Benintendi, Suzuki, Yoshida

[Eminor3rd]

3 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

https://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/en/tourists/dome/events.html

 

Doing some scouting lol.

Does anyone want to recommend Tokyo Dome games between July 2nd and July 11th...

Really wanted to see Roki Sasaki but pretty sure he plays for Orix (or at least a team outside immediate Tokyo area.)

Am also going to attempt to make it to the Ichiro Suzuki museum in his boyhood home that his parents used to run but not sure if it's still in operation.

I know there's at least 1-2 SoxTalk JPL experts!

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

Roki pitches for Lotte. Best pitchers typically throw on the weekend, unless their schedules get really messed up by weather or injuries, which does happen to some guys over the course of the season. Last I heard, I want to say Sasaki was on Sundays, though it changes a lot because they baby his arm. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. By all means, if you can see Sasaki, do it. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. 

Seibu, the team matched up against Lotte Thursday, has a couple interesting arms too — Kona Takahashi has apparently asked to be posted this offseason. I’ve never been high on him, but he has improved a ton by going to Driveline the last couple years and definitely has the body for upside. Kaima Taira has some of the best raw stuff in the league, had been a  dominant closer but made the switch to the rotation this year and it’s working.

It’s unfortunate that that random Orix July  4th game is a Tuesday, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be just as fun to see as Sasaki. Sasaki is the bigger arm and bigger show, but Yamamoto is coming to MLB this offseason and he’s going to carry a ton of hype, much more than the average import. Every bit as much as Tanaka did, by my estimation, and I think he’s in for a similar contract, at least. For future reference, Orix plays in the Kobe/Osaka region somewhere, if you go again. 

With that pitching rotation thing in mind, that Baystars/Giants weekend series would be a good bet to see a good matchup. Yokohama’s starting pitching has been good all down the list, but there’s talk of Shota Imanaga possibly getting posted this offseason, and Katsuki Azuma could be a name in the future to make the jump as well. On the position side, Shugo Maki is the main guy to watch, a young star who’s gonna be good for a while, and Toshiro Miyazaki is the narrative, a veteran who is having a career year and has been flirting with .400 all season. Also, depending upon how you feel about it, that’s where Trevor Bauer pitches, though I have no idea when his day is. He’s mostly struggled so far, but peppered in a couple strong outings recently.

Giants ace is Shosei Togo, a lanky kid with swagger beyond his years. Kazuma Okamoto is having a hell of a year at the plate. He could be a big league hitter but will likely never leave.

If you go to one of the others, let me know and I’ll give you info on whatever teams you’ll see.

EDIT: Btw, Lotte plays in Chiba, which is right by the airport, in case you can time a Sasaki start with your trip in/out of the country. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Eminor3rd

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, Eminor3rd said:

Roki pitches for Lotte. Best pitchers typically throw on the weekend, unless their schedules get really messed up by weather or injuries, which does happen to some guys over the course of the season. Last I heard, I want to say Sasaki was on Sundays, though it changes a lot because they baby his arm. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. By all means, if you can see Sasaki, do it. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. 

Seibu, the team matched up against Lotte Thursday, has a couple interesting arms too — Kona Takahashi has apparently asked to be posted this offseason. I’ve never been high on him, but he has improved a ton by going to Driveline the last couple years and definitely has the body for upside. Kaima Taira has some of the best raw stuff in the league, had been a  dominant closer but made the switch to the rotation this year and it’s working.

It’s unfortunate that that random Orix July  4th game is a Tuesday, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be just as fun to see as Sasaki. Sasaki is the bigger arm and bigger show, but Yamamoto is coming to MLB this offseason and he’s going to carry a ton of hype, much more than the average import. Every bit as much as Tanaka did, by my estimation, and I think he’s in for a similar contract, at least. For future reference, Orix plays in the Kobe/Osaka region somewhere, if you go again. 

With that pitching rotation thing in mind, that Baystars/Giants weekend series would be a good bet to see a good matchup. Yokohama’s starting pitching has been good all down the list, but there’s talk of Shota Imanaga possibly getting posted this offseason, and Katsuki Azuma could be a name in the future to make the jump as well. On the position side, Shugo Maki is the main guy to watch, a young star who’s gonna be good for a while, and Toshiro Miyazaki is the narrative, a veteran who is having a career year and has been flirting with .400 all season. Also, depending upon how you feel about it, that’s where Trevor Bauer pitches, though I have no idea when his day is. He’s mostly struggled so far, but peppered in a couple strong outings recently.

