to learn on how to throw a change-up.  Sports Hochi has posted a slightly different report that has Oh calling for Castro to learn how to throw a curve

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Yuichi Honda returned from his training session in Saipan today.

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Hiroki Kokubo returned from his training session in Arizona today.  He also told reporters his rehab was going well (necks surgery in December) and that he started taking soft-toss BP on January 18.

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Nobuhiko Matsunaka is scheduled to return to Japan from his training in Guam on January 28.  According to a Nikkan Sports interview, he is prepared to call it quits whenever he feels he is no longer able to play well.  He also does have an interest in reaching the 2,000-hit mark (he is 269 hits away).

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1st round draft pick Shota Takeda threw 29 pitches (including off-speed pitches) in the bullpen (standing catcher) after practices on Thursday.  Takeda also threw 30 pitches in the bullpen the night before -- Ikusei 1st round draft pick Go Kamamoto "caught" him.

Yuya Hasegawa did some running in the morning with the 2011 draft class today.  In the afternoon, he did his own thing and spent some time taking BP (in the cages and soft-toss).

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Hiroki Yamada has been taking in 6,000 kilocalories per dinner since his training camp in Miyazaki began on 1/6.  Over that span he has managed to add 3kg to his frame and now weighs 95kg.

One-day intake example: all you can eat buffet for breakfast; two lunch boxes, one with a variety of vegetables and the other with three rice balls for lunch; three grilled chicken pieces about the size of a hand, a bowlful of spinach, and a plateful of meat and potatoes for dinner.

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Kenji Akashi, Keisuke Kaneko, Kenta Imamiya, Shuhei Fukuda, and 3rd round draft pick Masayoshi Tsukada could be amongst the players competing for the starting job at short (Munenori Kawasaki's old position).

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The media learned on Wednesday that Yuichi Honda will be a spokesperson (Kansai Region) for Asahi Beer.  A commercial featuring Honda will be shot some time later this month. Ads will pop up pretty much everywhere, including TV, radio, the big screen at Yahoo Dome, various big screens throughout Kansai, posters, and fliers, beginning in March.

Yuichi Honda took off for Saipan out of Fukuoka Airport today.  While in Saipan, Honda will focus on swinging the bat.  He is scheduled to return on 1/27.

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3rd round draft pick Masayoshi Tsukada has managed to gain five kilograms since moving into the player dorm and currently weighs 79kg.  Said Tsukada, "I have never hit 80kg in my life.  I would like to get up to 83-84kg."

5th round draft pick Shinya Kayama tossed 35 pitches in the bullpen on Sunday.

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Kenji Otonari wants to make his mark as a starter this year.  He is also working on a two-seamer.

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Softbank released a list of personnel changes today.

1st round draft pick Shota Takeda and 2nd round draft pick Shoji Yoshimoto want to gain weight -- they are both 187cm tall and currently weigh 87kg and 82kg respectively.

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Soichiro Tateoka, currently working out with Yuichi Honda, told reporters on Tuesday that he was thinking about giving the outfield a try in order to increase his chances for playing time.  It seems he is also approaching this season as his last chance to make it as a professional player.

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Honda wants to give something back to Ureshino, Saga and is thinking about a number of options, including a donation of some sort.  Honda also paid for (or is thinking about paying for) training equipment that will be used in a facility inside the Ureshino General Sports Park (Miyuki) Baseball Stadium.

Yuichi Honda worked out with Soichiro Tateoka at Miyuki Stadium in Ureshino on Tuesday.  Workouts included running, playing catch, fielding practice, and BP.

Honda will continue his workouts in Ureshino through to the 14th and then head to Saipan on the 16th.

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Sadaharu Oh told reporters on Monday he would be more than happy to help Wily Mo Pena make the adjustment to Japanese baseball (if he needs it).  He also figures Pena is good for about 40 homers out of the clean-up spot.

