“I’m happy that they would say that, I have to appreciate it. Because I was a Hanshin fan when I was a kid.”
When asked if he’d prefer to finish his career in the States…
“Basically that’s right, but since I don’t know what will come up I don’t know what will happen.”
It’s worth noting that Sponichi put the “I don’t know what will happen” quote in the headline, which I find a little out of character for the ultra-speculative Japanese media.
Sponichi has more from after the Yankees’ June 17 game against Washington:
“I flat-out can’t have this discussion now. But I appreciate that they have interest. I was a Hanshin fan when I was a kid.”
So there you have it. Keep an eye on this space come November.
While we’re here, to give you an idea of how analytical the Japanese press can be, the same blurb points out that Matsui’s batting average in games after he’s hit a home run is .111.
Comments made by an unnamed member of the Hanshin Tigers front office about the possibility of Hanshin going after Hideki Matsui this offseason are making the rounds in the Japanese media. Here’s what was said in Sponichi:
“There’s a feeling that if he comes back to Japan, it will be with Hanshin. He’s had knee issues, and if he’s going to play in Japan the natural grass at Koshien would be good.”
“Certainly with that type of hitter, it wouldn’t be that we don’t have interest. Are the Yankees really not going to resign him, and if so, how much would we need? We want to do our homework so that if it comes to that, we’ll be able to move quickly.”
“Of course, the best thing would be to continue to be a player who is needed by the Yankees. Of course I can’t even imagine playing for another team.”
“I might have to return to Japan.”
I think we can expect to see this kind of speculation about Matsui’s future more frequently as the season goes on. In the US media, Matsui has been pretty consistent in saying that he’d like to stay in MLB, so his Sponichi comments come as a little bit of a surprise to me.
It feels like Hanshin is posturing a little bit with these comments, though the are openly acknowledging that it would be an expensive move for them. Hanshin talked a pretty good game when Kenshin Kawakami was on the market last year as well. It’s also hard to see where Matui fights in with the Tigers in a baseball sense. Still, Hanshin was Matsui’s favorite team growing up, and he’d obviously be a huge draw anywhere in Japan, so I wouldn’t rule this out completely.
Patrick » 10 June 2009 » In nichibei » Comments Off on The State of Illinois: Offical Friends of Shingo Takatsu
Found this while Googling for more information on Shingo Takatsu’s tryout with the Giants (there is none) – my home state of Illinois officially offered their friendship to Shingo back in 2004 when he was with the White Sox. Unfortunately, I was not a resident of Illinois at time this was issued, so I wasn’t included in the 12.5 million Illinoisians Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn was representing. I hope Shingo considers me a friend anyway.
Here is the text of the declaration:
State of Illinois
Office of Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn
WHEREAS, Japan – which enjoys a rich, century-old baseball tradition – has contributed greatly to Major League Baseball in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago White Sox – who visited Japan in 1913 to play the New York Giants in a goodwill tour – recently signed their first Asian-born player – Shingo Takatsu – who is a worthy ambassador; and
WHEREAS, drafted by the Yakult Swallows in 1991, Shingo Takatsu has had an illustrious career, becoming Japan’s all-time saves leader with 260 saves and not allowing a single run in post-season play, earning him the nickname “Mr. Zeroâ€; and
WHEREAS, Shingo Takatsu has already distinguished himself in the White Sox uniform by breaking a 17-year old record for pitching scoreless innings; and
WHEREAS, Major League Baseball has truly become global, with more than 3,100 players from 16 different nations playing professional baseball in the United States, including players from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, China and Taiwan; and
WHEREAS, in these times of conflict, baseball’s international accent has enriched our culture, and fostered understanding and tolerance among diverse groups; and
WHEREAS, at least 28,000 persons of Japanese descent reside in Illinois and a Japanese-American community has existed continuously in Chicago for more than a century; and
WHEREAS, we are humbled to join the Consul General of Japan – the Honorable Yutaka Yoshizawa – in welcoming Shingo Takatsu to Illinois,
THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Illinois, hereby extend a hand of friendship to Shingo Takatsu on behalf of Illinois’ 12½ million people, including our growing Asian American community and baseball fans everywhere.
Patrick » 08 June 2009 » In nichibei » Comments Off on Rangers to Release Fukumori
Sponichi has more on Kazuo Fukumori — according to their most recent report, the Rangers are going to bit the bullet on whatever they still owe the righty and release him outright. Assuming he clears waivers he’ll be free to negotiate with NPB teams. Sponichi is speculating that a return to Rakuten is likely, which makes sense as manager Katsuya Nomura has been complaining about his bullpen all season.
