The third World Baseball Classic is less than three weeks away, and manager Koji Yamamoto is eager to gather the invitees for Samurai Japan training camp which will start training Friday in Miyazaki. The 33 hopefuls will look to emulate Japan?s championship squad in 2009, but the road to fitness is going to be tough.
The Chunichi Dragons were not able to contribute to the 2009 championship team, but they have four players coming in to Yamamoto?s camp at Miyazaki?s Sun Marine Stadium. The bad news is that only one of the four, veteran shortstop Hirokazu Ibata, seems to be fit for action at the moment. Center fielder Yohei Oshima has been complaining about an elbow injury and he had to leave the Dragons? camp in Okinawa to have it examined in Nagoya. Right-handed relievers Takuya Asao and Daisuke Yamai have also been carrying injuries.
Asao threw a few pitches in the bullpen on Wednesday, but the Central League?s 2011 MVP missed much of last season with a rotator cuff injury, and still felt stiffness in his shoulder. Yamai on the other hand threw some situational batting and allowed one hit of the 10 batters he faced. He said he has been unable to shake the discomfort and was showing some poor control of the ball.
Another veteran hoping to wear the Japan uniform is 37-year-old shortstop Kazuo Matsui who left the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles? camp to join the other hopefuls. This is the first time since 2003 that he will get to represent the country, when he helped Japan qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
?My (practice) workload may have been heavier than it has been in past years,? Matsui said. ?Despite that, I?ve been injury free.? He hopes to contribute to another championship for Japan, he explained. ?The important thing is to get chosen for the team,? Matsui concluded. ?I want to get the job done in camp so that I can contribute to Japan winning its third straight championship.?
[via Kyodo]
steelers scarlett johansson tim tebow survivor snl peter frampton smokey robinson
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন