NPB Tracker

Kevin Mench’s physical returned “no irregularities” and the outfielder is on his way home to rest for a few days before joining Hanshin’s minor league team. 

In a vote of confidence for Mench, Hanshin owner Shinya Sakai said, “we’re not at all thinking of adding reinforcemts (signing another foreign player)”, before adding “I want Mench to get a good rest and then do his best”.

Patience with foreign players is notoriously short in Japan, but in this case Hanshin’s management appears to be saying the right things. The Tigers brass notably stood behind Jeff Williams when he was named in the Mitchell Report a few years ago as well.

Hanshin has deactivated Kevin Mench and replaced him on the roster with utility infielder Aarom Baldiris. Mench’s struggles have been well-publicized, and now the team is looking for a physiological explanation for his performance. Hanshin’s trainer commented that Mench is “horribly fatigued”.

Baldiris is a useful utility guy who made a good impression last year with his hustle and positive attitude, but he’s kind of a fringey NPB’er and certainly not the mid-lineup Hanshin thought they were getting in Mench. To that end, the Tigers have deployed US-based scouts Tom O’Malley and Andy Sheets in case they need to make a mid-season acquisition.

Kevin Mench’s NPB career isn’t off to a great start — through three games he’s 0-11 with three strikeouts and eight flyouts. This comes after a bad spring as well. The typically hyperbolic and alarmist press corps that follows Hanshin is already questioning his future with the Tigers. One article even dragged out the name Mike Greenwell the veteran MLB slugger who played seven games for the Tigers before God told him to retire. I don’t think that’s quite fair; I’d be stunned if Mench pulled that kind of stunt. And George Arias got off to a poor start with the Tigers and wound up being a good player for them. Then again, Arias had already established himself in Japan.

Despite the media, Mench will get a little more time to prove himself in Japan. The Tigers have flown in US-based scout and former Tiger Tom O’Malley to work with Mench, and will keep him around for a month. Hanshin’s owner seems to be behind him too, saying “if he hits just one big blast he’ll be hard to pitch to. He’s hit 89 home runs in the majors so I want him to start hitting soon”.

Still, this gives you an idea of the expectations and pressure on an MLB import joining a popular franchise in Japan. Foreign players tend to be on short leashes, particularly high-salaried ones.

The NPB season opened last night, 4/3, and I was remiss in only giving it a passing mention. Here are some highlights:

• Hisashi Iwakuma got the better of Yu Darvish, with Rakuten beating Nippon Ham 3-1. Darvish pitched a complete game in a losing effort, while Iwakuma went six innings, allowing one run while throwing only 59 pitches. Highlights are available on YouTube.
• Tsuyoshi Wada struck out 14 Orix Buffaloes in an 8-0 shutout victory. SoftBank may have to prove me wrong about their offense.
• Colby Lewis defeated countryman Seth Greisinger in the Carp’s 6-3 win over the Giants.
• Kevin Mench went 0-4 in his Hanshin debut, continuing his spring slump, but the Tigers beat the Swallows 5-2.

All the box scores in Japanese but I’ll have an English source for them soon. The WBC live chats were fun, I’m going to try doing that again during the season, if a) the time difference is reasonable and b) we can find a reliable live stream.

And in other brief news, yu-darvish.com is now an NPB Tracker property.

1. Hanshin Tigers: This could be the year for Hanshin. Colonel Sanders has been exhumed from his resting place at the bottom of the Dotombori River, which should be enough to put the team over the top. Hanshin led the Central League for most of the season last year, despite a serious lack of home run power. If Takahiro Arai and Kevin Mench can combine for 45 home runs or so they should be tough to beat.
Key Players: Arai, Mench

2. Yomiuri Giants: Yomiuri slipped past Hanshin for the Central League crown at the end of the season in 2008, then took the Japan Series down to the wire before losing to Seibu. Look for a bounce-back year from Sun-Yeop Lee. The departure of Koji Uehara creates an opportunity for someone like Kentaro Nishimura, Shun Tohno, or Takahiko Nomaguchi to step up.
Key Players: Nishimura, Tohno, Nomaguchi

3. Hiroshima Carp: The Carp took a big step forward last season despite the loss of ace Hiroki Kuroda to the Dodgers. The lineup is respectable 1-5 and they have three good starters in Colby Lewis, Kan Ohtake, and Kenta Maeda. Look for a breakout year from Maeda.
Key Player: K Maeda

4. Yakult Swallows: Yakult has a number of good arms in its bullpen, some young starters that could develop, and Japan’s top hitter in Norichika Aoki. The big concern with the Swallows is a lack of team power, so their ability to compete for a playoff spot will depend on whether or not some of the non-Aoki batters can hit for average.
Key Players: Jaime D’Antona, Yoshinori, Tatsunori Masubuchi

5. Chunichi Dragons: The Dragons finished third last year despite being outscored by 21 by opponents on the season. This year they’ve subtracted Kenshin Kawakami, Norihiro Nakamura, and Tyrone Woods and have replaced them with untested players. I expect a fall in the standings.
Key Players: Tony Blanco, Kei Nomoto, Kazuki Yoshimi

6. Yokohama BayStars: Yokohama had by far the worst pitching in the Central last season, and despite moving Hayato Terahara back into the rotation, retaining Daisuke Miura, and adding Ryan Glynn, I don’t think they have enough depth to get out of the cellar. I think they’ll be more competitive than last year though.
Key Players: Terahara

Any thoughts? Pacific League is coming up next.

Coming: Kevin Mench, manager Akinobu Mayumi

Going: Lew Ford, Ryan Vogelsong, Toshihiro Noguchi

Staying: Jeff Williams, Aarom Baldiris, Scott Achison, Chris Resop

Trending: about the same

Synopsis: Mench should be better than Ford, but aside from that Hanshin will go into 2009 with the same team that squandered a big lead down the stretch last season. The Tigers failed to land their offseason prize in Daisuke Miura, and in their nominal efforts to sign Kenshin Kawakami, so they still lack a guy who can eat 200+ innings. Resop could be an assett if he gets over his control issues.

Looks like the Hanshin Tigers have agreed on a contract former Blue Jay Kevin Mench. Sanspo is reporting that it’s a one-year, $2m deal, which looks good for Hanshin with the yen strong against the dollar. The contract isn’t final, but it’s looking good at this point. 

Mench should take over rightfield from the disappointing Lew Ford and bat fifth or sixth for the Tigers.

Update: Sanspo is reporting that Hanshin also has Rays OF/DH Jonny Gomes on their list, as well Nippon Ham starter Ryan Glynn.

Daily Sports reports the Hanshin Tigers have added a few more names to their offseason shopping list. We already knew about Nelson Cruz, and now the Tigers are looking at Kevin Mench and Jose Bautista, both of whom finished last year with Toronto.

Hanshin is also looking at a couple of foreign players who are already in Japan: Rakuten’s Jose Fernandez, Seibu’s Hiram Bocachica, and Michael Restovich, who was just released by Softbank. Fernandez is the most accomplished hitter of the three, smacking 159 HR with a .293 avg over his six years in Japan, though he is suspect with the glove. Bocachica hit well when he was in the lineup, with 20 HR in 78 games, and he’s always been sound with the glove. Restovich… he’s coming off a bad year and would be a reclaimation project at this point.