https://www.fighters.co.jp/news/detail/202400633789.html

I'm not nearly as down on this as many fans seem to be. An aging pitcher who's probably unhappy with the Dragons FO, who is also very intelligent and analytical, moves to the Fighters. I personally think this is a good move for him and the Dragons have plenty of arms that can cover his absence.

I am however beginning to wonder if the Fighters have discovered a market inefficiency. That being the Dragons. They've gotten good value out of Martinez, Gunji and Yamamoto so far. Fukutani will give them value now and I think after retirement too. That's the thing that bums me a little. I thought Fukutani would be a good guy to keep around post retirement. This move makes that less likely now. At least initially.

I have to ask where can I buy the home hat but fitted with the side patch. I been searching all over but nothing on the US . Any suggestions welcomed. The size I need is 7-5/8=61 metric or Large XL. Go Dragons Go

Well, Raidel is off. He was offered ¥2B over 4 years by the Dragons but seems to be on the verge of signing something much bigger

One report suggests 2 years for ¥2.4B and another suggest 4 years exceeding ¥5B.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8dfb61a820b27de1fa25e12a131daf1e1952b87a

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/cdd6ba3e5d98bec67069728765a263c73c57d30f

Stupid money for a closer even by MLB standards.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/af537886b2ef75a59bf6c05305a5618e134f6924

Masato Kobayasi comes in as a development coach. Eiji Ochiai will manage 2-gun.

Big changes. 3 guys that had careers outside of the Dragons with two recent retirees. Slightly different coaching titles too. Matsunaka is “chief hitting coach” while Iiyama will be a “position player coach”. Not sure how these guys will get divvied up between the top team and the farm.

Also puts into question what they’re going to do with Otsuka, Yamai and Asao. Do they go 5 pitching coaches like under Yoda?

https://x.com/aomiso97/status/1847349400286482586?s=46&t=RSRSXdRm9bMFJwe7qNE72Q

Sounds like the Dragons are looking to build their draft this year around highly touted lefty fireballer, Yumeto Kanemura. They they have also listed high school short stops Yusei Ishizuka (Hanasakitokuharu) and Hiroto Saitō (Kanazawa).

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/1074354fdff6e8ef23dd9eb117f3762818fe45ba

https://t.co/LpPsZYzWLy

Dragons closer Raidel Martinez is at the end of his deal with the Dragons and is reportedly fielding offers from other NPB teams in excess of $8M per season. DeNA and SoftBank are reportedly in on him.

Surely that kind of money prices the Dragons out.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/edfa7077325ba5c39b76aea61bd3d9594d479823

No real surprise here. Most of Tatsunami’s friends will be leaving with him. Who comes in to replace them will be intriguing.

This means, Kohei Oda (Battery), Akinori Otsuka (Pitching), Masahiko Morino (Hitting) and Naomichi Donoue (IF defence) will be staying on.

Otsuka, Morino and Oda were had finished three years with the team, Inoue obviously wants them on board. Donoue is only one year into his tenure.

Changes on the farm are yet to be seen.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ca5c7eca0e63bde3aa4b7ed0917098628c389c88

Interesting article. Former head coach under Tsuyoshi Yoda, Tsutomu Ito has remarked on an emotional distance between the players/coaches and the front office commenting on the difficulty of a manager to improve the team.

my favorite team

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a281b828f8e20b3ca7cf5b5f1d876d592de15817

Ride the waves dudes! I don’t know what to do with my claws! 🐉

It’s been nearly 8-years since the Dragons last topped the league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky_HgN0khGk

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Ukai 2-2 HR (1) 4 RBI

Muramatsu 2-2 2 RBI

Tsujimoto 5-2 2 RBI

Umetsu 3IP 1SO

Matsukihira 4IP 1SO

Dragons had a big ol’ win against the Marines with Ukai’s homer being the highlight.

A couple of concerns would be the 2 XBH (Ukai homer and Takuma Katō double late in the game) and 4 total strikeouts. The Marines were put to death by a thousand singles.

https://chunichisoul.blogspot.com/2024/02/dragons-rice-ban-sensible-explanation.html?m=1

https://chunichisoul.blogspot.com/2024/02/emerging-talents-2024-chunichi-dragons.html?m=1

This was hard! I’m not sure how useful this will be in the end, but it is a deep dive into the talent the organisation has and will hopefully give you all something to look out for as the season progresses.

https://chunichisoul.blogspot.com/2023/12/dragons-capture-former-major-leaguer.html?m=1

After my fuck up in r/NPB yesterday, I’ve gone and posted a better researched opinion on new signing, Alex Dickerson.