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01/29/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Dragons Snap at Millar Again; Cox Misquoted"
Dragons: Millar Either Plays With Us or His Career is Over
Chunichi Dragons president Junnosuke Nishikawa reiterated today that he is not going to allow Kevin Millar to play in MLB if he doesn't report to his team. In fact, he is afraid, according to Hochi Sports, that if he does allow Millar to go to Boston "it would set a bad precedent." The MLB Commissioner's Office has already stated that Millar has a valid contract with Chunichi and thus the former Marlin would have to be posted to come back to MLB, something which the Nagoya based club isn't interested in going through. Millar is reportedly presently in Las Vegas and didn't attend the Super Bowl after all as a Boston Globe article had said, which incensed Chunichi officials even more. Hoo boy, this is really beginning to get nasty.
Cox Says He Was Misquoted on "The Natural" Remark
New Yokohama Bay Stars cleanup hitter Steve Cox wrote in to make the following statement:
I just read an article you wrote on 1-28-03 that said I told the reporters to "Just call me the natural".That statement is totally untrue. I would never say somthing so arrogant as that. The truth to the story is I was asked by a reporter why my nickname was "The Natural". My response to that question was "I don't know, Greg Vaughan started saying that probably because I don't wear a batting glove and I wear my socks high". Please make that correction known, because I don't want anyone who saw that article to believe I would say that.
Correction noted, Steve. But to tell you the truth, I and the reporters in Japan took the purported remark as humorous and not in anyway conceited. Note that I used the word, "joked" in the article. Also, in a piece in one of the sports dailies today, the reporter referred to you as "The Natural." The Japanese tend to love nicknames for pop stars and ballplayers and it looks as if they are going to hang you with the Redford character. Part of that, too, is that the Japanese press is in bed with the ballclubs and they sometimes go overboard in trying to be nice to the players or to hype them up.
The other thing that foreign ballplayers in Japan have to realize is that there is a language barrier and that what happens is that their interpreter translates what they say into Japanese and then I have to translate that translation back into english when a Japanese reporter, who may take shortcuts for the sake of the angle he is using, writes his story. It is readily apparent that what happened here is that Steve's full comments didn't get into print.
There are also papers that one has to just totally ignore such as Tokyo Sports and Yuukan Fujii, who often seem, imho, to flat out make stuff up out of thin air for the sake of filling column inches. The good thing about being a non-Japanese speaking player in Japan is that you can't understand what the press is saying about you in print. Consequently, it is imperative that players take the stance of just letting the press do their thing and not worry about it since being able to relax and focus on what they need to do on the field is what is most important. The Japanese sports press has its own agenda that is dictated by the fact that they are even sometimes run by the parent company of teams (Chunichi Sports is a subsidiary of the firm that owns the Dragons and Hochi Sports is owned by Yomiuri, which also operates the Giants, for example). The Bay Stars are owned by a television station. Fuji Tv has a minority interest in the Yakult Swallows.
In any event, when there is a misreported item here, I would appreciate it if people write in to correct the record, as Steve did.
Hot Shots....
