South Edges North in Battle of the Peninsula

Eschewing the Gallagher brothers halfway across town, I will instead be attending an event of a more estranged brotherly nature. Yes, not since Country House took on Roll With It in the UK Top 40 has there been a North vs South contest this juicy. On that occasion South was victorious- but will it be this time? . . .

The answer to that self-posed question was yes- South Korea edged out the North with a late late goal to win 1-0 and move atop their World Cup Qualifying Group. In many ways the match…

Remembering Those Damn Kanji

For the past few weeks my daily battle with the Japanese language has continued apace- I’m now up to 1050 kanji, or Chinese characters, out of the 2000 odd I need for basic comprehension. Using the “Remembering The Kanji” website, along with some Spaced Repitition Software (see previous post), I’ve made steady progress towards completing my first goal- finishing the Heisig method of studying Kanji. As a quick review…

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Heisig is a method of studying kanji whereby you learn just the English “keyword” and the character itself. Afterwards you can theoretically fill in the…

5 Days Out…

Where has the time gone? The Japanese baseball season gets underway this coming friday, with Hanshin taking on the Yakult Swallows in Osaka. Expect up to the minute live blogging of the first game from 6pm, only here! (yes I’m planning to spend my friday night in front of a computer screen following a baseball game, how cool am I).

This week, though, is a week of sporting events for me. On wednesday- having sold my Oasis ticket to a fan in need- I’ve opted to go to the World Cup Qualifier between South Korea and…North Korea. It should be an interesting atmosphere- I’m curious as to how many North Korean fans will be in attendance- and while I would’ve liked to have seen Oasis they don’t really care about their Asian fans that much so I don’t think I’ll be missing a one-in-a-million gig (plus, I only really like their old stuff).

Finally, next Saturday sees Samsung Suwon taking on FC Seoul at the World Cup Stadium, so I’ll be back to cheer on the Blues from the away fans section- we’ve had a terrible start to the season, and need to get something against a similarly poor Seoul team.

Bring on the sports!

Japan Claims World Baseball Classic Title For A Second Time!

Japan defeated South Korea in a pulsating, entertaining and exhausting final today- an excellent game that spanned my classes from 2nd all the way through to 6th periods. Thankfully I got to watch the lions share of the game, and despite my diplomacy in front of staff and students, was secretly rooting for Japan. It was a wonderful final- full of tension, intrigue, and a back and forth battle that has characterised the 5 games that Japan and Korea have played against each other. Japan were the better team, scoring far more hits and ultimately deserving the victory- they just had that bit more.

The early stages were dominated by the Bong-Iwakuma battle, yet this game didn’t follow the 1-0 victory by Korea in Tokyo by being a game only for the pitchers. Iwakuma got the better of the battle- he lasted all the way through to the 8th, helping Japan to a 3-2 victory going into the 9th. Darvish stepped up to close the game- presumably Fujikawa isn’t yet in tip-top form- and almost blew it, allowing 2 walks and then a single to tie the game at 3-3. He closed out the innings at 3-3, and at the top of the 10th Ichiro stepped up. Facing a long tortuous run of strikes then balls, the Korean pitcher finally pitched directly at Ichiro (when apparently he had been instructed to walk him), and Ichiro responded with a beautiful single to centre-field, getting two home and giving Japan a 5-3 lead. Darvish returned at the bottom of the 10th, and made no mistake this time to capture the title for Japan.

Time For A Rethink?

For the past two weeks I’ve been following the World Baseball Classic. This years tournament is the second tournament, the first being won by Japan in 2006. While the tournament is entertaining, the format is, quite frankly, ridiculous, and while some may argue that the tournament is still in its infant stage (it is), something must clearly be done to make it more exciting.

Undoubtedly baseball, like football, is a league sport- perhaps even more so as a week of games tests each teams strength in depth, especially with starting pitchers. Having said that, if you’re going to have a cup tournament it clearly needs to be more exciting than the current incarnation. As a write, Japan is playing Korea for the 4th time- potentially they could be playing a 5th game if both teams reach the final. The format is ludicrous; the first stage saw 4 teams play each other, then the winners play each other, then the loser of the winners game playing the winner of the losers game to determine the 1st and 2nd place qualifiers (if it sounds complicated, that’s because it is). In Pool A’s games this meant Japan beat China, Korea beat Taiwan, then Japan beat Korea, then Korea beat China then- finally- Korea beat Japan to get the top qualifying berth.

