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Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
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By Fred Varcoe
Battle for the Bottom
New franchise Rakuten look to soar against the struggling
Giants
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Pitcher
Hisashi Iwakuma takes aim at the Giants
Courtesy of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
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You have to ask yourself the question, “Was former Yomiuri
Giants boss Tsuneo Watanabe not as stupid as he appeared to
be?”
Watanabe, you’ll recall, was the man who virtually ruled
baseball in Japan until he stepped down as Giants chief last
year over some inconsequential under-the-table payment scandal—an
infraction so common it was rumored he carried his own table
around with him. But you have to wonder if Watanabe quit because
he couldn’t face the prospect of losing to Pacific League
clubs in interleague play, and because he could see the Giants
heading for the bottom.
Because that’s where we find them (at the end of May),
losing 11-0, 5-3 and 10-9 to the Marines (May 24-26) and then
8-6 and 5-0 to the Buffaloes (May 27-28). The only thing the
Giants have to look forward to this month is their series
against Pacific League strugglers the Tohoku Rakuten Golden
Eagles June 14-16 at the Tokyo Dome. To be fair to the Giants,
they were only three wins out of third place and five from
the top of the Central League at the end of May. But, of course,
they were still in last place, an extremely unacceptable position
for Yomiuri’s overpriced collection of stars.
On the other hand, the Golden Eagles, a motley collection
of veterans and greenhorns, were expected to be on the bottom—but
not perhaps with quite so much conviction, winning only a
quarter of their first 50 games. After replacing general manager
Marty Kuehnert in May, the team took an even worse dip before
recovering and going on a mini (or, for them, a major) four-game
winning streak.
Kuehnert admits “someone had to take the rap” for
the team’s performances but says he is enjoying his new
role in fan relations. He remains realistic about the club’s
prospects for this season.
“If we can get out of the cellar, that would be a great
achievement for us,” he told Metropolis. “Before
the season, I said we were not a championship-caliber ball
club, and it would take five or six years to build the team
up.” Kuehnert points out that the Eagles have 16 players
over the age of 35 (maybe they should call them the Bald Eagles)
and a bunch of rookies who have been somewhat rushed into
the big leagues. Some of these will no doubt be relishing
the prospect of challenging the Giants at the Tokyo Dome.
“We played our first exhibition game against the Giants
and we won,” Kuehnert points out. “And they’re
playing poorly right now. The Giants are not a frightening
club at the moment. They have too many holes, too many injuries
and too many problems, and I think we have a good chance to
pick up a win or two in that series.” Whatever the result,
Kuehnert is pleased to see interleague play finally reach
Japan.
“A number of good things came out of last year’s
players’ strike,” he explains. “First, the
players stood up for their rights, and secondly, the fans
said, ‘You’re not going to trample all over us any
longer.’ Things had to change, and the first big change
to come out of it was interleague play. The players and the
fans had wanted it for a long time, and it has proved to be
a huge hit.” Watanabe, Kuehnert points out, is on record
as saying there was no real interest in interleague play.
That definitely won’t be the case when the new boys from
Sendai take on the big boys from Tokyo. Go Eagles!
The Rakuten Golden Eagles take on
the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome June 14-16. See sports
listings for details.
Would you like to comment on this article? Send a letter
to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.
Discuss sports
with METROPOLIS readers at http://forum.japantoday.com
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