I love the energy of baseball crowds in Japan. It was the first time I heard a “fight song” associated with the game.

I watched the last 2 games vs the Red Sox from Tokyo Japan, televised live starting at 9am the next day. The Japanese television stations televise the games in which Matsui, Ichiro, Dice-K and others play. The coverage is pretty good – coming over from local stations in the states, with a choice of English or Japanese announcing. They usually do not break in betwen innings, instead taking that time to do filler chat and survey the stadium and the dugouts. They also re-play all the Japanese guys’ ABs from every angle, really taking time to analyze their games. The game that Matsuzaka pitched was highly touted, as he went up against Matsui a few times. These are really marquee matchups here. Huge big deal. It was GREAT to see the Yanks take a couple – finally – after that rough week. FWIW, the Japanese are much more pro Ichiro and Matsui than Dice-K. He’s known as a brat, whereas the other two are bona-fide heroes.

Also caught a regional game at the Tokyo dome, where Matsui used to play. Those teams are made up of employees from companies who hire the players for ghost jobs so they can play baseball on the company team. The game cost 900 Yen, or about 9 bucks, but you can get free tickets as long as you sit in the section and cheer with the cheerleaders (no shit) in the proper side of the field. Wild. I can tell you this – these people LOVE baseball.

At the dome there are two baseball shops – one for the Yomiuri Giants and one for all the other teams along with the Giants, including the Carp and the Swallows. Now there’s a name you won’t soon see in the US. Then there’s a third shop for MLB, which is, all the Japanese guys who play in the states. That would be, Dice-K, Matsui, Ichiro, Jojima, and…. # 29 -Igawa. Guess those will be going on sale soon. Anyway good time.

Hoping for a sweep tomorrow. BTW, we don’t need 94 wins to make the playoffs, we just need to be better than the M’s and the Tiggers. October!

Never would have worked. Matsui’s knees, lefty at the plate, and Beckett facing the runner at his set, all worked against that.
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Exactly, which is why I suspect Lowell was playing so far off the bag.

~~~I wasn’t screaming bunt so much as I was screaming steal.~~~

Never would have worked. Matsui’s knees, lefty at the plate, and Beckett facing the runner at his set, all worked against that.

I wasn’t screaming bunt so much as I was screaming steal. He could have gotten like a 40 foot lead and just took off, it probably would have been dumb but it would have been exciting and I would like to have seen him try

~~~But if they’d lost, say, 5-4, that’s what would be haunting them right now. ~~~

If they win today, and get another game closer to Boston, those two games last week blown by Henn will be haunting them for sure.

The Yanks get a pass for that bizarre 14 hit, 4 run line because they won. But if they’d lost, say, 5-4, that’s what would be haunting them right now.