Inexplicably, the second stage sees the teams from each group going into the same group in the US- Japan beat Cuba, Korea beat Mexico, Korea beat Japan, Japan beat Cuba, and finally Korea and Japan play today to decide the order of the semi-finals. While Japan and Korea have played four times, neither team has played the USA team yet (some may argue this is the reason why its been set up this way- so the US can avoid the “big” teams of Japan, Korea and Cuba).

My students have been asking me who I’m supporting- I’ve told them Korea, but to be honest I don’t care who wins. Obviously I’d prefer Korea or Japan to take the title, so long as no Hanshin players get injured (there are only 2 in the Japan team, and Fujikawa’s services have yet to be required in any meaningful context).

The semi’s will take place over the weekend, between the US, Venezuela, Japan and Korea. These are the important games- todays game between Korea and Japan is a waste of time, and  the semi-final line up should really have been determined automatically by, you know, constructing a real cup tournament structure.

Kramer, Stewart and the Wider Failings of the Market Economy

Its not often that I write a post about politics. This isn’t because I have no interest in it; quite the contrary, I do. Its more that I don’t enjoy writing about it, because so many of the obvious hypocracies and gaping inadequacies of the political and economic worlds we live in seem fixed, unable to be changed. In this kind of situation, how can it help to labour over a post that will influence so few and only stir up anger within yourself in writing it? Better, then, is to laugh at the situation. Which is what Jon Stewart does on The Daily Show.

I’ve been watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report for a few months now, and while I find Stephen Colbert more entertaining to watch, on occasion Jon Stewart can burst into inpassioned and heartfelt polemics on the world we live in which are a joy to behold. In one such moment, he took Tucker Carlson to task over their now cancelled TV show Crossfire. Another of these periodic confrontations came up last night, when Stewart took on the CNBC economic pundit and host of “entertainment stock show” Mad Money, Jim Kramer. The interview certainly isn’t pleasant to watch, but at the same time is compelling viewing; Stewart dismantles any argument Kramer has, yet refuses to give the knock-out blow, instead widening his critique to the network at large for being on the wrong side of the line between the stock marketeers and the general population.

In hearing Stewarts anger its easy to get stirred up yourself. While many of the people who work in the NYSE, the LSE and other financial markets around the world do work hard, its hard to get away for an image of investment bankers and insurance brokers who have selfishly, brazenly thrown money around in a reckless manner, endangering and damaging the world in which we all live. There is a gap between the financial world and the real world, and while the financial world gallavants around getting rich and playing with theoretical numbers and assets, the real world pays the price when these schemes come crashing down. I hope this is the wake up call we need for more regulation and control over the market economy that- yet again- has come up short by failing to provide the goods, services and stability the general population needs. The great need for change to protect our global climate is finally dawning on us- inextricably linked to this is the failure of the market economy to provide in areas of life where there is not a profit to be made- protecting our world, providing safe, modern schools and affordable healthcare. So sayeth I.

I’ll be back to baseball or general blogness next time I promise

The Curse Of Colonel Sanders Is Lifted! Hanshin Tigers Onwards To Victory!!

The Curse of Colonel Sanders, which has haunted the Hanshin Tigers since 1985, has finally been lifted! Tonight the statue was finally found, and brought up from the depths of the canal in Dotonburi.

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0310/OSK200903100056.html

Read more about the Curse of Colonel Sanders below (copied from Wikipedia):

1985 Japan Series

In 1985, much to Japanese people’s surprise, the Hanshin Tigers faced the Seibu Lions and took their first and only victory in the Japan Series, largely due to star slugger Randy Bass, a gaijin (foreigner) player for the team.

The rabid fan base went wild, and a riotous celebration gathered at Ebisubashi Bridge in Dotonbori, Osaka. There, an assemblage of supporters yelled the players names, and with every name a fan resembling a member of the victorious team leapt from the bridge into the waiting canal. However, lacking someone to imitate MVP Randy Bass, the rabid crowd seized a Colonel Sanders (like Bass, the Colonel had a beard and was not Japanese) plastic statue from a nearby KFC and tossed it off the bridge as an effigy.

This impulsive maneuver was to cost the team greatly, beginning the Curse of the Colonel. Urban legend has it that the Tigers will not win the championship again until the statue is recovered.

