The team had the day off today.

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Kazuhisa Makita took a 3.6km walk around the player hotel earlier today.  Makita was diagnosed with the flu on Friday and was given permission to go outdoors after his fever dropped.  He should be able to start working out again tomorrow.

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1st round draft pick Ken Togame and 2nd round draft pick Hirotaka Koishi went sightseeing on their day off today.  Their day included a tuna cut and clean demonstration and picking dekopons (citrus fruit) and kumquats.

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Fumikazu Kimura faced two batters during batting practice on Friday and allowed three could-be hits on 46 pitches.

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Tatsuya Oishi and Yusei Kikuchi will be starters for an intra-squad game on February 12.

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Today was the end of the first block of spring camp for the Lions. The team has the day off tomorrow.

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The Lions received 150 food items, like lunch boxes, rice balls, and bread, from Minami Kyushu Family Mart before practice today.

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The media presented Takeya Nakamura, Shogo Akiyama, and Takumi Kuriyama with a giant 50cm long eho-maki that weighed seven kilograms.

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Hiroyuki Nakajima and Takeya Nakamura took extra fielding practice with fielding/base-running coach Hiroshi Narahara today.

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Tatsuya Oishi, Yusei Kikuchi, and Fumikazu Kimura tossed batting practice today:

Oishi threw thirty-nine pitches and faced Yuji Onizaki and Mitsugu Ishikawa and gave up three could-be hits.

Kikuchi threw 41 pitches and faced Shogo Akiyama and Ryo Hayashizaki and gave up three could-be hits.

Kimura broke two of Hideto Asamura's bats.

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Hisanobu Watanabe was surprised at how big Kikuchi's lower body (particularly the thighs and buttocks) got during the off-season.  Kikuchi has also modified his delivery and is throwing over the top, instead of at around three-quarters.

=== UPDATE 2/4 @ 1:34am

Nakajima and Nakamura also took fielding practice under a net about one meter off the ground during their extra session with fielding/base-running coach Narahara.

Hiroyuki Nakajima met with the Seibu Lions today and agreed to a one-year deal worth 280M yen.

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Sponichi notes that Tetsuya Shiozaki (team development department) taught Yusei Kikuchi how to throw a sinker when they were in Australia.  Kikuchi apparently wanted another pitch (in addition to the fastball and slider) he could turn to when facing right-handed batters.

Nikkan Sports mentions it calling it a two-seamer with sinker-like movement.

vs right-handed batters: 52-for-158, 6 BB, 19 SO, .329/.365/.494
vs left-handed batters: 11-for-53, 2 BB, 5 SO, .208/.236/.283

Hiroyuki Nakajima returned to Japan today and is scheduled to meet with the Seibu Lions for salary negotiations on Tuesday.  Nakajima flew to New York on Thursday (1/5) in an attempt to meet with the New York Yankees.

On Sunday, Hisanobu Watanabe told reporters he was thinking about keeping Nakajima at short batting third.  Takumi Kuriyama, Watanabe's choice to take over the third slot in the batting order, told reporters he was flexible and would take any spot in the line-up.

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Yusei Kikuchi started a weight training program for his upper body this winter.  He has also managed to increase his weight 89kg (up 3kg) by eating 6 meals a day since his return from Australia.

On Monday, Kikuchi attended a talk session at Ito-Yokado Hanamaki in Iwate.  About 2,000 fans showed up.  Kikuchi also appeared at a press conference announcing his agreement to become a spokesperson for JA Iwate.

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1st round draft pick Ken Togame could toss a bullpen session as early as Thursday (1/12) -- he wants to get a few of them under his belt before the start of spring camp.

The third oral proceedings in Hiromoto Okubo's lawsuit against the Seibu Lions took place at the Tokyo District Court today.  The Okubo camp team once again requested that the Lions produce the recordings they took during their internal investigations as evidence for the trial.