Giants ace is Shosei Togo, a lanky kid with swagger beyond his years. Kazuma Okamoto is having a hell of a year at the plate. He could be a big league hitter but will likely never leave.

If you go to one of the others, let me know and I’ll give you info on whatever teams you’ll see.

EDIT: Btw, Lotte plays in Chiba, which is right by the airport, in case you can time a Sasaki start with your trip in/out of the country. 

Thanks so much!!!  Will report back with experience/s.

[ChiSox59]

Benintendi has been better than Suzuki.

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

Benintendi has been better than Suzuki.

Career Regular Season

AB	AVG	HR	RBI	SB	OPS
626	.259	20	72	10	.757

 

Much like the Fukudome contract...this one feels like a net negative so far compared to both offensive impact expectations AND injuries.

From a marketing standpoint, I can hardly believe the likes of Grandal or Benintendi have put more than a handful in the seats.

You'd have to get an in-depth survey from the Cubs to determine the positive impact of Suzuki on ticket buyers in 2022-23.

 

Also pretty clear Bryce Harper from a "cultural cache/Q Rating" standpoint was the optimal choice to legitimately put the Sox on the map as a serious or committed to being relevant franchise.

[zisk]

On 5/7/2023 at 8:44 AM, zisk said:

Will give Benni a pass for now. Broken hands usually cause a power outage the next year. Look for a pick up in doubles and homers after the all star break.

Hate to honk my own horn, but I think I've got this called dead on. Keep it up Benny.

[pcq]

AB has been a productive lead-off. We need Zach #2 for a while. 

[caulfield12]

17 hours ago, zisk said:

Hate to honk my own horn, but I think I've got this called dead on. Keep it up Benny.

https://www.mlb.com/player/masataka-yoshida-807799

Yoshida has been an 850-925 OPS hitter for the majority of the first half.

It doesn't do much good for Benintendi to even be on the Sox roster in future years if they start executing a tear down.  Low 700s OPS corner outfielders with marginal power and below average throwing arms don't exactly shout out "biggest contract in franchise history level worth."

[caulfield12]

OF Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox

Feels a little silly to list multiple Red Sox since they sit fifth in the AL East, but Yoshida has done nothing but get on base since the moment he arrived at Fenway Park from Japan. His .377 OBP ranks fifth in the AL, pairing it with a .305 average and a respectable 17 doubles.

 

yahoo.com/sports

8 All Star snubs

[pcq]

Benz is OK compared to the shitbags who populate their roster. Duh. 

[Eminor3rd]

Yoshida was always going to outhit the other two, he’s got a really special hit tool to pair with his solid pop. Problem for the Sox is he’s another defensive liability. You can handle a couple of those on a typical roster, but the Sox have already painted themselves into a corner where they just can’t afford that type of player. 

[caulfield12]

3 hours ago, Eminor3rd said:

Yoshida was always going to outhit the other two, he’s got a really special hit tool to pair with his solid pop. Problem for the Sox is he’s another defensive liability. You can handle a couple of those on a typical roster, but the Sox have already painted themselves into a corner where they just can’t afford that type of player. 

But it doesn't matter quite so much to Boston because of how small LF is there...see Manny Ramirez, for example.

Sill think the White Sox completely miss on the marketing side.

Harper vs. Machado...for example. Never gave it a serious shot with the latter and paid an even higher price to the rebuild's momentum crumbling.

Benintendi Grandal Lynn Keuchel all had/have negligible value in terms of putting butts in seats.  All things being equal or caveat emptor...since it's essentially a business of entertainment...but the White Sox have just never had a cohesive or coherent vision in terms of team building.

 

[Eminor3rd]

3 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

But it doesn't matter quite so much to Boston because of how small LF is there...see Manny Ramirez, for example.

Sill think the White Sox completely miss on the marketing side.

Harper vs. Machado...for example. Never gave it a serious shot with the latter and paid an even higher price to the rebuild's momentum crumbling.

Benintendi Grandal Lynn Keuchel all had/have negligible value in terms of putting butts in seats.  All things being equal or caveat emptor...since it's essentially a business of entertainment...but the White Sox have just never had a cohesive or coherent vision in terms of team building.

 

Agreed, Yoshida was a great get for Boston.

[caulfield12]

Have tickets for BayStars/Yomiuri Giants on Sat night at the Tokyo Dome.

Will be interesting experience to watch a game with 55,000 in attendance...although not much of a domed stadium fan.

