For Hanshin Tigers pitcher Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, the last two seasons have been more or less average.
The cagey veteran, who was 10-8 last season and 12-11 in 2006, posted double-digit wins in each of those years but was a long way away from regaining the form he displayed during his stellar 2005 campaign when he went 15-3 with a 2.99 ERA.
Coincidentally, that was the last season that the Tigers won the Central League pennant. So it should come as no surprise that with Shimoyanagi back to looking like his old self, the Tigers are off to a fast start and in first place.