The Saitama Seibu Lions went 10-8 in Interleague play, which is good enough for a winning record. However, it's easy to think they were a few plays away from 12-6 or as low as 8-10 depending on how you see the glass.
A few blown saves by the bullpen and some clutch hitting evened things out, but if anything, the Lions didn't fold or take a step backward through this stretch. They finished tied with Rakuten for 5th in the Interleague Standings.
Here are some observations on the team since interleague play concluded:
Shinsaburo Tawata and Daiki Enokida, where are you?
Tawata was deactivated before interleague play began and he didn't even start a game. Recently, he struggled in a ni-gun outing against Rakuten this week. Enokida saw one outing before being yanked off the ichi-gun in favor or spot starters. He has also had a slow season after a strong 2018. Regression was expected for Enokida, but Tawata underperforming is a cause for concern.
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Kyle Martin took advantage of the Central League
Interleague play provides a change of pace of not seeing the same five teams over and over again. Martin was a midseason acquisition in the middle of 2018 and skipped the entire interleague stretch last year. Having not seen any opponent prior to June, his off speed pitches were baffling the Central League batters and it contributed to a success. He was getting meaningful innings in the 6th and 7th innings over Deunte Heath if the team had a lead.
This could possibly be lightning in a bottle for three weeks with Pacific League opponents coming back, but Lions fans can only hope Martin builds off this stretch and remains confident the rest of the way.
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Takeya Nakamura can still hit
Mr. Okawari-kun can mash and isn't completely over the hill yet. He was either clutch or hitting or power which is a perfect luxury to have when batting 6th in the order. They haven't needed him to be the guy anymore with the emergence of Hotaka Yamakawa, but when he does contribute, it's huge.
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Right field is back to being a revolving door
Fumikazu Kimura was given the starting role at the beginning of the year, but it's obvious he is a replacement and spell OF at best. Guys like Daisuke Togawa, Shogo Saito and even "Aito" Takeda have seen time in right field and it's likely the team will go by committee depending on the matchup they like. Before the season started, it was possible to put Shuta Tonosaki in right field, but the team likes him at 2B and he is a better fielder than predecessor Hideto Asamura.
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Kakeru Yamanobe is not Sosuke Genda
A shakaijin third round draft pick from last fall, it was possible Yamanobe could have won himself a job at 2B with the void Asamura created. As it showed in preseason and practice, his bat wasn't adequate enough despite his speed and defensive abilities. He was an insurance draft pick while still having some upside, but won't make instant impact the way Genda did in his first season.
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Bullpen and rotation still have a share of uncertainty
This is where things get dicey. Rotation spots haven't been stable outside of Tatsuya Imai with others spending time in ni-gun or being injured. The Lions have rode back end starters or spot starters on a six game week, which isn't bad, but there is no clear cut great pitcher in the rotation. Zach Neal, Keisuke Honda, Yasuo Sano and Chun-Lin Kuo have all seen time as a starter with Tawata and Enokida being out. The good news is Wataru Matsumoto has found ichi-gun playing time after a slow April to begin his career.
With the rotation usually coming short of six innings among the back end starters, the bullpen is overworked with Katsunori Hirai pitching way too often. Deunte Heath had a rough interleague stretch while Martin has already looked good. Tatsushi Masuda had some hiccups, but he doesn't appear to be a liability yet. For now, Kazuyoshi Ono has his back end guys, but will they stay there?
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Tetsuya Utsumi has been a dud pickup for compensation
Utsumi has his following from his days with the Yomiuri Giants, but he hasn't played a single ichi-gun game since joining the Lions. He has only appeared in two ni-gun games and the Lions have only cashed in on marketing with Utsumi having his own player bento box. When the Lions took him as compensation for the loss of Ginjiro Sumitani, they were hoping to get a starter who can eat at least 100 innings. At this point, will he even reach 50 innings and be healthy for the second half?
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Overall:
In perspective, the Lions aren't dead at three game above .500, but they're not great or anywhere close to the level of what the Softbank Hawks are. They're going to need pitchers to grow quickly while the hitting can maintain their decent pace with the abilities to hit and be on base. Speed is still killing the opposition, which is something the Lions lead the league in with stolen bases.
Things could be worse, but expectations for a few have felt disappointing.
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