32 teams in 32 days - Sano Nichidai (Tochigi)

Sano Nichidai makes their 4th trip to Senbatsu after a 7-year hiatus despite the fact that it would be the 2nd place team in prefecture that would eventually win the Kanto Super-Regionals.

Road to Senbatsu
Tochigi Prefecturals

• def. Ishibashi 10x-0 (5 inn)
• def. Tochigi Shougyou 11-0 (5 inn)
• def. Utsunomiya Minami 5-0
• def. Seiran Taito 9-3
• def. Hakuoudai Ashikaga 5-0

Super-Regionals

• def. Toukaidai Koufu 3-1
• def. Yokohama 5-3
• lost Kiryuu Dai-ichi 5-0

Sano Nichidai pretty much dominated Tochigi, defeating both a more than decent Seiran Taito and prefectural upper tier Hakuoudai.  That continued into the super-regionals where they jumped on Yokohama 5-0 after the 1st inning as ace Tajima Taiki (田嶋 大樹) held off one of the more vaunted teams in kokoyakyu.  Their run would end after kantoku Matsumoto Hiroshi (松本 弘司) decided to start Inaba Kousei (稲葉 恒成) over Tajima.  Inaba would only record 2 outs as Kiryuu would score 4 of their eventual 5 runs in the 1st.

Finally I have some information on players on a team.  First of all ace Tajima.  He's a lefty who throws in the low 140s with a forkball and sinker to go along with the standard fare.  Not necessarily a strikeout pitcher, he still gets his fare share of K's while scattering hits across the innings (like against Yokohama).  There may have been some nerves for Inaba, a freshman who throws in the low 130s with at least a slider.  How much he'll be trusted will be unknown.

Other players who have been noted by various sites include, Yoshida ? (吉田 叡生) who is apparently one of their better power hitters though got this bounding single against Yokohama, Takemura Norio (竹村 律生) and Kakizawa Ikuya (柿澤 郁也).  Not much explaining why necessarily, but perhaps these players will be ones to watch come March.

(Even with some info I think a post will be in order regarding how hard it sometimes can be in obtaining information regarding players.)

Next team up... Yokohama (and IMO I'd better find a good reason to have them selected)...

32 teams in 32 days - Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku (Yamanashi)

Though perhaps we have seen Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku at Koushien a bit recently, this is just their 2nd time to reach senbatsu and it is their first appearance in 20 years!

Road to Senbatsu
Yamanashi Prefecturals

• def. Yamanashi Nourin 11-0 (5 inn)
• def. Yoshida 4-1
• def. Tsuru 5-1
• def. Hikawa 9x-2 (8 inn)
• def. Toukaidai Koufu 8-2

Super-Regionals

• def. Nichidai 5-2
• def. Kendai Takasaki 4-3
• lost Hakuoudai Ashikaga 3-1

So, as I mentioned with Kiryuu Dai-ichi, the Kanto super-regionals do not seem to be rather strong this past fall.  Which to go off topic for a second makes me even more and more furious that Yokohama was invited.  If the region was weak Yokohama should have found a way to get themselves in without the help of the JHBF.

But I digress...

Now, Yamanashi Gakuindai did have some solid games, starting with their semifinals and finals of the prefecturals.  Both Hikawa and Toukaidai Koufu are no slouches and the fact that Yamanashi Gakuindai defeated both handily is a positive sign.

However, go onto the Super-Regionals and it's a different matter.  Nichidai was a good story coming out of Kanagawa, but a 5-2 victory isn't necessarily that impressive despite the fact that Nichidai's 2 runs came in the 9th.  Next up was Kendai Takasaki, who I liken to a poor man's Hanamaki Higashi, and like them they played Yamanashi Gakuindai really close.  It had to take a 3-run bottom 8th for Yamanashi Gakuindai to advance.  And then in the semifinals, they just threw a whole bunch of pitchers at Hakuoudai (4 to be exact), in a 3-1 loss.  But they advanced far enough that the JHBF gave them a call the other day.

