M’s 4-1 Loss In Japan
TOKYO – By now you have all seen the highlight (Justin Smoak’s HR) and heard the score. The game was like many others we’ve seen too many times over the past two seasons, but hopefully the young guys will develop and get this thing going north.
Pregame was less of a spectacle tonight (early morning for you suckers). They were giving the A’s equal love in the Japanese booth and talked about “Moneyball” (the movie was a sponsor) and how Bob Melvin was moving away from that model with more stealing and a more aggressive approach at the plate.
They also talked about how emotionally draining yesterday was for Ichiro.
The highlight of pregame was when former M’s closer Kazuhiro Sasaki threw out the first pitch – a 55-footer right into the dirt. Color man Shigetoshi Hasegawa, another former Mariner, tried to give him cover by saying he was throwing his famed forkball, but slow motion replays showed that wasn’t the case. He also looked drunk and certainly is bloated. Sad.
Speaking of bloated, A’s starting pitcher Bartolo Colon looked like he had eaten that entire giant tuna from the banquet Rick Rizz elaborated about on the K.C. show all by himself.
After Colon used his blubber-ball to retire the M’s in the top of the 1st, each Mariner position player was given three commemorative baseballs to toss in the stands as they took the field. There’s no video evidence to validate the rumor that Olivo had two of them go through his legs.
The broadcast crew’s comments were somewhat muted – less explanation than in previous games – so it was essentially a normal Japanese baseball broadcast. In Japan, there is a lot more detailed analysis of the inner workings of baseball and fewer story lines.
Things that jumped out to me:
• The pitching mounds and home plate were all imported from the U.S.
• A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki has family in Japan living in Fukushima who came down to meet him for the first time.
• Brendan Ryan’s one-kneed marriage proposal in Japanese to his fiancée who didn’t understand him. He had to have it translated on her cell phone. At the top of the Tokyo Tower no less, and on his 30th birthday. Wives who heard or read the story punched husbands all over Japan.
Jason Vargas looked great. There was a lot of love for Yoenis Cespedes who had played in the World Baseball Classic in Japan and was getting love even before he hit his home run.
Hasegawa talked about how the A’s with Suzuki and Cespedes, and the Rangers with Darvish could eat into the M’s popularity just as the Red Sox and Yankees had with Matsuzaka and Matsui.
But Hasegawa also felt that Ichiro’s legacy and the fact that Seattle has had the most Japanese players assures their dominance here for a while.
After the game, Ichiro looked like he was going to cry. Ryan sat on the bench staring out at the field like they just lost the World Series and Alex Liddi was beside him. No “oh well” from any of them. To a man, they looked shocked that they didn’t perform at the plate. Hopefully something will come from that.
COMING NEXT WEEK: Johnny D gives us his perspective on Ichiro.