The proceedings will now move toward the consideration of witnesses for either side.  Okubo's lawyer told reporters that the young players Okubo allegedly victimized (like Yusei Kikuchi) would be important for their case.

UPDATE 6/28 @ 2:10pm - the recordings the Lions have apparently contain interviews with about 40 or so players (not sure if that includes staff).

I'll keep this updated throughout the day.  I'm hoping that all players and team personnel have been able to contact their families by now.

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Chunichi Dragons

Hiromitsu Ochiai is from Akita and told reporters that his parents were fine and that his family in Tokyo were fine as well.

Tony Blanco was about to take a shower after practice at Nagoya Stadium yesterday when the earthquake hit and rushed outside with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

Yomiuri Giants

Takanori Hoshi is from Miyagi and was able to contact his family.

Takahiro Suzuki is from Soma, Fukushima and learned from his younger brother that his family was safe.

A number of players, including Shun Tono and Shigeyuki Furuki were working out at Giants Stadium yesterday when the earthquake hit.  They all rushed out to the parking lot.  Cracks were found in a stairwell at the indoor facilities.

Yakult Swallows

Yoshinori Sato is from Sendai, Miyagi and used a phone in the press box yesterday because his mobile phone wouldn't dial out.  He was able to contact his family and was relieved to find them safe.

Kazuhiro Hatakeyama is from Hanamaki, Iwate and was able to contact his family.

Hiroshima Carp

Kenta Kurihara (from Tendo, Yamagata) and Tsubasa Aizawa (Ibaraki) were all able to confirm the safety of their families.

GM Kiyoaki Suzuki told reporters yesterday that there will still some players that haven't been able to contact their families.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Shinji Niinuma is from Ishinomaki, Miyagi and hasn't been able to get in touch with his family.  He told reporters he keeps getting busy signals and is really concerned because his family lives near the water.

A number of players, including Daisuke Miura, Takehiro Ishikawa, Hichori Morimoto, Tomokazu Oka, and Niinuma, spent the night at Yokohama Stadium due to traffic conditions.

Softbank Hawks

Toru Hosokawa is from Aomori and was able to contact his family.

Tadashi Settsu was worried about his father that works in Sendai.

Yuki Shimooki is from Iwate and was able to contact his family and friends.

Seibu Lions

Yusei Kikuchi is from Iwate and couldn't contact his family and friends yesterday and was able to get in touch with his family.

Takayuki Kishi is from Sendai and was able to contact his parents and sister, but only by e-mail.

Chiba Lotte Marines

Yasuhiko Yabuta, Bill Murphy, Hayden Penn, and an interpreter were on their way back to Tokyo from Akashi, but had to spent the night at Nagoya.

QVC Marine Field appears to be ok, but there seems to be some problems with liquefaction in the parking lots.  The stadium was also apparently closed off to the general public out of concern of land subsidence.

Nippon Ham Fighters

The entire team had the day off yesterday and was staying at a hotel in Gifu (most players were in rooms on or above the 20th or 25th floor (accounts differ based on reports) of a 43 story building.  Atsunori Inaba was soaking in the tub in a hotel room on the 27th floor when the earth quake struck and told reporters he thought he was going to die.

The Fighters were worried about Yuki Saito (1st round) because he didn't reply back to e-mail messages that were sent out by the club's PR department.  It wasn't until 5 hours later that his reply made it back to the Fighters (he probably didn't get the message right away).

The Ni-gun team that was in Yokosuka for a Kyoiku League game against Yokohama, had to spend the night in the Yokohama Stadium player locker rooms because of traffic.  The team left Bay Stars Stadium in Yokosuka at 3:00pm and hit severe traffic.  At around 7:30pm, the team decided to head to Yokohama Stadium out of concern for the players and didn't arrive until 11:40pm.

Orix Buffaloes

Takashi Kamoshida is from Ibaraki and was able to contact his parents -- seems they had to spend the night in their car because their house was a mess.

