Ishikawa gets more out of less practice
SAN FRANCISCO -- Travis Ishikawa has adopted a novel approach to preparing for his rare opportunities to hit. Recently, he has taken less batting practice, not more.
Ishikawa has shelved his near-daily early-hitting sessions and relies on regular batting practice and stints in the indoor cage adjacent to the dugout during the game. The backup first baseman attributed his success off the bench to this change. Entering Monday, Ishikawa led the National League with a .556 pinch-hitting average (5-for-9). That included doubles in each of his previous two at-bats.
"Thinking too much about my mechanics hurts me," said Ishikawa, whose 22 at-bats before Monday were the fewest among any Giants position player on the Opening Day roster. "If I go up there for one at-bat every few days, thinking about where my hands or my stride are, you kind of lose focus on seeing the ball."
Ishikawa, the Giants' primary first baseman last season, realizes that his playing time will remain extremely limited, barring unforeseen circumstances.
"The way Buster [Posey] and Aubrey [Huff] have been swinging, I know I'm not going to get many chances," Ishikawa said. "I go up there kind of almost more relaxed. There's no pressure on me."
Ishikawa has impressed manager Bruce Bochy.
"He's our Smoky Burgess," Bochy said, citing the portly catcher who thrived as a pinch-hitter while spending 1949-67 in the Major Leagues. "He has a calm demeanor about him, which probably helps him pinch-hitting. He's very relaxed. ... He's not overhyped. That's a big part of being successful as a pinch-hitter, being able to control yourself for one at-bat. Sometimes your adrenaline gets the best of you and you get a little overaggressive."
Monday, June 7, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Kinji Shibuya dead at 88
By GREG OLIVER - Producer, SLAM! Wrestling
Kinji Shibuya and Killer Kowalski await their next victims.
Kinji Shibuya, who died Monday at the age of 88, once described his move from wrestling to acting in realistic terms that also applied to his 25 years of villainry in the ring: "You're an ugly bugger and they wanted an Oriental villain or something like that. I was ready to oblige."
Of course, the fact that the evil Japanese bad guy was actually born in Utah, raised in California, and starred in football in Hawaii was beside the point.
He looked the part, with his squat body, cropped hair and goatee; the publicity folks could do the rest.
"Kinji Shibuya admits he knows 24 centers on each side of a man's body where pressure of varying amounts will result in the man losing his grip," describes a Wrestling World article from May 1954, talking about "The Nerve Specialist."
A 1971, Reno, Nevada story previewing an upcoming show has local promoter Buddy Traynor fretting about Shibuya's karate chop. "Sam Muchnick (president of the National Wrestling Alliance) told me," said Traynor, "that Shibuya is never again to use the karate chop. You know, he once killed an opponent with it."
In a 1999 interview with the Japanese-English language newspaper Rafu Shimpo, Shibuya said, "the meaner I acted in the ring, the richer I walked out of it. Playing the bad guy was fun. I would have been a run-of-the-mill wrestler without the dirty stuff. As a villain, I became a champion."
Born May 16, 1921 in Utah, the fourth of five sons to Kinkichi and Kura Shibuya, Robert "Kinji" (or Kenji) Shibuya grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from Belmont High School. He played left guard for the Los Angeles City College team and was named to the Helms Athletic Foundation's All-Southern California Board of Football's all-western division jaycee second team star squad in 1940.
At the University of Hawaii, he was a four-year "Hula Bowl" football star and amateur wrestler before playing semi-pro ball for the Honolulu Polar Bears and Honolulu Warriors.
"I was a name before I became a wrestler because of my football background," Shibuya said in 2004.
The wrestling promoter in Hawaii, Al Karasick, suggested he try the squared circle in 1952.
"I was a natural draw," Shibuya said. "Hawaii was a natural place to draw because they could go to Australia, or Japan."
Speaking both Japanese and English, Shibuya was admittedly typecast as a villain in the years after World War II.
After breaking in, Shibuya hit the road, getting to the Minneapolis territory followed by Calgary.
Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion was full of "wonderful people," he said.
"When I first got there, I was going towards Alaska! What the hell is this? I was supposed to be going towards Calgary, then it says so many miles to Alaska," he laughed. "I have a lot of fond memories of Calgary."
Shibuya also had a lot of success in Vancouver's All-Star Wrestling promotion.
"I loved Vancouver," he confessed, adding that he thought All-Star "ran a really good program. They had the influence to get the top guys in there."
Kinji Shibuya and Mitsu Arakawa. Courtesy of the Wrestling Revue Archives: www.wrestlingrevue.com
Though Shibuya had numerous tag team title reigns with various partners, he is most associated with Mack "Mitsu" Arakawa.
"I was the senior part of the tag team. We were both from Hawaii. I took him under my wing and we formed a great team," said Shibuya of Arakawa. "He was big and he was young and at the time, I guess it would have been good for both of us." Mitsu was originally billed as Kinji's cousin.
The pairing was indeed good for both of them. They were big draws in many territories including San Francisco, Indianapolis, Vancouver and Australia, and had a run with the Minneapolis version of the NWA tag titles in 1957. They were good friends away from the ring, said Arakawa's sister Thelma Morifuji. "He was a big island boy too," she said of Shibuya. "When he came to Hawaii, Kinji always came to our house and visit."
A fun-loving man who enjoyed life and was well-liked away from the ring by his peers, Shibuya shared some stories over the years about his friendships. "I'm a good bullshitter," Shibuya once told this writer.
He said Ben and Mike Sharpe, the giant brothers from Hamilton, Ontario, liked him because he knew how to cater the diet they'd acquired on numerous trips to Japan. "They had gone to Japan and they learned to eat raw fish. I used to go down in Boston and places like that where you could buy that tuna so inexpensively it was unbelievable. So I'd buy a whole bunch of that. As you know, we had to travel in cars. My wife would prepare that raw fish. Then we'd get the rice bowls and they loved me for that!" he laughed. "They were wonderful guys. They got me out of a lot of bad shapes, bad situations."
The Australian great Fred Atkins he called a "great beer drinker," admitting "we tipped a few cases of beer." On one occasion, Shibuya teamed with Atkins against the famed boxer turned wrestler Primo Carnera. "You know how big he was, size 22 show or something like that. He wrestled Moto and knocked all his teeth out! So when he got in the ring there with me, I said 'let me get my ass out of here before he knocks my teeth out!'" remembered Shibuya. "Atkins, he'd go there and get Primo Carnera yelling."
