On Saturday, as expected, members of Japan’s curmudgeon corps began wetting themselves over struggling power hitter Sho Nakata’s sacrifice bunt on Friday, his first in his 15-year pro career.

Nobuhiro Takashiro, a former shortstop who coached with five different NPB teams and one in Korea and now has a gig with Daily Sports, gave more than his two cents. As I predicted yesterday, he credited Nakata’s eighth-inning home run on Friday to the sacrifice.

Takashiro argues that the nature of the sacrifice puts a focus on the team, rather than the individual, and I think there’s something to be said for that. Also as expected, he heaped praise on manager Tatsunori Hara as the only manager who could make the call to have Nakata bunt.

As arguments for the bunt go, it’s really not that vomit-inducing, but it does hint at a culture where accountability can be avoided, provided one obeys the house rules.

Let’s start with what Takashiro had to say before going deeper.