Category: Baseball

A thread about the Giants vs. Yakult game at Tokyo Dome. In the heat of the pennant race, with a win meaning first place, the Giants fell behind starting in the first inning due to baserunning blunders and shaky pitching control. Posters traded blame over the questionable baserunning calls and pitcher usage that led to the early runs, with comments like “those two idiots in the first inning wrecked everything” and “our team is cursed to never have a better winning percentage than Hanshin.” Adding to the tension, the Hanshin–DeNA game later that evening could also swing the outcome of the pennant race.

※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello!Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager Thread 144.”

The Chunichi Dragons have missed out on the Climax Series (CS) again this season, stretching their playoff drought to 14 consecutive years since 2013. It’s now the longest such streak among all 12 NPB teams, and this season the Dragons became the first Central League team eliminated from playoff contention. From 2007, when the CS took its current format, through 2012, Chunichi was a fixture in the postseason — but everything changed starting in 2013, and the slump has continued ever since. On 5ch, discussion ranged widely: doubts about manager Kazuki Inoue’s in-game decisions and the front office’s approach, attendance comparisons with J.League side Nagoya Grampus, debate over the team’s reliance on its mascot “Doala,” and even broader questions about a pro baseball system with no relegation.

Chunichi suffered a lopsided loss to the Yomiuri Giants in their final game of the season, extinguishing any chance of reaching the Climax Series (CS). Manager Kazuki Inoue said, “We’re not in a position to talk big. We’ll just keep fighting hard in the games right in front of us.

I want to put on games that feel fun to watch, so the fans don’t get too discouraged. We’ll keep working to show solid baseball through the rest of the season,” he said. Chunichi became the first team in this season’s Central League to be eliminated from CS contention.

This marks the 14th consecutive year Chunichi has missed the CS, dating back to 2013. Since the CS adopted its current format in 2007, Chunichi reached it six years running through 2012 — during that stretch, they were, alongside the Giants, one of the Central League’s playoff regulars. But starting in 2013, they haven’t made it back once.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

50AnonymousSep 20, 2026 12:42

Last year's final game

118AnonymousSep 20, 2026 13:00

Re: #50
Made it a year I couldn't sleep from frustration

*This article is excerpted and summarized from a 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread titled “[Baseball] Chunichi Dragons’ 14 straight years without reaching the Climax Series sets the worst record among all 12 teams — next longest is DeNA’s 9 straight years, and in the Pacific League, Orix’s 6 straight years is the longest.”

White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami started at cleanup and first base against the Tigers on the 19th (20th Japan time), lining a go-ahead RBI single to left in his first at-bat with two outs and a runner on second in the 1st inning. The team made that single run stand up, grinding out a 3-1 win on just four hits thanks to a gritty pitching effort, moving a step closer to the postseason. Still, Murakami’s own batting average remains stuck at a lowly .203, and on 5ch, comments praising the clutch hit mixed with others pointing out his high strikeout count and low average.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[MLB] Murakami Delivers Go-Ahead RBI, Batting .203 — White Sox Grind Out Win on Just 4 Hits, Move Closer to Postseason”.

Chunichi Dragons pitcher Akira Neo took the mound as the third pitcher in a farm-league (minor-league) official game against Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka at Nagoya Stadium on September 19, and got hit hard, allowing 5 hits and 5 runs in just 1 inning. He came in as relief in the 7th inning with an 11-3, eight-run lead, but an infield hit to the leadoff batter combined with his own throwing error put a runner on second with no outs, and a string of hits let in a run. He also failed to record a single out while allowing 7 runs in a Farm-league game against DeNA back on August 11, and the fact that this kind of meltdown recurred in such a short span became a hot topic. On 5ch, comments split between questioning why he’s still being used as a pitcher and lamenting the waste of his background as a first-round pick multiple teams once fought over.