Don Leo Jonathan was a close friend, said Shibuya. "I always treated him like a brother. We were a tag team in Hawaii. We wrestled local guys. The Samoans could throw these connected chairs, three or four chairs in a row. You know how powerful they are. They'd pick them up and throw them at Don Leo, who was standing in the corner ... annoyed. So he'd take off after them and chase them out of the building. I'd be in the building by myself. What the fuck is he doing?
"He's like me, he's a little boy, never grew up. Dad's in the wrestling business. You have to be boys because, my God, I would never let my kid go in the business."
Kinji Shibuya and Killer Kowalski team up to best historian/writer Tom Burke at a Cauliflower Alley Club reunion. Photo by Mike Lano, WReaLano@aol.com
Fellow wrestlers spoke highly of Shibuya's skills in the ring.
"I remember in 1972 when Kinji Shibuya came in from Northern California and teamed with Masa Saito. How hot they were as a tag team," wrote Jeff Walton, the Los Angeles announcer and publicist in his book, Richmond 9-5171, A Wrestling Story. "Against Black Gordman and The Great Goliath, the four of them were absolutely incredible. By himself, Shibuya was just a master technician."
"Kinji was a night off to work with. Great guy," said Paul Diamond (Paul Lehman). In an interview in the Ring Around the Northwest newsletter, Ricky Hunter spoke highly about Shibuya. "Him and I would get in the ring and we would have fantastic matches. He was one of the great Japanese wrestlers. He was so impressive looking. He spoke very well too."
One of the late Gene Kiniski's favourite stories involved Shibuya and the Vancouver announcer Ron Morrier. Shibuya had just broken a rock with a judo chop on television. "So Ron Morrier says to me, 'You have to admit, that was quite a feat,'" Kiniski started. "I said, 'Yes, it was just unbelievable. But if you look at the rock very carefully, Ron, you'll see Made In Japan.' And Jesus Christ, he just broke up on TV and the people went crazy. Kinji Shibuya was just livid."
By 1975, Shibuya was pretty well done in the ring.
"I've enjoyed pro wrestling throughout the years." he said in a January 1976 interview in the local Hayward, Calif., paper. "Although people hated me throughout the years. I've given them their money's worth. No matter what people say. they hare to admit I'm one of the best in the showmanship world."
Based out of Hayward, California, he took some acting roles, including appearances on TV shows such as Kung Fu, and the films Days of a Bawdy Ballad and Hammett. Shibuya appeared in Mr. T and Tina, a short-run sitcom on ABC in 1976, where he played a sumo wrestler named Kazu challenging the star of the show, Pat Morita. He had to shout out his lines in anger and lost his voice by the end of the third day. "I had a ball," he said at the time. "It was five days of real fun, but it was real, real exhausting."
"You know it's a funny thing. Movie actors really liked wrestlers," Shibuya said, adding that it was thrill to get to know stars such as Yul Brenner, John and David Carradine. "These were all guys that I respected as a kid."
After wrestling, he started an engine flushing business in Vallejo, Calif., to take sludge out of the engines of corporate and government fleets: Kinji Shibuya’s Internal Engine Cleaning,
In retirement, Shibuya tended to his garden, and collected Japanese koi.
"Whenever I traveled people often gave me koi," Shibuya explained in a 1974 article about collectors of the Japanese fish. "I'd bring them home in a plastic bag with a little water and some oxygen and give them away to friends. I gave some to a building contractor. One day he came over and built me this pond. He told me to start my own koi collection. That's how I began."
"When I see my koi," he continued. "I think about the friends that gave them to me. That has special meaning."
Shibuya died of natural causes with his family present on May 3, 2010.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Janet, daughter Michele and her fiancé, Jerome Scherer of Danville, Calif., his son Robert Kinji and his wife Michele, and their sons Robert Kinji III and Richard Noboru of Manhattan Beach, Calif. A memorial service will be held in Union City, California on May 16.
RELATED LINKS
# May 20, 2010: Remembering Kinji Shibuya: Hated and beloved
# Previous SLAM! Wrestling obituaries
# The SLAM! Wrestling Movie Database
Greg Oliver has been writing about pro wrestling since 1985. His fifth book, SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle came out in the fall of 2009. The four previous books are Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport (with Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy and Irv Muchnick); The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (with Steven Johnson); The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams (also with Johnson) and The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians. Order them all from the SLAM! Wrestling Store. He can be emailed at goliver@canoemail.com.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Female pitcher has her moments
Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Chico Outlaws knuckleballer Eri Yoshida pitches against t... Yoshida bumps fists with first-base coach Garry Templeton...
(05-30) 04:00 PDT Chico --
"The Knuckle Princess" made her American pro pitching debut Saturday night, and her part of the game wound up as a draw.
Eri Yoshida, a Japanese teenager who taught herself how to pitch a knuckleball, got the start for the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League and went three innings against the Tijuana Cimarrones, leaving with the score 4-4 in a game the Outlaws would win 8-6.
Yoshida, 18, gave up four earned runs on five hits and a walk before a highly supportive crowd of 4,400 at Nettleton Stadium on the Chico State campus. She received three ovations, including one after she slapped an opposite-field single to right to drive in a run in the first inning.
"It was unbelievable," she said through an interpreter about the hit. But she said she rated her pitching performance only a "20 out of 100."
"I'm not satisfied with my pitching, but I could see my future goals from this experience," she said.
She became the first woman to play in American pro baseball since Ila Borders pitched three seasons in the Northern League before finishing in the Western League in 2000.
Just a few weeks out of high school, Yoshida wasn't dazzling but showed remarkable poise against a lineup dotted with former big-league players. She made 47 pitches, committed a balk, threw a wild pitch, didn't strike out anybody and needed a couple of fine defensive plays to avert further damage.
She gave up a two-run homer to Juan Velasquez in the second inning.
"It was a knuckleball but it came in straight," she said.
Otherwise, her slow offerings left the Cimarrones off balance until the third inning, when she gave up two more runs.
The 5-foot-2, 115-pounder uses a sidearm delivery and pitches from the stretch even with no runners on base.
She gave up a bunt single to the first batter she faced, ex-Giants infielder Ivan Ochoa, a move that drew predictable hoots from the crowd. But Erold Andrus, the brother of Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, fouled out to the catcher. And Jackson Melian, whom the Yankees gave a $1.2 million signing bonus in 1996 but who hasn't reached the big leagues, grounded into a double play.
"I was more nervous a week ago (for a practice game)," Yoshida said, adding, "My teammates tried to make me relaxed."
Shortstop Alex Prieto ranged into short center field to make a fine catch and avoid further trouble in the second inning. Another run was cut down at the plate in the third on a fine throw by left fielder J.J. Sherrill.
