Shota Imanaga stopped to chat Saturday at Tokyo Dome after the Hanshin Tigers shut out his Chicago Cubs 3-0, and reflected on his first year in MLB, and his desire to further acclimate himself to his new environment.  On another note, the ball being thrown by the Japanese teams’ pitchers in this weekend’s exhibitions appear to be leftovers from last-year’s dead NPB ball.

Imanaga’s adjustments

—What worked best for you last year?

“Keeping things simple.”

—I heard Kyuji Fujikawa advised you last spring to find what works for you there and not to try and get by based simply on what had worked in Japan, and that impressed me. What did you take away from that?”

“Of course, I can’t do things I’m not capable of, but apart from that I took his advice to heart.”