Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

Since last week's post the time zones in baseball have been out of whack considering Spring Training was in full in effect for all 30 teams but then the regular season began with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs facing off for a two-game series in Tokyo the following Tuesday. Before the series, both teams played and lost an exhibition matchup against the  Hanshin Tigers ( previously known as the Osaka Tigers) and both won exhibition games against the Yomiuri Giants who  were known as the the  Tokyo Kyojin when they began play as an independent team before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the Japanese Baseball League  in 1936. Sadly for me and all San Francisco Giants fans out there, the Dodgers won both games and will have an undefeated record for about a week! And  now that the teams are back in the States, they're about to switch back into Spring Training mode to play more exhibition games this coming weekend. All that back-and-forth...

There will be no more "winter is coming" warnings; the end of MLB's 2013 season means winter has come. For those who are already starved for baseball, there is the option to turn one's eyes to the "Land of the Rising Sun" as there is at least a one more game left to play in deciding the next Japan Series title champions. As of now the Ratuken Eagles are up 3-2 in the series against the Yomiuri Giants.  While the Giants have competed in the Nippon Professional League since it's inception in 1950 (and since 1934 as part of Japan's Independent League and the Japanese Baseball League) the Eagles have only been around since 2005. The Giants - along with the Hanshin Tigers - are the most known and profitable teams in Japanese baseball so it's nice to see a newer team like the Eagles contending with these heavy hitters. As a San Francisco Giants fan, it seems unfitting to root for any team other than one called the Giants. Even though there is no a...