Former Royals and Rockies infielder Kit Pellow, who flied out to left against Yoshida, said her knuckleball "wasn't on" or moving a lot. "It was doing a lot of tumbling, but it was just slow," he said.
Female knuckleballer, 18, to debut Saturday in Chico
Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, May 28, 2010
Jason Halley / AP
Japanese pitcher Eri Yoshida, who taught herself to throw a knuckler, has impressed her Chico Outlaws teammates with her work ethic.
The Chico Outlaws have dubbed their new pitcher "The Knuckle Princess." It's safe to say no other player in pro baseball history has worn that tag.
On Saturday night in Chico against the Tijuana Cimarrones, Eri Yoshida is scheduled to become the first female to play pro baseball in the United States since Ila Borders pitched in the Northern League in the late '90s.
Yoshida, 18, recently graduated from high school in Yokohama, Japan. She taught herself to throw a knuckleball after watching videos of Boston's Tim Wakefield. She posted a 4.03 ERA in 10 2/3 innings in a Japanese independent league last year.
Mike Marshall, a former Dodgers outfielder who is president and general manager of the Outlaws, was Yoshida's manager with the Yuma Scorpions in the Arizona Winter League. He was impressed by her performance there (1-1, with a 4.79 ERA in 10 games) and invited her to join the Outlaws.
The Outlaws have six former major-league players and play in the independent Golden Baseball League, a far-flung outfit that includes teams in Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. It was the last refuge of Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco.
Second baseman Bobby Hill, a San Jose native, said that Yoshida is "like a little sister to everybody on the team" and that he has been impressed with her work ethic. "I don't think it's a publicity stunt for the Outlaws to bring her in," he said.
The GBL doesn't have the designated-hitter rule, so the 5-foot-2, 115-pound Yoshida will also be hitting.
The 7 p.m. game will be streamed on justin.tv/chicooutlawsbaseball.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/27/SPOI1DLON6.DTL#ixzz0pSWJH4Fv
Friday, May 28, 2010
Jason Halley / AP
Japanese pitcher Eri Yoshida, who taught herself to throw a knuckler, has impressed her Chico Outlaws teammates with her work ethic.
The Chico Outlaws have dubbed their new pitcher "The Knuckle Princess." It's safe to say no other player in pro baseball history has worn that tag.
On Saturday night in Chico against the Tijuana Cimarrones, Eri Yoshida is scheduled to become the first female to play pro baseball in the United States since Ila Borders pitched in the Northern League in the late '90s.
Yoshida, 18, recently graduated from high school in Yokohama, Japan. She taught herself to throw a knuckleball after watching videos of Boston's Tim Wakefield. She posted a 4.03 ERA in 10 2/3 innings in a Japanese independent league last year.
Mike Marshall, a former Dodgers outfielder who is president and general manager of the Outlaws, was Yoshida's manager with the Yuma Scorpions in the Arizona Winter League. He was impressed by her performance there (1-1, with a 4.79 ERA in 10 games) and invited her to join the Outlaws.
The Outlaws have six former major-league players and play in the independent Golden Baseball League, a far-flung outfit that includes teams in Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. It was the last refuge of Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco.
Second baseman Bobby Hill, a San Jose native, said that Yoshida is "like a little sister to everybody on the team" and that he has been impressed with her work ethic. "I don't think it's a publicity stunt for the Outlaws to bring her in," he said.
The GBL doesn't have the designated-hitter rule, so the 5-foot-2, 115-pound Yoshida will also be hitting.
The 7 p.m. game will be streamed on justin.tv/chicooutlawsbaseball.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/27/SPOI1DLON6.DTL#ixzz0pSWJH4Fv
Friday, May 14, 2010
Akira Komai Memorial NAU AA Finals
Akira Komai Memorial NAU AA Finals
The Returning
Paul Nitake (37) and Jarrod Carrol (91) battle for a loose ball in the NAU AA Finals.
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
Last season, up north for the State Double A Tournament, the Quicksilver nearly won despite missing three of their key players. Adrienn Carroll, one of the vocal leaders on the team, enlisted his two brothers, Jarrod and Sean on a little mission that caused all three to miss the tournament.
He got married.
The Quicksilver celebrated Adrienne’s first year anniversary with a resounding 110-89 victory over the Tigers Red to defend their Akira Komai Memorial NAU AA Finals title Sunday.
“All three Carrols,” said Paul Nitake. “That was huge.”
How huge? Well, for these finals, Sean registered 12 points, 3 boards and 3 steals, Adrienn added 3 boards and a pair of thefts, and Jarrod dropped 36 points and tacked on 7 boards and 8 assists. A pretty big chunk of production.
On the other side, this was the third time in the past four years that the Tigers Red have made it to the championship game, only to come away with a loss
“We got to the game,” said Eric Chung who had 16 points, 3 assists and 3 boards for the Tigers. “We just haven’t gotten to our goal of winning it. Every year we get a little better, a little more mature basketball-wise. We didn’t play as well as we could have. If we play as well as we know we can, we’re as good anybody.”
While there’s plenty of talented players on the Tigers Red, I’m not sure anybody could have hung with the Quicksilver Sunday afternoon. The team shot 57 percent from the field and spread the rock with 22 assists. Vi Ly and Nitake combined for 39 points on 16-22 shots and Jarrod scored his total on an uber efficient 15-24.
“I give Quicksilver all the credit,” Chung said. “They shot lights out. When that happens, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I shoot a lot,” said Jarrod. “I should make all those shots. That’s how I feel. I put in the work, so it shouldn’t be that hard out there.”
The Tigers Red shot 43 percent from the field led by Sean Odou’s 28 points, 9 boards, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots. Mike Hamner added 20 points and 11 boards and Michael Reding stuffed the boxscore with 15, 8, 4, 2 and 2.
“A little more communications as far as rotating on defense,” said Odou. “Nothing we can’t fix. We know how to get here, we just need to know how to finish it.”
Perhaps they’ll get their chance again next year, although, an anniversary victory is a hard precedent to break. Especially if the Carrolls have anything to say about it.
AU State Championship: A Plus
Underdogs Bite
Derek Wong of Westside Athletics Lions drives the hoop against Brad Tsutsui of the Foster City Flyers in the A Major NAU State Championship game. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The Foster City Flyers won the A Major North South Tournament last year on their home turf. Moving up a division, they found themselves with another shot at a title and another shot to continue to push division boundaries.
Unfortunately, what nearly undid their victory last year, trouble from the free throw line and a penchant for mental lapses down the stretch, caught up with them this go round as they fell to the Westside Athletics Lions 77-70. The Flyers shot 8-18 from the line and had 16 turnovers to only 15 assists.
