One of the big questions to be answered this year in Japanese baseball is, how will the Tokyo Yakult Swallows fare without All-Star center fielder Norichika Aoki, posted for major league service during the offseason and now with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Aoki was a three-time Central League batting champion (2005, 2007, 2010) and the guy you wanted at the plate with the game on the line; maybe not for home run power but to get that clutch, two-out hit with the tying or winning runs on base. He was one of the main reasons for improvement made by the Yakult club over the past year and a half and will obviously be missed.
The Swallows went from being buried in last place in May of 2010 when a managerial change from Shigeru Takada to Junji Ogawa lit a flame and took the team to a strong fourth-place finish. They led the CL most of the way in 2011 until a late season slump saw them relinquish the top spot to the Chunichi Dragons. Yakult finished second but lost to Chunichi in the Climax Series.