Archived Weblog Entry - 11/17/2003: "Japanese Baseball News: Padres Deny Takatsu Story; Do MLB Teams Really Want Irabu Back?"

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11/17/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Padres Deny Takatsu Story; Do MLB Teams Really Want Irabu Back?"

Team Reports

Hanshin In his last game as a collegian, Waseda University shortstop and soon to be number one Tigers draft choice Takashi Toritani was rendered hitless and he made a big throwing error to the plate in a 7-3 loss to Toa University. This had to be especially disappointing in lieu of his having cracked some knocks Saturday in a Waeseda victory....Second baseman Makoto Imaoka is not taking the news that he may be moved to third very well. He told a Hochi Sports reporter that he has excelled at his position and that he may not do as well at another. Ultimately, this will all hinge on how Toritani does during spring training, which would engender incumbent shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto being sent to second. By the way, Toritani is being given a pass on reporting to the club's rookie camp in January. Manager Akinobu Okada believes that Toritani is disciplined enough and will be ready by the time that spring training begins....The Tigers front office is attempting to flog righthanded sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri in a possible trade with somebody. However, if they are unsuccessful in doing so in the coming days, they will release him outright. Kawajiri wants to pitch in MLB and has pitched pretty well against MLB all star teams in the past. Houston and St. Louis expressed interest in him a couple of years back, but Hanshin wouldn't cut him loose. Now we'll see if they come calling once more....The Tigers, though, did ship mediocre veteran Shinji Taninaka and infielder Hidemitsu Saito to Orix in exhange for outfielder Ikuro Katsuragi, the man who replaced Ichiro in right when the seven time batting champ went to Seattle, and glorified batting practice pitcher Rui Makino. This deal doesn't really help either squad, though Katsuragi probably has the best raw tools of the lot....There is reported interest in Hideki Irabu by the Mets, Rangers and Orioles in Hideki Irabu. Are you kidding me? Any GM that signs the big turkey should be immediately fired. Hanshin has a one year deal on the table, but Irabu doesn't think that they are offering enough cash and so negotiations have broken off.

Yomiuri The Giants are reportedly interested in Samsung sidearming ace Im Chang-yong. Im's fastball tops out at 92mph and he is said to have an excellent slider. During his seven KBO seasons, he has gone 91-47 with 132 saves and has an ERA title and a Fireman of the Year Award under his belt. He had asked to be posted following the end of the 2002 campaign, but Samsung refused. The Giants would use him in middle relief if they sign him. The Mets, Yankees and Dragons are also thought to be looking at Im....Manager Tsuneo Horiuchi may give southtpaw Hiroshi Sato a rotation shot....Likely number two draft choice Tetsuya Utsumi will be allowed to follow his own workout routine during spring training as he rehabs a barking shoulder. Horiuchi commented that if they push too much too soon on him, it might do him in for good.

Yakult According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the soon to be fired Bill Singer (see story below) wasn't aware of Shingo Takatsu, Japan's all time saves leader, a current free agent. And they hired this guy to be their far east expert? I use to really like Singer when he was on the hill for the Dodgers, but it appears that his baseball career is about to be terminated in an ugly way. What a disappointment....In other Takatsu-related news, the Sporting News' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres have no interest in Takatsu, contrary to Japanese press reports....The Swallows may take Komatsu Municipal High School righty Yuji Yamada in the draft, according to Hochi Sports. The 5'11" 182 pounder's heater tops out at around 90mph and accompanies a slider, curve and changeup.

Chunichi 19 year old second year pitcher Masashi Nagamine has gone to a Hideo Nomo-style windup. He asserts that the new motion helps bring his weight through the ball better and improves his arm speed. The Dragons' minor league skipper remarked that it does seemed to have helped the youngster's balance, but that it also brings on fatigue faster, so Nagamine will have to put a lot of conditioning work in.

Hiroshima A grim discovery was made this weekend when a 21 year old man committed suicide at a ballpark in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture the Carp were using for their fall camp workouts. He had hung himself from the back net near the third base dugout by tying a wire to the net and then wrapping it around his neck. Workers at the stadium contacted the ballclub and they moved their workout to another location.

Yokohama Righthander Takashi Saito may be moved to middle relief next season. Manager Daisuke Yamashita isn't sure that Saito's health is stable enough to be counted on to be in the rotation, so he may reassign him to another role. Saito said that he will do whatever Yamashita tells him....The Stars have offered Hanshin free agent lefty Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi a two year contract for about $1.2 million a season plus incentives. Hanshin, in response, says that it will reconsider its offer to the veteran.

