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12/19/2002 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Pudge Talks Japan"
Ivan Rodriguez Threatens to Play in Japan
Pudge Rodriguez to Japan? That was part of a Chicago Sports story on the Orioles and the Rangers free agent catcher breaking off talks. Because he's been injured so much over the last two or three years and has already begun reaching the point where receivers breakdown and head toward collecting a pension, nobody has been willing to give the future Hall of Fame backstop the $10-12 million he wants. But it is hard to see a Japanese club paying that much for him. The only two who possess the ability to put out that kind of cash would be Hanshin and Yomiuri, but the Giants already have a young star catcher who is much cheaper and Hanshin will be out of the bidding if they sign Norihiro Nakamura. Moreover, if they ink Michael Tucker, the Tigers will have attained their four foreign player limit. So Rodriguez' making noises about signing with a club in the Land of the Rising Sun sounds like little more than an idle threat and is indicative of his unwillingness to deal with reality.
Hot Shots....
First, a salute to Dr. Strangeglove, Dick Stuart, who passed away Sunday at age 71. He was an original and one of those characters that made baseball the colorful game it it is. After being let go by the Dodgers in 1966, the 6'4" 215 pound San Francisco native played two seasons with the Taiyo Whales, slamming a homer in his first at bat in Japan off of a curve ball thrown by the great Yutaka Enatsu, ultimately going on to finish third in the homer race with 33 and batting .280 that initial year, including one tilt where he went yard three times. But injuries limited him to just 16 dingers and a .217 average the following campaign and he returned to the states, winning a job with the Angels in 1969. However, he didn't hit when the regular season began and he was released a month or so into the schedule. You can see a story about him at the Hartford Courant....Hideki Irabu said that because Hideki Matsui is already used to the pressure of playing with a team that is expected to win every year, he thinks Godzilla will do well with the Yankees....The Hiroshima Carp formally announced their acquisition of Jimmy Hearst, Andy Sheets and Dave Lundquist today....Despite a club official talking about propelling ace Koji Uehara beyond the $1.6 million salary mark, their initial offer to the righthander was $1.5 million, leaving Uehara visibly angered. Meanwhile, closer Junichi Kawahara signed on for a $280,000 increase to $600,000...Lotte reliever Hiroyuki Kobayashi's salary jumped by $168,000 to $240,000....Kintetsu second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi absorbed a $72,000 cut to $615,000....Chunichi Dragons screwballer Masahiro Yamamoto had his green pastures mowed to the tune of $80,000 and will thus make $1.3 million next season. But outfielder and Central League batting champion Kosuke Fukudome tucked away a nice $640,000 hike to $975,000....Yakult infielder Noriyuki Shiroishi had his salary jacked up to $235,000....Orix and second round draft choice Makoto Suzuki, the former Royal and Mariner, are still hashing out contract terms....Sankei Sports is reporting that Norihiro Nakamura will undergo a medical check in the coming days as a prelude to signing with the Mets. Hochi Sports is also reporting that Nakamura has decided to throw in his lot with that team. Ironically, both the Matsui and Nakamura acquisitions many be overshadowed by the battle over Jose Ariel Contreras....We'll see....Kintetsu, meanwhile, is looking at making a run at Tyler Houston if Nakamura does go stateside ....Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino isn't going to wait around for Nakamura and will take a planned trip to Australia's Gold Coast, on Christmas day.... The Seibu Lions are going to allow Alex Cabrera to report late, possibly even in the middle of the exhibition season due to unrest in the slugger's native Venezuela. Cabrera lives in a rural area several hundred kilometers from the capital Caracas and says that he will get his swing in shape by cutting down trees....Yokohama manager Daisuke Yamashita said that free agent closer Takashi Saito has until mid-January to decide on where he will play next season, hinting that they may go without him if he keeps the team hanging.
Matsui Says Yes to Yankees
See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
AP Has Contract Terms
See story at: Associated Press Article
Cashman: Matsui "One of the World's Best Players"
The Yanks GM might want to take some lessons in understatement. See story at: WTEV Article
Yanks See Godzilla in Yankee Stadium
See story at: NY Daily News Article
Yanks Make Power Play With Matsui
See story at: Hartford Courant Article
Matsui Was the Preferred Choice
See story at: NY Post Article
Prime Minister Koizumi Sends His Best Wishes to Matsui
See story at: The Australian Article
MLB Teams Ignore Otsuka Posting
Stupid, stupid stupid! Why didn't my Dodgers pick him up? Even with his injury history, he would have still made a good, relatively cheap middle reliever. Unbelievable. I can understand why Otsuka is so shocked. Now he will apparently change agents and may ask to be released by Kintetsu. See story at: Japan Today Article
See related story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Not Able to Land Matsui, Mets Turn Toward Floyd
See story at: MSNBC Article
Former Korean Yomiuri Pitcher Getting Divorce
Their wedding was an incredibly lavish affair and covered on national television. Oh well.
See story at: Korea Times Article
Jin Pil-jung to Try Posting System Again
See story at: Korea Times Article
Canadian Women Baseballers Beat U.S. in 17-11 Slugfest
See story at: Guelph Mercury Article
Canada Falls to Japan in Women's Baseball Tournament
See story at: Canadian Press Article