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1st round draft pick Shota Takeda is apparently very flexible and can throw the ball without placing a lot of strain on his shoulder.

After three hour practices on Monday, Takeda spent an additional hour and a half taking fielding practice.

Hisayoshi Chono (YOM) knocked out a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th against the Yokohama Bay Stars.  Not only was it the first pinch-hit walk-off grand slam since Isao Hirono in 1971, it was also the Central League's 1,000th grand slam -- a Satoshi Sugiyama recorded the first CL grand slam on 4/9/2005; the PL is currently on 1,006; including the 82 grand slams during the one-league format, a total 2,088 grand slams have been hit in pro yakyu history.

Hirokazu Sawamura (YOM) became the first rookie pitcher in the CL to record 200 innings since Yutaka Enatsu tossed 230.1 innings in 1967.  Sawamura missed out on being the first rookie to record an ERA under 2 since Tsuneo Horiuchi registered a 1.39 ERA in 1966.

Shuichi Murata (YOK) became the 57th player in NPB history to reach the 250 homer milestone -- the homer came in the top of the 2nd off Sawamura (YOM).  Murata hit a second homer in his second at bat of the game for 20 on the year.

Shinji Ohara (YOK) appeared in his 71st game of the year and set a new record for appearances by a rookie (since the two league format began in 1950).

The Yokohama Bay Stars finished their 4th straight season with a winning percentage under .400.  The last team to do that: Kintetsu between 1057 and 1961.

Seiichi Uchikawa (SOF) became just the second player in NPB history win batting titles in both the CL and PL.

The Hawks became the first team in NPB history (since the two league format began in 1950) to have three players that played in every inning of every game: Munenori Kawasaki, Yuichi Honda, and Nobuhiro Matsuda.

Soichi Fujita (SOF) became the 36th player in NPB history to appear in 600 games over his career.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

===== 2/13 @ 9:32pm

In preparation for intra-squad game appearances on the 21st, both Toshiya Sugiuchi and Tsuyoshi Wada threw bullpen sessions today -- Sugiuchi threw 150 pitches and Wada threw 110 pitches.

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Yuichi Honda skipped out of afternoon practice today due to tightness in his lower body.  According to the club, it's nothing serious (doesn't warrant a hospital visit).

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Alex Cabrera ramped up his workouts a little today -- he played some catch and spent time working on his hitting (soft-toss, cages, live arms).  He also told reporters that his back was feeling better ever day and that the tightness was going away.

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Former welterweight kickboxer Masato visited the Hawks' spring camp facilities today for a TV sports program today.

===== 2/13 @ 1:16pm

It seems there a good chance that Tsuyoshi Wada won't be able to use his new glove during official games this year.  The reason: the umpiring crew claims that the "W" stitched into the glove was considered an illegal modification.  The issue will be brought up during an equipment meeting that will be taking place soon.  Chances are high that they will confirm that the modification is illegal.

"Having something stamped is permissible.  However, cutting something in order to put words on an item is not allowed on items used during official games.  There a good chance Wada's glove will fall into this category," said an unnamed umpire.

That would mean a portion of the glove was cut so that the "W" could be stitched into the glove.

Said Wada, "And I just started getting used to it.  Why are they saying now?  My only choice is to get this glove fixed."

Wada also complained of some tightness in his left shoulder on the 10th, but was able to do long distance throws yesterday.  As of yesterday, he was also scheduled to toss a bullpen session today.

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Both Hiroki Kokubo and Alex Cabrera told reporters yesterday that they plan on being in the starting line-up for the team's first exhibition game on the 26th.  As of now, it appears there's a good chance Kokubo will start at first with Cabrera as the DH.  Part of this likely has to do with the fact that Cabrera already missed three days of fielding practice due to tightness in his lower back.  And assuming his back is feeling fine, should be ok to start taking BP in the indoor cages today.  And then there's Kokubo -- he has already taken part in situational fielding practice and various infield drills and has been fairly vocal on the field.