Does the number of innings really matter? If you are called to  go pitch on the mound whether it be an inning, two or three, you go out there and do what you have to do. Perform spectacularly, consistently -- try to always showcase your best within those limited innings and people will eventually recognize you --- and since Sawamura is an antipole of Furuya, Sawamura might as well be consistent which will surely work to his favor eventually.

Again, Furuya is the Ace so he'll be used often otherwise what's the point of having an ace? Furuya have been erratic but the speed and power of his pitches can be threathening (it's what gave him the title "Monster Rookie" afterall but of course if he stays erratic he'll lose his status at some point). Anyway, Kataoka gives his players fair treatment, it is already up to the player to maximize his opportunities, whether it be in an official game or in scrimmages. :)

Of course it is. Pitcher gain some experience in the games, especially at Koshien. It is something that Sawamura lacking from the start of Part 2. But hey, it's not like his fault for not being chosen to play. 

Fair treatment? Furuya is now pitches at least 7 innings in every game when he is on the mound, while Sawamura on the other hand slowly begin to blame himself for not being chosen to play at all. In the chapter 4 he think that he isn't allowed to play because of one walk on the balls and 2 hits.

In the Fall T Sawamura pitched a lot, despite Furuya being the Ace. So being an Ace is not an excuse here. 

"Does the number of innings really matter?"

For a school that almost took the Summer Tournament by heavily relying on a pitcher-relay as it's main and constant strategy. Yes, yes it does. Seidou's pitching strategy has gone from pitcher-relay to "ace-only" pitching.

"Perform spectacularly, consistently"

None of which did Furuya show in the latest chapter, yet he was still given the OK to pitch the entire game. Does this seem right to you?

"Sawamura might as well be consistent which will surely work to his favor eventually."

Eventually already came, and it was marked down to a single inning.

"Kataoka gives his players fair treatment, it is already up to the player to maximize his opportunities,"

How so? We just saw that even when Furuya is pitching poorly, Kataoka won't sub someone else in. And how is a player supposed to maximize there opportunity and show their value, if they only get 1 inning in the entire tournament(spring)!?

@92.113.141.175

"while Sawamura on the other hand slowly begin to blame himself for not being chosen to play at all. " ---> Knowing Sawamura's personality, he won't let this get to him for long. Look at the latest chapter. :)

"In the Fall T Sawamura pitched a lot, despite Furuya being the Ace. So being an Ace is not an excuse here" --> Well Furuya was injured at that time, yet he was sent to pitch in the finals to close the match despite not being fully recovered (which caused fire in a lot of fandoms). And before anything, I don't think it's because he's Kataoka's favorite.

@Tarak Pema

"Seidou's pitching strategy has gone from pitcher-relay to "ace-only" pitching" --> When its Sawamura pitching an entire match it's not pitcher relay either but most just let it go in stride for as long as its not Furuya.

"None of which did Furuya show in the latest chapter, yet he was still given the OK to pitch the entire game. Does this seem right to you?" --> Furuya is certainly erratic and I agree, he struggled in that last match, (all the more that Sawamura should take this chance to perform better than ever). Still this isn't the first time it happened, and so I think Kataoka is actually building Furuya as "the" ace since he is their ace and not because he is being biased (Ochiai, is the one clearly favoring Furuya). But! I get the feeling that this is the start of Furuya's decline and Sawamura's rise. :)

"Eventually already came, and it was marked down to a single inning." --> Nope, that EVENTUALLY is still about to come. :)

"And how is a player supposed to maximize there opportunity and show their value, if they only get 1 inning in the entire tournament(spring)!?" --> That is up to the players themselves! (Furuya himself managed to make an impression with just a single throw of his fastball). That single inning is STILL A CHANCE, AN OPPORTUNITY. Besides, the spring isn't over yet. Let's see how things roll.

@ 112.208.104.139

>>>>@92.113.141.175 "while Sawamura on the other hand slowly begin to blame himself for not being chosen to play at all. " ---> Knowing Sawamura's personality, he won't let this get to him for long. Look at the latest chapter. :)

"In the Fall T Sawamura pitched a lot, despite Furuya being the Ace. So being an Ace is not an excuse here" --> Well Furuya was injured at that time, yet he was sent to pitch in the finals to close the match despite not being fully recovered (which caused fire in a lot of fandoms). And before anything, I don't think it's because he's Kataoka's favorite.

@Tarak Pema

"Seidou's pitching strategy has gone from pitcher-relay to "ace-only" pitching" --> When its Sawamura pitching an entire match it's not pitcher relay either but most just let it go in stride for as long as its not Furuya.