Kantoku Yoshida Kouji's (吉田 洸二) ace is Yamaguchi Daisuke (山口 大輔).  But this video is all the information I have on him.  No other data like how hard he throws or what pitches he throws.  Just that he's the ace.  Other than that, there are the other pitchers who threw in the Hakuoudai game such as #10 Ooshiro Teppei (大城 哲平), #3 Uehara Susumu (上原 進) and #18 Miyano Hiromu (宮野 大夢).

I'm surprised I'm able to find out so little on these teams.  If this keeps up I might need to give a post explaining why this might be the case.  Again, with not much to go on, it will be hard to project how far they can go.  To be honest though, given their resume it doesn't look like they'll get that far - though Yoshida-kantoku doesn't seem to be that hesitant to go to the other pitchers.

32 teams in 32 days - Kiryuu Dai-ichi (Gunma)

Kiryuu Dai-ichi perhaps is making a comeback here with their runner-up performance in the Kanto Super-Regionals.  They might still have a bit of a ways to go, but this is a start - especially after being unseeded in the prefecturals.

Road to Senbatsu
Gunma Prefecturals

• def. Isesaki Seimei 3-0
• def. Maebashi 2-1
• def. Kiryuu 6-4
• def. Numata 5-2
• def. Takasaki Shougyoudai Fuzoku 3-2
• lost Kendai Takasaki 3-2 (13 inn)

Super-Regionals

• def. Chiba Keizaidai Fuzoku 3-0
• def. Kasumigaura 2x-1
• def. Sano Nichidai 5-0
• lost Hakuoudai Ashikaga 6-3

Hm, looking at Kiryuu Dai-ichi's resume, it doesn't look all that appealing.  Their only game of note was their loss to Kendai Takasaki in the final, and then in the Super-Regionals they faced 2nd and 3rd tier schools up to (and including) their loss against Hakuoudai Ashikaga.

The good news is that it would appear that their pitching appears to be doing their job against the competition - remember that they put up their relief corps against Hakuoudai (though that could be interpreted now as a possible weakness). The staff is led by ace Yamada Kazuki (山田 知輝) who throws in the upper 120s-lower 130s with a possible slider, curve and changeup.

Behind him is #11 Higashinomiya(?) Kazuo (東宮 万夫) and #18 Nishiyama Yuuto (西山 雄登).  However, they were only used in the final when both teams did not necessarily have incentive to play their 1st team.

Oddly enough, despite Kiryuu Dai-ichi's status as an upper tier team in prefecture, there is very little information on the players outside of the pitchers.  I found a short video with highlights of their game against Sano Nichidai, but that's about it.

That means I have surprisingly very little to go on regarding the Kanto runner-ups.  The record does not suggest a very robust team to handle senbatsu and perhaps highlights how weak the Kanto region might have been (*ahem*Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku*ahem*), but we'll need to put them in context relative to the other regions.

32 teams in 32 days - Hakuoudai Ashikaga (Tochigi)

And now onto the Kanto region, where they were awarded 5 representatives.  First up, the Kanto champs Hakuoudai Ashikaga - who to my surprise had not ever gone to senbatsu before.  This despite the fact that they've been to Natsu Koushien 3 times.

Anyways, here was their road to senbatsu.

Road to Senbatsu
Tochigi Prefecturals

• def. Yasaka Chuo 6-3
• def. Oyama 2x-1 (11 inn)
• def. Tochigi 15-0 (5 inn)
• def. Sakushin Gakuin 3-2
• def. Kokugakuin Tochigi 4x-3 (10 inn)
• lost Sano Nichidai 5-0

Super-Regionals

• def. Hanasaki Tokuharu 6-5
• def. Narashino 3-1
• def. Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku 3-1
• def. Kiryuu Dai-ichi 6-3

Meiji Jingu Tournament

• lost Iwakuni 6-4

Hakuoudai Ashikaga did not have an easy road to winning the Kanto Super-Regionals. Imagine having to play Sakushin Gakuin in the quarterfinals in order to advance.  And yet, they almost dominated the game save for a late rally that almost came back to win.  It would make sense that there might be a letdown in their next game.  So it was against Kokugakuin Tochigi (who by no means is a pushover). Trailing 3-0 with just 3 outs to go, Kokugakuin suffered from the pressure of defeating a big name team. They gave up their 3 run lead and would be bid sayonara one inning later.

