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02/08/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Cox Out for Month With Knee Injury; Matsui Already Fattening Yanks' Ledger"
Hot Shots....
Notes to U.S. media: one, it is the U.S. federal courts in which Millar may be sued, if it comes to that; secondly, it is TOHO, not Tojo, Pictures that owns the Godzilla franchise. Finally, Matsui is from Neagari-cho, Ishikawa Prefecture, not Kanacawa (I assume they mean Kanazawa), Ishiwaka....Hanshin's minor league team will play Shidax, which is now managed by former Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura, on May 22nd at Naruohama, Hyogo Prefecture....Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 124 pitches in a workout today. The odd thing about it was that he had the catcher sit an extra ten meters (about 33 feet) further back than normal. For a guy who had serious elbow problems last season, that is just dumb and it ain't gonna help him reach his goal of 100mph....Taisei Takagi was worked out at second base again today and reportedly looked rather uncomfrtable there, which is understandable since he is normally a first baseman and a leftfielder. But Takagi believes if he can get used to it and do well at the end of the day there....In a bit of bad news for Yomiuri, slugging first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara has been forbidden to run after experiencing what was termed a "strong twinge" in his rehabbing hamstring. So he spent most of his time in today's practice session stretching and playing catch before hitting 119 balls off of a tee and taking another 50 cuts off of a batting practice pitcher. He then went to a nearby gym and put in some time on an exercise bike and the weights. Utilityman Daisuke Motoki, for the time being, is his replacement, though one would have to question why it isn't Roberto Petagine....Giants legend Shigeo Nagashima watched rookie shortstop Masahiro Nagata and was impressed with his defense, especially his footowork. "He'll be a regular in another 2-3 years," Mr. Giants assessed. And hopefully, they will put him in the minors this year to get him major at bats and to work on hitting breaking stuff down and away, his main weakness. Nagata, who has light tower power and was arguably the premier high school infielder in the world last season, took 54 swings in batting practice and drilled line drives all over the field, though he didn't go yard....Centerfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi reverted back to a leg kick during a batting tee session today, ripping 200 balls. Earlier in the week, to help him with improving his ability to hit breaking balls away, Nagashima had him using a more conventional stride. Nagashima believes that Takahashi, who has been highly evaluated by MLB scouts, is ready to hit his prime and could start racking up some batting and other titles. Takahashi said that he will monkey with a lot of different approaches in an attempt to find his own successful style....From the "not again" department: after being decimated by spring training injuries last season that ultimately resulted in a humiliating last place showing, Yokohama now has to contend with first baseman Steve Cox being out for a month or maybe even two after hurting his knee sliding during a baserunning drill. The problem will require surgery. Hopefully, he will have that surgery done in the U.S. and not in Yokohama, as the report says he will.... Pitcher Domingo Guzman also had a leg malady, as he felt some discomfort in his hamstring and missed a bullpen session as a result....Ex-Bay Star Satoru Komiyama will work as a baseball commentator and do baseball clinics for now to keep money coming in, but has still retained his agent and is hoping he will eventually receive an offer from an MLB team. Given the fact that is unlikely to happen, he is pretty much in forced retirement....Reliever Denny Tomori is working on a sinker this spring ....2000 Sydney Olympic Games marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi went down to the bullpen today and watched Lotte closer Masahide Kobayashi throw. Takahashi said that she hopes her and Kobayashi can bring home some gold medals for Japan in the 2004 Athens olympics....According to Sports Nippon, the Chunichi Dragons are going to bring in former Orioles and Nippon Ham Fighters DH/outfielder Sherman Obando to replace Kevin Millar. The advantage, they feel, to bringing in Obando over the likes of Alex Ochoa is that Obando has already adapted to Japan and will be able to get back in the saddle quicker than someone who has never played there....Reliever Marc Valdes threw to regular backstop Motonobu Tanishige for the first time today. The former Hanshin Tiger offered praise for the way that Tanishige frames pitches and called him the best catcher he saw last season....Former Indian Martin Vargas came out to play for the first time this spring and threw all of his pitches in a 53 delivery performance. He said he's at about 80%....Rookie Yoshimi Sakurai broke three bats during a simulated game today after lighting it up in practice Thursday. Ah, baseball....Kintetsu third baseman Norihiro Nakamura was in the batting cage for 106 swings and nailed 22 out of the field of play, including nine that exited to the opposite field. His longest? a 455 footer to straightaway center....Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta reminded rookie lefty Yuhei Takai today that he needs to focus on his balance when he delivers the ball. Takai, along with diminutive southpaw Masanori Ishikawa and third baseman Akinori Iwamura, then headed for NHK, where they appeared on a program called Show Up Nighter News. Also there was former Yomiuri catcher Dave Okubo, who is now a baseball commentator.... Nobuyuki Ebisu threw 100 pitches in the pen today and Swallows pitching coach Akimitsu Itoh liked what he saw a lot....Ace Kevin Hodges, who lead the CL in HBP last season, said today, "I'll hit more this year," as he threw 40 pitches in a bullpen workout. In addition, he emphasized the importance of getting former teammate Petagine out by throwing inside on. He hopes to lead the league in wins again (he tied for that honor in 2002)....It was a day off over at Nippon Ham's camp, so manager Trey Hillman, his coaching staff and other Fighters employees played some golf (where the