Japan Baseball Weekly

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson talk about an interview with Casey McGehee of the Giants, look at the race for third place in the Central League, discuss a few of the latest retirements, note the managerial changes and handle a fantastic HighHeat question.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson talk about a chat with Ernesto Mejia of the Lions, break down the pennant-winning teams in both leagues, discuss the tight race for third place in the Central League, look at a number of retiring stars and handle some HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson talk about DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez’s pregame media scrum, look at the races for the playoff spots in both leagues, rant about the way makeup games are still dealt with and handle some HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson look at the league races, talk about the players who recently announced retirements, talk about Hisashi Iwakuma’s impending return to NPB, discuss a little bit of Shohei Ohtani and teammate Andrelton Simmons’ comments to Jim, and handle some HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss a long-distance chat with Dennis Sarfate of SoftBank, talk about the Hawks, take a quick look at the races in the Pacific and Central leagues and handle some HighHeat before Jason Coskrey joins the conversation about the top candidates for MVPs in both leagues.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss a visit with Yakult Swallows slugger Wladimir Coco Balentien, talk about the hottest and coldest teams in NPB in our Mini Trax power rankings segment (at about 23 minutes), look at the top candidates for the Sawamura Award (43 mins), try to guess who the top performers of August will be (53 mins) and then handle some HighHeat (63 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss a sit-down with Tanner Scheppers of Lotte, talk about the Marines (at about 28 minutes), look at the races in the Pacific (41 mins) and Central (51 mins) leagues, chat about bullpen blues (55 mins) and examine Shumpei Yoshikawa's decision to go from corporate ball to MLB (65 mins) before handling some HighHeat (72 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss the Yakult Swallows, look at the races in the Central and Pacific leagues and the home run leaders then talk about the top rookies in each league, chat about Yusei Kikuchi of the Lions being posted and handle some HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss a visit with Wilin Rosario of the Tigers, talk about Hanshin (at about 20 minutes), look at the Central League (39 mins) and the Pacific League races (47 mins), discuss the Japhet Amador doping ban (54), touch on the number of bunts across NPB (62 mins), and handle some HighHeat (73 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss a sit-down with Brandon Laird of Nippon Ham, talk about the Fighters (at about 26 minutes), unleash their power rankings in Mini Trax (43 mins), try to guess the top performers of July (55 mins), hit a couple of notes involving Dice-K Matsuzaka and a decision by Rami-kan (62 mins), and handle some HighHeat (69 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Stefen Romero of Orix, talk about the Buffaloes (at about 25 minutes), examine the PL pennant race (42 mins), look at Giants righty Shun Yamaguchi’s no-hitter (48 mins), the CL race, we delve inside the increased number of homers (66 mins), touch on a recent trade (73 mins), and handle some HighHeat (75 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Deunte Heath of Seibu, talk about the Lions (at about 25 minutes), look at the PL pennant race (34 mins), the CL race (44 mins), NPB expansion (52 mins), Garcia and Bolsinger extensions (60), Notes, featuring Koji Uehara’s Triple-1 (63 mins) and HighHeat (70 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Spencer Patton of DeNA, talk about BayStars (at about 30 minutes), look at the pennant races (40 mins), the All-Star Game series (61 mins) and hit some notes -- the top June players (66 mins) and an innocuous trade (71 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Frank Herrmann of the Eagles, talk about Rakuten (at about 32 minutes) and its new GM (48 mins), look at the ASG series participants (54 mins), the top players of June (61 mins) and handle some #HighHeat (70 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Steven Moya of the Dragons, talk about Chunichi, then discuss the hottest teams in NPB, the increase in home runs and handle a #HighHeat comment.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with Mike Bolsinger of the Marines, talk about Lotte (at about 25 mins), discuss the Swallows finishing with the best record in interleague play (36 mins), the team with the most 150-kph (93-mph) fastballs in NPB (46 mins), ERA and batting leaders (49) and handle some #HighHeat (62 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with first-year pitcher Matt Carasiti of Yakult, talk about the Swallows (at about 31 mins), discuss interleague play (42 mins), the increase in homers around NPB (49 mins), touch on the sudden resignation of Rakuten skipper Masataka Nashida (62) and handle some #HighHeat (68 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with second-year slugger Chris Marrero of Orix, talk about the Buffaloes (at about 32 mins), look at interleague play, with a close eye on the front-running Swallows and the Hawks (43 mins), hit on the number of running outs (58 mins), touch on some notes (top May players and late-game Norimoto losses, (69) and handle some #HighHeat (76 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with first-year reliever Michael Tonkin of Nippon Ham, talk about the Fighters (at about 26 mins), look at the start of interleague play (46 mins), snark at the All-Star fan voting (57 mins), try to guess the top performers of May (67) and handle some #HighHeat (75 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with first-year Yokohama player Neftali Soto and a quick comment from DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez, look at the BayStars (at about 27 mins), examine the most ground outs vs. fly outs for pitching staffs (43 mins), we've got the Mini Trax power ratings segment (52 mins), we talk about the start of interleague play this week (60) and handle some #HighHe...

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with first-year Lotte player Matt Dominguez, talk about the Marines (at about 23 mins), PL and CL notes (42 mins), outfield and backstop arms (61 mins), and handle some #HighHeat (71 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with seventh-year Yomiuri reliever Scott Mathieson, talk about the Giants (at about 34 mins), Carp decisions (47 mins) 2K-hit Seiichi Uchikawa (58 mins), and handle some #HighHeat (63 mins).

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with eighth-year Yakult outfielder Wladimir “Coco” Balentien, talk about the Swallows, examine the notion (and semantics) of teams with 4-plus ERAs to win pennants, 2K-hit Seiichi Uchikawa, and handle some Ichiro-based #HighHeat.

Neil Wagner, Lions, Mini Trax, Kinugasa Passes, Notes, HighHeat | Vol. 8.12, Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with first-year Seibu reliever Neil Wagner, talk about the Lions, look at the hot and cold teams in Mini Trax, the passing of Sachio Kinugasa, replay numbers, top players for April and handle #HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss an interview with third-year Hiroshima reliever Jay Jackson, talk about the Carp, hit on both leagues, sneak a little Shohei Ohtani fastball in and handle some #HighHeat.