Having qualified for the Tohoku Super-Regional, perhaps Hakuoudai finally had their letdown being blanked by Sano Nichidai 5-0.

The loss also put them in a bad spot right off the bat having to play Saitama champs Hanasaki Tokuharu right off the bat.  And yet, they never trailed taking a 6-1 lead before holding on to win 6-5.  Then ace Higa Shin (比嘉 新) limited my Narashino squad to just 1 run in a fairly dominant 3-1 win.  Just a day later, he'd repeat his performance against Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku.

Having gone back-to-back days, kantoku Fujita Shinji (藤田 慎二) let him rest in favor of relief starter Hasegawa Keita (長谷川 慶太) and normal LF Ooshita Seichirou (大下 誠一郎) in the title game against Kiryuu Dai-ichi who also rested their ace.  Again, this probably in the name of not giving up too much information.  Hakuoudai would win the battle of the backup starters 6-3 claiming their first ever Tohoku title and their 1st bid to senbatsu.

Higa would retake the hill in their first game against Iwakuni in the Meiji Jingu tournament, and things looked good as with some well placed balls (including one from himself), they built a 4-1 lead.  However, Higa would lose support in the field in the 8th as SS Kamon Hikaru (下門 光瑠) would go home on a play with the bases loaded, hitting the runner and allowing Iwakuni to eventually take the lead to win 6-4.

Interestingly, ace Higa does not throw particularly hard, somewhere in the low 130s. Reports vary on his repertoire, he has a slider for sure, but either has a curve/change, perhaps a forkball, and might have a cutter as well.

I have to wonder though how much Fujita-kantoku really will lean on the relief staff. Ooshita is more known as a power-hitter on the team more than a pitcher, and yet is turned to more than who would be their reliever in #10 Hasegawa.  And yet, I do not see him pitching outside of the final against Kiryuu Dai-ichi.

Offensively they do not appear to be as strong as perhaps other contenders.  Higa at best seems to be someone that could be Ojima from Urawa Gakuin who doesn't throw hard, but perhaps get the job done.  There doesn't look to be any solid backup behind him, so it'll be boom or bust for the first-timers. Higa can certainly last for 1 or 2 games, but after that the competition will be rough.

Next up today... runner-ups Kiryuu Dai-ichi!

32 teams in 32 days - Touryou (Miyagi)

And now to our other qualifier from Tohoku - first-timers Touryou from Miyagi.  This is their first ever trip to senbatsu after several prior attempts in recent years were unsuccessful.

Road to Senbatsu
Higashi Regionals

• def. Ishinomaki Kita 8-0 (7 inn)
• def. Kesennuma 10-0 (6 inn)
• lost Ishinomaki 7-6

Miyagi Prefecturals

• def. Ishihasama Shougyou 3-2 (11 inn)
• def. Tohoku 12-6 (11 inn)
• def. Ishinomaki 11-0 (7 inn)
• def. Shibata 5-4
• lost Sendai Ikuei 2-1

 Super-Regionals

• def. Kuji Kougyou 9-4
• def. Kakunodate 13-11 (10 inn)
• def. Aomori Yamada 4-1
• lost Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei 13-2

So as we can see here Touryou makes Senbatsu despite suffering 3 losses in the Aki Taikai - one at each level, but sufficient enough to progress.  They actually revenged their loss to Ishinomaki in the regionals (one that they rallied late from down 7-1) in the quarterfinals of the prefecturals.  Before that game though, they almost bowed out against unknown Ishihasama Shougyou.  Then they turn around and go toe-to-toe with Tohoku outlasting them in another enchousen affair.  They actually almost won the Miyagi prefecturals, but the tandem of Okamoto and Satou couldn't shut out Sendai Ikuei.

Onto the super-regionals and here they faced a plucky Kakunodate squad that just missed out last summer.  With the score at a normal 4-2, the teams would combine for 16 runs in the final 3 innings of regulation, sending it to enchousen at 11 all before Kakunodate's pitching staff would be finally depleted.  After that was an impressive CG 1-run performance by Satou over Aomori Yamada to send them to the finals.  Of course, that's when they ran right smack into Kousei and were routed rather handily.  Still, despite 3 losses, their body of work was good enough and had some quality games to warrant an invitation to senbatsu.

