by Japan Times
MIYAZAKI – Japan manager Koji Yamamoto announced his 28-man roster for the 2013 World Baseball Classic with few surprises on Wednesday as the two-time defending champs wrapped up their fifth day of training.
Cut from the first official roster were last year’s Central and Pacific leagues’ stolen base champs, a slow slugger with an injured hand and a pair of Chunichi Dragons relievers.
“Each and every day, the coaches and I went over the squad,” Yamamoto said. “The guys who have been excluded today can still be called back.”
The tournament, which begins play March 2, puts limits on pitcher workloads, forcing teams to be pitching heavy. Yamamoto’s squad has 13 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders— including Atsunori Inaba — who can still play the outfield, and five outfielders.
The surprise exclusions were the two fastest members of the squad, Chunichi Dragons center fielder Yohei Oshima and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles center fielder Ryo Hijirisawa. Each man led his league in stolen bases last year. Oshima was third in the CL in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage and won a Golden Glove, but has had trouble this month with detached cartilage in his left elbow. Hijirisawa isn’t as much of an offensive presence but stole 54 bases last year.
Roster:
Pitchers: Hideaki Wakui (Seibu Lions), Atsushi Nomi (Hanshin Tigers), Hirokazu Sawamura (Yomiuri Giants), Takeru Imamura (Hiroshima Carp), Masahiro Tanaka (Rakuten Eagles), Toshiya Sugiuchi (Yomiuri Giants), Kenta Maeda (Hiroshima Carp), Masahiko Morifuku (Softbank Hawks), Tetsuya Utsumi (Yomiuri Giants), Kenji Otonari (Softbank Hawks), Kazuhisa Makita (Seibu Lions), Tetsuya Yamaguchi (Yomiuri Giants), Tadashi Settsu (Softbank Hawks)
Catchers: Ryoji Aikawa (Yakult Swallows), Shinnosuke Abe (Yomiuri Giants), Ginjiro Sumitani (Seibu Lions)
Infielders: Takashi Toritani (Hanshin Tigers), Hirokazu Ibata (Chunichi Dragons), Nobuhiro Matsuda (Softbank Hawks), Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants), Kazuo Matsui (Rakuten Eagles), Atsunori Inaba (Nippon Ham Fighters), Yuichi Honda (Softbank Hawks)
Outfielders: Yoshio Itoi (Orix Buffaloes), Sho Nakata (Nippon Ham Fighters), Seiichi Uchikawa (Softbank Hawks), Hisayoshi Chono (Yomiuri Giants), Katsuya Kakunaka (Lotte Marines)
