NPB Tracker

Coming: Ryan Vogelsong, Jon Leicester, Jose Fernandez, Naoyuki Ohmura, Fumikazu Takanami, Kento Kanazawa

Going: Tom Davey, Ramon Ortiz, John Koronka, Eric Jung, Arihito Muramatsu, Kazuhiro Kiyohara (retirement)

Staying: Tuffy Rhodes, Alex Cabrera, Greg LaRocca

Trending: marginally upward

Synopsis: Orix added two foreign players with NPB experience in Vogelsong and Fernandez, and got the better of the Ohmura – Muramatsu trade with SoftBank. On the downside, they didn’t add anyone significant to the pitching staff. Word is they’re not done adding to their foreign roster.

Links in English:

• Simon at jhockey breaks down Japan’s Olympic team selections. Biggest surprise? Koji Uehara made the cut despite a 6.00+ ERA.
• Deanna at Marinerds, etc, went to another Nippon Ham Fighters farm team game. More good pics.
• It seems like at least a small portion of my traffic comes from people looking for current stats of NPB players. I get my NPB stats in Japanese, so I didn’t realize until recently that JapaneseBaseball.com has a leaderboard here. Career stat are available here. In the career section, current season stats are available to registered users for foreign players such as Michael Restovich.
• Anyone remember Yukinaga Maeda? I found his triple-a stats while looking for info on Kazuo Fukumori. I didn’t even realize he had signed with an MLB organization. He’s doing a bit better than I would have expected; that 4.29 ERA is high for a reliever but the 41/5 K/BB ratio in 35.2 IP is pretty good. Maybe we’ll see him in MLB this year.

Links in Japanese:

• Orix introduced new import hurler John Koronka. He’ll make his Japan debut pitching 3 innings in a farm game on July 20, then hit the top team around the All-Star break.
• Seibu pounded Lotte 17-10. Lotte starter Naruse surrendered nine runs in 6 2/3 innings in what might be the worst outing of his career.
• Former MLB’er Kazuhito Tadano gave up five runs in Nippon Ham’s loss to Orix. According to Ham pitching coach Masato Yoshii, Tadano’s undoing was a balk.
• Marine.tv is up to date with highlights as of yesterday’s game.
• This Softbank Hawks fan blog has some good pics of Hitoshi Tamura.

NPB and related news from around the Internet…

• Shingo Takatsu picked up his first save in Korea. Shingo took the ball in the 8th inning and pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Woori’s 4-1 win over LG. Takatsu becomes the first player to save a game in NPB, MLB, and KBO.
• Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 9th in the Giants 6-1 victory over Hiroshima. Uehara retired the side in order in his return.
• Orix’s addition of John Koronka has been made official.
• Aarom Baldiris had his first big hit in Japan in Hanshin’s 6/27 game against Yakult. Baldiris’s two run-single gave the Tigers a lead they would never lose in their 7-2 win over the Swallows. Baldiris has earned regular playing time after being promoted from the farm team.
• According to Sanspo, Hanshin has sent a scout to the United States to look into acquiring another foreign player. Team president Numasawa was quoted as saying he wants to be prepared if any of the foreign players on the current roster go down with an injury. The article speculates that Hanshin could be looking for relief help, as some of it’s bullpen will be absent during the Olympics.
• Former Ranger Jason Botts offically joined Nippon Ham. Botts was introduced to the press in Osaka and will start off with the Fighters’ farm team.

Note: all links in Japanese.

The Orix Buffaloes are moving to sign form MLB pitcher John Koronka. Koronka has pitched in the majors with the Cubs and Rangers, but is currently not contracted to an affiliated team. Orix needs a pitcher to fill in for injured starters Tom Davey and Yoshihisa Hirano. Koronka is 27 years old and might still have some upside left.

Courtesy of Sanspo.