“To be honest, we came in here and thought we were prepared,” said Bryan Takahara who led the Flyers with a double-double 16 points and 12 boards. “But I guess we weren’t there yet. Honestly, I feel that all of my teammates gave their heart out. The other team, they wanted it more than we did. You have to give it up to the LA team.”
The Lions looked the part of underdogs from the onset. They gave up a distinct height advantage getting killed on the glass 35-52, gave up muscle at nearly every position and didn’t have the benefit of a coach in their corner, especially one as accomplished and active as Foster City’s Brian Quon.
“We’re not the biggest guys around,” said Derek Wong who finished with 10 points and 4 steals. “We work hard, we wanted to win so bad. We have a lot of heart and I think that’s what carried us through today.”
The Flyers jumped out to an early lead, which they held for the first 15-minutes of the first half. That’s when the Lions went on a 16-5 run to close out the half and take a 3-point lead into the break. They came out firing in the second period, running their lead up as high as 13. The Flyers fought an uphill battle the rest of the game, getting as close as two points midway through, but could never find consistency on both offense and defense to overcome the lead.
“We haven’t really seen a zone, pretty much all year,” said Kenya Iwamoto, who struggled to find a rhythm going 1-15 from the field. “We’re a running team that gets a lot of buckets in transition, so the zone may have been key.”
The zone that the Lions employed throughout the game worked well against the Flyers, who, like their name indicates, score the majority of their points in transition, on the fly. The Lions limited Foster City to 42 percent from the field and forced them into 16 turnovers. They then rode Robert Reynolds’ hot hand to victory. Reynolds led all scores with 36 points and chipped in 7 boards and a pair of thefts for good measure.
“We picked up our defense in the second half. Got stops,” said Daniel Wong who had 10 points and 8 rebounds. “This will hopefully be our last season in A Plus. We’re going to have to put on a few pounds, some muscle. Hopefully we can add some height as well. But, for right now, we’re going to just enjoy the win.”
= = = =
For box scores, click here.
NAU State Championship: A Major
Everything But Drama
Roger Tanaka (11) of Tigers White dribbles around David Miura (13) while Eric Yasuda (20) looks on in the A Major NAU Championship game. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The NAU A Major state championship game had almost everything. A three-point fireworks display in the opening minutes. A midcourt buzzer beater to end the first half. A technical that led to a foul-out. It even had a 7-point play.
What it lacked, however, was any real drama.
The game started out well enough for the Sacramento Samurai who hit five threes (would have been six but for a big toe over the line on one of the shots) to take an early 19-13 lead against the Tigers White.
Of course, as the saying goes, teams that live by the three, die by them as well. From that point forward, the Tigers continued to score, while the makes from beyond the arc dried up for the Samurai who ended the game shooting 11-37 from downtown.
“We just weren’t hitting our shots today,” said Marc Kato who went 0-5 from the field and missed his one freethrow attempt, but who did contribute 7 boards and 4 assists. “Overall it was a good tournament.”
The Tigers went on a 25-8 run to close out the first half capped off by a running half-court bank shot from Roger Tanaka that effectively canceled out a triple by the Samurai’s David Miura only seconds before. The basket turned what would have been an 8-point Tigers lead into an 11-point advantage heading into the break.
The Sacramento Samurai never recovered.
“Just effort more than anything,” said Tanaka when asked about his team’s mentality coming into the contest. “The whole year has been like that. If we play hard, we have a chance. We’re not the youngest team out there. We have to play together, play hard and rely on playing good defense.”
The Tigers’ defense stifled the Samurai holding them to only 16 points in the second half and 28 percent shooting overall.
“It was a good team effort,” said Nick Ito who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block in 32 minutes. “Everyone tried their hardest and it worked out.”
The most dramatic point of the game came late in the second, when Conlon Kwong, who paced the Samurai with 16 points, 4 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks, was ejected after arguing his fourth foul and receiving a technical that due to NAU rules, counts as a personal.
That led to Paul Matsubara hitting four free throws (two for his shooting foul and two for the tech), the Tigers getting possession of the ball and then the rock promptly being swung back around to Matsubara for a three pointer—an extremely rare 7-point play.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Matsubara who scored 16 points and pulled down 5 boards. “It was just luck there.”
In all honesty, Kwong was hosed on a couple of other fouls early in the game, especially a blocking foul where he took the full force of the opponent square in the chest with his feet set. It noticeably affected his aggressiveness and the team started its slide shortly thereafter. To his credit, Kwong never hung his head.
Despite the insurmountable odds and his somewhat lame ejection late in the game, Kwong never left the sidelines cheering on his teammates.
“Just team ball,” he explained about his energy and will to keep encouraging his teammates. “Just trying to get
a good game in, even if it’s a loss. We’re definitely looking forward to next year…We’ll be back.”
Missed Freebies and Controlling the Glass
Justin Wong (31) of Big Dogs skies for the rebound, pulling it away from teammate Darby Okamoto (4) in the Big Dogs 53-49 victory over the Foster City Flyers in the A Minor NAU State Championship. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The inability to hit freethrows down the stretch nearly cost the Big Dogs the NAU A Minor championship. Ironically, the inability to pull down a defensive rebound and capitalize on all of those Big Dog misses, cost the Foster City Flyers the game as the Big Dogs eked out a 53-49 victory.
The game was closely contested throughout and wasn’t decided until crunch time. Unfortunately, neither team stepped up to win it.
With 36 seconds to go and the score 49-48, the Bigs Dogs converted only 4-12 from the line. Ron Fukute had four shots at the stripe to put the game out of reach with less than 10 seconds. He clanked three of them and left his team with a slim 2-point lead. But he wasn’t the only one. As a team, the Big Dogs shot a groan-worthy 43 percent on 23 chances at the charity stripe.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Colin Yamashita who went 1-7 from the line in the closing 30 seconds. “My arms were just jelly.”
No doubt it was all the work he had to put in against Flyers lead guard Chris Seto who hounded Yamashita into shooting 3-12 from the field with 6 turnovers. This from a guy who dropped 16 and 22 points the previous consecutive weekends to help lead the Big Dogs into the championship round.
“I’m just happy that we won,” Yamashita said. “My performance wasn’t good, but that doesn’t matter.”
It wasn’t good because of Seto, who bodied him up, bumped and scrapped, contested everything and poked the ball free whenever Yamashita did get by him.
“I take every possession at a time,” said Seto when asked about his defensive performance. “If we score two points and shut our man down, we win. Today, it was a tough loss, but we played as a team, played hard, and came up short. That’s all we can do, we left it all out there.”
