A last place finish in 2001 and the absence of long-time stars Yukio Tanaka and Atsushi Kataoka have forced the Fighters' problems into the open, where denial is no longer a plausible option.
Armed with this knowledge, Fighters manager Yasunori Oshima is shuffling his cards like a black jack dealer on speed. The skipper's willingness to find alternatives is an extremely positive step--even if his lineup might make Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on First?" routine look simple by comparison.
One of the Fighters' few constants this spring is first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara, who became a one-man band in the heart of the offense last year after Sherman Obando (back) and Nigel Wilson (knee) were KO'd in the first round.
Although Obando is healthy, the 2.00-meter Panamanian will provide a graphic display of the new high strikes to be called. Obando will DH in the absence of Wilson, who was not re-signed.
Both Wilson and long-time third baseman Kataoka went to Kansai clubs to seek their fortune out west. Wilson signed on with the PL champion Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, while Kataoka, a Kyoto native who played at Osaka's PL Gakuen high School, joined the Central League's Hanshin Tigers.
These losses combined with shortstop Tanaka's chronic injuries--this spring it's his elbow--give the Fighters organization a perspective it once lacked. Until now, the team has dealt with it's troubles in the same manner the national government has dealt with the economic crisis. In other words, the Fighters have talked optimistically, closed their eyes and hoped for the best.
Unfortunately, that strategy could only have paid dividends had Tanaka and Kataoka suddenly become three years younger. As surprising as it might sound, some players have accomplished this feat, former Carp outfielder Timoniel Perez, for one. Perez once shaved two years off his age. While this might cause some embarrassment, it might also lead to a future with the Fighters' organization.
The good news for Fighters fans is that there is no longer any basis for optimism in old solutions, and Oshima is leaving no stone unturned in his search for new ones, starting with a somewhat lighter practice schedule in February.
"It was a lot easier this year," said third-year pitcher Carlos Mirabal on Saturday at Jingu Stadium. "I think they wanted to avoid the injuries. But if we have more than we'll probably go back to the way it was before."
Still, not everyone noticed the change. Seigo Fujishima, who at the age of 32 has graduated from minor league star to veteran bench warmer, said, "As a whole, it might have been less work (this spring), but I have my own routine, so for me it wasn't any different."
Fujishima has been hotter than August and is looking to crack the opening day lineup for the first time in 10 years. That triumph was quickly followed by a short slump that bought the outfielder several careers' worth of minor league playing time.
"You can't dwell on that, I have to think about this year," said the powerfully built former prospect.
Although Obando is happily leaving left field , Fujishima will still have to compete for playing time with newcomer D.T. Cromer and Toshihiro Noguchi, who has been asked to split his time between catching pitches and catching flies.
Noguchi has been the club's mainstay behind the plate for several years now, but coach Fujio Tamura, a former masked all-star for the Fighters, and manager Oshima are planning to give Kazunari Sanematsu much of the playing time behind the plate.
"If he (Sanematsu) doesn't hit at all and can't throw anybody out, he can be a plus working with the pitchers," Tamura said. "That's the big thing."
Sanematsu does not look comfortable behind the plate yet, and Tamura concedes the catcher still needs to learn how to use his lower body. "But, he's got what it takes. He doesn't study like he should, but he has a good sense for the game."
Noguchi, on the other hand, has a reputation as a hard worker. But he still managed to infuriate Tamura, earning himself an outfielder's glove and an assignment to learn a new position last fall.
In addition to Ogasawara, Makoto Kaneko at second and Tatsuya Ide in center will provide the only semblance of continuity in the field.
Veteran Hiroshi Narahara could be at short, but you might also see 18-year-old rookie Shingo Nonaka there. At third, it could be either 21-year-old Kensuke Tanaka or 23-year-old Kuniyuki Kimoto--although don't rule out a favorite Oshima alternative: I don't know.
Randomness and an appearance of disorganization seem to be Oshima's calling card, so trying out a lot of people at different positions is not that out of character. But some very funny things have been going on with the starting pitching rotation, and it's not just that Mirabal, the team's closer for two years, will be a starter.
So far this year starting rotation has been managed and organized to a degree unheard of since Oshima took over the club in 2000.
The group of prospected starters has been on a strict schedule all spring with regular work and rest. In a country where the six-man pitching rotation is the norm, a single rain out can cause havoc with every starter's between-start routine. The Fighters have been among the least disciplined at maintaining some semblance of order in the rotation.
The Fighters pitching and defense was not much worse last year than in 2000, when the team finished second, but playing in a good hitters' park and with a relatively lively ball, makes the pitchers ERA reach for the sky. If this team played in Nagoya Dome with a deader baseball, it's ERA would be the best in the league.
If you finish first with the worst ERA in Japan, as the Buffaloes did last season, then your pitching coach resigns to take responsibility. But if you finish last, you work to find creative solutions.
With Mirabal out of the bull pen, one has to wonder which pitcher or pitchers will come out in the late innings of close games.
"They're not saying," said Mirabal.
Despite all the planning and aggressively attacking the team's weaknesses,
it seems Oshima still has some improvisation left in his act.
The Hot Corner appears each Thursday in The Daily Yomiuri .