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02/05/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: The Spittin' Image of Pedraza"
Umpires Accuse Pedraza of Being Spitball Artist
New Yomiuri Giants reliever Rodney Pedraza has barely begun to get ready for the upcoming season when a group of umpires at the team's camp in Miyazaki accused him of being a spitball artist. Apparently, umpires had suspected since at least 1999 that the then Daiei Hawks closer was loading the ball up. What got the umpire's attention this time around? Every third pitch, the veteran righthander was spitting on his righthand. Pedraza would then wipe his forehead and then go into his delivery. This time in Japan is rather cold and it could be that Pedraza was spitting on his hand to get a better grip on the ball. And it was just a workout afterall.
On July 4th of 1999, after a game against Orix, then Blue Wave manager Akira Ogi went into the umpires' locker room and complained about the pronounced spin that Pedraza was getting on his breaking balls and, Sankei Sports says, that was the start of the suspicions about Pedraza giving himself an illegal edge. Note, though, that Pedraza has never been caught doing it nor has he ever been disciplined for wetting the ball.
Sankei Sports' angle in reporting all this is that CL umpires now have Pedraza on a "blacklist." How this will affect his season, of course, remains to be seen. In the past, Lotte's Brian Warren was accused of cutting the ball while Greg Hansell was thought by then Yomiuri skipper Shigeo Nagashima of hiding a substance on the back of his pant leg during a game, but that instance was judged to be just a regular mud stain.
Hot Shots....
Clemson will play an exhibition game against Chukyo University March 6th....A note to the U.S. media: the Chunichi Dragons finished third last season in the Central League, not second, which went to the Yakult Swallows.....Again, taxpayer money was wasted in NYC, as Hideki Matsui was given a police escort to Yankee Stadium after landing at JFK the other day. Matsui also met with GM Brian Cashman and Assistant to the GM Jean Afterman about the spring training schedule. The slugger brought ten boxes of luggage with him and the Yankees helped him send that off to Tampa, the Yanks training site. Sports Nippon alluded to the "existence" of a clause in Matsui's contract that would allow him to participate in the qualifying tournament this November for a berth in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but didn't go into any other details about it....Nikkan Sports referred to Yankees owner Goerge Steinbrenner as "hysterical," except they didn't mean he's funny.... Hiroshima Carp manager Koji Yamamoto and Hanshin boss Senichi Hoshino planned to stage a practice game between the two sides on the 11th. The Sky A satellite channel was going to broadcast it until the Carp front office demanded several tens of thousands of dollars in "cooperation money" to ostensibly pay for security at its spring training ballpark, where the faceoff was tentatively set to occur. When Hoshino heard that, he went ballistic, and now the match may be cancelled. Hanshin offered to move the game to their training site, but Hiroshima is reportedly still demanding some kind of compensation. A Sky A official said that if Hiroshima wants money to broadcast the game, they can't comply since their audience is relatively small and their funds limited....Yakult rookie hurler Yuhei Takai was kept out of Tuesday's workout due to continuing discomfort in his right thigh. That may result in his first game action being moved back from its original February 23rd date ....First baseman Todd Betts finally went yard again in batting practice after being blanked Monday, as he cleared the fences nine times in 65 swings Tuesday.... Lotte second baseman Bobby Rose spends his off time at the team dormitory watching hour after hour of video of Pacific League pitchers....Quacks flying again: in cooperation with a professor of a Tokyo area dental school, Lotte is testing a "sports gum" on its players in the hope that it will help them concentrate better at the plate....Daiei rookie lefty Tsuyoshi Wada threw 65 pitches in the bullpen Tuesday, impressing a scout from Lotte who was there to observe him....Nippon Ham manager Trey Hillman had first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara practice laying down sac bunts Tuesday. Ogasawara has never sacrificed in his 2656 pro at bats. Ogasawara didn't mind, but Hillman's rationale was that if the situation dictated it, he wanted to be able to have his players execute bunt plays. Then, in a really odd twist, Hillman and the Fighters coaches went to another field and the former infielder hit fungoes for a few minutes to those coaches, apparently as a way to get some of his strategies across on defending the bunt and on pickoff plays to second base....A Chunichi Dragons spokesman said that the team and Kevin Millar are headed for court unless he accepts their terms to settle the matter between them. Club officials say that the negotiations are moving in a "positive direction" and a resolution could be reached before the week is out. However, Millar's father, said to be a Vietnam veteran, is reported to be very much against his son going to Japan due to tensions with North Korea. I guess you could call that the "Kim Jong-il made me do it defense" ....Reliever Marc Valdes had his first bullpen session for the Dragons Tuesday, throwing 32 pitches....Kintetsu Buffaloes closer Akinori Otsuka continues to keep his team waiting on his possible future. There is still no definite date as to when he will report for spring training....Seibu rookie Ryutaro Doi has been in the pen the last three days working on changes to his motion so that he doesn't tip off his pitches....Who is going to replace Kazuo Matsui once the shortstop makes for MLB? It may be Hiroyuki Nakajima, a 20 year old who was originally drafted as a pitcher out of Itami Northern High School. Nakajima is well regarded by MLB scouts as well and he reportedly has a quicker first step than Little Matsui on defense....Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine dropped by the Orix camp today and revealed that Onoyama Stadium is going to be renovated in the hopes of luring pro teams into doing occasional regular season games there....Yomiuri first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara will be held out of intrasquad games and may be consigned to either DH or pinch hitting duty when the until at least halfway through March after the exhibition schedule kicks off due to the snail's pace of his recovery from a severe hamstring injury he suffered last season. This is a little bit like what Edgar Martinez suffered through.
Today's Pictures
Kazuhiro Sasaki Kisses Son Shogo Goodbye Before Flying to the U.S.
Bobby Rose Shows off a Tattoo on His Bicep
Trey Hillman Gets Swarmed by Fans
Rodney Pedraza: Are Spitball Charges All Wet?
Man Tries to Keep Memory of Japan's First Baseball Team Alive
See story at: Asahi Shimbun Article>
Interesting Mix of Foreign Players and Coaches This Season
See story at: Japan Times Article