18-year losing streak

After their success in the 1985 series, the Hanshin Tigers began an 18-year losing streak placing last or next-to-last in the league. Brief rallies in 1992 and 1999 brought hope to fans, but they were soon followed with defeat.

During this time attempts were made to recover the statue, including sending divers down and dredging the river, but they all failed. Fans apologized to the store manager, but the statue remained in the canal and the Tigers “cursed”.

2003 Central League

In 2003, the Tigers had an unexpectedly strong season. Their chief rivals, the Yomiuri Giants, lost their star player, Hideki Matsui, while the Tigers gained a pitcher Hideki Irabu, who had returned from playing with the Texas Rangers. The Tigers won the Central League to qualify for the Japan Series, and many newspapers speculated that the Curse of the Colonel had finally been broken.

Fans were enthusiastic about winning the Central League, and repeated the celebratory leap into Dotonbori Canal. However, instead of the individual leapers representing the players, over 5,300 fans plunged into the canal.

Many KFC outlets in Kōbe and Ōsaka moved their Colonel Sanders statues inside until the series was over to protect them from rabid Tigers fans The newly replaced Colonel Sanders statue in the Dotonbori KFC branch was bolted down to prevent a repeat of the incident.

The Tigers lost the Japan Series, this time to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, so the curse is presumably intact.

Hanshin Pray For Certain Victory

Last week the entire Hanshin Tigers squad made a trip to a temple, to make a 必勝祈願, or “certain victory prayer” for the coming season.

The pictures were- I thought- rather funny.

This brings to mind an interesting article I read about the different approaches to the game of baseball in the States and Japan- the link is here.

The Beginning of the Middle of the End of the…

No one really wants to read about my work, do they? I certainly don’t really want to write about it. Yet as this week was the first week back, and set up a pattern which will continue until I leave in August, I guess its worth a comment.

This year lessons at school have been changed- there is new multimedia, a new textbook, new teachers I have to work with and a new English classroom, currently being built, including state of the art shinyness. I was asked what I thought would be useful to help me with classes- I suggested a cafetiere and a coffee grinder might be useful additions.

The new classroom means I’ll no longer have to race around the school to various classrooms, instead making the 30 second walk to just one- in this way, I can reserve my strolls along the corridors for cleaning time, 2.30-2.50, when I usually pace around and say hi to all of the students that I like.

The other bonuses of the new year include a new teacher for the D and E classes, who is both young, female and very strict, and best of all only 1 8am start- albeit on a Monday. I’m also teaching extra classes- at a rather useful overtime rate- to the top 60 students in the third grade, preparing them for the English listening test on the official exam (a “real” lesson, none of this “let’s speak English and enjoy ourselves” malarky- I’m surprised they’re trusting me with this!) Things are, on the whole, better than last semester, although I won’t get to see my favourite English teacher colleague so much as he’s been moved to the 3rd grade. Still, we can always meet in the cafeteria, and continue to grade each days meal out of ten (although our score reliably ranges from 2-5)…

On the whole, the new curriculum’s set up, plus the extra classes I’ve been given, are a compliment to how the school views me- I’m actually teaching things that, in their eyes, are “important”- of course this means I have less time to create imaginative lesson plans, and instead have to follow the textbook more closely, but to be honest this doesn’t bother me. I’ll also be writing some sort of exam for the midterms, which sounds like a hassle but again is something good I suppose…well, maybe.

Hashin Tigers Guide 2009!

Hanshin Tigers Season Guide

For all official Hanshin Tigers news visit the Official Website (Japanese)

Welcome to my Guide to the Hanshin Tigers 2009! This guide will incorporate knowledge from a number of sources, and is intended as a guide for beginners getting into Japanese baseball. It will also include a few season predictions.

Less than a year ago I knew next to nothing about baseball. Yet a year into my stay in Japan I discovered the Hanshin Tigers, and they’ve been my baseball team ever since, catapulting the sport up to my second favourite, narrowly behind football (soccer).

While American baseball is based around a “big game” of big hitters and home runs, Japanese baseball plays a “slow game”, relying on tactical acuteness, stolen bases, bunts and narrow victories- as well as the occasional big hit. Japanese baseball is divided into two leagues- the Central League and the Pacific League. Of the two the Central, or Ce-League is arguably the more glamarous, while the Pacific, or Pa-League is arguably the more skilled. The only difference rule-wise is the use of designated hitters in the Pacific League, as with American baseball.