While he was only credited with four steals, Seto’s quick hands deflected countless balls and his defensive intensity was instrumental in sparking the Flyers running game. The Flyers forced 17 turnovers and held the Big Dogs to 37 percent from the field and took a 29-24 lead into the half. However, the Big Dogs switched to zone a few minutes into the second period and changed the makeup of the game.
“We weren’t hitting our shots as much as we were in the first half,” said Cliff Tanaka who led the Flyers with 20 points, but only scored 6 of them in the second half. “We’re a fast team and they slowed us down with the zone and obviously that got the worst of us.”
That, and the lack of rebounding. The Big Dogs, who held a noticeable size advantage, dominated the glass out-rebounding the smaller Foster City squad 44-29. Darby Okamoto had 10 caroms and Justin Wong added 14, none bigger than the 3 offensive boards he secured in the waning moments of the game.
“I just try to out-time the other guy and hope that he kind of mistimes it,” said Wong who was selected as the A Minor Tournament MVP. “It’s a big win. I don’t think I carried the team. I don’t think I had a very good game, but the other guys stepped up. We needed every single basket, so it was a team game.”
“We were very excited about the game,” Tanaka said about the Flyers trip to LA. “We came with high expectations. They’re a good team. We got what we expected.”
The Returning
Paul Nitake (37) and Jarrod Carrol (91) battle for a loose ball in the NAU AA Finals.
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
Last season, up north for the State Double A Tournament, the Quicksilver nearly won despite missing three of their key players. Adrienn Carroll, one of the vocal leaders on the team, enlisted his two brothers, Jarrod and Sean on a little mission that caused all three to miss the tournament.
He got married.
The Quicksilver celebrated Adrienne’s first year anniversary with a resounding 110-89 victory over the Tigers Red to defend their Akira Komai Memorial NAU AA Finals title Sunday.
“All three Carrols,” said Paul Nitake. “That was huge.”
How huge? Well, for these finals, Sean registered 12 points, 3 boards and 3 steals, Adrienn added 3 boards and a pair of thefts, and Jarrod dropped 36 points and tacked on 7 boards and 8 assists. A pretty big chunk of production.
On the other side, this was the third time in the past four years that the Tigers Red have made it to the championship game, only to come away with a loss
“We got to the game,” said Eric Chung who had 16 points, 3 assists and 3 boards for the Tigers. “We just haven’t gotten to our goal of winning it. Every year we get a little better, a little more mature basketball-wise. We didn’t play as well as we could have. If we play as well as we know we can, we’re as good anybody.”
While there’s plenty of talented players on the Tigers Red, I’m not sure anybody could have hung with the Quicksilver Sunday afternoon. The team shot 57 percent from the field and spread the rock with 22 assists. Vi Ly and Nitake combined for 39 points on 16-22 shots and Jarrod scored his total on an uber efficient 15-24.
“I give Quicksilver all the credit,” Chung said. “They shot lights out. When that happens, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I shoot a lot,” said Jarrod. “I should make all those shots. That’s how I feel. I put in the work, so it shouldn’t be that hard out there.”
The Tigers Red shot 43 percent from the field led by Sean Odou’s 28 points, 9 boards, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots. Mike Hamner added 20 points and 11 boards and Michael Reding stuffed the boxscore with 15, 8, 4, 2 and 2.
“A little more communications as far as rotating on defense,” said Odou. “Nothing we can’t fix. We know how to get here, we just need to know how to finish it.”
Perhaps they’ll get their chance again next year, although, an anniversary victory is a hard precedent to break. Especially if the Carrolls have anything to say about it.
AU State Championship: A Plus
Underdogs Bite
Derek Wong of Westside Athletics Lions drives the hoop against Brad Tsutsui of the Foster City Flyers in the A Major NAU State Championship game. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The Foster City Flyers won the A Major North South Tournament last year on their home turf. Moving up a division, they found themselves with another shot at a title and another shot to continue to push division boundaries.
Unfortunately, what nearly undid their victory last year, trouble from the free throw line and a penchant for mental lapses down the stretch, caught up with them this go round as they fell to the Westside Athletics Lions 77-70. The Flyers shot 8-18 from the line and had 16 turnovers to only 15 assists.
“To be honest, we came in here and thought we were prepared,” said Bryan Takahara who led the Flyers with a double-double 16 points and 12 boards. “But I guess we weren’t there yet. Honestly, I feel that all of my teammates gave their heart out. The other team, they wanted it more than we did. You have to give it up to the LA team.”
The Lions looked the part of underdogs from the onset. They gave up a distinct height advantage getting killed on the glass 35-52, gave up muscle at nearly every position and didn’t have the benefit of a coach in their corner, especially one as accomplished and active as Foster City’s Brian Quon.
“We’re not the biggest guys around,” said Derek Wong who finished with 10 points and 4 steals. “We work hard, we wanted to win so bad. We have a lot of heart and I think that’s what carried us through today.”
The Flyers jumped out to an early lead, which they held for the first 15-minutes of the first half. That’s when the Lions went on a 16-5 run to close out the half and take a 3-point lead into the break. They came out firing in the second period, running their lead up as high as 13. The Flyers fought an uphill battle the rest of the game, getting as close as two points midway through, but could never find consistency on both offense and defense to overcome the lead.
“We haven’t really seen a zone, pretty much all year,” said Kenya Iwamoto, who struggled to find a rhythm going 1-15 from the field. “We’re a running team that gets a lot of buckets in transition, so the zone may have been key.”
The zone that the Lions employed throughout the game worked well against the Flyers, who, like their name indicates, score the majority of their points in transition, on the fly. The Lions limited Foster City to 42 percent from the field and forced them into 16 turnovers. They then rode Robert Reynolds’ hot hand to victory. Reynolds led all scores with 36 points and chipped in 7 boards and a pair of thefts for good measure.
“We picked up our defense in the second half. Got stops,” said Daniel Wong who had 10 points and 8 rebounds. “This will hopefully be our last season in A Plus. We’re going to have to put on a few pounds, some muscle. Hopefully we can add some height as well. But, for right now, we’re going to just enjoy the win.”
= = = =
For box scores, click here.
NAU State Championship: A Major
Everything But Drama
Roger Tanaka (11) of Tigers White dribbles around David Miura (13) while Eric Yasuda (20) looks on in the A Major NAU Championship game. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The NAU A Major state championship game had almost everything. A three-point fireworks display in the opening minutes. A midcourt buzzer beater to end the first half. A technical that led to a foul-out. It even had a 7-point play.
What it lacked, however, was any real drama.
The game started out well enough for the Sacramento Samurai who hit five threes (would have been six but for a big toe over the line on one of the shots) to take an early 19-13 lead against the Tigers White.
