Somebody please tell me how we actually made the playoffs. Please.

Two quick things, because it's been an eternity since I posted anything:

1. NOGGIN IS SHOWING THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW AGAIN. THIS MAKES ME SO PATHETICALLY HAPPY.

2. ...way to fail, Swallows. Way to fail.

I suppose our mock government over here is going to decide to replace Junta with Junta. Our new goal is to have Junta accumulate as many political positions as he possibly can by 2012, when he will fight with the Antichrist, Haruna Motoki, to restore the Kingdom of Buck Ewing.

That probably makes absolutely no sense and I get the feeling people reading it are going to think I'm really drunk. It's just a very complicated inside joke at BMU that came about after we watched a documentary on Armageddon and we somehow concluded that Haruna was the Antichrist and Junta had to be the Second Coming of Christ and had to stop Haruna using his Bible Game powers. Because that totally clarifies the above statement completely.

(Buck Ewing was the first catcher elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I figured that if Junta started his own religion, it would revolve around the people he loves the most.)

Also, 1863_project is excited because Eddie Plank was the featured Hall of Famer on the Cooperstown website today.

So...as I'm writing this, it's still technically my birthday. This might end up being posted after my birthday ends, though.

We spent the weekend in Philadelphia running around the Franklin Institute (which was entertaining, given that they have a bullpen on the third floor as well as a place for 1863_project to play with dominoes), watching what was essentially Mystery Science Theatre 3000 live, and attending a less-than-stellar outing from Josh Beckett at Citizens Bank Park (we were next to some intelligent Phillies fans, at least, but there was the inevitable drunk right behind us that always ends up behind you no matter what ballpark you go to).

We got back to the home in which soprano_no_eiji lives late Sunday night, and today we celebrated my birthday by going to Cosi for lunch and then IKEA and an odd collectables store. We ended up purchasing a plush beaver (and a toy for the kitten) at IKEA, which we proceeded to carry around the mall. It got us...well, a lot of stares. And then at the other store, someone decided it would be a good idea to find a $2 eraser and buy it and pretend it was all he was getting me for my birthday. (I still love you, Junta.) 1863_project then acquired a new pair of shoes, which she plans to paint our high school logo on because she's creepy, and we went bowling. Junta seems to think pitching and bowling are very similar and actually falls off to the side and balances himself with his leg when he lets go of the ball. It's funny.

( Two quick images... )

I suppose that's all for now (I still have to really explain our early exit from the college baseball postseason at some point when I'm less busy - Junta told me "later" on the train today, so tonight's not the night). Someone remind me to do that...

Yeah, I'm just as confused as the rest of you.


BMU made it as far as the Super Regionals this year in the NCAA Championship, but we were swept there. We'll provide more details on the whole affair as soon as we can...

Nomura has 1500 wins as a manager.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, because he honestly terrifies me.

Actually, I'd honestly recommend this to anyone working in a battery here, because Junta and I gave it the once-through and we liked what the fellow said (we actually do own one of the books because Junta saw it in a Borders and walked into a bookshelf because he stopped paying attention to where he was going - true story).

Jon Miller apparently thinks my favorite NPB team's name is pronounced 'Yakoooolt.'

I am having considerable trouble stopping laughing over this. And Junta is not helping me at all by repeating it over and over again.

(Also, Iwakuma was totally my choice to start this game, too. Darvish had a big inning against Korea a few nights ago, after all.)

Yes, Junta, you are in trouble. Take that as you will.

...by any chance, is this the 'sick furnace' you were talking about?



(From here.)

Complete games are not necessary, you. Really.

(You did make managing easier today, though. So thank you.)

I'm really not a big fan of disorganization, and this convention was absolutely full of it. The hotel was too small, the attendance cap was too high, and the events, though numerous, weren't planned out particularly well. The entire affair was highly frustrating, although there were occasional amusing bits intermixed with the overall boredom.

( And Junta took pictures of all of them. Go figure. )

I also need to post two music videos that we bore witness to on Friday night. Both of them made Junta fall on me laughing, so I had to hunt them down for him so he can do that again.


( This is why the internet is wonderful. )

Finally, I just think everyone needs to know that when Junta got dressed this morning he kind of forgot to pack the clothes he was sleeping in and he now has to sleep in pants with bright green patterning on a white background that kind of resemble wallpaper. And this is making me laugh way too hard. I need sleep.

Just because watching him remember which numbers have been called and which ones haven't is awesome.

Uhm...right. Wish I had time to read this in between all the player-managing business.

We managed to make a little progress on the relief corps here today. Junta and I agreed that it would be logical enough to pick up roughly five pitchers and one or two catchers to work with them out of the bullpen. We are starting to narrow our lists down now (although Junta demands that we do not pick up pitchers who are "catcherizers"* like Shigeno Goro - his word, of course).

Today we managed to get a verbal agreement from Takigawa Yuu (better known to Daiei fans as "Kurisu") via Eijun, which was wonderful because we need a calming presence out there. Relievers, as most people know, tend to be even crazier than starting pitchers, and they need to be kept in check and handled very delicately. Now that Eijun has brought Kurisu back from the brink and has revived his love of the game, he looks like he'll be perfect for the position. (I feel a little better not being the only third-year catcher on this team anymore, too. I can divvy up the 'working with pitchers' business in the bullpen and not have to worry about putting someone with less experience in a position where all the pitchers will be, well, crazy relievers.)

As far as pitchers are concerned, Tomaru has informed us that his high school teammate Nezu Chounosuke is perfectly available, and I like the way Nezu throws and have been considering him (for those unaware, Nezu is both a sidearmer and a good strategist in his own right). Another pitcher with relief experience is one of Eijun's teammates, Kawakami Norifumi (who is a former resident of Saitama Prefecture and therefore has me leaning in his direction somewhat). I have yet to see enough of him to make a final decision on the matter, but Eijun assures me that he is reliable enough. I will let Junta handle the catchers, although right now he is looking at another Saitama Prefecture fellow, Miyauchi Keisuke. (It appears that Miyauchi, another third-year catcher, harbors a little jealousy towards Miyuki for taking his starting catching job, however, so both of us are a little wary of pulling him on board.)

...and again, to close, if you know of any pitchers that are not Shigeno Goro and that you think would make lovely relievers, please let us know. We only have a few weeks to get this bullpen all put together...

* Junta uses the term to describe the way that Shigeno converts his friends into catchers and then switches teams on them or leaves them behind (only to play against them at a later time). "Victims" include Komori Daisuke and Satou Toshiya.

The 3D glasses were what got him. Because the special edition DVD apparently comes with them. Wow, Junta. Wow.

(I have to admit that I kind of love the website for this thing, though.)

Junta, I still say we should do it.


EDIT:

( GERMAN? )

So the other day, when we were visiting with the other half of our student enrollment (and Cootie, of course) out in Long Island, Junta found a book for me in a local mall's bookstore.

It is called Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day, and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. It teaches the language entirely in romaji, so once a person using it actually gets to Japan they will be virtually illiterate, and it contains paragraphs that sound like something one might find on Fanfiction.net:

( Make sure you aren't drinking anything when you read this. Because I was and, well, it hurt. )

I also officially have player-managing duties now and I have been writing what Junta says are "too many scouting reports." Our main need at the moment is a bullpen, however, and so the scouting is quite mandatory. The notebook I am currently using is filling up pretty quickly although admittedly one entry in the book was added when Junta stole it from me and scouted himself when I wasn't looking. I just hope we can find a few relievers soon since the college baseball season starts in February in the United States and we're a third through January already. (If anyone knows of any pitchers worth picking up, please feel free to let us know - we'll be forever in your debt!)