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Here's what some of the members of the Japan baseball media
thought about the season prior to Opening Day 2008. (We'll keep this up
until shortly before the next season, so you can see how they did.)
From the Yomiuri
Shimbun Online
Orix Buffaloes
-- Predicted
Finish: 6
Rarely has a team owed so much to so few. Last
year, the Buffaloes got plenty of production from their big two hitters, Tuffy
Rhodes and Greg LaRocca, but precious little after that.
With Rhodes 39 this year and LaRocca 35, the duo
are long shots to match their 2007 production, but the addition of 36-year-old
first baseman Alex Cabrera will more than make up for any drop-off. Although his
power has dwindled since breaking his right arm prior to the 2004 season,
Cabrera is still a fearsome hitter.
The only downside is that manager Terry Collins
is already loaded down with slow players. Injury-prone right fielder Osamu
Hamanaka, acquired in a trade, could be another big but slow hitter.
The big difference this season will be more
playing time for the fresh outfield legs of Tomotaka Sakaguchi and Yuichiro
Mukae, the Western League's 2007 Triple Crown winner.
Veteran outfielder Arihito Muramatsu is a smart
player with good legs, but he will have to battle to maintain his playing time.
Although Orix's catching is no asset, the middle
infield is. Second base can ably be held down by a platoon combination of
Masahiro Abe and Mitsutaka Goto. At 24, second-year shortstop Keiji Obiki is the
best bet in the infield to be significantly better this season both offensively
and defensively.
Veteran starter Hidetaka Kawagoe should be solid
but unspectacular, but the Buffaloes have more pitching potential than in past
seasons.
Yoshihisa Hirano has added a dynamite changeup,
while Chihiro Kaneko, last year's second-half rotation star, will be back.
Mamoru Kishida and Tom Davey could be joined in the rotation by young strikeout
pitcher Shinya Nakayama.
Daisuke Kato, who became the closer last May,
goes into the season with the job as his to lose.
-----
From
Jason Coskrey of The
Japan Times
Tuffy Rhodes and Greg LaRocca proved to be a formidable duo in the Orix
lineup last year and will welcome two more big hitters in 2008.
Orix's dynamic duo becomes a fantastic foursome with the offseason additions
of Alex Cabrera and Osamu Hamanaka joining Rhodes and LaRocca in Kansai.
Manager Terry Collins has been a mad scientist with his lineup during the
spring as he tries to find the right combination to maximize his team's
run-scoring potential.
Pitcher Tom Davey is likely among the happiest in the Orix clubhouse with the
new additions, because outside of Rhodes and LaRocca the Buffaloes didn't do
their pitchers many favors last year, leaving countless runners on base.
Davey went 8-11 with a 3.21 ERA in 2007 and he's probably hoping for a little
more run support this season. Hidetaka Kawagoe is a candidate to follow Davey,
with Kazuki Kondo also expected to contribute.
Davey, who should expect more run support this year, returns as the top
pitcher alongside veteran Hidetaka Kawagoe and third-year player Yoshihisa
Hirano.
Last season, the Buffalo pitchers were not as bad as the numbers suggest, and
the increased offensive firepower could get Collins' men moving in the right
direction.
Orix went 62-77-5 last season, finishing 17 games behind the pennant-winning
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
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