On the hill for Touryou is Satou Kouga (佐藤 洸雅).  There are no videos of him, and the only thing I have is that he is a rookie ace who throws in the low-mid 130s. Also used was Okamoto Naoki (岡本直己) who seems to be the other reliable pitcher that kantoku Chiba Ryousuke (千葉 亮輔) relies on.  He's another relatively younger manager at the age of 42.  The only video I have is of the manager at a BBQ back in September.

Which leaves me with very little to go on other than the results, which show some solid results, but at the same time, do not appear to be competitive.  They could easily win a game, but just as easily be a one-and-done team.  If I find any other information, I'll post it here.

Tomorrow, onto the Kanto Super-Regionals and champion Hakuoudai Ashikaga!

32 teams in 32 days - Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (Aomori)

Onto the Tohoku region where we start with champion Kousei Gakuin, now known as Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei. It was heartbreaking to see them reach 3 straight Koushien finals only to lose in all 3. Once versus Nichidai-san which I witnessed in person, then back-to-back in 2012 to Osaka Touin.  I really hoped they would have been able to win one - I think they certainly deserved it.  But the world of 高校野球 is not as ideal as we would like - though that might be changing.  After a year to rebuild, they return once again to the national stage, hoping for a better result this time around.

Road to Senbatsu
Hachinohe Regionals

• def. Hachinohe Suisan 10-0
• def. Hachinohe Higashi 16-2
• def. Hachinohe 10-1

Aomori Prefecturals

• def. Goshougawara Shougyou 8-1
• def. Misawa Shougyou 9-0
• def. Aomori 5-2
• lost Aomori Yamada 8-3

 Super-Regionals

• def. Sendai Ikuei 10-7
• def. Sakata Minami 9-2
• def. Hanamaki Higashi 2-1
• def. Touryou 13-2

Meiji Jingu

• lost Imabari Nishi 5-1

As you can see, for larger Super-regions the road to Koushien is much, much longer.  Fortunately for Kousei they were able to afford a loss - to an Aomori Yamada squad that has tried for years to return to Koushien themselves.

Looking at their record, they defeated every lower-level team they were supposed to beat.  And not just beat, but in general annihilate.  Only Aomori, who isn't that bad of a team in-prefecture was spared a mercy-rule loss.

Of course, what is more important is their games against the bigger fish, and there is a bit to see. I do not unfortunately have data on their loss to Aomori Yamada, but perhaps I think knowing that they were going to qualify held some things back just in case for the Super-Regionals.

In those Super-Regionals, they had a very Sendai Ikuei-ish game against said team. I say that considering the game that Urawa Gakuin had against them last summer - if you could call it one. They got out to a 4-1 lead, gave up 6 runs, then battled back to win.  Sakata Minami got a bunch of hits, but could only push through 2 runs.

Predictably, Hanamaki Higashi proved to the the biggest stumbling block as Sasaki-kantoku continued to have his team play up to the competition.  Ace Hosokawa would strike out 11 in a CG effort, but Kousei made enough of their 8 hits while Nakagawa would hold the fort.

Indeed, it would seem that they are playing safe as in their loss to Imabari Nishi, Nakagawa only pitched 3.2 innings before being relieved with his team down 3-0.

Further supporting my argument was the fact that Nakagawa Masashi (中川 優), who was used for many of the key games... does not wear the ace number!  Instead he wears #11!!  According to the reports, he throws in the mid 130s, and has a change to go with the standard slider and curve.  He appears to be Nakai-kantoku's stopper.  More videos of him can be found here and here.

So then what about ace Satou Shun (佐藤 駿)?  He also apparently also throws in the 130s, and with the Meiji Jingu radar gun, this figure is more reliable. But while he wears the ace number, there is no other information on him - although I guess you could assume he carries the basic selection of pitches.  Which begs the question if he really is the staff ace.