"None of which did Furuya show in the latest chapter, yet he was still given the OK to pitch the entire game. Does this seem right to you?" --> Furuya is certainly erratic and I agree, he struggled in that last match, (all the more that Sawamura should take this chance to perform better than ever). Still this isn't the first time it happened, and so I think Kataoka is actually building Furuya as "the" ace since he is their ace and not because he is being biased (Ochiai, is the one clearly favoring Furuya). But! I get the feeling that this is the start of Furuya's decline and Sawamura's rise. :)

"Eventually already came, and it was marked down to a single inning." --> Nope, that EVENTUALLY is still about to come. :)

"And how is a player supposed to maximize there opportunity and show their value, if they only get 1 inning in the entire tournament(spring)!?" --> That is up to the players themselves! (Furuya himself managed to make an impression with just a single throw of his fastball). That single inning is STILL A CHANCE, AN OPPORTUNITY. Besides, the spring isn't over yet. Let's see how things roll. <<<<

I am wondering if you are aware that what you saying is what  most of the people voicing their disatisfacaction had thought before. Why are you denying the blatant discrimination against Sawamura? 1 innining pitching is now what he needs to show he is relevant you say. Then all the time has helped the team get out of a pinch was useless, Furuya wasn't given that inning to close to show that he is still relevant rather all the innings that he has pitched before were the 1s that made it possible to for him to be allowed to to pitch in that last inning. But for Sawamura he must always prove everytime he pitchs yet over and over he has helped the team but in the eyes of Kataoka this is irrelevant. Please tell us what is it that Sawamura needs so that he can be considered to be better or the same level as other noteworthy pitchers.

"When its Sawamura pitching an entire match it's not pitcher relay either but most just let it go in stride for as long as its not Furuya." - That's because when Sawamura pitches a full game, it means he's performing well. Notice how when he makes an error, he's replaced. So it's not just about Furuya pitching an entire game, but rather the treatment he gets when performs badly and is still allowed to pitch till the end. Double standards.

"Still this isn't the first time it happened" - The other time being Tanba, who the coach held more trust and expectations in, who was injured for most of the season and who the coach still rotated with the other pitchers. Yeah, very similar.

"Sawamura should take this chance to perform better than ever" - Again, How? Sawamura has shown us that he's improved his control, speed, 2-seamer and his ability to corner batters with fewer pitches. How is this not "performing better than ever".

"Nope, that EVENTUALLY is still about to come. :)" - And when will that be, because if it's after Spring T then that's too late. The only matches that are left for Seidou are Kasuga Ichikou(QF) and Ichidai Sankou(SF), with the closest match after that would be Summer practice games and prelims. With Furuya pitching entire games(regardless of how he performs) how many innings do you think Sawamura/Nori will get, or are we looking at another Koushien type tournament where Furuya dominates the game time and the relievers are, yet again, left with just closing the game. Sawamura and Nori need pitching experience against different teams too.

"That single inning is STILL A CHANCE, AN OPPORTUNITY" - Yes, but it still minimizes the experience that one can get. That one inning that Sawamura pitched was against the team's best batters(2nd, 3rd and 4th), and he struck them all out cleanly(not a single wasted pitch) with just fastballs. I don't know what your standards are for different pitchers, but is obvious that you hold standards for Eijun too high and  Furuya too low.

I can't see how some people think that performance level of 1 clean inning < a 1 poor game. I honestly thought that after his(Eijun) performance in that 1 inning, he would at least have started the next game and then be subbed out, according to his performance.

I see we'll never be on the same page. I'll just adress this unfair treatment issue. I'm not here to change your minds but I'll just express my thoughts more. I'll just say I'm no avid fan of either Furuya or Sawamura.

"Why are you denying the blatant discrimination against Sawamura?"
"Notice how when he makes an error, he's replaced."
>>> Because I don't see it as discrimination as simple as that. Also, it's not like he is replaced the instant he makes the mistake. Also, notice when Sawamura makes an error, he is easily affected by it. Besides Furuya too is replaced when he makes do poorly.
*Akikawa match : Furuya is pulled out here because of his errors and weakness in general.
*The quarter finals match: Raichi hit a solid home-run off Sawamura. Miyuki admits it was his mistake yet Sawamura fell apart and lost his rhythm.
*The Summer Finals : Sawamura started strong yet he easily crumbled down (and it was like he's gonna have a heart attack), had he shown more will to continue I doubt Kataoka replaced him. I say Kataoka made the right call.
*The scrimmage against Yakushi : Sawamura made plenty of mistakes here but Kataoka pulled him out seeing that the problem lies much deeper in Sawamura's psyche.

