Yusei Kikuchi threw fifty-two pitches in the bullpen today.  He is scheduled to make his first regular season start on the 30th against Nippon Ham.

Source: Nikkan Sports 3/26/2013

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Tatsuya Oishi will likely start out as the team closer this season.  Dennis Sarfate was an option, but the Lions are still a little concerned about his consistency.

Source: Sanspo 3/26/2013

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Takeya Nakamura may not make it back to Ichi-gun until the second-half of the season.  He was originally estimated to return some time in May (at least during the first-half of the season), but the team might decide to err on the side of caution because he had a ligament replaced in his left knee last October.

Nakamura played catch at a distance of about thirty meters on the 23rd.  There is still no timetable on when he will begin taking batting practice.

Source: Sponichi 3/26/2013

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The Lions will be offering free Wi-Fi access at Seibu Dome this year (Lions Wi-Fi).  Team, game, and stadium information will also be made available through the Wi-Fi access site.

Source: official announcement, Sports Hochi 3/26/2013

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The Lions closed out Nango spring camp today.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/22/2013

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Hirotaka Koishi threw 1,700 pitches during spring camp.

The Lions play two exhibition games against Softbank over the weekend.  Ryoma Nogami will start on Saturday and Yusei Kikuchi on Sunday.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/22/2013

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Kyohei Nagae left practices early on Thursday because he felt discomfort in his lower back.  He was apparently feeling better today as he participated in early morning workouts.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/22/2013

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The Lions are scheduled to meet 2nd round draft pick Makoto Aiuchi again on the 25th.

Source: Sponichi 2/22/2013

Ichi-gun and Ni-gun players had the day off today.

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Brian Sikorski, Dennis Sarfate, Randy Williams, and Toshihiro Iwao worked out for about an hour on their day off today.

Sikorski and Iwao are both expected to pitch in a practice game against Doosan (KBO) on the 16th.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/15/2013

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Yusei Kikuchi threw six of eight sliders for strikes during his intra-squad game outing on Thursday.  He also recorded two of five strikeouts with his slider.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/15/2013

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Ginjiro Sumitani will be appearing in posters for the Tokorozawa Fire Department.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/15/2013

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Brian Sikorski will get a look as a starter.  He is scheduled to start a practice game against Doosan (KBO) on the 16th.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/14/2013

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Yusei Kikuchi is scheduled to make an appearance in relief during a practice game against Samurai Japan on the 18th.

Source: Sponichi 2/14/2013

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Ichi-gun and Ni-gun players had the day off today.

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Yusei Kikuchi and Ryoma Nogami worked out on their day off today.  They are both scheduled to pitch in Sunday's intra-squad game.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/9/2013, Sanspo 2/9/2013

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The Lions met 2nd round draft pick Makoto Aiuchi today at Chiba Kokusai High School for the first time since he was caught speeding and driving without a proper license in December.  The meeting lasted about ninety minutes.  The Lions plan on making a decision on Aiuchi after meeting him two to three more times.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/9/2013, Nikkan Sports 2/9/2013

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Yusei Kikuchi will likely pitch in a practice game against Lotte (KBO) on the 14th.

Source: Sanspo 2/6/2013

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Hideaki Wakui tossed another bullpen session today.  He has now tossed five over the last six days.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/6/2013

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The Lions are scheduled to meet 2nd round draft pick Makoto Aiuchi on the 9th.  This is expected to be just the first in a series of discussions with the youngster -- the team wants to make sure he is ready to become a professional athlete after he was caught speeding and driving without an appropriate license.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/6/2013

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Shogo Akiyama could be a back-up outfielder for Samurai Japan.

Source: Sports Hochi 2/6/2013

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Yusei Kikuchi selected Eikichi Yazawa's Tomaranai Ha-ha for his intro music this year.

Source: Nikkan Sports 2/5/2013

Today's Ni-gun game against the Nippon Ham Fighters, at Seibu 2 Stadium: Takayuki Kishi started the game and allowed a run on two hits over an inning of work.  He threw a total twelve pitches. [Daily Sports]

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Takayuki Kishi started a Ni-gun game against the Nippon Ham Fighters today.  For Kishi (coming back from tightness in his back), it was his first outing since he pitched in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants on March 4.

Kishi's next outing will be against the Yakult Swallows on March 25 (Ichi-gun exhibition game).

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The Lions announced today that former manager Haruki Ihara will take part in a talk session before their game against the Orix Buffaloes at Omiya Stadium on April 14.

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The Lions decided to demote Yusei Kikuchi on Monday.  He is scheduled to start a Ni-gun game against the Nippon Ham Fighters on Wednesday.

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Nikkan Sports notes that the starting rotation, as it currently stands, will be made up for Hideaki Wakui, Fumiya Nishiguchi, Kazuhisa Makita, 1st round draft pick Ken Togame, Kazuhisa Ishii, and Kishi.  However, due to the schedule at the start of the season, the Lions will most likely start things off with a five-man rotation.

Yusei Kikuchi tossed a bullpen session today under the watchful eyes of Hisanobu Watanabe, pitching coach Tadashi Sugimoto, and pitching coach Takashi Ishii.

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Takumi Kuriyama, Takeya Nakamura, Takayuki Kishi, Yusei Kikuchi, and Ginjiro Sumitani spent some time collecting donations near the third base entrances after pre-game practices today.

Practice game against the Rakuten Eagles at Hotto Motto Kobe on Tuesday (Lions 3 - Eagles 2): Yusei Kikuchi started the game and tossed five shutout innings while allowing two hits.  He also struck out two, walked two, threw a wild pitch, and topped out at 146km/h.