Daiei Sports Nippon quoted a team official as insisting that second baseman Tadahito Iguchi will be with the club next season and will not be posted. However, in what was an "amicable" agreement, the Hawks seemed to be leaving open the possibility of posting him after next season. The two sides will meet again after the ballclub returns from Taiwan, so we'll have to see how this all ultimately shakes out.

Seibu The Lions intend to draft ace Daisuke Matsuzaka's brother, an 18 year old righthand hitting outfielder for Tokaidai Gyosei High School. The younger Matsuzaka 6'1" 176 pounds, reportedly has above average speed and a strong throwing arm. He had entered the school as a pitcher, possessing an 88mph fastball. But the coach at Gyosei thought that his talents would be better exploited in the outfield his junior year and so there he went, slugging a total of 15 homers during his schoolboy career....Also on the draft front, Seibu will go to the high school level once more for some pitching, this time being Takahiro Matsukawa, who hails from Osaka Minato High School. A native of Okinawa, he has an 88mph fastball, a curve, forkball, changeup and slider. He will be groomed for the future, as he is still a skinny 5'10" 154 pound 18 year old. He had
originally stated he was going to reject the pros to go to Tohoku Fukushi University, but then changed his mind...The Lions front office is sitting on its hands in terms of personnel moves until it sees what Kazuo Matsui will finally decide. One of the ripple effects of this is that it has put negotiations with third baseman Scott McClain on hold until Matsui pulls the trigger on a move to MLB or to remain in Tokorozawa.

Lotte Manager Bobby Valentine believes that if Koryo High School pitcher Kentaro Nishimura wants to pitch for the Giants and nobody else, then let him. So the club will give up on attempting to sign the righthander. So, even though Valentine liked what he saw on a video of Nishimura, they will now turn their attention to Tatsuya Uchi from Kawasaki Prefecture Kogyo High. Uchi allowed that he will sign with anyone who drafts him....Lotte also announced that new addition Benny Agbayani will wear number 50, which had been worn by 19 year old pitcher Keita Asama. Asama will now take number 13....Former Swallows utilityman Chihiro Hamana has been signed. They will also tryout former Daiei outfielder Motoi Okoshi this coming week.

Nippon Ham Tsuyoshi Shinjo will probably be Hokkaido bound in a deal with the Fighters, according to Sports Nippon. That pact will be worth about $720,000 a year for two seasons plus incentives. His formal signing is expected by the end of the coming week.

Orix Sankei Sports says that the Blue Wave have all but locked up Daiei Hawks free agent outfielder Arihito Muramatsu. He will reportedly earn about $900,000 a year plus incentives for four seasons. Nippon Ham offered slightly more money, but Muramatsu likes the natural turf of Kobe Green Stadium better.

Miscellaneous Arn Tellem is said to be representing Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop. However, MLB teams aren't coming up with the readies that Lee is looking for (only about $1-2 million a year) and there is an outside chance he could end up in Japan. If he stays with Samsung, he would have to play four more years in the KBO before he could once again declare free agency. But staying wouldn't solve his main problem, which is the perception that the Korean circuit is aonly about AA or AAA qualitatively (methinks more the former). So if he doesn't go to MLB, he has to prove himself in Japan or he can forget about going stateside ever. Lee disclosed that there is "no way" he would play in his homeland again before he hangs them up. Orix may be his destination if he sojourns to the Land of the Rising Sun....Japanese high school baseball power Osaka Toin Gakuen High destroyed Mukawa High Sunday in a 36-5 rout, lashing an unbelievable 42 hits, including three homers, to set new prefectural tourney marks....Tohoku High School ace Yu Darvish was reprimanded by the Miyagi Prefecture High School Baseball Federation Sunday for accusing the home plate umpire of not knowing where the strike zone is. "Even if I threw it down the middle, he called it a ball," the lanky likely number one pick in the 2004 draft grumbled after getting hammered for seven runs Saturday. Darvish's coach issued an apology to the federation and said that he would provide more "spiritual guidance" to the youngster so that a repeat of this never happens....Japanese olympic team manager Shigeo Nagashima is hoping that the owners will reconsider only allowing two players per team to participate on that country's contingent to the Athens games.

In the News

Kazuo Matsui a Stronger Ichiro?

See story at: NY Times Article

Hawks Lose to Taiwan Team 8-1

See story at: China Post Article

See related story at: Taipei Times Article

See another related story at: Taipei Times Article

Baseball World Cup Gaining Momentum

See story at: Sports Business News Article

Mets Likely to Fire Singer Over Anti-Chinese Slurs

See story at: USAToday Article

Japanese Official Lobbies Braves to Add Player from Japan