NPB Tracker

Some of you may have noticed that I posted an entry in Japanese earlier today. I’ve been thinking about giving writing in Japanese a shot for a while, and when the news of Ken Kadokura’s contract with the Cubs broke in English first, I thought I’d take it as an opportunity. The same content was available in English in a seperate post that was published moments before.

I don’t speak or write native-level Japanese and I’ll make mistakes, so I’m looking at this as an opportunity to improve. For anyone out there learning Japanese (and I’m sure there must be a few), ALC is a great resource for translating short Japanese-English, and this site is handy for getting the readings of tough Kanji characters. Both of those sites are intended for a Japanese audience, so they’re not really recommended for beginners. For a more novice learner (and up), jisho.org is a good resource.

今日は、初めて日本語でブログを書いた。しばらく日本語でブログを書こうと思っていたし、今日の門倉健のカブス入団というニューズがさきに英語で出たことをきっかけに、はじめようと思った。同じ内容も英語も記事もアップした。

ぼくは、日本語がネイティブ級じゃないから、たまに間違えるけど、上達するのが目標です。日本人の読者は、間違えに気付いたら、教えてくれてください。英語を勉強してる人には、英和翻訳サイトのALCがおすすめです。オンライン辞書のjisho.orgも便利だと思っている。

News of the official announcement of Tadahito Iguchi’s move the Chiba Lotte Marines is beginning to spread around the East side of the ‘net. Reports have it that Iguchi has agreed to a three-year deal that will pay him 540m yen ($5.94m) plus performances incentives. The length of the contract is cited as a decisive factor in Iguchi selected the Marines. Reports had as many as eight MLB teams interested in Iguchi, plus an unspecified number of Japanese teams.

Iguchi will be introduced in a press conference on the 25th.

米べスボール・アメリカによると、前巨人の門倉健はカブスとマイナー契約結んだ。詳しいこと出ていないが、招待選手として春季キャンプに参加すると思います。

According to the venerable Baseball America, the Cubs have signed former Yomiuri Giant Ken Kadokura to a minor league contract. I’m sure Kadokura will get a spring training invite and chance to compete for a bullpen spot.

Update, Jan 19 8:11 am: According to 47news, Iguchi to Lotte is a done deal, and will be announced on the 20th. Other sources say the deal is close but not done.

I didn’t post this when it was new, but it’s been widely reported that Tadahito Iguchi will decide his destination on the 20th, which is either tomorrow or later today depending on which timezone you happen to be in.

Bobby Valentine’s Chiba Lotte Marines very publicly made Iguchi a three-year offer, and cleared out second base for him by releasing the incumbent Jose Ortiz. Despite this, Iguchi hasn’t given up on an MLB contract, but given that the market for 2nd basemen (Orlando Hudson) has been so weak, his best financial offer is likely to be in Japan.