Yakult secured second place behind the Dragons. That means that the Giants slipped to third, and that is the only reason why I'm happy with second.
The Dragons went on to lose the final two games of the Japan Series at home. The Seibu Lions walked all over them in the final game--very similar to the ease with which the Sox dismantled the St. Louis offense in game 4 the other day. There are now sales as far as the eye can see at Seiyu (same parent company as the Lions), so I'm happy with the result. The win brings badly needed attention and revenue to the Pacific league.
There's only one more game this year. I paid five thousand yen for a nose-bleed seat at Tokyo Dome when the American All-Stars make it over here next weekend. My prediction is that the Japanese team will wipe the floor with the Americans. I imagine that Ichiro, Matsui and a couple of the guys who played in the World Series will have good showings, but aside from that there won't be a whole lot to write home about.
