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01/08/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Millar Morphs into a Dragon; Sasaki Aims to Cut Matsui Down"
Marlins Outfielder Hopes He Isn't a Fish Out of Water in Nagoya
The Chunichi Dragons believe that they have Florida Marlins outfielder Kevin Millar, who hit .306 with 16 homers last season locked up. Terms of the deal haven't been formally announced, but Chunichi Sports is prognosticating that it will likely be a two year pact at $2.5 million for the first year and $3 million for the next one after that and they may add a third year depending on Millar's performance.
This is reportedly the most lucrative contract a new foreign player has ever received from the Nagoya side. He will most likely be batting cleanup, though that is not set in stone. Chunichi had tried to get their hands on Millar before last season and Millar was interested, but Florida wouldn't sell Millar's rights at that time.
Head coach Kyosuke Sasaki, who is thought to be one of the motivating forces behind the Millar acquisition. says that Millar is valuable because he will respond to what the situation dictates. "He has some pop, but when you need a sacrifice fly, he will do that for you. I would compare him to [Bobby] Rose." Sasaki posits that him and third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami will feed off of each other in the middle of the order comparing Millar to the Yankees Bernie Williams. Sasaki expects that Millar will hammer 20 dingers and drive in 100 runs and post a .300 average.
The Dragons have also been talking to former Angel Alex Ochoa, though there is no word on the status of those discussions.
Hot Shots....
The Yankees-Mariners series at Yankee Stadium starting April 29th is already sold out. There are two reasons for this and I don't think I have to spell them out....NHK announced today that they will broadcast Hideki Matsui's first ever Yankees tilt on February 27th, when the Bronx Bombers meet the Cincinnati Reds in exhibition action. However, if you are in Japan at the time, you will have to arise at 3:15 a.m. on the 28th to catch it. NHK broadcast nine exhibition matches of Ichiro's in his inaugural big league campaign and aired six more in 2002. Ichiro threw 100 pitches in batting practice at an Orix practice facility to Blue Wave reserve backstop Hiroshi Fujimoto. The 2001 AL MVP disclosed that he likes being on the mound for bp, though he hasn't done it much in the past, even while he played in Japan. ..In other news, Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki says he wants to play in the Olympics, though he joked, "but nobody would ask me." He is currently endeavoring to add a cutter to his arsenal and will shortly leave for Saipan to continue his workouts in warmer weather. Daimajin also contradicted some advice Tsuyoshi Shinjo gave to Hideki Matsui earlier, when he told reporters, "a DVD player isn't necessary. He also won't be lacking for Japanese food in New York. He should just find his own style and stick with it." The all time Japanese saves leader also noted, "if I could face him, the fans would really enjoy that. I want to pitch, though, so that he doesn't hit me." Matsui was just 2-25 (both hits were singles) against Sasaki lifetime with ten strikeouts, seven of those whiffs in a row. One reason that Sasaki is toying with the cutter is that Matsui has done poorly against hurlers who feature that pitch. Chunichi's Kenshin Kawakami blew Matsui down eight of the 16 times they faced each other last season while Daisuke Matsuzaka pounded Godzilla for three strikeouts in two Japan Series games....Hideki Irabu spent the day doing some light throwing and weight lifting. He says that he will follow his own throwing routine to prepare for the season, something which the Hanshin coaching staff has signed off on....Former Hanshin Tiger Buddy Carlyle, who was invited to spring training with Kansas City, is being looked at as possible bullpen help, according to the Kansas City Star....Masato Yoshii will wear number 55 with Orix, the same digits he wore with Montreal. He spent the day at a Yakult Swallows practice facility working out with Hideo Nomo. Hanshin reserve catcher Katsunori Nomura was there helping them out. Nomo was asked about the possibility of the Dodgers being sold, but typically replied, "I don't know anything about the management of the ballclub"....The 100mph standard has also been something of a holy grail for Swallows righthanded reliever Ryota Igarashi and he is going to change his mechanics somewhat in order to both take some stress off of his elbow and improve his weight transfer. He has been watching video of Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling and hopes to pick up some hints from that. Igarashi's batterymate, Atsuya Furuta, despite a recent history of bad knees, says that he wants to catch all of his club's 140 games this coming season. He also reports that he will discuss how to contain new Yomiuri addition Roberto Petagine with Yokohama backstop Motonobu Tanishige....Another pitcher hoping to keep an ex-teammate under control is Hiroshima's Hiroki Kuroda, who says that he will be paying special attention to outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto when the Carp engage Hanshin in battle....Seibu pitcher Hsu Ming-chieh said today that he would like to lose another six pounds before the season opens.... Yokohama lefty Yuji Yoshimi says that he is hoping to keep his ERA under 3.00 and toss more than 200 innings this season. The youngster threw 188 frames in 2002....Baseball Guru.com readers may remember that two former members of the Cuban national baseball team, Pacheco and Orestes Kindelan, joined Shidax in the Japanese industrial league last season. Well, two more have been added to that, as Luis Ulacia, 39, and German Mesa, 35, have caught on with Miki House in the industrial leagues, too. They should be in uniform in mid-March....Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe has apparently hit the rubber chicken circuit a little too hard over during the offseason, resulting in him gaining 13 pounds. He swears he will be back at game weight by the time spring training begins....Lotte ace Tomohiro Kuroki worked out for three hours today and threw 97 pitches very carefully. While he thinks he is making progress in recovering from a shoulder problem that cost him the entire 2002 season, he still doesn't know when he might be back on the mound for the Chiba contingent....The trainer for the Daiei Hawks was in attendance while seven of that team's players underwent their medical exams today and he assessed that rookie righty Nagisa Arakaki's back muscles were "extraordinarily developed. He has the ability to throw 100mph one day."
Yankees Set to Introduce Matsui
See story at: MLB.com Article
Eddie Murray Gets Revenge in Japan
See a great anecdote by Dan Connolly at: York Daily Record Article
Yoshii, Irabu, Suzuki Back Playing in Japan
See story at: CNN/SI Article
Nakamura Now Highest Paid Japanese Player
See story at: Georgia Post Article
Felix Jose Hits Umpire With Helmet
See story at: Way More Sports.com Article
Mariners Get Early Spring Start Due to Japan Trip
See story at: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Article
Dodgers Chen to Flack for Mastercard
See story at: ETaiwan News Article