Randy Johnson won his 300th game on Thursday, proving everyone who said we wouldn’t see another 300 winner after Tom Glavine wrong.
Lets look back at Johnson’s phenomenal career through his appearances in the old US-Japan Nichibei Series, which used to take place in November of even-numbered years.
1990
Johnson vs. Hiromitsu Ochiai
Johnson vs. Koji Akiyama
Johnson vs. Akinobu Okada
Interestingly, Ochiai and Akiyama are now managing NPB teams, and Okada ran Hanshin for five years. Note that Johnson is pretty wild here, and is inconsistent with his follow through. Still, none of the hitters look good against him.
Now let’s fast forward ten years, to 2000.
2000
Johnson vs Hideki Matsui
Johnson vs Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Johnson vs Norihiro Nakamura
Interestingly, all of these guys played in the majors in the years following this series. Johnson looks a lot more mature as a pitcher and a lot more fluid with his mechanics. He made Shinjo look like a fool in that at bat, though Shinjo was actually pretty good overall in the series.
According to Nikkan Sports, the Rangers had two scouts watching high school lefthander Yusei Kikuchi on May 21st. Kikuchi didn’t appear in his team’s game, the first of an Iwate Prefectural tournament, but the Rangers watched him work out with a long toss excercise. Kikuchi was quoted as saying, “I’m happy to get this attention but I can’t consider how to proceed until the end of summer”. The Dodgers had assistent GM Logan White watch Kikuchi in a practice game in March, and he appears on the draft lists of all 12 NPB teams.
Kikuchi is among the consensus top class of this year’s draft candidates. Brandon Siefken has brief profile of him in English, and Draft Reports has more on him in Japanese. The Nikkan Sports Draft Guide gave him a “BA” rating, a rating that we would normally denote in English as “a/b”, saying that his fastball is good but he can work on his delivery to get a more movement on his pitches.
It’s being widely reported that Hanshin is ready to negotiate with/sign former Seibu Lion Craig Brazell. Brazell hit .234 with 27 homers and 87 rbis. He’s currently playing with the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League. Honestly this comes across as a knee-jerk reaction.
Rakuten manager Katsuya Nomura seems to agree. “Hanshin is really bad at acquiring foreign players,” he said, before adding, “they’re in 5th place and six games under .500? That sucks. When I was there, the media would start with the “quit, quit” articles. Don’t just do that to me, do that to (Hanshin manager Akinobu) Mayumi too”.
Meanwhile, Seibu is also looking to add an import, due the loss of Brazell and now the shoulder injury of relief ace Alex Graman. Graman is hoping to return before the second half of the season, but surgey hasn’t been ruled out as a possibility. Team president Maeda was quoted as saying “it’s not just hitter, we’re looking into pitching too”.
Sanspo and others have the scoop — Hideki Irabu has signed a deal with the Long Beach Armada of the independant Golden League. There’s an official announcement reportedly coming on the 27th.
Irabu is still a name, particularly on this side of the Pacific, and I think he’ll sell a few tickets for the Armada. We’ll see if he has enough left in his right arm to help them on the field.
The 2009 NPB season is underway, and I’m happy to say that there are more places to catch up on Japanese & Asian baseball in English than there were last year.
Surprising news out of Japan today — apparently the Marlins are close to a deal that would land them Yu Darvish. The Marlins’ management team has found a way to work around the posting system –Â offering Darvish’s current team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, an ownership stake in the team. Â Nippon Ham has granted the Marlins an exclusive negotiating window with Darvish and if they can agree to terms, the Nippon Ham will release him and take over their reportedly significant share of the Marlins franchise.
A person familiar with the negotiations was quoted as saying, “it’s the beginning of April and the Marlins almost fooled themselves that they were ready to compete with the Phillies and Mets with the roster they have. Getting Darvish should push them over the top.” Added Japanese analyst Shigatsu Jodan, “this gives the company the opportunity to keep Darvish in the Nippon Ham family and should open up a great new market in south Florida for the company’s ham, pork and bacon products.” Darvish’s agent Aberilu Furu issued a firm “no comment”.
I certainly didn’t see this one coming.
If you’ve selected this text and the hints are too subtle, check the date.