The Central League is my league so I’ll stick to that. It’s made up of six teams- the Yomiri Giants (boo!), the Hanshin Tigers (yay!!), the Chunichi Dragons (err, boo I guess), the Hiroshima Carp (yay!), the Yakult Swallows (do they? hee hee), and the Yokohama Baystars (nothing to say about them). Of these the former three are the big spenders, and the main competitors for the League Championship, or Pennant Race (although Hiroshima came close to breaking that monopoly last season before falling away).

Hanshin Tigers Star Players 2009

Lets look at Hanshin’s players in three sections- infield, outfield, and pitchers.

Infield- lots of stars here. We’ll take a look at Toritani, Sekimoto and Arai.

新井 貴浩

Takahiro Arai was Hanshin’s big purchase of 2008. A native of Hiroshima, he crossed the Chugoku region to join the Tigers on the back of a there-or-there-abouts 0.3 average and an impressive 96 home runs in 3 seasons. Unfortunately Arai was injured over the summer and late-season period last year, which ultimately played a significant role in Hanshin’s demise. In his 94 games he still managed a career best 0.306 average, but only 8 home runs. If he can stay injury free expect him to play a key role in this seasons performances. Fields on 1st base, although will be moving to 3rd under the new head coach Mayumi.

関本　賢太郎

Kentaro Sekimoto has played his whole career at the Tigers. A solid performer, he averaged 0.298 last season. Unfortunately, he was often used as a sacrificial bunt to get Akahoshi to second (see below), a waste of his decent average. Let’s see him used more positively this season! Fields on 2nd base (if I remember correctly).

鳥谷　敬

Toritani Takashi, handsome Hanshin poster boy, is one of the younger key players in the team. He plays a key fielding role at short-stop, where he excels, as well as being a solid hitter in offense. He averaged 0.281 with 13 homers last season, a remarkably consistent continuation of his record over the last few seasons. Statistically, expect more of the same this season.

Outfield- we’ll take a look at Kanemoto and Akahoshi. Other players of note- Shinjiro Hiyama, Mench.

金本　知憲

If Tony Adams was Mr.Arsenal, and Jamie Carragher is Mr.Livepool, then Tomoaki “Aniki” Kanemoto is Mr.Hanshin. Aniki turned 40 last year, yet has consistently turned in top or near-top batting averages, as well as being far and away Hanshin’s biggest hitter- his 27 homers last season were by far and away the largest number (Toritani coming in second with 13) while his 0.307 average put him in second position. He’s also a true Chugoku boy- before playing for Hanshin Aniki plyed his trade across in Hiroshima, where he was born.

The phrase printed on the picture above, [４番の本領, 背中で語る男] means he has the characteristics of a number 4- i.e. a big hitter, and that hit back shot “expresses what he thinks”, in other words that he lets his hitting do the talking. Mild mannered, extremely wealthy and already half-legend, Aniki Kanemoto is the backbone of the Hanshin team. More importantly, with the Giants having gaijin-sensation Rami-chan (Ramirez), and Hanshin failing to sign anyone in his mould (time will tell on new-signing Mench), Kanemoto’s home runs are essential if Hanshin are going to be successful this season.

赤星　憲広

Norihiro Akahoshi, my favourite Hanshin player, had a career best season in 2008 and will hopefully continue his form into 2009. A lead-off batter, Akahoshi is an expert at stealing bases, and scoring hits to first. He got the highest average of the team last season, with 0.317, and was the Central League’s second best stealer (盗塁). With Hanshin so dependent on scoring runs the non-big hitting way, Akahoshi’s lead off is essential. The frustrating thing last season was that Akahoshi tended to be “pushed” around the bases, particularly by sacrificial bunts from Sekimoto as the 2nd batter. This season it’d be nice to see a more positive attitude, as Hanshin have a strong top 4 batting line-up that really doesn’t require this technique. That, or replace Sekimoto with someone else and stick him further back in the order with Toritani (see 2009 probable order below).

Catcher and Pitchers- so much to look at here. We’ll do a pitcher round up, and mention Hanshin’s catcher.

