OSAKA — While the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions open the second stage of the Pacific League Climax Series with a one-win advantage, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters know they can't afford to observe how the Saitama club is going to play.
That being said, the Fighters' Game 1 starter, Ryan Glynn, will have enormous pressure and responsibility on his shoulders when he goes to the mound in Game 1 at Omiya Prefectural Stadium on Friday.
A 33-year-old right-hander from Portsmouth, Va., Glynn had a rocky season for most of the 2008 campaign, due in part to a lack of offensive support.