In the Farm-league game against DeNA on August 11, he failed to record even a single out while allowing 7 runs

Chunichi Dragons pitcher Akira Neo got hit hard again. He took the mound as the third pitcher in the Farm League game against Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka held at Nagoya Stadium on September 19. After allowing 5 hits and 5 runs in a single inning, fans reacted with comments like “a cruel reality” and “that’s rough, even against Hayate.”

He entered in the 7th inning with the Dragons leading 11-3. He gave up a comebacker infield hit to the leadoff batter, and his own throwing error to first base compounded the trouble, immediately putting a runner on second with no outs. A single up the middle then loaded first and third. He got the next batter out on a foul fly to third for the first out, but then allowed an RBI single to left to give up a run.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

*This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Chunichi Dragons’ Akira Neo: “I’m done”… Blows up again in the minors, 5 runs in 1 inning vs. Hayate: “A cruel reality,” “It’s getting hard to watch” [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”

In August, a post on Hatena Anonymous Diary went viral on social media: after the author streamlined their own work using AI and shared the method internally, they just ended up with more work filling the freed-up hours — so nothing actually got easier. Companies like DeNA have cut workloads by as much as 90% in some cases, but that doesn’t automatically translate into “going home early.” On 5ch, comments ranged from sympathetic (“this is SO typically Japanese-company”) to frustration at a corporate structure where productivity gains never show up in wages or staffing, alongside counterarguments from people who say using freed-up time within work hours for other tasks is only natural. The discussion spread from there.

On August 3, a post titled “The story of how streamlining my job with AI somehow only increased my workload” appeared on Hatena Anonymous Diary and went viral on social media. The poster — described by coworkers as a hard worker — had, with good intentions, tested out ways to use AI and shared them with the company. But once an 8-hour task got compressed to 4 hours, that task was thereafter simply treated as “a 4-hour job,” and the remaining 4 hours got filled with something else.

In the end, the poster writes, it wasn’t a case of “someone who used to work 8 hours can now go home after 4 hours thanks to AI” — it was just “someone who used to finish 1 task in 8 hours now finishes 2 tasks in 8 hours.” The person who shared the technique ended up fielding all the explanations, training, and follow-up questions, with no change in pay. The poster called themselves an “inconvenient Santa Claus.”

Reactions were split between people who found it painfully relatable (“SO typically Japanese-company”) and skeptics who suspected it was a fabricated story written by AI. But the tendency for time saved to simply get reallocated to more work — rather than translating directly into shorter working hours — also shows up in survey data. So who’s actually benefiting from the time AI frees up, and for what?

Source: itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Management: “Use AI to take it easy and go home early” → Employees: “We’re not going home” — Even DeNA, which cut workloads by up to 90%, is grappling with the wall of AI efficiency.”

On the Nanademo Jikkyo G board, a thread blew up over how the Hanshin Tigers’ pennant race lead — once thought to be a runaway victory — has suddenly turned into a nail-biter. As of early September they held a 5-game lead over the Giants, but despite the good news of a 7-game winning streak in head-to-head matchups, that lead has been shrinking, and the thread split over whether to call it “historic.” Pointing to a roster stacked with a Triple Crown-caliber hitter, a rotation near the top of the ERA rankings, and relievers hitting 160 km/h, some posters argued “if they blow this, it’ll become legendary,” and brought up the 2014 season — when four foreign players swept individual titles yet the team still missed the pennant — as a point of comparison.

44AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:04

106AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:14

Lmao the sponsor is straight up going "V yanen" (Kansai-dialect hype for "we're winning the pennant")

112AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:16

Re: #106
Is this a Joshin (electronics chain) ad?

※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “[LOL] Hanshin Tigers Headed for a Historic Pennant Collapse… lol🤣“.

In Central League action on September 19, the Hiroshima Carp defeated the Hanshin Tigers 5-1. Kuribayashi pitched well, allowing just one run into the 8th inning, while Keisuke Sato hit a leadoff home run and Sakakura went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. The result erased Hanshin’s game lead over the second-place Yomiuri Giants, throwing the pennant race into chaos. On 5ch threads, fans voiced unease over the mood on the Tigers’ own bench — catcher Fushimi cracking up after Sakamoto struck out, and Kinami smirking after Kumagai’s throwing error — alongside a wave of criticism questioning manager Kyuji Fujikawa’s defensive substitutions and bullpen timing. Meanwhile, some predicted the October 1 clash with the Giants at Koshien Stadium would effectively decide the pennant.

