Hatsuhiko Tsuji enters his second year as the manager for the Saitama Seibu Lions having coached for more than a decade after his playing days. Things look good for now, but it can always change after a year.
When he took over a fourth place Lions team from 2016, Tsuji helped bring them into second place behind a mindset of defensive improvements. After leading the league in errors in 2016, the Lions reduced that number from 111 to 88. They still had a high number, but most of them errors were not back-breaking like it was from the year before.
There are several question marks on Tsuji despite the success in year one. Here are some uncertainties entering year two:
Keep in mind, some of these decisions may not be Tsuji's alone. The coaching staff including head coach Hideki Hashigami could be in charge of several choices.
Can the defense maintain their form from last year?
Tsuji's emphasis when coming in was defense. Everyone knew how bad the 2016 team was being at the top in errors and he looked to fix that. Sosuke Genda had an amazing rookie season despite having more than 20 errors.
It was on Opening Day of 2017 when the Lions made their statement. With Fumikazu Kimura starting a relay to Hideto Asamura to Ginjiro Sumitani tagging out the speedy Haruki Nishikawa for a 9-4-2 play.
The Lions went on to win that game when the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters were the ones caught with defensive blunders. Yes, it was one game, but the Lions looked completely different that night showing it was a new year. It would be a bonus if they can reduce the errors even more for 2018.
===
How is the bullpen utilized?
No more Kazuhisa Makita and Brian Schlitter to take the 7th and 8th innings as the former is with the San Diego Padres while the latter was let go. There are plenty of options, but Tsuji likely wants to figure out who takes their places. If the competition looks balanced, could he go by committee as a bridge to Tatsushi Masuda? We'll find out.
===
Will Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura have a reduced role?
\
Okawari-kun is past his prime, but has still shown he can play 3B without trouble. His track record has shown injury prone history and it's possible that the team will want to be careful in the future. It was quite a luxury last season when he was batting 7th in the lineup, making the Lions offense an embarrassment of riches.
If the Lions want to go younger, Haruka Yamada and Nien Ting Wu are candidates to take 3B. Shuta Tonosaki can also play on the infield in the pinch if they want to. There's no denying Okawari-kun's presence in the lineup helps, but there won't be much room for him to DH if Tomoya Mori or Ernesto Mejia play there.
===
How much catching will Tomoya Mori get?
Mori did not play much last year due to an accident in a WBC exhibition. When he was healthy, the Lions had him as a part time catcher as he took some games away from Masatoshi Okada. There is no other position in the field worth placing Mori in on a regular basis as he can only go in the OF in a pinch. Could he play a third of the season at catcher while Sumitani and Okada take the other two-thirds?
===
Will the 2015 and 2017 draft classes be involved?
Shinsaburo Tawata is the only player to get significant time from the 10-man 2015 draft class. Even then, he hasn't reached 100 inning in a single season due to injury in the first half. The Lions have drafted a starting pitcher, top end reliever or starting position player in each class from 2008-2014. With Genda, they can also count the 2016 draft class as he played every inning in 2017.
Majority of the 2015 draft class has failed to do much at the ichi-gun as Shogo Noda is the only other who has done some action. Others saw minimal time in 2016 when the season was over. It could be judgement year for many of them, minus the high school picks Aito Takeda and Koki Fujita.
For the 2017 class, Hiromasa Saito could contribute in 2018 as a reliever or starter if the Lions want to. On paper, the Lions wanted a left handed pitcher knowing that Yusei Kikuchi is likely to get posted after this season and would hope he can fill the void. If they want immediate help, he could be a lefty specialist out the bullpen right away.
Due to the youth in the 2017 class, there isn't much to expect out of a group that has four teenagers, two ikusei and two college players. Kaito Yoza is coming off an injury from college and they hope his submarine abilities can be developed long term.
===
Overall:
There's other questions on how much Tsuji bunts or how he uses pinch hitters, but it's not as major as what's above. He's likely to bunt with some individuals, but won't force it with a guy like Hotaka Yamakawa. Defense and bullpen use should be the biggest points of emphasis with 2018.
In 2016, Norio Tanabe didn't trust his bullpen and often left the starter in too long. Tsuji was more aggressive when the starter would be taken out after the fourth or fifth inning. It's possible he did this under advice and guidance given the Lions had more spot starters than usual. Obviously any losing to an extreme number could hurt his job security, but he's not on the hot seat once Opening Day comes.
The coaching staff for 2018 has minimal changes. Fumiya Nishiguchi is at the ichi-gun, taking the place of the late Shinji Mori coaching pitchers. Kento Sugiyama and Ming-Chieh Hsu are the new farm pitchers coming from Taiwan. Also, one trainer went from the ichi-gun to ni-gun, but even that isn't huge. The biggest name addition is Kazuo Matsui serving as a player/coach. His title is "technical coach" at the ichi-gun level, while he will be there part-time as a player.
Tsuji needs to show that 2017 was not fluke and coming in A-class would still be a success. The Pacific League still has depth and the path won't be as easy as last year, but the talent on offense is there and the pitching could get better depending on what the recent draft picks do.
===
Other positions:
Catcher
Infield
Outfield
Bullpen
Rotation
===
Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete