Rick van den Hurk doesn’t get the nod for opening day
Last week yakyubaka.com announed that Softbank Hawks’ manager Kimiyasu Kudo considered Rick van den Hurk as a opening day starter. Next to Rick Tadashi Settsu and Shota Takeda were considered too. In the previous four years Settsu was the opening day pitcher and according to dailyco.jp.co
Settsu will start the March 25th game in Sendai where the Rakuten Golden Eagles are located and based on the performance, Settsu will get the nod even though manager Kudo has not said a word about it. The home opener on March 29 against the Hanshin Tigers will go to Tsuyoshi Wada.
The projected roatation will be: Settsu, Taked a, Van den Hurk, Wada and Kotai Senga.
This means that Rick will get start number three of the season vs the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Former Boston Red Sox star Daisuke Matsuzaka has been removed from the opening day roster. He is scheduled for an extended spring training.