Hiroshima　1 0 0　 1 0 1　 0 2 0 ｜5

Hanshin　1 0 0　 0 0 0　 0 0 0 ｜1

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Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

40AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:07

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Baseball] Central League T 1-5 C [9/19] Carp’s Kuribayashi allows 1 run into the 8th, Keisuke Sato’s leadoff HR, Sakakura 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, Hanshin ties Giants for 2nd place“.

Freelance announcer Yumiko Udo revealed on her radio show aired September 18 that she has been receiving abusive comments on social media following her appearance on a TV special supporting the Hanshin Tigers. While expressing anger that it was “truly disrespectful to the players and manager,” she also spoke as a fan herself, saying “a threat like that isn’t enough to make a Hanshin fan quit.” On the 5channel Entertainment & Sports News+ board, a thread saw ongoing discussion about the “jinx” that the team goes on a losing streak whenever a celebratory TV special airs before the championship is actually won — but the criticism also spread to target Udo personally and fans from specific regions, escalating into a clash between Kansai and Kanto fans.

Yumiko Udo hit with abuse after Tigers-support TV special airs — calls it “truly disrespectful” to players and manager, shares her feelings as a fan: “A threat like that isn’t enough to make a Hanshin fan quit”

Freelance announcer Yumiko Udo appeared on Nippon Broadcasting System’s “Udo no Radio” (Fridays, 3:30 PM) on the 18th, where she revealed she has faced abuse after a TV special supporting the Hanshin Tigers aired.

Udo opened the show by saying, “First, I’d like to talk about the Hanshin Tigers.”

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Yumiko Udo hit with abuse after Hanshin Tigers TV special airs — calls it “truly disrespectful” to players and manager, shares feelings as a fan.”

On September 19, 2026, the Yomiuri Giants routed the Chunichi Dragons by a season-high 14 runs, winning their second straight game and pushing their winning margin to 13 games above .500. Starter Tanaka Masahiro went 7 innings allowing just 1 run, earning his 204th combined NPB/MLB win and his 4th win of the season. Chunichi, meanwhile, suffered a pitching collapse, giving up 15 hits and 14 runs, and missed out on the Climax Series for a 14th consecutive year. On the same day, Seibu’s Watanabe Seiya hit his 10th home run, becoming the first player since Kiyohara Kazuhiro — 39 years ago — to post double-digit home runs in each of his first two seasons after being drafted. The second half of the thread shifted to live commentary on the Hiroshima–Hanshin game, where posters were split over the Giants’ pinch-hitter decisions and Hanshin’s bullpen management.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch thread (on the board nicknamed “Hello Pro”) “Giants Acting-Manager Thread 143.”

In Central League action on September 19, the Yomiuri Giants routed the Chunichi Dragons 14-1. The Giants’ offense exploded for 15 hits and 14 runs from the early to middle innings, while starter Masahiro Tanaka picked up his 4th win of the season, allowing just 1 run over 7 strong innings. Dragons starter Nakanishi took the loss after surrendering 5 runs, once again exposing his shaky early-inning form. Since this was the Dragons’ final game of the season at the Tokyo Dome, manager Kazuki Inoue was hit with heavy booing from the crowd — a moment that became a hot topic on 5ch. Threads mixed criticism of Inoue’s in-game decisions, complaints about the home-plate umpire, and concern over Nakanishi’s future.

Dragons　0 0 1　 0 0 0　 0 0 0 ｜ 1

Giants　2 0 0　 6 2 4　 0 0 0 ｜14

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Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Baseball] Central League: Giants 14-1 Dragons [9/19] — Giants win again, Tanaka goes 7 innings/1 run, offense racks up 15 hits/14 runs; Dragons drop another, Nakanishi allows 5.”