Of course, as the saying goes, teams that live by the three, die by them as well. From that point forward, the Tigers continued to score, while the makes from beyond the arc dried up for the Samurai who ended the game shooting 11-37 from downtown.
“We just weren’t hitting our shots today,” said Marc Kato who went 0-5 from the field and missed his one freethrow attempt, but who did contribute 7 boards and 4 assists. “Overall it was a good tournament.”
The Tigers went on a 25-8 run to close out the first half capped off by a running half-court bank shot from Roger Tanaka that effectively canceled out a triple by the Samurai’s David Miura only seconds before. The basket turned what would have been an 8-point Tigers lead into an 11-point advantage heading into the break.
The Sacramento Samurai never recovered.
“Just effort more than anything,” said Tanaka when asked about his team’s mentality coming into the contest. “The whole year has been like that. If we play hard, we have a chance. We’re not the youngest team out there. We have to play together, play hard and rely on playing good defense.”
The Tigers’ defense stifled the Samurai holding them to only 16 points in the second half and 28 percent shooting overall.
“It was a good team effort,” said Nick Ito who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block in 32 minutes. “Everyone tried their hardest and it worked out.”
The most dramatic point of the game came late in the second, when Conlon Kwong, who paced the Samurai with 16 points, 4 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks, was ejected after arguing his fourth foul and receiving a technical that due to NAU rules, counts as a personal.
That led to Paul Matsubara hitting four free throws (two for his shooting foul and two for the tech), the Tigers getting possession of the ball and then the rock promptly being swung back around to Matsubara for a three pointer—an extremely rare 7-point play.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Matsubara who scored 16 points and pulled down 5 boards. “It was just luck there.”
In all honesty, Kwong was hosed on a couple of other fouls early in the game, especially a blocking foul where he took the full force of the opponent square in the chest with his feet set. It noticeably affected his aggressiveness and the team started its slide shortly thereafter. To his credit, Kwong never hung his head.
Despite the insurmountable odds and his somewhat lame ejection late in the game, Kwong never left the sidelines cheering on his teammates.
“Just team ball,” he explained about his energy and will to keep encouraging his teammates. “Just trying to get
a good game in, even if it’s a loss. We’re definitely looking forward to next year…We’ll be back.”
Missed Freebies and Controlling the Glass
Justin Wong (31) of Big Dogs skies for the rebound, pulling it away from teammate Darby Okamoto (4) in the Big Dogs 53-49 victory over the Foster City Flyers in the A Minor NAU State Championship. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The Nisei Athletic Union North vs. South State Championships took place on Sunday at Carson High School and provided those in attendance with three exciting games of hoops. In last year’s tournament, the Southern teams went up to San Francisco and only managed to squeeze out one victory. Home court certainly has its advantages as all three southern teams won out this year. This year, the North did not field a Double-A team, so Sunday also featured the Southern Section Double-A Championships.
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
The inability to hit freethrows down the stretch nearly cost the Big Dogs the NAU A Minor championship. Ironically, the inability to pull down a defensive rebound and capitalize on all of those Big Dog misses, cost the Foster City Flyers the game as the Big Dogs eked out a 53-49 victory.
The game was closely contested throughout and wasn’t decided until crunch time. Unfortunately, neither team stepped up to win it.
With 36 seconds to go and the score 49-48, the Bigs Dogs converted only 4-12 from the line. Ron Fukute had four shots at the stripe to put the game out of reach with less than 10 seconds. He clanked three of them and left his team with a slim 2-point lead. But he wasn’t the only one. As a team, the Big Dogs shot a groan-worthy 43 percent on 23 chances at the charity stripe.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Colin Yamashita who went 1-7 from the line in the closing 30 seconds. “My arms were just jelly.”
No doubt it was all the work he had to put in against Flyers lead guard Chris Seto who hounded Yamashita into shooting 3-12 from the field with 6 turnovers. This from a guy who dropped 16 and 22 points the previous consecutive weekends to help lead the Big Dogs into the championship round.
“I’m just happy that we won,” Yamashita said. “My performance wasn’t good, but that doesn’t matter.”
It wasn’t good because of Seto, who bodied him up, bumped and scrapped, contested everything and poked the ball free whenever Yamashita did get by him.
“I take every possession at a time,” said Seto when asked about his defensive performance. “If we score two points and shut our man down, we win. Today, it was a tough loss, but we played as a team, played hard, and came up short. That’s all we can do, we left it all out there.”
While he was only credited with four steals, Seto’s quick hands deflected countless balls and his defensive intensity was instrumental in sparking the Flyers running game. The Flyers forced 17 turnovers and held the Big Dogs to 37 percent from the field and took a 29-24 lead into the half. However, the Big Dogs switched to zone a few minutes into the second period and changed the makeup of the game.
“We weren’t hitting our shots as much as we were in the first half,” said Cliff Tanaka who led the Flyers with 20 points, but only scored 6 of them in the second half. “We’re a fast team and they slowed us down with the zone and obviously that got the worst of us.”
That, and the lack of rebounding. The Big Dogs, who held a noticeable size advantage, dominated the glass out-rebounding the smaller Foster City squad 44-29. Darby Okamoto had 10 caroms and Justin Wong added 14, none bigger than the 3 offensive boards he secured in the waning moments of the game.
“I just try to out-time the other guy and hope that he kind of mistimes it,” said Wong who was selected as the A Minor Tournament MVP. “It’s a big win. I don’t think I carried the team. I don’t think I had a very good game, but the other guys stepped up. We needed every single basket, so it was a team game.”
“We were very excited about the game,” Tanaka said about the Flyers trip to LA. “We came with high expectations. They’re a good team. We got what we expected.”
Giant Hurdles
With a new role this year, Travis Ishikawa continues to stay ready and work on hitting southpaws.
Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo Above, Giants back up first baseman, Travis Ishikawa takes ground balls before Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium. While he struggles against left-handed pitching, Ishikaw is a wizard in the field, finishing out the 2009 season as one of the top-rated defensive first basemen in all of MLB. (Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo)
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
Travis Ishikawa is in the midst of his second full season with the San Francisco Giants. Born in Seattle to a Japanese father and Caucasian mother, Ishikawa made his Major League debut four years ago, April 18, 2006 against the Arizona D-Backs.
The 6-foot, 3-inch first baseman showed promise even then with a .292 average and .820 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). However, he wouldn’t get another shot at the Bigs for two more years after a disappointing 2007 minor league season.
In ‘08, he blistered Double-A and Triple-A pitching with a .299 average, .955 OPS and 24 homeruns which earned him a call up where he hit .274 with three jacks in 33 games for the Giants. Despite his inability to hit lefties, things looked to be on the rise when he earned the ‘09 starting gig in spring training last year.