Fumihiro Suzuki is from Fukushima and his parent's home suffered damage from the quake.  Suzuki couldn't contact his family, but his sister was able to get through and told him that everyone was safe (his mother mother and grandmother were at home but his father was away on a business trip).

Rakuten Eagles

Players like Masahiro Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma, Satoshi Nagai, Darrell Rasner, Kenta Satake, Shinya Okamoto were on a Shinkansen heading to Tokyo from Akashi.  They all had to spend the night in Nagoya.

About 80 players, coaches, and staff were at Kleenex Stadium when the earthquake hit and they all gathered in the parking lot outside.  There were some people with a few cuts and bruises, but no major injuries.  By around 7:30pm, all players were able to confirm that their families were safe.  The club was not able to check on the stadium for structural damage yesterday.

About 30-40 people camped out in tents that were set up on the field at Kleenex Stadium.

The Eagles will be giving their player the next two days (12th and 13th) to check on their families.

Kleenex Stadium will be open to people looking to recharge their mobile phones until 9pm today.  The stadium will be open again tomorrow between 9am and 9pm.  Bathrooms on the second floor concourse have also bee opened up.

During yesterday's exhibition games:

At Yokohama Stadium: the game was stopped at 14:47 and called 16 minutes later.  Fans, players, staff...  The field was opened up to everyone at 15:22 for their safety.  3,756 fans were in attendance.  It wasn't until about an hour later that players were able to go to the locker rooms.  FWIW: this was also the day the new turf at the stadium was unveiled.

Sources:

由規、記者席から仙台の家族の無事確認 (Daily Sports)

佑ちゃん無事…発生から５時間後に確認 (Daily Sports)

稲葉、都内ホテルで「死ぬかと思った」 (Daily Sports)

マー君ＨＰで「無事」名古屋で降車 (Daily Sports)

恐怖…悲鳴…横浜球場「助けて～」 (Daily Sports)

揺れるハマスタ…ナインもファンも避難 (Nikkan Sports)

オリ・鴨志田沈痛…茨城の実家に被害 (Daily Sports)

オリックス鈴木捕手、福島の実家が半壊 (Daily Sports)

ソフトＢ移動に影響、メールで安否確認 (Nikkan Sports)

西武菊池、岩手実家と連絡つかず「心配」 (Nikkan Sports)

マリン液状化…ロッテ堀氏の引退試合中止 (Nikkan Sports)

楽天家族優先、安否確認でオープン戦中止 (Nikkan Sports)

オリックス広報の実家被害に (Nikkan Sports)

広島栗原山形の家族とつながらない (Nikkan Sports)

ハム中田地震に恐怖「死ぬかと思った」 (Nikkan Sports)

Ｋスタ宮城グラウンドにテント張り市民避難 (Sanspo)

試合中止の２日間の行動を選手に一任 (Sanspo)

日本ハム２軍帰れずハマスタロッカー１泊 (Sanspo)

Ｇ・東野ヒヤリ、室内練習場階段にヒビ (Sanspo)

広島・栗原、会沢家族の無事を確認 (Daily Sports)

【中日】秋田出身・落合監督も絶句 (Nikkan Sports)

【西武】仙台出身の岸「試合どころじゃ」 (Nikkan Sports)

西武・岸と雄星、実家の無事を確認 (Sanspo)

Ｋスタ宮城で携帯電話充電できます (Daily Sports)

中日ブランコ　シャワー中飛び出した (Nikkan Sports)

横浜・三浦帰宅できずハマスタで夜を明かす (Daily Sports)

巨人・鈴木、地元・福島の被害に言葉失う (Sanspo)

ロッテがＯＰ戦中止、球場周辺で液状化現象 (Sanspo)

Tatsuya Oishi (1st round) wants to use today's outing against the Yomiuri Giants to see just how effective his fastball can be against professional hitters.  Oishi will is scheduled to pitch 2 innings.

