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The story
The gap between Central League leaders Hanshin and second-place Yomiuri has narrowed to just 1.5 games, sparking heated debate on the Nanademo Jikkyou (general sports/news chat) board. The Giants are mounting their charge with a young core despite missing key players like Kazuma Okamoto and Shosei Togo, but Hanshin is still considered the stronger side in direct head-to-head matchups. The thread saw a clash between posters pointing to Hanshin’s history of “choking under pressure” and those calling the Giants’ recent struggles against Hanshin a “jinx.” Opinions also split over the string of hit-by-pitches against Morishita — some suspected intent, others chalked it up to simple wildness.
What people said
Hanshin's been dominant in the head-to-head matchups, so it's gonna be rough for the Giants
You clearly don't know how weak Hanshin gets under pressure when it counts
The Giants' recent futility against Hanshin lately is abnormal enough to shatter that kind of jinx
It's fine
The Tigers (nicknamed "Chin-san") never betray us
They're a team loved by the comedy gods
Well, it is true that things would be different if Chikamoto hadn't gone down
Not that saying so changes anything
But apparently Abe's coming back
Hanshin's already a fully assembled team
And the gap is only 1.5 games
Didn't their manager basically vanish too, if we're being honest?
But honestly, this isn't a talent gap that should be this close to begin with
A team that's been saying since before the season started that September is when it really matters is now at rock bottom
That's clearly a team-management failure, any way you look at it
They'll get taken deep by Morishita or Sato again and that'll be that
And then they'll go drop another one somewhere else, right
Even if Hanshin wins, a 3-game swing can come right back in a week — it'll just even out in a day or two
And Morishita gets hit more than any other batter
No wonder people are mad
So is Morishita just bad at dodging?
Even Ochiai's said guys who get hit just don't dodge well
Before we get into dodging or not, a pitcher who throws it right at the batter is the real problem
Even if you're trying to set him up with a ball out of the zone, you have to throw it somewhere it won't hit him
That's just a total lack of control
Can't even laugh at Fujinami after this
Reminds me of the Aoki situation
Except back then it was Hanshin fans doing the criticizing
They're just hitting off scrub pitchers
Hanshin only brings their A-game against the Giants specifically
They target the Giants and play a different style against them, so it's not a fair comparison
For everyone else, once you shut down Morishita and Sato there's no other scoring threat
But other players actually dodge, which is why they don't get hit
Do you even know baseball?
Pitchers use inside pitches to set up strong hitters
It's just a difference in the sheer number of inside pitches they see
Weaker hitters don't get pitched inside as much
So with that "amazing control," beaning Ryuku and sniping Maki was intentional too, huh
They admitted hitting Oshiro on purpose too, and that one seems way worse
?
What are you even talking about?
Even if the Giants pull off a miracle run, Hanshin just has to keep winning normally to take the pennant
That makes the "miracle" worthless then
With Fujikawa working the pitching staff to the bone, the bill might come due and they could drop a bunch of games in the games they have left
Not sure why they didn't pull Takahashi yesterday — maybe the bullpen's in bad shape
This whole situation exists because Hanshin can't win on their own
If Hanshin wants the pennant, go earn it yourselves
It's pathetic for a supposed champion to just sit there hoping their rival loses
Whether it's good managing or just luck aside,
They're winning way more one-run games than everyone else, aren't they?
That was Ochiai's philosophy too
The Giants are gonna lose the next 3-game series too, right?
I already know how this goes
There aren't any more Hanshin-Giants series left, actually
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Hanshin has generally held the edge in recent head-to-head matchups against the Giants, and that point came up again and again in the thread. That said, this season’s 1.5-game gap comes with the Giants missing key players like Kazuma Okamoto and Shosei Togo, making the situation hard to sum up through simple roster comparisons alone. The debate over hit-by-pitches split between those who saw intent behind the high number of times Morishita has been hit and those who put it down to simple wildness — something that can’t be settled from forum posts alone. Posters also raised concerns that Hanshin’s pitching staff is being overworked, and debated how the large number of remaining games might affect the final standings, with a general consensus in the thread that the race will ultimately be decided by how the rest of the season plays out.
*This article is compiled and summarized from a 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyou G) thread titled “All Hanshin-Kyojin, Game Gap 1.5 (a pun on the comedy duo “All Hanshin-Kyojin”) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”
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