• Fall T. Rnd 1:
  -Furuya: He completely lost his rhythm after the break. Kataoka switched him that same inning.
  -Sawamura: Despite not being fully recovered from the yips, Kataoka sent him to pitch and even complemented him.
  *Fall T. Rnd 2: Sawamura completes 5 innings. He made errors here too yet Kataoka didn't sub him out.
  *Fall T. Rnd 3:
  -Furuya : Umemiya scored a home run off him but what's next is important. He didn't collapse. He gave a up a couple of runs but some of that was coupled with fielding errors.
  -Sawamura : Kataoka chose to send him instead of Kawakami believing that Sawamura is capable of withstanding the situation. Which he did and he got credit for it.
  *Fall T. Quarter-F
  -Sawamura : Completed the game. It was a shaky start but he pulled through. Furuya was injured here but Kawakami was also there (yet Kataoka left the game in Sawamura's hands)
  *Fall T. Semis
  - Furuya: Started well finally but gave up a home run. However, again, he didn't crumble down
  after. Furuya later on strongly expressed his will to continue playing and Kataoka let him.
  (I was surprised at first too, but looking back, Sawamura never expressed his will like
  Furuya did this time. Never. Yes, he did ask to pitch but what Furuya said here is not merely asking to pitch, unlike those other times when Kataoka too rejected his request)
  - Sawamura : Nagata hit a homerun off him, but thank the lords he didn't fall apart, otherwise I'm sure he would've been switched out after a couple more throws. Mistakes were present here but mixed with fielding error.
  *Finals:
  -Okay straight to the furnace here. Sawamura pitched well yet he was switched out
  for the ace. (Nothing I will say here can change your opinion but here's what I think:) Do you remember the conversation Kataoka had with Ochiai? Which is more important, the aces pride or a win for the team? And Kataoka's response was: The win is more important but the players aren't heartless chess pieces. Seidou could've won that one with Sawamura closing but Kataoka most probably put Furuya's feelings (pride) as the ace in consideration (There's the conversation in the car too. Furuya can play an inning so he gave it to him). Also, Yakushi don't have the best experience with Furuya so its also a strategic move. Problems could've happened there but didn't, so I hope you just get over it.

• Note 1: the article at the end talked about Seidou's pitcher relay not about Furuya's glorious 9th inning.
  *Note 2: It seems that Kataoka puts importance to how a pitcher deals with a situation after he get hit (Miyuki and Chris have also emphasized on this) which Furuya is somehow better at than Sawamura.

• Note 3: If anything, it's Sawamura  who has experienced pitching against almost every team Seidou went against  up to here  (Summer second round is probably the exeption). (^.^)

• MJ : Few details but the first match turned out to be a relay between Sawamura and Furuya. Second round was Kawakami (1-4) to Sawamura(5-8) to Furuya (9). In this page, the narration boxes talked about the success of the pitcher relay and not Furuya's last inning performance. The semis another relay from Sawamura to Furuya (They lost here because of the battery's mistake, not solely Ono's mistake nor solely Furuya's mistake).

• Koshien >>> Furuya performed really well in this tournament and this is where he's on the papers. I'm not gonna say Sawamura is lackluster here because he did pull off after a shaky start but he could've done better because this is Koshien. I stay adamant that the number of innings don't really matter. Even Sawamura talks about this after Seidou's third round loss, he regretted not performing his best when he was on the mound pitching (it's about maximizing opportunities).

• Spring >>> Third round is a relay from Kawakami to Sawamura. It's obvious that most of the audience don't recognize Sawamura's efforts but the team does see his value and appreciate his contributions. The journalists also think that Kawakami and Sawamura's growth will be vital in the Summer (especially also since Furuya is affected by the summer heat). Fourth round, all of us know Furuya doesn't have the best control but he pulled through.

The MC topic is derailed here but cut Kataoka some slack. Sorry guys, I really don't see how this is discrimination. But if you think it's that then there's nothing I can do about it. Sawamura and Furuya as well as Kawakami are important members of the team and Kataoka values each of them. Besides, how sure is it that Seidou will not win against Sankou should they face each other in the semis? Unless you are TJ, we'll never know until the teams duke it out. And how would you know if Furuya will pitch the entire games throughout? Kataoka has proved he'll pull Furuya out if he doesn't deliver. There are times when Furuya will pitch a complete game but the same can be said to Sawamura. Also,don't forget what Kataoka said that if Sawamura finds his own style by his second year (he didn't finish but implies that Sawamura may become the ace. Doesn't this speak  volume to how much he value Sawamura? But Furuya is the ace at the moment and Kataoka won't just throw him to the side either. Nonetheless, above all, Seidou's pitcher relay has always prevailed.

(^.^) Sorry that was long but okay that's it. I'm so done here (^.^)

wow that's some long post but interesting points there.