Japan Baseball Weekly

NPB’s all-time saves leader among imports Dennis Sarfate is the guest, we talk about the Hawks, the team’s recent coronavirus scare, look at the success of DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez, discuss the players being ready to stand up against the Tazawa Rule, IF Daiki Masuda’s unusual mound appearance and handle some HighHeat.

Chunichi roving hitting coach Alonzo Powell is the guest, we talk about the Dragons, present our first Mini Trax power rankings segment of the season, examine NPB bullpen blowups, discuss the top performers so far and add a note on the postponed Hawks-Lions game because of COVID-19.

Nick Martinez of Nippon Ham is the featured guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break his chat, discuss the complicated Fighters and their mixture of openers, short starters, lineup changes and roster moves, talk about the Pacific and Central leagues, keying on the spotlight on DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez, hit a couple of notes (Osera and Itohara), and handle some HighHeat.

Adam Jones of Orix is the featured guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break down a chat with him, take a look at the Buffaloes and their series against the SoftBank Hawks, discuss the Pacific and Central leagues, particularly the surprising Yakult Swallows, and handle some HighHeat.

NPB veteran Stefen Romero of Rakuten is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break down his interview, talk about Eagles, take a brief look at the series in the Pacific and Central leagues this past week, discuss the Jay Jackson arrest and handle some HighHeat.

Brandon Laird of Lotte is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen talk about a chat with the veteran NPB slugger and the Marines, then go through the other six-game series in the Pacific League this past week, look at the Central League, discuss the power trend in Japan at the No. 2 spot and hit a couple of notes, including A-Mart.

Versatile DeNA slugger Neftali Soto is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen talk about the BayStars and their powerful lineup, take a look at the Central League, discuss the bumbling Orix Buffaloes becoming the first NPB team to drop a scheduled six-game series, touch on the Zelous Wheel deal and then handle some HighHeat.

Chunichi Dragons outfielder Moises Sierra is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen talk about his spring training chat, take a look at each Opening Weekend series and then handle some HighHeat.

Lotte Marines reliever Frank Herrmann is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen unpack his frank interview, we bring in Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times for our NPB Preview Review ahead of Opening Day on Friday, Jim talks about the Oscar Colas situation and we handle some HighHeat.

Former Nippon Ham skipper Trey Hillman is the guest and John E. Gibson and Jim Allen unpack his in-depth interview, talk about the two Yomiuri Giants players who tested positive (then quickly negative) for COVID-19, the restart of practice games ahead of June 19’s Opening Day and review a couple of new rules before handling some HighHeat.

Former Nippon Ham and Hanshin outfielder Micah Franklin is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen talk about the firm date of June 19 as the new Opening Day, review last week’s panel discussion, look at some of the data on managers that Jim has competed for every year of NPB, hit one note and handle some HighHeat.

Special guests Marty Kuehnert, the history-making former Rakuten GM, Alonzo Powell, former Chunichi star player & current Dragons hitting coach, and Seibu top starter Zach Neal join John E. Gibson and Jim Allen for a panel discussion on player acquisition and development in NPB, best positions to produce managers and more.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen unpack an interview with former Lotte and Rakuten import Rick Short, we discuss the target date NPB has served up for Opening Day, talk about the impact of the coronavirus on the draft this year, hit the trivia question from last week and handle some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen chat after an interview with former Yokohama star Carlos Ponce, we look at a couple of notes and then tackle some fantastic HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen chat after a comprehensive interview with groundbreaking pitcher Carter Stewart Jr. of the SoftBank Hawks, we look at some of the activities teams are undertaking to connect with sports-starved, half-self-isolating fans and wrap things up by tackling some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss a chat with Jay Jackson of the Lotte Marines, we deliver the latest update about a possible Opening Day date for the season, news on the recoveries of Atsushi Kataoka and Masataka Nashida from the coronavirus and handle some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss a chat with single-season homer king Wladimir Coco Balentien of the Hawks, we take a quick look the possible schedule, talk about the Atsushi Kataoka’s announcement that the has coronavirus, and deal with some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss a chat with BayStars reliever Spencer Patton, we look at the scheduling path to an NPB season, talk about the passing of Hall of Famer Junzo Sekine and give a brief tribute to Wayne Graczyk before handling some high-quality HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss an interview with former BayStars slugger Bobby Rose, we look at the NPB’s desire to have a 143-game season, talk about former NPB skipper Masataka Nashida being infected with the new coronavirus, hit on some of the ex-NPB players in the big leagues who are fleeing back to Japan and handle some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss an interview with Hawks reliever Dennis Sarfate, we discuss Hanshin pitcher Shintaro Fujinami and two other Tigers being infected with the new coronavirus, chat about the possible schedule for the 2020 season and take a brief moment to acknowledge some friendly HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss a camp interview with former Yakult pitcher Tony Barnette, who is now a Swallows advisor & scout, talk about a few of the NPB practice limbo games, briefly look at Coach Guts and other assistants and handle some HighHeat.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss an interview with right-hander Zach Neal, Seibu Lions Opening Day starter to-be, and examine the delay to the start of the NPB season before Beisbol Japones guru Claudio Rodriguez, Lotte blogger Steve Novosel and Lions blogger Christian Gin appear as special guests to help us break down and predict the Pacific League from one through six.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss an interview with new Yakult Swallows reliever Matt Koch, look at some of the highlights from preseason games and handle some HighHeat before Hanshin Tigers blogger T-Ray joins Jason Coskrey as special guests to add insight as we try to predict the Central League finish top to bottom.

John E. Gibson and Jim Allen discuss chats with slugger Justin Bour of Hanshin and lefty Edwin Escobar of DeNA, we look at highlights from camps, honor legendary player and manager Katsuya Nomura, who recently died, and hit some HighHeat.

Jim Allen and John E. Gibson discuss interviews with former Yomiuri Giants slugger Warren Cromartie and former Hanshin Tigers and Giants southpaw Darrell May, offer up our personal highlights as camps open, briefly touch on the passing of former Dragons Hall of Fame player and skipper Morimichi Takagi handle some HighHeat.