The Yomiuri Giants are not going to win the 2005 Central League pennant and most likely will finish in the "B Class" (bottom three) for the first time since 1997.

Through games of Aug. 5, the Giants were mired in fifth place in the CL, 12 games under .500, 5 1/2 games behind the third-place Yokohama BayStars and 15 in back of the first-place Hanshin Tigers.

With the Giants showing no signs of putting together a long winning streak that would improve their standing, it appears academic that manager Tsuneo Horiuchi will step down when the season ends, and Japanese sports newspapers have been carrying a slew of articles speculating on who might be the next man to pilot the Tokyo club.