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02/07/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Yokohama Gets Good Woods"
Woods Drills Eye Opening Tape Measure Shot
Yokohama Bay Stars infielder Tyrone Woods made jaws drop in batting practice today when he unloaded on a pitch from second year hurler Yuji Hata and propelled it 540 feet over the 33 foot centerfield scoreboard and completely out of Ginowan Municipal Stadium in batting practice today. Woods, who did 174 pieces of yardwork with the Doosan Bears over five seasons, said that it didn't surprise him even though he isn't in top form yet. He also revealed that he tries to always go with the pitch.
Stars manager Daisuke Yamashita averred that he had never seen anyone do what Woods, who can reportedly bench press upwards of 350 pounds, did at this particular ballpark. Pity then that Woods may not even make the team since Yokohama already has Steve Cox and three foreign starting pitchers. But if Woods keeps that up, he could snag an outfield berth and one of the pitchers may end up being consigned to the minors.
Millar Admits Signing Fax, But Not "Formal Contract"
According to Sports Nippon, Kevin Millar says that he did sign a fax agreeing to the terms under which the Chunichi Dragons wanted to sign him, but he insists he did not formally put his signature on a formal contract. This contradicts a statement by the Dragons front office that asserts the former Marlin signed a Japanese player's agreement.
Millar also indicated that he plans to issue a public apology to Chunichi and that he "isn't a weird American" for not wanting to go to Japan when the U.S. is on the brink of war. Yeah, instead it makes him look chickens*it.
In Japanese culture, a formal apology can make up for a multitude of sins and most Japanese are averse to fighting things out in court. Chunichi's posture, though, if Japanese press reports are to be believed, is that they are gearing up for a court battle. They reiterated once more that they will not release Millar and will continue to hold on to him, presumably until he reports or until the length of the contract ends. The Dragons will not post him, according to Sankei Sports. Team owner Shirai, who just flew into Okinawa to visit the Dragons camp, made a statement today that seemed to indicate a hard stance by the Nagoya outfit: "as are the terms of the contract, it is 100% he cannot play in America. We have no intention of tearing up the contract."
The main question will be, then, that barring Millar signing something other that fax that could be binding, is his signature on the fax legally binding? Different states have different regulations. Some, such as California, hold that even oral agreements are enforceable while others do not. If this falls under the jurisdiction of the federal courts, they also have their own regulations. However, that could be moot. If MLB says that contract is in force, as long as MLB hasn't violated any laws in making that determination, Millar could be tied up anyway.
Incidently, Dragons president Junnosuke Nishikawa has ordered negotiator Mitsuo Kodama to come home and not talk to Millar anymore, even if the Bosox wannabe calls.
MLB vice president Sandy Alderson said that he couldn't blame the Red Sox for what they did. Is this guy for real? You mean setting off a chain of events that embarrassed both MLB as well as its players and created friction with the Japan leagues at a time when MLB is attempting to mine the Japanese market is okay? Geez, has this guy mindmelded with the clueless Bud Selig? That's insane! Therefore, Alderson gets the far less than coveted Moron of the Day Award.
So let's get out the scorecard and see where MLB stands right now: an ex-player arrested for drug use, two umps suspended for saying things they shouldn't have, and the Millar matter. Hardly an auspicious start to a new season.
Carp Pitcher's Hotel Room Invaded
According to Sankei Sports, Hiroshima Carp pitcher Masato Kawano was sleeping in his hotel room Wednesday evening when two women in their 20's snuck entered through the unlocked door, woke him up, and demanded that he kiss them. No other details as to what happened were given, but security at the hotel has been beefed up.
The incident apparently had an impact on Kawano's bullpen session today, as his pitches displayed little zip or movement.
I wonder what the Japanese equivalent of "baseball Annie" is. "Yakyu Keiko?" If anybody knows, please write in.
Hot Shots....
The Yankees have signed former Orix DH Fernando Seguignol....Matt Olkin at USA Today projects: "put [Hideki Matsui] down for a Carlos Delgado- type year"....Olkin also had a look at Cubs rookie Hee-seop Choi and offered, "Big, powerful and patient, with nothing left to prove at Triple-A. The only one standing in his way is Eric Karros" ....Bobby Valentine on Baseball Tonight? Now it will be interesting to see who people hate more: him or the uber-arrogant Rob Dibble....According to Sports Nippon, the Yankees will send some of their security staff to Tampa on the 10th with Hideki Matsui to act as his bodyguards, something which, club security chief Jerry Lebroni (I think that I probably got the last name wrong, so if anyone knows this person's real last name, email me) a former L.A. County Sherriff's deputy, states they have never done for any other player in team history. Lebroni even acted as Godzilla's driver when he had to go take care of matters such as getting a social security card. Matsui's reaction? He felt incredibly honored. He also met another Yankees acquisition, Jose Contreras, today after a two hour workout at Yankee Stadium. "He told me I was famous, even in Cuba," Matsui disclosed. "But I wonder if that is really true".... Unfortunately, Matsui will not be participating for the Japanese olympic tream at Athens in 2004, as Yankees GM Brian Cashman issued a firm no on that possibility today....Yokohama first baseman Steve Cox said that he was tired today since he is still getting used to the pace of Japanese workouts and that it lead to some bad habits in the batting cage, especially pulling off the ball....Stars rookie infielder Shuichi Murata was impressive in the cage, hammering five in a row over the fence and 15 overall in 48 swings....According to Sports Nippon, Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta has been made captain of the Japanese olympic baseball squad by manager Shigeo Nagashima. The paper, though, brought up a problem with the nomination in that Furuta takes occasional painkilling and cortisone, a steroid, injections for his bad knees. He will have to deal with that issue in order to participate at Athens. Nagashima also announced that he will visit the Yankees spring training camp in Tampa at the end of the month. For you sportswriters out there, Nagashima was offered a job with the Dodgers by Walter O'Malley during spring training of 1961. Might make an interesting article for one of you since he could have been the first Japanese player to come to MLB. I trust that the Yankees will roll out the red carpet for Japan's Mr. Baseball ....Nagashima was at the Kintetsu camp today and spent time giving hitting tips to rightfielder Koichi Isobe and centerfielder Naoyuki Omura. Nagashima also looked at pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma's bullpen session and said Iwakuma could win in double figures with his stuff....Swallows number one choice Yuhei Takai was able to jump back into the bullpen today after taking a couple of days off from a mnor leg complaint, throwing 67 pitches and saying he feels better. Furuta evaluated that Takai has some balance issues and needs to take his time delivering the ball. A Chunichi Dragons scout nonetheless said he was impressed with the session....Todd Betts delighted manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu with his glove work around the first base bag during a simulated game to the point where he said that Betts could also be used at third.... Yomiuri first baseman Roberto Petagine said today that he wants to be pitched tough in intrasquad games so that he can get ready for what he'll face during the regular schedule. When Petagine was with Yakult, Yomiuri had some success pitching him up and in with heat and then down and away with forkballs and changeups, but he hit .300 against them with seven homers anyway. Petagine clobbered six homers in 65 swings in batting practice today....Special batting instructor Futoshi Nakanishi worked with second baseman Toshihisa Nishi and catcher Shinnosuke Abe on how they use their back feet when they start their swing....Reliever Cory Bailey got in his first bullpen stint of the spring and revealed to reporters that he doesn't know what his fastball will do one moment to the next due to the movement he gets on it.Lotte intended that ace Tomohiro Kuroki would start their first intrasquad game on the 13th. However, Kuroki doesn't think he's in game shape yet and that put the kabosh on that idea. Kuroki had a video camera shoot his 73 pitch bullpen session, which included 20 curve balls, today so that he can check his mechanics. Lotte coaches allowed that they won't make Kuroki do anything he doesn't want to....2000 olympic marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi visited the Lotte camp today and presented manager Koji Yamamoto and his players with boxes of chocolate....Chunichi manager Hisashi Yamada visited