Defensively, the Nii(?) twins of Katsuyoshi (新井 勝貴) and Katsunori (新井 勝徳) who patrol CF and RF respectively are a great asset for the team.  At the plate, SS Houjyou Yuuji (北條 裕之) can provide some pop at the top of the lineup, though from these ABs against Imabari Nishi it doesn't look like that at all - though the defense seems to have him played right in the OF.  And finally, their cleanup batter is 1st year Sai Seiu (蔡 鉦宇) who is actually Taiwanese.

With not as much information as I'd like, it's hard to say whether Kousei can make another big run. It would seem that the pitching might keep them in it, but the offense may not be able to stand and deliver against the more competitive teams.  Unless they get a tough draw, I think they could make the quarterfinals - but after that it will be tough.

Next, Tohoku runner-up Touryou!

32 teams in 32 days - Komadai Tomakomai (Hokkaido)

Komadai Tomakomai was given a "gift" by departing alumni Tanaka Masahiro.  For the first time in 9 years they will return to Haru Koushien.

Hokkaido has missed Komadai as they were the only team to have successfully claimed a Koushien title - all thanks to the aforementioned Ma-kun. Teams have come and gone, but none have been able to replicate their efforts.

So now Komadai returns once again to perhaps find that spark:

Road to Senbatsu
Muroran Regionals

• def. Noboribetsu Seiryou 5-2
• def. Muroran Shimizugaoka 8-0 (8 inn)
• def. Ootani Muroran 11-0 (5 inn)
• def. Hokkaido Sakae 2-1

 Super-Regionals

• def. Kushiro Meiki 8-0 (7 inn)
• def. Asahikawadai 8-5
• def. Toukai Dai-yon 1-0 (12 inn)
• def. Sapporo Ootani 3-2

Meiji Jingu

• lost Okinawa Shougaku 5-3

Their body of work unfortunately does not inspire confidence. With Hokkaido already considered a weak prefecture in the world of 高校野球, having 3 1-run games - even against tougher competition in-prefecture, do not point to success.

Interestingly, while Itou Harumi(?) (伊藤 大海) seems to get quite a bit of work, he wore #15 for Komadai.  Perhaps it's because he's a rookie.  Anyways, he's reported to throw in the low 130s with the normal slider and curve.

And he's got a video of his own while ace # Kikuchi Shouta (菊地 翔太) does not. Go figure. The best I can figure is this digest video of their Meiji Jingu game against Okinawa Shougaku.

Offensively, it looks like 2B Yasuda Daisuke (安田 大将) is the main generator of power for the team. Somehow, I'm reminded of Honma Atsushi of way back when.

Perhaps the only other person offensively noteworthy is leadoff batter CF Itou Yuuki (伊藤 優希) who is a quick leadoff batter.

Considering that they played Okinawa Shougaku close despite falling behind early 3-0, they might have a chance for a game or two, but not much more.

Next up... Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei!

86th Haru Koushien field announced!

Here is the announced field for the 86th Haru Koushien:

Hokkaido (1)

• Komadai Tomakomai - 3rd appearance, 1st in 9 years
  

Tohoku (2)

• Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (Aomori) - 7th appearance, 1st in 2 years
  
• Touryou (Miyagi) - First appearance
  

Kanto ex Tokyo (4 + floating bid shared w/Tokyo)

• Hakuoudai Ashikaga (Tochigi) - 1st appearance (??!)
  
• Kiryuu Dai-ichi (Gunma) - 4th appearance, 1st in 7 years
• Yamanashi Gakuindai Fuzoku (Yamanashi) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 20 years
• Sano Nichidai (Tochigi) - 4th appearance, 1st in 7 years
• Yokohama (Kanagawa) - 15th appearance, 1st in 2 years

Tokyo (1+ floating bid shared w/Kanto ex Tokyo)

• Kanto Dai-ichi - 5th appearance, 1st in 2 years

I feel really bad for Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku... the JHBF perhaps to get more viewers chose Yokohama over a team that took Kanto Dai-ichi to the limit in the title game.  I understand it, but I certainly do not agree with it.