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Yusei Kikuchi threw 52 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.  He is expected to pitch one inning in relief immediately after Oishi.  Kikuchi told reporters that he was really excited to pitch against the team he used to buy a lot of memorabilia

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Hirokazu Sawamura (1st round) is expected to throw about 70 pitches over 5 innings in his exhibition game start tonight.  He threw 41 pitches in the bullpen yesterday in preparation for the start today.

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The Giants will most likely have all their core players in the starting line-up today, including Hayato Sakamoto, Michihiro Ogasawara, Alex Ramirez, and Shinnosuke Abe.  And while they'll 22 position players on the roster during their two games at Tokyo Dome against the Seibu Lions, they will probably leave at least 4 of them when they hit the road.  The four that stay will be sent down to Ni-gun to play in games and to continue their training.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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The Lions' Ichi-gun roster has the day off today.

===== 2/21 @ 9:23pm

Kikuchi threw 32 pitches during his intra-squad start yesterday.  And while he had the day off today, he spent about an hour walking and running around the vicinity of the player hotel.  He also told reporters that he didn't feel tired and didn't notice any strange tightness in his shoulder a day after pitching in his first game since last year.

===== 2/21 @ 3:46pm

Kazuhisa Ishii worked out on his day off today -- he played catch at a distance of about 30 meters to check on his throwing mechanics.  Ishii is scheduled to pitch (1 inning) in tomorrow's practice game against the Doosan Bears.

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Yusei Kikuchi's 2-inning outing yesterday was his first since 5/4/2010 (a span of 292 days).  His next outing will likely be in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, either on 3/2 or 3/3.

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Tatsuya Oishi's (1st round) father drove 5 hours yesterday (from Dazaifu, Fukuoka to Nango Stadium) in order to see his son pitch.

Oishi's father - "The end results were ok.  But his form seemed a little conservative.  I think he needs to be a little more aggressive toward the plate."

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Kazuhiro Kiyohara dropped by the Lions' training facilities yesterday.  He arrived at the stadium after 7am and spent about 2 hours watching the players practicing.  Bunka Hoso hired Kihohara to be their spokesperson this year in commemorating their 30th anniversary of their radio program, Lions' Nighter.

The Seibu Lions announced today that they received a legal brief from Hiromoto Okubo on Monday claiming that the team owed him money (various compensation fees).

Said Lions managing director Noriaki Iida, "[A similar suit was rejected in the courts already], I don't know why they're continuing to push this.  We will take a strong stance on this. ... [Hiroki] Okubo is using a portion of the media to talk about his side of the story.  We feel strongly that he is defaming the name of both the Seibu Lions and [Yusei] Kikuchi. ... We will protect Kikuchi's name."

See also:

Hiromoto Okubo sues Seibu Lions for wrongful termination

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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Yasuyuki Kataoka started feeling some discomfort in his right foot during practice yesterday and went to the hospital to have it checked.  He was diagnosed with a sprained right foot.  Kataoka took the day off from practice today.

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Tatsuya Oishi faced Haruki Kurose and Takuya Hara during BP today and threw 53 pitches (mostly fastballs) while giving up 8 could-be hits (none went over the fence).

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Yusei Kikuchi faced Hideto Aasmura and Ryo Hayashizaki (5th round) during BP today and threw 47 pitches while givings up 10 could-be hits.  He also gave up a homer to Asamura.

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Ryoma Nogami threw 329 pitches in the bullpen yesterday.

Nogami - "I was planning on throwing a lot today.  I was throwing hard from the first pitch."

He also said, "After a certain point, it's about will power.  I once threw 500 pitches when I played in the industrial leagues."

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Kazuhisa Makita (2nd round) on his 303-pitch (or 301-pitch, if you're reading Nikkan Sports) bullpen session yesterday:

I've thrown 300 pitches a few times before.  The coach stopped me today, but based on how I was feeling, I could have thrown more.

I wanted to see just how well I could revert to using my lower body once I got started getting tired.  I felt I could throw a little more.