According to Sports Nippon, Yomiuri Giants first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara's hamstring is making very slow progress in the recovery process, as he is reportedly still only about 60-70% with the regular season only about two months off. The frustrated slugger vented his anger at a photographer who was taking pics of a light workout he was engaging in, getting up and leaving after five minutes....Roberto Petagine reported to Yomiuri today and at a press conference at a Tokyo hotel caused some embarrassment when he and wife Olga engaged in a passionate kiss after it was over in front of reporters and team officials. "We are two people who are one together," he insisted, which then caused Sankei Sports to detail in their resulting article just how affectionate the two are to each other and how important to Petagine Olga is. Anyway, Petagine said that he hopes that Yakult fans will cheer him on even though he is now with their chief rival. Don't count on it, Roberto....Ex-Daiei Hawks closer Rodney Pedraza is now back in Japan, too, and stated that he hopes to acquire a forkball during spring training, calling on ace Koji Uehara to help him do that....The Chiba Lotte Marines saw three of their foreign players, infielder Rick Short, starter Nathan Minchey and reliever Brian Sikorsky, hit the tarmac at Narita Airport and they will be in Kagoshima tomorrow to report....Former Cardinal Ivan Cruz arrived in Nagoya today to report to the Chunichi Dragons, attributing his failure with Hanshin two years ago to a shoulder which eventually required surgery. Last season, Cruz lead all of the U.S. minors in homers....Speaking of the Tigers, reliever Lou Pote reported to his new ballclub today. The Osaka edition of Sports Nippon noted that Pote held Ichiro Suzuki hitless in five at bats last season. Hanshin's director of player personnel said that he expects the 6'3" former Angel to do even better than what Marc Valdes, who is now with Chunichi, did in the team's pen. Both southpaw Trey Moore and first baseman George Arias reported as well, each vowing to top their 2002 performances. In the meantime, outfielder Shinjiro Hiyama is balking at plans by manager Senichi Hoshino to use him occasionally at first base. When Katsuya Nomura was running the Tigers, he mulled trying Hiyama at third, but Hiyama flatly refused that request. Fifth round draft choice Tomoyuki Kubota was fined around $7,000 for being eight pounds overweight....Smoking has been banned in the seated areas of Koshien Stadium. All the other Japanese teams had banned smoking in the stands already ....Orix infielder Makoto Shiozaki announced that he will continue a charity program that he began last season, where he bought ten season seats behind home plate at $2500 per seat and donates them to children and the handicapped. The attendees will also receive an autograph from Shiozaki and be able to have their picture taken with him. What's more, he revealed that he got married December 12th to an office worker named Kazue Shimauchi, who he met two years ago through mutual friends....If you're a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters fan club, you can get a 30% off discount at the Sapporo Tobu Hotel when the team is in town for the ten games it will play there this season. The Fighters have also started inoculating their players and even reporters against the flu, but manager Trey Hillman and batting instructor Gary Denbo both passed on the injections. Hillman was quoted as saying that he isn't afraid of the shots, but that he's never had one before and prefers to just do what he's always done. On a personal note, my Japanese girlfriend got a flu shot in December and came down with the disease this week anyway. That calls into question just how effective those injections are....The Yokohama Bay Stars, in consideration for the team's non smoking foreign players, have banned puffing away in the locker room and has established a smoking room for those who feel the need to feed their nicotine addiction. And in a rather odd turn, the club is considering extending the height of the 50 foot rightfield foul pole due to Steve Cox's presence on the roster. They reason it will make balls Cox drives out near the line easier for the umpires to judge correctly. Also hoping to launch some drives of his own is Tyrone Woods, who will have "T. Woods" on the back of his jersey. Why? It's a tribute to Tiger Woods as well as the hope that some of the great golfer's magic will rub off on the former Doosan first sacker....This blurb comes from Ventura County Star: the Ventura Devil Rays are seeking several high caliber players for the 16-and-under team heading to the Junior Olympics in Tucson June 20-28. Seventy-two teams will compete in the tournament sponsored by USA Baseball and the U.S. Olympics. Eighteen players will be chosen for a tournament all-star team that will comprise the U.S. National Team and will travel to Taiwan for the World Games. The Devil Rays are looking for pitchers. Age cutoff is Aug. 1, 1986. Information: Michael J. Smith at 658-0590....Also, there is this note from the New Bern Sun-Journal: North Carolina youth baseball and softball players are invited to represent the U.S.A. and compete overseas. Players age 11 to 18 have the opportunity to compete for spots on the 2002-03 Coast to Coast national select teams. The American squad will travel to Austrailia, China, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Europe to play in tournaments against international teams. For more information on how to apply for a roster spot, interested athletes can call (888) 356-4455 or visit
this website.
Kazuo Matsui a Winner
See story at: Yomiuri Shimbun Article
Hideki Matsui to Leave for NY Monday
See story at: Japan Times Article