Hokushinetsu (2)

• Nihon Bunri (Niigata) - 5th appearance, 1st in 3 years
• Toukai Dai-san (Nagano) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 15 years

Tokai (2)

• Mie (Mie) - 12th appearance, 1st in 2 years
• Toyokawa (Aichi) - First appearance

Kinki (6)

• Ryuukokudai Heian (Kyoto) - 38th appearance, 2nd consecutive
• Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama) - 11th appearance, 1st in 3 years
• Riseisha (Osaka) - 6th appearance, 4th consecutive
• Houtoku Gakuen (Hyogo) - 20th appearance, 2nd consecutive
• Chiben Gakuen (Nara) - 9th appearance, 1st in 2 years
• Fukuchiyama Seibi (Kyoto) - 2nd appearance, 1st in 5 years

Chuugoku (2 + floating bid w/Shikoku)

• Iwakuni (Yamaguchi)  - 7th appearance, 1st in 14 years
• Hiroshima Shinjyou (Hiroshima) - First appearance

Shikoku (2 + floating bid w/Chuugoku)

• Imabari Nishi (Ehime) - 13th appearance, 1st in 4 years
• Ikeda (Tokushima) - 8th appearance, 1st in 27(!) years
• Meitoku Gijyuku (Kochi) - 15th appearance, 1st in 3 years

As expected, Meitoku Gijyuku gets the floating bid. In my opinion, they certainly deserved it.

Kyushu (4)

• Okinawa Shougaku (Okinawa) - 6th appearance, 2nd consecutive
• Misato Kougyou (Okinawa) - First appearance
• Kamimura Gakuen (Kagoshima) - 4th appearance, 1st in 2 years
• Chinzei (Kumamoto) - 3rd appearance, 1st in 24 years

Meiji Jingu (1) - Champion - Okinawa Shougaku (Kyushu)

• Souseikan (Nagasaki) - 2nd appearance, 2nd consecutive

Souseikan indeed took the Meiji Jingu bid as expected and Chinzei did indeed get a regular Kyushu bid.

21st Century Team (3)

• Western Representative - Ooshima (Kagoshima) - First appearance
• Eastern Representative - Koyamadai (Tokyo) - First appearance
• Wild-Card Representative - Kainan (Wakayama) - 17th appearance, 1st in 27 years

Koyamadai gets the Eastern bid over Kakunodate, and I'm surprised. I have to surmise that the JHBF decided to bring just 2 schools from Tokyo and determined that the 21st century bid was more important than perhaps a team that was deserving??!

*sighs*

Ooshima appeared to be a no-brainer at least talent-wise, so nothing surprising there. (Why couldn't you do that with Nisshougakushadai??)

I would have liked Ise to go to Koushien, but I cannot argue with Kainan's selection.  Both front-runners for the wild-card bid had a team already going, so giving one to a prefecture without a bid wasn't an issue. About the only thing I could argue is that Wakayama had a 21st century team go back in 2010 and Mie hasn't sent a school yet, so perhaps they could have given it to Ise, but that's about it.

Are the times a-changing?

I was having a discussion with a twitter friend of mine the other day (@junko_seaside) briefly about what might happen at senbatsu in 2 months considering we will find out the invitees this Friday.

I had mentioned the fact that this past summer we saw perhaps the biggest example of young managers sending their teams deep into the tournament - in fact the final 2 teams Maebashi Ikuei and Nobeoka Gakuen both had very young managers.  You could include Toyama Dai-ichi who got to the quarterfinals and perhaps the predecessor to them all - Hanamaki Higash's Sasaki-kantoku (Deanna prolly is still swooning over him - just kidding).

Still, there is something to be said for what is happening here.  For the longest time, it seemed that the top of the 高校野球 world was dominated by older managers who have done things the same way since... well, ever.  Takashima-kantoku over at Chiben Wakayama, Ogura-kantoku over at Nichidai-san, Wakao-kantoku first at Tohoku and then over at Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku, Jyoukou-kantoku over at Saibi.

Yet now, when you flip the pages of the official program, you can see that the managers reaching there are getting younger and younger.  Why is that?

Well, first of all, of course the older kantoku's eventually get old enough to retire and are replaced.  Then there are always younger kantoku's who are trying to get in and make a name for themselves.  It's just that now they're getting successful sooner.

