Six 2010 Season Storylines

» 18 March 2010 » In npb »

The Pacific League opener is nearly upon us. Here are a couple of storylines I’ll have my eye on this year:

  • Have the Yokohama BayStars done enough to contend for a playoff spot this year? — Yokohama added 12 new players this offseason, most of whom are veterans intended to help the 2010 club. Will it be enough to compete for a third place finish? My gut feeling is that Yokohama’s pitching is still a little lacking, but if they get a bunch of career years… you never know.
  • Shane Spencer… Lew Ford… Kevin Mench… Matt Murton? Have the Hanshin Tigers gotten it right this year?
  • Are the Rakuten Golden Eagles Pacific League title contenders this year? The Eagles finished second last year despite predictable regression from Hisashi Iwakuma, a mediocre bullpen and some major lineup gaps. Have they plugged enough holes to win the Pacific this year?
  • Can either Hanshin or Chunichi unseat Yomiuri as the Central League champion? The Kyojin-gun has a three-year stranglehold on the Se-League. Is this a new dynasty or do the Tigers or Dragons have enough to knock ’em back? Or even Yakult?
  • What will Yu Darvish do this year? Will he mundanely post a fourth straight sub-2.00 era, sub-1.00 whip season? Will he throw a no-hitter?
  • How much of Yusei Kikuchi will we see at the top level this year? He’s already been penciled in to the ni-gun rotation to start the season.

The Pacific League opens on March 20. I’ll try to do some kind of live chat, so stay tuned for details.

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  1. Patrick
    Kyle
    18/03/2010 at 6:12 pm Permalink

    I think Matt Murton will end up being much better then that group. Also, one has to wonder if Tanaka of the Eagles will reach the level that Darvish is at this season.

  2. Patrick
    Andrew
    23/03/2010 at 6:59 am Permalink

    As we’ve already seen a continuation of the Rakuten bullpen woes, I’m still looking forward to seeing what Morillo can do, should Brown elect to put him in the closer’s role. Fukumori has turned into a BP pitcher since about September last year. So many of the Eagles’ bullpen (Fukumori, Kawagishi, and especially Arime) have such brittle psyches that they look visibly rattled on the mound at times.

    Be that as it may, it sure makes things interesting whenever someone comes in from the ‘pen!