[Eminor3rd]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Have tickets for BayStars/Yomiuri Giants on Sat night at the Tokyo Dome.

Will be interesting experience to watch a game with 55,000 in attendance...although not much of a domed stadium fan.

You're going to have a great time. I got a chance to see the same two teams there in... 2016? It's not actually a great venue, but it IS a classic. And there's lots to do nearby ahead of time -- there's basically a mall/low-key theme park built around it.

Not sure where you're seated, but have fun watching the oendan for each team in the LF and RF stands. The cheers you hear on TV don't do it justice. 

Based on yesterday's box scores, it looks like you're lined up to see Tomoyuki Sugano vs. Trevor Bauer. Sugano is kind of the Kershaw of NPB -- was the best in the league for several years in his prime, but is in his mid-thirties now and has had trouble staying on the mound. When he's right, he's a control artist who sits low 90's and will command four to five pitches in an outing. One thing I always thought made him so tough is his slider and his splitter actually tunnel really well together but just break opposite directions, about 45 degrees diagonally down to either side.

Other Giants to look out for:

- closer Taisei Ohta, aka "Taisei." He's got really nasty stuff and could definitely be an MLB prospect one day, as he jumped directly to the full-time closer role as a rookie last year, meaning he'll be in a good position to rack up service time before he gets too old.

- OF Yoshihiro Maru. Also getting up in age but won a couple MVPs with Hiroshima and is still an OBP machine.

- SS Hayato Sakamoto. "The Derek Jeter of Japan," is arguably the GOAT SS in NPB. Has been super famous his whole career. Also getting oldm has been sidelined a lot this year for injuires and some sort of offseason media controversy. Not actually sure if he's active right now.

- CF Lewis Brinson. Was also hurt, not sure if he's back.

- Again, (3B) Kazuma Okamoto is the main stick.

Other BayStars to look out for:

- Again, Shugo Maki (2B) is the franchise, Toshiro Miyazaki (3B) is having the career year

- Keita Sano (OF) is a great all around hitter

- Taiki Sekine (OF) was a rule 5 guy and is having a storybook late-ish career breakout this year

- Both Tyler Austin and Neftali Soto have been really good for this team when they've been healthy

Grab a Bento box and soak it in. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Eminor3rd

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, Eminor3rd said:

You're going to have a great time. I got a chance to see the same two teams there in... 2016? It's not actually a great venue, but it IS a classic. And there's lots to do nearby ahead of time -- there's basically a mall/low-key theme park built around it.

Not sure where you're seated, but have fun watching the oendan for each team in the LF and RF stands. The cheers you hear on TV don't do it justice. 

Based on yesterday's box scores, it looks like you're lined up to see Tomoyuki Sugano vs. Trevor Bauer. Sugano is kind of the Kershaw of NPB -- was the best in the league for several years in his prime, but is in his mid-thirties now and has had trouble staying on the mound. When he's right, he's a control artist who sits low 90's and will command four to five pitches in an outing. One thing I always thought made him so tough is his slider and his splitter actually tunnel really well together but just break opposite directions, about 45 degrees diagonally down to either side.

Other Giants to look out for:

- closer Taisei Ohta, aka "Taisei." He's got really nasty stuff and could definitely be an MLB prospect one day, as he jumped directly to the full-time closer role as a rookie last year, meaning he'll be in a good position to rack up service time before he gets too old.

- OF Yoshihiro Maru. Also getting up in age but won a couple MVPs with Hiroshima and is still an OBP machine.

- SS Hayato Sakamoto. "The Derek Jeter of Japan," is arguably the GOAT SS in NPB. Has been super famous his whole career. Also getting oldm has been sidelined a lot this year for injuires and some sort of offseason media controversy. Not actually sure if he's active right now.

- CF Lewis Brinson. Was also hurt, not sure if he's back.

- Again, (3B) Kazuma Okamoto is the main stick.

Other BayStars to look out for:

- Again, Shugo Maki (2B) is the franchise, Toshiro Miyazaki (3B) is having the career year

- Keita Sano (OF) is a great all around hitter

- Taiki Sekine (OF) was a rule 5 guy and is having a storybook late-ish career breakout this year

- Both Tyler Austin and Neftali Soto have been really good for this team when they've been healthy

Grab a Bento box and soak it in. 

Haven't heard of a Neftali since Perez.

It was really hard to even get three seats together...purchased with Visa card through assistance of hotel concierge workers who actually left the hotel to assist me (only 3800 yen so must be pretty high up). 

Unfortunately, no tipping allowed in JPN, but can give small thoughtful gifts like a shoehorn or umbrella for superior customer service.

Just saw the infamous Hachiko (Akita) dog statue here in Shibuya...yesterday, mostly shopping near Ginza and attempting to learn the quote complex train and subway system Tokyo is famous for, ever since the 1960s/70s.

[South Side Hit Men]

19 hours ago, Eminor3rd said:

Based on yesterday's box scores, it looks like you're lined up to see Tomoyuki Sugano vs. Trevor Bauer.

Still douchebag after all these years.

 

[Eminor3rd]

4 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Still douchebag after all these years.

 

Yeah, he's a special kind of piece of s%*#. There's a reason why every team he plays for fucking hates him, and that is a good illustration.

[caulfield12]

On 7/1/2023 at 12:24 PM, Eminor3rd said:

Roki pitches for Lotte. Best pitchers typically throw on the weekend, unless their schedules get really messed up by weather or injuries, which does happen to some guys over the course of the season. Last I heard, I want to say Sasaki was on Sundays, though it changes a lot because they baby his arm. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. By all means, if you can see Sasaki, do it. You should be able to lookup probables on pacificleaguetv.com and just use browser translate. 

Seibu, the team matched up against Lotte Thursday, has a couple interesting arms too — Kona Takahashi has apparently asked to be posted this offseason. I’ve never been high on him, but he has improved a ton by going to Driveline the last couple years and definitely has the body for upside. Kaima Taira has some of the best raw stuff in the league, had been a  dominant closer but made the switch to the rotation this year and it’s working.

It’s unfortunate that that random Orix July  4th game is a Tuesday, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be just as fun to see as Sasaki. Sasaki is the bigger arm and bigger show, but Yamamoto is coming to MLB this offseason and he’s going to carry a ton of hype, much more than the average import. Every bit as much as Tanaka did, by my estimation, and I think he’s in for a similar contract, at least. For future reference, Orix plays in the Kobe/Osaka region somewhere, if you go again. 

With that pitching rotation thing in mind, that Baystars/Giants weekend series would be a good bet to see a good matchup. Yokohama’s starting pitching has been good all down the list, but there’s talk of Shota Imanaga possibly getting posted this offseason, and Katsuki Azuma could be a name in the future to make the jump as well. On the position side, Shugo Maki is the main guy to watch, a young star who’s gonna be good for a while, and Toshiro Miyazaki is the narrative, a veteran who is having a career year and has been flirting with .400 all season. Also, depending upon how you feel about it, that’s where Trevor Bauer pitches, though I have no idea when his day is. He’s mostly struggled so far, but peppered in a couple strong outings recently.

Giants ace is Shosei Togo, a lanky kid with swagger beyond his years. Kazuma Okamoto is having a hell of a year at the plate. He could be a big league hitter but will likely never leave.

If you go to one of the others, let me know and I’ll give you info on whatever teams you’ll see.

EDIT: Btw, Lotte plays in Chiba, which is right by the airport, in case you can time a Sasaki start with your trip in/out of the country. 

Bauer got ripped to shreds.

Probably replaces Clevinger on a $2-3 million deal.

 

Okamoto was pride of fans for WBC appearance.

Don’t really enjoy domed stadiums, but it was quite the experience.

Yokohama fans were waving their flags and chanting throughout the game despite the result being a foregone conclusion from the middle of the game on.

Reminds me of good ol days in 80s and 90s when fans would ride the El together and discuss the game and their favorite players and sports was more of a uniter than divider.

Saw a lot of former big leaguer Lewis Brinson in CF for Giants…he cant be worse than Sox fourth outfielders.

Shocked to see the beer vending girls dressed like cheerleaders … carrying mini kegs strapped on their backs to pour it out fresh and selling so many different concession items like churros and nachos with a mystery cheese and green sauce.  Must burn 2-3 kg every game trying to service 50-55,000 fans.  No tipping allowed.  Every single vendor must have been female and under 25.  Then there were the two cheerleading squads as well.  Such a unique feeling to watch a game in a country where baseball is the #1 sport still and everyone has a favorite team or player…young and old.  Like a religious pilgrimage of sorts.

Hahn would not last long there…at all.  Winning is everything.  And so is following the team concepts.

 

[caulfield12]

Yoshida has really come back down to earth, and fWAR is always going to kill him for his defense in front of the Green Monster...

0.7 fWAR, 803 OPS

 

Benintendi

0.3 fWAR, 700 OPS

 

Seiya Suzuki

2.6 fWAR, 812 OPS