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A Good Season Deserves a Hat Tip
Written by Zorgon   
Monday, 19 October 2009 08:05

This has absolutely no place here, but I'd like to tip my hat to one of my favourite sports teams that just ended their season today. That's right, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

After spending the summer in Japan and discovering what Japanese Baseball is all about, I've been hooked ever since. Staying up to watch games that start at 1 and 4 AM my time, evn though I can't discuss the team with anybody else. There's just a certain air, a certain flavour that I enjoy about Japanese baseball that got me hooked, whereas the MLB never could. The loud and passionate fans, the awesome food, the intense game of chess that goes on out there on the field...it's just awesome. Who doesn't like banging plastic bats together and chanting?

 

Jamie D'Antona, who strikes me as a modern-day Jim Traber.

But, sadly, the season came to an end today as the Swallows fell to the Chunichi Dragons, 7-4. They had won game 1 of a best of 3 series, but dropped the next two to lose the series. The last game was especially special, because their pitcher (and a few other players, if I understand correctly) were out with the flu, so the team was underhanded. Furthermore, the team refused to give up, even when faced with deficits of 5-1 and 7-3. They were very close to coming back several times, having the 8th inning end with the bases loaded, and getting runners on base, even when they faces 2 outs in the 9th.

This all came after a huge late-season surge to make the playoffs after falling to 5th in a 6 team division (only the top 3 make it), all in all making for a very exciting season.

I'd also like to give a hat tip to the English-Language bloggers over at TokyoSwallows.com (otherwise known as Tsubamegun) for posting how to get to a Swallows game in the first place, and keeping me updated throughout the season. Class act guys, and quality bloggers.

I'll never understand the language, and I'll always be an outsider when I come to Japan, but there is one place I know I can fit in if I ever return to visit the foreign land: and that would be in the outfield bleachers, cheering for the Swallows.

I look forward to next season!

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written by LivesInNewJersey, October 23, 2009

Hello

I am Lives, the administrator for one of Bloguins new blogs: www.KnicksFanaticsblog.com. We are excited to join the Bloguin family and I just wanted to stop by and invite you to visit us from time to time, especially when the Knicks are preparing to beat your team (LOL) Anyway, like you, we are passionate about our blogging and our blog family. We are more than happy to work with you guys to make sure that we all provide the best NBA coverage and analysis in the blogoverse.

We are also planning a live blogging event in which we would like to get a bunch of folks (Bloguin writers) together to discuss the upcoming season. If you are interested in this soon to be Annual event to occur right before the season starts, leave me a note at Knicks Fanatics. And if you are not interested, feel free to stop by. We are in the midst of our open house, so the place is a bit busy now, but the more the merrier.

Look forward to e-talking with you in the near future.

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