Starters

In baseball, pitchers are divided into starters- who pitch the first 5 or so innings, and relief, who come in and take over when the starters are ineffective/tired. Hanshin’s key starters last season were Shimoyanagi, Atchison and Andoh. There are also several youngsters coming through the ranks, as well as mid-season gaijin acquisition Resop. Shimoyanagi is Hanshin’s veteran pitcher. Last season he recorded an ERA of 2.99, a joint career best with his performance in the 2005 season. He is of an age with Kanemoto, and needs to be used wisely to prevent him tiring too fast. Atchison was used as both a starter and a relief last season- where will he be in the order this season? Andoh had a poor 2007 but in 2008 got back to- and indeed surpassed his 2006 performace, with an ERA of 3.20. Hopefully he can carry this on in 2009.

JFK- Jeff Williams, 藤川, 久保田

Named after the dead President (though now reminds me of Joe “Fucking” Kinnear”- thanks Football Weekly), JFK have famously been Hanshin’s star pitching line-up, albeit with some alterations over the years in order.

Undoubted star among them is Fujikawa Kyuji, Japan’s best closer, more consistent than Kyojin’s Kroon, getting 38 saves last season (Ce League 2nd best, only missing out on first because he had to leave for the Olympics) and stepping up to the plate 63 times. He has a star temperament, a steal like nerve and is just generally great.　Let’s forget the Nippon Series playoff in Nagoya, when we was tactically beaten by Woods to knock Hanshin out – a cruel fate, with sad scenes of Fujikawa in tears apologising to Manager Okada as he said goodbye to the players

That’s the F, but what about the J and K? The J is Jeff Williams, an Ozzie who was dissapointing last season, with his ERA jumping from 1.90 in 2006 and 0.96 in 2007 to a dissapointing 3.09 in 2008. He is left-handed, which is useful, and he is proven in the past. Can he bounce back in 2009? The K of JFK is Tomoyuki Kubota. Kubota also dissapointed in 2008- his ERA was 3.16, and he was replaced at various points in the year. He was so good in 2007 that he played a massive 90 times. Again it remains to be seen whether he will bounce back in 2009, and where he will pitch in the lineup.

Other relief pitchers to look out for include Abe, Watanabe and Egusa.

A Catcher- 矢野　輝弘

Akihiro Yano is Hanshin’s veteran catcher. Again of an age with Kanemoto and Shimoyanagi, he performed solidly last season, despite slow throwing, and is likely to be kept in Number 1 spot this season. As with Kanemoto and Shimoyanagi, some serious thought needs to be given to the future of the team and the replacement of these three players.

League Predictions

Ok- now to some analysis! Success in 2009 will basically be down to whether Hanshin can correct the weaknesses of 2008. No real signings were made in the close season- save Mench, so the key is whether 2008 failings can be put right. In terms of pitching, Hanshin have some solid starters and a star relief- the J and K of JFK need to step it up, and if either does then this will be a big filip. Fujikawa won’t be absent this year- no Olympics thank god- and so can ply his trade season-long, a big bonus as we lost a lot of games in August last season. Similarly Arai will be available, and if he stays injury free he should really try to challenge Kanemoto for the home run crown. Our starters are solid but uninspiring- we really need a Darvish- but barring that we can expect some good performances from stalwarts Shimoyanagi and Andoh. In attack, I’m not really sure how we can improve that much. A more positive attitude would help (see Sekimoto problem above), as would more home runs from Arai.

In a few seaons time Hanshin will have to replace 3 key players- Kanemoto, Shimoyanahi, and Yano. In this respect 2009 sees the continuation of what can be described as the end of an era. Bringing in a star starter, a star home run hitter and a star catcher will take time, and Hanshin will need to invest. One of these players should really have been brought in this season- time will tell if that was a mistake or not. Of particular concern is Yano, who was slow in fielding last season.

Added to this is the fact that the Yomiuri Giants look as strong as ever. I think last season really was our chance- the Giants were so poor at the start that it gave us a large lead. Bad luck (injury), circumstance (the Olympics) and poor management led to us squandering that lead. This season the Giants will possibly be stronger. We will need to fight to challenge all the way. A big effort is required from every player- みんな様、一所懸命頑張ってください！！！

I found another interesting preview of the Tigers forthcoming season here. Chris mentions the probable lineup of the Tigers as

1. Akahoshi
2. Sekimoto
3. Toritani
4. Kanemoto
5. Arai
6. Mench
7. Yano/Lin
8. Yano/Fujimoto/Hirano

This interestingly moves Arai down to 5 (where apparently he originally wanted to bat), brings Toritani in at 3, and new signing Mench at 6. Arai could be a key man- we need more home runs from him!