Shohei Otani looked good in the Toei Flyers throwback uniform the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters donned over the weekend. So Fighters fans at least had that to fall back on, since they didn't see him do anything else.
The team generated a little excitement when it placed Otani, who because of injuries has played in just eight games (and pitched in none) this season, back on the active roster for its series against the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles this past weekend in Sapporo.
As it turned out, Otani was on the active roster, but never an active participant. He knocked seven balls over the fences and did some running before Friday's game, threw in the bullpen on Saturday and went through pregame practice again on Sunday. He was relegated to being an observer during the actual games, with the extent of his participation being to help warm up the left fielder. He made it on deck once, but the inning ended before he could make his first plate appearance since April 8.