former Yankee minor league manager shot a 90) together and had a barbecue. Some idiot reporter from Sports Nippon then put a damper on things by asking about the Columbia shuttle accident. Hillman replied that he would like to do something for the families of the astronauts who died in the accident. Hillman's mother in law died in January, so "I know the pain of losing a loved one." In a humorous incident, a crow stole a ball off of a green that had been hit by a minor league coach named Sugano and dropped it in the woods next to the course. No word if they made him play it from where the crow dropped it or allowed him to replace the ball in its original position....Pitcher Itsuki Shoda ignored the holiday and did some running along the beach for about 40 minutes. He did no throwing, though....Daiei reliever Matt Skrmetta threw 21 pitches in batting practice today, all fastballs. The hitters found themselves getting jammed a lot and pitching coach Obana enthused, "he has a heavy ball. It's like lead"....Rookie southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada complained of discomfort in his right hamstring and was excused from practice. He will throw batting practice Sunday....Hiroshima closer Yasuhiro Oyamada is working on a palm ball. He had an 81 pitch bullpen session today, with ten of those being the palm ball. He got almost no movement on the palm balls he threw, so he still has a long way to go to master it. Maybe he should place a call to former Dodger Pete Mikkelsen....Reliever Alan Newman had his first bullpen action of the spring and tossed 95 pitches. A Yakult scout said that "if he can get it together mentally, he has the ability to be as good as Hodges"....Hideki Matsui worked out indoors today at Yankee Stadium and said that the snow that has been falling in NYC isn't as heavy as that in Kanazawa, but that New York is colder. He also took a walk through Central Park at 10 a.m. this morning. According to Hochi Sports, Matsui's presence is already making itself felt on the Yankees' bottom line, as a Yankees story in Manhattan reports that goods related to the outfielder are outstripping those saleswise of any other player on the club. Assistant Manager Jackie Feinberg is quoted as saying that in the last two weeks, just her shop has sold 200 $90 Matsui uniform tops, "which is an unbelievable amount." The have also sold tons of $20 Matsui t shirts. Feinberg says that most of the buyers for those souvenirs were Japanese. Sales of those items to American fans have been sparse, but Feinberg says sales will pick up among U.S. fans once Matsui begins to make an impact with the Bronx Bombers....Matsui will have a new teammate, as it was the Yankees who won the bidding for Hiroshima Carp hurler Ramon Ramirez....Kazuhiro Sasaki threw 40 pitches at the Mariners' spring training facility in Peoria, Arizona, mainly fastballs, though he also ran some cutters up to the plate. He said that he is modeling his delivery of that pitch after Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and believes he is getting a good break on it.... Hanshin leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto, a notoriously slow starter, launched 29 homers in 90 swings today, including one that travelled an estimated 470 feet, in batting practice. All were to right or rightcenter. He said that he is perhaps getting ready too soon with this performance ....Hideki Irabu was back in the pen for a 65 pitch session as he continues to work on his curve ball. He said he was pleased with how his workout went ....Third baseman Atsushi Kataoka hit off of a tee for 30 minutes working on the movement of his lower body during his swing....Lou Pote, Trey Moore, and Jeff Williams were all in the bullpen today, where special pitching coach Shigeru Sugishita showed him how Kazuhiro Sasaki throws his forkball. Pote, who already throws a splitter, tried it out and got good results in his 66 pitch session. Sugishita said, "toward the end, he really had it sinking." Sasaki's splitter is a little different than, say, Hideo Nomo's in that his will run away from lefthanded hitters as it makes for the dirt while Nomo's goes straight down. Moore, who had knee surgery in the offseason, threw 30 pitches, including his changeup and his sinker. "I was getting better movement that I thought I would," the former Brave enthused. On his knee, Moore, who added some much needed grit to the Tigers staff, revealed that it is just about fully healed, though there is still some residual discomfort. He plans to participate in all the regular team workouts...Taichiro Kamisaka played some shortstop today along with five others who are battling for that job....Kintetsu starter Katsuhiko Maekawa threw a ridiculous 300 pitches in the bullpen today and is already up to 620 for the camp. Maekawa, who stunk last year, might want to leave something for when the regular season starts if he doesn't blow his arm out first....Orix infielder Jose Ortiz sizzled balls all over the lot today in a 118 swing batting session, with eight balls disappearing beyond the fences. The erstwhile Rockie said that he doesn't care where he hits in the order and that being able to play baseball is enough.
Today's Pictures
Naoko Takahashi Gives Some Chocolate Fondue to Masahide Kobayashi
Yoshinobu Takahashi Does the Flamingo
Hideki Matsui Walking Snowy NY Streets
Tomoaki Kanemoto Lowers the Boom
Lou Pote throws a Forkball in the Bullpen With Sugishita Looking On
Millar Matter May Disrupt MLB-NPB Relations
It appears that Millar signed not just one, but TWO documents binding him to the Dragons. The team, AGAIN, said that they would not release him.
Just for fun, the NY Post is positing that if Kevin Millar is posted, the Yankees will step in with a facetiously high bid just to keep the Bosox from obtaining him. Wouldn't that just beat all. Anyway, on to our main feature....
See story at: Boston Globe Article
See related story at: MLB.com Article
See another related story at: Miami Herald Article
NY Matsui Fan Club Rolls Out
See story at: Greenwich Time Article
Yankees Won't Let Matsui Play in the Olympics
See story at: Mainichi Shimbun Article
Driven Former Orix Slugger Jennings Still Seeking MLB Shot
See story at: Florida Today Article
Contreras Avoids Politics at Press Conference
See story at: Canton Repository Article
See related story at: Stamford Advocate Article