the team's minor league camp in Yomitan, Okinawa and liked what he saw from number one draft choice Ryosuke Morioka and Brazil-born number three choice Yoshimi Sakurai. Sakurai blasted a shot completely out of the ballpark and 12 homers in all during his hitting session, causing Yamada to exclaim, "his horsepower is at a different level from the other players and definitely not high school level." Overall, "they were good. This blows away the Millar problem for me," Yamada commented.... Dragons starter Kenta Asakura is working on a two seam fastball....Infielder Masahiro Araki was hand timed at 5.7 seconds for 50 meters, which is flying. Just a word Araki-san: bunt.... Reliever Daisuke Yamai threw 129 pitches in the bullpen.... Righthander Kenjiro Kawasaki threw 61 pitches in the bullpen, but says that he is only at about 50-60% of his ability. He had no pain afterward, but he wasn't happy with his performance....An official from Yokohama's player personnel department was watching Hanshin lefty Kei Igawa's throwing session today and said he thinks Igawa can win 20 games. He is also working on improving his curve ball, which to date has been confined to being a "show me" pitch, to add to his slider, fastball and changeup. Igawa will pitch opening day against the Stars....Hideki Irabu had a check up today and no abnormalities were found, though elbow discomfort caused Irabu to miss a bullpen session. So instead, the big jellyfish did some legwork and "shadow pitching," where he goes through his pitching form without the ball to maintain his mechanics....Tigers centerfielder Osamu Hamanaka banged 29 homers in 66 batting practice swings, including a 455 footer off of the railing at the rear of the leftfield seats. It would also appear that leftielder Tomoaki Kanemoto is going to get his wish to hit third, as hitting instructor Koichi Tabuchi said that he would now like Hamanaka to occupy the cleanup role with Kanemoto ahead of him....Over at the Kintetsu camp, reliever Akira Okamoto had a bullpen workout in preparation for perhaps eventually being handed the closer's job if Hamlet, er, Akira Otsuka, decides to not show up....Hiroshima starters Hiroki Kuroda and Shinji Sasaoka had their first bullpen sessions of the spring. Sasaoka ran 80 pitches up to the plate while Kuroda did the same with 50 deliveries. Kuroda said he didn't have any feel for his pitches this time out and plans to cure that with more throwing....There is a winning bid for pitcher Ramon (not Emilio, as I had written earlier) Ramirez, who was posted by the team. Ramirez' new club is unannounced, but the amount that got him was $300,050....Daiei Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh provided some individual instruction to infielder Bryant Nelson, who, Oh feels, moves both his upper and lower bodies at the plate. So while Nelson hit off of a tee, Oh sat behind Nelson and shouted instructions at him. Nelson enjoyed the tutoring session....Brandon Knight threw 30 pitches during batting practice today for the Hawks, all fastballs....Hayato Terahara is experiencing discomfort in his leg and has been told to rest it for three days....By the way, the Japanese press thinks that Nelson resembles Eddie Murphy, but I don't see it....Pacific League Chairman Koike is touring the PL spring camps right now....Daiei pitcher Kazumi Saito hurt his right shin during workouts today, but it's nothing serious....Nippon Ham outfielder Angel outfielder worked on hitting breaking balls to the opposite field today, peppering shots all over the field....Orix southpaw Masahiko Kaneda threw 83 pitches in the bullpen today and said that he is at about 60-70% of regualr season shape....Nippon Ham manager Trey Hillman gave the first week of his first Japanese spring training "100 out of 100."
Today's Pictures
Tyrone Woods' Favorite Tune? Long Stick Goes Boom of Course!
Woods Shows Where the Power Comes From
Shuichi Murata in Batting Practice
Hiroki Kokubo at the Plate in Workouts
Brandon Knight Concentrates on His Delivery
Masahiko Kaneda Gets in Some Throwing
Kenta Asakura Displays Intensity
Kei Igawa Looking Toward Opening Day
Will Somebody Here Tell the Truth?
Most of the reports that I've given on the Kevin Millar matter have been out of the Japanese press, Now why is the NY Times saying almost the complete opposite of what the sports dailies in Japan are? See story at: NY Times Article
See related story at: Hartford Courant Article
Queensland Wins Australian Under 16 Baseball Tourney
See story at: Redland Bayside Bulletin
Torre: It Will be a Tough Adjustment for Matsui
See story at: Syracuse Post Standard Article
Yankees are Fiscally Responsible
See story at: Sporting News Article
One Day Cricket Matches Inspired by U.S. Baseball
See story at: Hindustan Times Article
Globalization, Japan, and Sports
See story at: Pop Matters Article
Off Topic: Asian-Americans Rally Around Yao Ming
See story at: Associated Press Article
