Here is my final column of 2004, the most tumultuous year in the history of Japanese pro baseball.
As predicted in this space last week, former Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes ace right-handed pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma has gone to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. So Eagles general manager Marty Kuehnert got a nice Christmas gift, and Marty is understandably excited about the team and the players he has acquired from scratch.
The Japanese sports papers are already assuming Iwakuma will start the opening game of the 2005 season against the Chiba Lotte Marines on March 26 at Chiba, and Rakuten's home opener on April 1 against the Seibu Lions in Sendai.