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01/15/2003 Archived Entry: "Monster Press Conference Welcomes Godzilla to New York"
Beaming Slugger Matsui Gives Typically Classy Press Conference
See story at: Yahoo News Article
You can hear snippets of what Matsui actually had to say as well as english translations by an obviously nervous interpreter (who did a decent job) at: Associated Press Article
See related story at: MLB.com Article
See another related story at: Japan Today Article
Hot Shots....
If I can off topic for a moment here, Donnie Baseball Mattingly and Cal Ripken are getting together on buying interest in a minor league baseball franchise and moving it to Mattingly's hometown of Evansville, Indiana. Nice job, guys....The debt riddled parent corporation of the Daiei Hawks has sold four of its hotels to Goldman Sachs for in excess of $400 million. Furthermore, two more of the company's hotels are reportedly on the block....Yomiuri rookie pitcher Yuya Kubo felt a twinge in his oblique muscle signing autographs earlier today. It is thought that it is just a temporary problem and he won't miss any training sessions. Also, if a Sports Nippon report is correct, outfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi will be groomed to eventually take over the cleanup role in the batting order that is now held by Kazuhiro Kiyohara after Hideki Matsui joined the Yankees. The Giants also spent an estimated $130,000 updating its workout equipmentat a practice facility in Kawasaki. Incidently, Matsui is likely to be inserted into the six hole behind Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams, according to Nikkan Sports. NHK will also broadcast seven Yankees pre-season tilts...The Texas Rangers are said to have been contemplating using Takashi Saito as its number three starter, but the money wasn't there and the righthander will likely re-sign with Yokohama....32 year old Bay Stars shortstop Takuro Ishii, who needs just 449 hits to reach 2000 knocks lifetime, has lost seven pounds in order to reduce the strain on aging knees.... Nippon Ham reliever Hiroshi Shibakusa said that he wouldn't mind appearing in 20 games in a row as long as the team goes on to win the PL flag. "I want to cry when we win it," the veteran offered. Sports Nippon looked up the record for most consecutive appearances and it was 14 in 1944 by Hanshin's Tadashi Wakabayashi. The most consecutive games just in relief is 11, which was pulled off by Nankai's Michiro Sato ....Hiroshima Carp owner Matsuda went to a local shrine in that city and prayed that his players would get through the schedule without injury and that they would be able to report to him that they won the CL pennant. The Carp has indeed seized that title the last two times it was the Year of the Sheep, as it is in 2003. The club also had a meeting of its scouts and are looking at 17 year old lefthander Yuta Kimura as their possible number one draft choice. Kimura has a low 90's fastball ....Dodgers lefty Kazuhisa Ishii is in Hawaii training for the coming season. He will be there for a week....Masao Kida is playing semi-pro ball in L.A. readying himself for a tryout in front of scouts from ten MLB teams that will take place the first week of February....Following complaints made be Japanese team managers about how the high strike was called, 28 umpires and officials met today to discuss how to call curve balls. Apparently, there was a tendency to call even hanging curve balls strikes when they were usually in fact balls, so the arbiters worked on that using a pitching machine. Umpires will also be dispatched to a camp with the aim of eliminating disparities between the two leagues as to how umpires read the zone....Chunichi Dragons ace Shigeki Noguchi says that he is experiencing no discomfort in his elbow. He missed most of last season with elbow pain and then tried to pitch the last month with less than satisfying results. He also remarked that he intends to proceed cautiously despite feeling so good. There is still no mention, though, of when Kenjiro Kawasaki is going to return after blowing out his shoulder two years ago. Is he looking at retirement?....Dragons shortstop Hirokazu Ibata, in order to take full advantage of new addition Kevin Millar's presence, says that he will be focusing on raising his OBP over .400 this season. Utilityman Masahiro Araki has Millar on his mind, too and intends to steal more so that Millar can knock him in....Another Dragons infielder, Omar Linares, wants to bring his wife to Japan with him this season, as her absence contributed to a nasty case of homesickness he experienced in 2002.... Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura said earlier today that he will take offers from other teams when he becomes eligible for free agency at the end of the season. However, he also insisted he has no interest in MLB....Buffs rookie hurler Kenta Abe is drawing praise from manager Masataka Nashida not just for a good sharp slider and a 92mph fastball, but also what he can do at the plate, hinting that he is contemplating making the 18 year old a position player instead. A few years ago, another young pitcher who threw in the low 90's went from the hill at Orix to the outfield and eventually to an MLB MVP. Abe is a bit perplexed, though, since he was looking forward to concentrating solely on pitching in the PL, where the DH rule is in force. So will this be deja vu all over again? Stay tuned.
Red Sox Claim Millar
But the Boston Globe reports that Millar intends to honor the Chunichi deal. Anyway, See story at:
MLB.com Article
Millar Looks Forward to New Adventure
See story at: Associated Press Article
Seibu Lions Parent Company Closing Stores in Restructuring Move
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article
Saito Likely to Reup With Yokohama
See story at: Japan Today Article
Pedro Valdes Signs New Daiei Deal
See story at: Japan Today Article
Twins Pulido Told Taiwanese Gangsters to Stick It
Interesting story at: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Article
