Hiroshima Carp first baseman Luis Lopez says the problem between him and outfielder Tomonori Maeda has been put to rest. Marty Kuehnert, in his April 10 "Keen Edge" column, described how the teammates had nearly come to blows after Maeda twice failed to score from second base on outfield hits by Lopez in the team's April 7 game against the Chunichi Dragons at Hiroshima.
The dispute resulted in the American being suspended for 10 games, but he's back now, and team harmony has been restored. "I apologized to the team manager (Koji Yamamoto), and Maeda and I had a long talk. We understand each other and everything's cool," said Lopez prior to Monday night's game against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome. What has not been cool is Lopez's bat. He went into the Giants series hitting .429 for the pennant-contending Carp.
Speaking of hot, there are hot streaks and there are hot streaks, then there was the hot streak enjoyed by Hanshin Tigers slugger George Arias on April 25-26.