Of course, those who have followed the 26-year-old know that by August, the team had traded for Ryan Garko, and Ishikawa found himself platooning at first. That situation has mostly stuck this year, Giants brass going with the veteran Aubrey Huff who was signed in the offseason to man the right corner pocket. Ishikawa didn’t help his cause either when he tore a couple ligaments in his toe in the offseason, setting him back several months.
“Kind of taking on a new role this year,” Ishikawa told the Rafu Shimpo when the Giants visited the Dodgers this past weekend. “Just learning the odds and ends of this new role coming off the bench, playing defense, getting pinch hits here and there. Just really trying to keep myself mentally prepared all game. Watching a lot of film, taking a lot of swings, making sure I’m loose and staying warm. Just taking that approach.”
In his first at-bat of the season, a pinch-hit opportunity, that approach worked quite nicely as he hit a homerun, on the road (no less) against the Houston Astros. The road and left-handed pitching have been like his Lois Lane and kryptonite. One has nagged him is entire career (.615 OPS against lefties for his career), the other saps him of any and all power (.221 slugging percentage away in 58 games last year).
Ironically, minus those two factors, Ishikawa had a decent .730 OPS against righties last season and put up Superman-like numbers at home, .349 average, .935 OPS and 7 big flies in 62 games. In addition, based on a variety of advanced statistical metrics, including Rtot (total fielding runs above average) and zone rating, Ishikawa ranked among the top five first basemen in the Majors in defensive prowess.
“A lot of work, a lot of prep time,” Ishikawa said concerning his defensive abilities. “Taking a lot of ground balls. Having a routine. I think a lot of it has to do with confidence. I believe I’m going to make every play that comes to me. Mentally, I already know I’m going to make the play before it happens. I think that gives me the ability to make that play. A lot of it is hard work. As a kid, I always took pride in my defense. It was something I always wanted to be the best at, something I always worked at. And it’s just carried over throughout the years.”
Unfortunately, hitting southpaws and playing well on the road is half the game.
Ishikawa hit a homerun in his first at-bat, a pinch hit situation, this year.
While he hasn’t gotten much opportunity, it must be noted he’s got one hit and a walk in three plate appearances on the road—that one hit being a homer. As for the lefty-issues, those continue. He’s gotten two ABs against southpaws this year and struck out both times.
“For me, I’m not worrying about mechanics as much,” he said. “As far as I am, I’m just trying to see the ball. I’m only getting the one or two at-bats a day, so I don’t really want to be spending too much time thinking about how to better my swing. I’m just trying to see the ball and hit it as hard as I can somewhere and hope that it falls in for a hit.”
Despite losing two in a row, the Giants (8-5) are currently leading the National League west, and were the only team to go 4-0 to begin the season—a development that surprised everyone but the Giants themselves.
“I think the team has a lot of good camaraderie,” Ishikawa said. “We seem to play really well together. We have fun. We’re always loose and relaxed. I think that plays a huge impact. Having that relaxed state, plus winning some come-from-behind games early on in the year kind of gives us that confidence too. Now, we can feel like every game we have a chance to win no matter how far down we are.”
Ishikawa’s chances of getting more at-bats diminish the more hits Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff rack up, especially considering that all-star Freddy Sanchez will be suiting up at second base within a few days thus pushing Uribe’s at-bats into first base.
Despite that, Ishikawa will continue to get opportunities to show his stuff thanks to his tight glove work.
All he needs to do now is dump his metaphorical Lois Lane (left-handed pitching) and his career will take flight.
Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo Above, Giants back up first baseman, Travis Ishikawa takes ground balls before Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium. While he struggles against left-handed pitching, Ishikaw is a wizard in the field, finishing out the 2009 season as one of the top-rated defensive first basemen in all of MLB. (Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo)
By JORDAN IKEDA
Rafu Sports Editor
Travis Ishikawa is in the midst of his second full season with the San Francisco Giants. Born in Seattle to a Japanese father and Caucasian mother, Ishikawa made his Major League debut four years ago, April 18, 2006 against the Arizona D-Backs.
The 6-foot, 3-inch first baseman showed promise even then with a .292 average and .820 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). However, he wouldn’t get another shot at the Bigs for two more years after a disappointing 2007 minor league season.
In ‘08, he blistered Double-A and Triple-A pitching with a .299 average, .955 OPS and 24 homeruns which earned him a call up where he hit .274 with three jacks in 33 games for the Giants. Despite his inability to hit lefties, things looked to be on the rise when he earned the ‘09 starting gig in spring training last year.
Of course, those who have followed the 26-year-old know that by August, the team had traded for Ryan Garko, and Ishikawa found himself platooning at first. That situation has mostly stuck this year, Giants brass going with the veteran Aubrey Huff who was signed in the offseason to man the right corner pocket. Ishikawa didn’t help his cause either when he tore a couple ligaments in his toe in the offseason, setting him back several months.
“Kind of taking on a new role this year,” Ishikawa told the Rafu Shimpo when the Giants visited the Dodgers this past weekend. “Just learning the odds and ends of this new role coming off the bench, playing defense, getting pinch hits here and there. Just really trying to keep myself mentally prepared all game. Watching a lot of film, taking a lot of swings, making sure I’m loose and staying warm. Just taking that approach.”
In his first at-bat of the season, a pinch-hit opportunity, that approach worked quite nicely as he hit a homerun, on the road (no less) against the Houston Astros. The road and left-handed pitching have been like his Lois Lane and kryptonite. One has nagged him is entire career (.615 OPS against lefties for his career), the other saps him of any and all power (.221 slugging percentage away in 58 games last year).
Ironically, minus those two factors, Ishikawa had a decent .730 OPS against righties last season and put up Superman-like numbers at home, .349 average, .935 OPS and 7 big flies in 62 games. In addition, based on a variety of advanced statistical metrics, including Rtot (total fielding runs above average) and zone rating, Ishikawa ranked among the top five first basemen in the Majors in defensive prowess.
“A lot of work, a lot of prep time,” Ishikawa said concerning his defensive abilities. “Taking a lot of ground balls. Having a routine. I think a lot of it has to do with confidence. I believe I’m going to make every play that comes to me. Mentally, I already know I’m going to make the play before it happens. I think that gives me the ability to make that play. A lot of it is hard work. As a kid, I always took pride in my defense. It was something I always wanted to be the best at, something I always worked at. And it’s just carried over throughout the years.”
Unfortunately, hitting southpaws and playing well on the road is half the game.
Ishikawa hit a homerun in his first at-bat, a pinch hit situation, this year.
