It’s took two weeks, but the blowback over Yakult manager Takahiro Ikeyama’s heretical disregard of Japan’s sacrifice bunt dogma has begun. The Orix Buffaloes got some bad news, and there were games as well.

Bad break for Buffaloes  

Orix ace Hiroya Miyagi was diagnosed with damage to his ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow Friday, and the team said it will get a second opinion before proceeding with season-ending surgery. Miyagi threw some absolutely wicked sliders to get two strikeouts with two on and no outs but left after the second strikeout with elbow discomfort.

The diminutive 24-year-old southpaw has struck out 17 batters in 13-1/3 innings this season. He is 50-30 in his career with a 2.51 ERA, has pitched for Japan in each of the last two WBC’s, and was one of the players I was so looking forward to seeing regularly this season.

He’s a delightful guy, and in March at Tokyo Dome, he became the first Japanese player in my 30 years covering baseball here to ask me to give him a high five.

Bunt blowback

“If they (the Swallows) keep playing this way, they’ll finish last,” a “pennant-winning manager” said Thursday according to Ronspo.com.

On Wednesday, former Hanshin Tigers skipper Akinobu Okada questioned Ikeyama’s choices.

“Back when I was managing, the team with the most sacrifice bunts usually won the title. That was the case in 1985, too. It may look like Hanshin won by hitting a lot, but we actually had a high number of sacrifice bunts,” Okada said of the Tigers’ first Japan Series champs, one of two Tigers pennant-winning teams to lead the league in sacrifices. They were first again last year as well, but fourth in sacrifices in 2005, when Okada managed his first CL pennant.

Continue reading Blowback, bad breaks and Friday’s games →