NPB Tracker

Looks like the Baystars are in the market for a corner infielder. The team has announced that it will have infielders Wes Bankston, Chris Nowak, and Oscar Salazar in camp on a tryout basis. Longtime third baseman Shuichi Murata departed for Yomiuri this offseason, and prospect Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has had a rough go at the hot corner on the farm team.

In other news that is only tangentially related, former BayStar Hiroki Sanada is headed to the US for tryouts. Yokohama granted Sanada his release after he failed to attract any posting bids.

Spring Camps have opened and there is plenty to write about, but my schedule isn’t quite cooperating so I hope this recap of this year’s new uniforms will do. Fully half of the Central League is donning new threads this season, and here they are:

• Hanshin Tigers: The Tigers are taking a page from Chiba Lotte’s book with their 2011 uniforms.
• Chunichi Dragons: Chunichi is going back to their classic, Dodgers-style script this year, an update of the throwbacks that they wore last year. I have to admit that I like these better than what the Dragons wore during the Ochiai Era.
• Yokohama DeNA Baystars: Like their new logo, the Baystars new uniforms have a bit of a Nintendo-ish look. They’re growing on me, though, with the exception of the road uniform’s hat.