While he hasn’t gotten much opportunity, it must be noted he’s got one hit and a walk in three plate appearances on the road—that one hit being a homer. As for the lefty-issues, those continue. He’s gotten two ABs against southpaws this year and struck out both times.
“For me, I’m not worrying about mechanics as much,” he said. “As far as I am, I’m just trying to see the ball. I’m only getting the one or two at-bats a day, so I don’t really want to be spending too much time thinking about how to better my swing. I’m just trying to see the ball and hit it as hard as I can somewhere and hope that it falls in for a hit.”
Despite losing two in a row, the Giants (8-5) are currently leading the National League west, and were the only team to go 4-0 to begin the season—a development that surprised everyone but the Giants themselves.
“I think the team has a lot of good camaraderie,” Ishikawa said. “We seem to play really well together. We have fun. We’re always loose and relaxed. I think that plays a huge impact. Having that relaxed state, plus winning some come-from-behind games early on in the year kind of gives us that confidence too. Now, we can feel like every game we have a chance to win no matter how far down we are.”
Ishikawa’s chances of getting more at-bats diminish the more hits Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff rack up, especially considering that all-star Freddy Sanchez will be suiting up at second base within a few days thus pushing Uribe’s at-bats into first base.
Despite that, Ishikawa will continue to get opportunities to show his stuff thanks to his tight glove work.
All he needs to do now is dump his metaphorical Lois Lane (left-handed pitching) and his career will take flight.
Udon Shop Hopes Godzilla Bowl will be a Monster Hit
By JUN NAGATA
Rafu Staff Writer
To celebrate Hideki Matsui’s debut with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 5, the Matsui udon restaurant in Torrance gave a 55 percent discount on selected items, to correspond with the slugger’s uniform number. Hideki Mastui is the first Japanese outfielder to play for the Angels, after being traded traded from the New York Yankees last December.
Masayoshi Yokota displays the “Godzilla Bowl” at his Torrance udon restaurant. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The owner of Matsui, as well as the Sushi Boy chain, is Tochigi native Masayoshi Yokota, a huge long-time fan of Japanese baseball, especially the Yomiuri Giants. When Yokota took over the restaurant four years ago, he decided to change the name of the shop to “Matsui” even though Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed “Godzilla” when he played for the Giants, was playing for the New York Yankees at that time.
When Yokota heard the news that the slugger was coming to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last year, Yokota reduced the prices on alcoholic beverages 55 percent for one month to show his support to Matsui.
Not only that, Yokota was ready to “pitch” other new ideas in cheering for Matsui.
For example, Yokota created a huge shrimp bowl called the “Godzilla Bowl” which has seven large tempura shrimp standing up in an “A” shape like the team logo. The Godzilla Bowl is priced at $12.25 but will be discounted to $5.50 the day following any game in which Hideki Matsui hits a home run.
Yokota is also offering 30 percent off selected menu items through April.
On days the Angels outfielder/designated hitter plays in a home game, the servers and staff wear red caps and baseball uniforms, with Matsui’s number 55. The inside of the restaurant is decorated with autographs and team flags and is considering displaying a collection of Matsui-related items in the corner of the restaurant.
In addition, a group of fans is organizing a “Matsui Fan Bus Tour” for the Saturday, May 29 game versus the Seattle Mariners. The bus is scheduled to depart from the restaurant, and the participants will be able to purchase a special bento box that contains yakiniku, sushi and other favorite items of Hideki Matsui. The rice used will be from his home prefecture of Ishikawa. Anyone interested in joining the tour should call the restaurant for information.
Yokota said that cheering for Matsui and showing his respect for him is not part of his marketing strategy. Simply, Yokota loves Matsui and wishes to create a community who support Matsui.
“By cheering for Matsui, everybody will feel good about themselves,” he said. “We are uplifted. For the future, I want Matsui to be careful not to injure his knee and hope that he leads the team to the World Series.”
Matsui udon restaurant is located at 21605 S. Western Ave. in Torrance. Call (310) 320-2089 for hours.
Translated by Ryoko Ohnishi. To read this story in Japanese, click here.
Rafu Staff Writer
To celebrate Hideki Matsui’s debut with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 5, the Matsui udon restaurant in Torrance gave a 55 percent discount on selected items, to correspond with the slugger’s uniform number. Hideki Mastui is the first Japanese outfielder to play for the Angels, after being traded traded from the New York Yankees last December.
Masayoshi Yokota displays the “Godzilla Bowl” at his Torrance udon restaurant. (JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo)
The owner of Matsui, as well as the Sushi Boy chain, is Tochigi native Masayoshi Yokota, a huge long-time fan of Japanese baseball, especially the Yomiuri Giants. When Yokota took over the restaurant four years ago, he decided to change the name of the shop to “Matsui” even though Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed “Godzilla” when he played for the Giants, was playing for the New York Yankees at that time.
When Yokota heard the news that the slugger was coming to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last year, Yokota reduced the prices on alcoholic beverages 55 percent for one month to show his support to Matsui.
Not only that, Yokota was ready to “pitch” other new ideas in cheering for Matsui.
For example, Yokota created a huge shrimp bowl called the “Godzilla Bowl” which has seven large tempura shrimp standing up in an “A” shape like the team logo. The Godzilla Bowl is priced at $12.25 but will be discounted to $5.50 the day following any game in which Hideki Matsui hits a home run.
Yokota is also offering 30 percent off selected menu items through April.
On days the Angels outfielder/designated hitter plays in a home game, the servers and staff wear red caps and baseball uniforms, with Matsui’s number 55. The inside of the restaurant is decorated with autographs and team flags and is considering displaying a collection of Matsui-related items in the corner of the restaurant.
In addition, a group of fans is organizing a “Matsui Fan Bus Tour” for the Saturday, May 29 game versus the Seattle Mariners. The bus is scheduled to depart from the restaurant, and the participants will be able to purchase a special bento box that contains yakiniku, sushi and other favorite items of Hideki Matsui. The rice used will be from his home prefecture of Ishikawa. Anyone interested in joining the tour should call the restaurant for information.
Yokota said that cheering for Matsui and showing his respect for him is not part of his marketing strategy. Simply, Yokota loves Matsui and wishes to create a community who support Matsui.
“By cheering for Matsui, everybody will feel good about themselves,” he said. “We are uplifted. For the future, I want Matsui to be careful not to injure his knee and hope that he leads the team to the World Series.”
Matsui udon restaurant is located at 21605 S. Western Ave. in Torrance. Call (310) 320-2089 for hours.
Translated by Ryoko Ohnishi. To read this story in Japanese, click here.
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