In my discussion with said twitter friend, she mentioned about the fact that younger managers are strategic and come up with ingenious tactics.

Which led me to write this post because these ingenious tactics aren't really new per se.  They're just a change in thinking from what has been regarded as the norm in 高校野球.

I think the first thing I started noticing with the younger kantoku's is the fact that the one thing I despise the most (yet understand because of the meaning carrying out the action implies), diving head-first into 1st base, was starting to be phased out of some schools.  Not only does it carry injury risk, but it generally slows a player down.  I cannot tell you in the short history of me following Koushien how many outs could have been saved if the runner had just run through the base like everyone else does.  Same goes for immediately bunting after getting a runner on first. Sure, maybe you have a low-scoring offense and any runner you can get in scoring position is a good thing, but continuously bunting only shortens the game for the other team and has become so ingrained that teams automatically look for it - squeezes too.

Another is the fact that more managers are going to a multi-pitcher setup for Koushien. Nobeoka Gakuen last year is a prime example of it, though perhaps the one most memorable was Saga Kita several years back. Yes, when a team has a staff ace a manager generally tends to ride him for all he's worth.  But, despite the fact that MLB teams are crying about it for the wrong reasons in my opinion, we have seen players get injured from throwing so much (Anraku Tomohiro being the most recent example).  The sheer fact that the deeper you go, the less rest you get facilitates teams to perhaps go to a multi-pitcher strategy - especially given the fact that teams continue to practice on their days off during not just Koushien, but even during the prefecturals - something that I wasn't aware of until I talked to another friend of mine who returned from an ALT stint in Ishikawa.  I'm surprised we don't see more dropoff in velocity for those aces when they get to the semifinals and finals.  Also, if teams generally do indeed practice on the off-days, the new system to give teams at least one rest day doesn't even matter.

We're even at the point now where teams actually employ a shift.  Jyoukou-kantoku against the speedy slap-hitting Chiba-kun, actually brought in his CF to play just right of the pitchers' mound.  The idea was right, but the execution was a bit off as he also had his outfielders playing in as well.  So when Chiba actually went to swing, he hit it into the vacated part in center for a triple - oops.

The thing is, none of these strategies are necessarily new. They're just new in the world of 高校野球.  Carrying a "bullpen" is easily used in other areas of baseball, it's just that there is some romanticism in having your staff ace carry the team.  Same can be said for diving into first.  And shifts have been around for many years now in MLB, and in some cases implemented in NPB as well (Marty Brown at Hiroshima for example pulling an outfielder into the infield when it is a sayonara situation).  Heck, even anime had extreme examples of strategy (see One Outs for what I mean).  Nobeoka Gakuen rarely bunted at all on the road to the final.

The point is, there is nothing really that revolutionary in kokoyakyu that I'm seeing.  Instead, I think we're seeing kokoyakyu catch up with the rest of baseball in terms of strategy.  Some things I think we don't need to see (for instance a "closer", or the idea of defined relief roles).  But a lot of things I'm seeing it's about time we did and it's better for the game.

Why Rakuten was in a no-win situation

The bidding now for Ma-kun is in full swing as Rakuten did indeed decide to post him.

But while they certainly didn't want to, they really didn't have a choice.

Since Ma-kun was the first big name wanting to post after the new agreement, Rakuten couldn't send the message I laid out in my prior post.  Doing so had the possibility of undermining the NPB pipeline faster than it possibly already is.

But as a result, they will get much less for a player who certainly was the most integral in giving the "expansion" team their first Japan Series.  And now losing him means that their attempt to make a repeat bid will be severely hurt by the loss.  Perhaps HS strikeout phenom Matsui Yuuki (Toukou Gakuen) drafted this year will offset the loss, but it may take a couple of years to get him into the superstar status that Ma-kun reached.  In the meantime, other teams can catch up and Rakuten's window may close.

It sucks that of all the teams that had to take the hit, it would have to be Rakuten. I'd be more fine with it if it was a team like Yomiuri - but for a team like Rakuten trying to gain a foothold in the league, it really is unfortunate.