Dead Ball (JPN Baseball Thread)

[Gilligan]

Turns out that the federal prosecutors have said that there was a typo on the documents they filed and that the positive test they refer to was the one previously reported, that of November 2000, and not a second failed test.

Sorry about that.

[GuyJean]

[Gilligan]

I know the games don't count yet, but Ichiro's 0 for 21 so far this spring.

[Greji]

I know the games don't count yet, but Ichiro's 0 for 21 so far this spring.

I think he has surpassed that now, but what I have seen shown on TV, he's getting the bat on the ball. It's not like he's missing everything they throw at him, they'll start following in for him pretty soon.
IMHO

[Behan]

Ichiro seems to sometimes be a slow starter. In at least a couple of seasons his batting average wasn't so high early on but then he went on hitting sprees and brought it way up. I think so, anyway.

[GuyJean]

I know the games don't count yet, but Ichiro's 0 for 21 so far this spring.

0 for 24.. Why give away your ancient Japanese secrets on games that don't count?

GJ

[kamome]

Did you guys see Akinori Iwamura of the Devil Rays get nailed by that Yankee player who slid into second spikes high? Fuckin' Yankees.

[GuyJean]

Did you guys see Akinori Iwamura of the Devil Rays get nailed by that Yankee player who slid into second spikes high? Fuckin' Yankees.

Yep.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?video=200803122423483

And in spring training?..

GJ

[Gilligan]

Did you guys see Akinori Iwamura of the Devil Rays get nailed by that Yankee player who slid into second spikes high? Fuckin' Yankees.

Give the Yankee (Spencer Duncan) a break--he was just frustrated that the Emperor's Club had been busted

No, seriously, it was payback because a couple of days ago a Devil Ray had bowl over one of the Yankees' catchers resulting in the cather breaking his wrist. Gerardi (and many of the Yankees, especially Duncan) were pissed off saying that the Devil Ray shouldn't have done that in a spring training game.

[Greji]

[quote="Gilligan"]Give the Yankee (Spencer Duncan) a break--he was just frustrated that the Emperor's Club had been busted ]

Well, I think he definitely got Akichan's attention on the play!

[Behan]

Just to be annoying, the Devil Rays are no longer Devils, but just Rays. They dropped the devil from their names.

[kamome]

[quote="Gilligan"]Give the Yankee (Spencer Duncan) a break--he was just frustrated that the Emperor's Club had been busted ]

I know it was payback, but unjustifiably out of proportion. Spikes to the groin? C'mon!

[Greji]

I know it was payback, but unjustifiably out of proportion. Spikes to the groin? C'mon!

Hey, don't complain Bird! I know a place in Akasaka that you gotta lay out some heavy dust to get that kinda service.....

[kamome]

I have a feeling the Yankees will be even more despised under Joe Girardi.

[Greji]

I have a feeling the Yankees will be even more despised

Impossible. No lower rating exists!

[Behan]

I once watched a Yankees-Indians game in Cleveland's old stadium out in the outfield and when the Yankee fans cheered a good played Indians fans started hurling food, newspapers, etc. at them.
Right at that moment I decided I wouldn't be a Yankee fan.

[ttjereth]

I once watched a Yankees-Indians game in Cleveland's old stadium out in the outfield and when the Yankee fans cheered a good played Indians fans started hurling food, newspapers, etc. at them.
Right at that moment I decided I wouldn't be a Yankee fan.

Would have made me decide not to be an Indian's fan...

[kamome]

Impossible. No lower rating exists!

You're probably right. On the flip side of the coin, I think all of us FG's now are obligatory Dodgers fans.

[ttjereth]

You're probably right. On the flip side of the coin, I think all of us FG's now are obligatory Dodgers fans.

Brooklyn?

I'm more of a Philadelphia Atheltics man myself...

[Taro Toporific]

[kamome]

Lowell: We won't go to Japan if staff doesn't get paid
Boston Globe / March 19, 2008 10:15 AM
FORT MYERS, Fla. &#8211]....[/URL]

Mike Lowell is a class act. If Varitek weren't catching for the team, I think he would be a great candidate to get the captain's "C" on his uniform.

[Bucky]

Maybe the Red Sox won't even go??

Valentine: MLB in Tokyo timing 'ludicrous' for Japanese baseball


March 19, 2008
CBSSports.com wire reports

TOKYO -- Bobby Valentine has nothing against the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics opening Major League Baseball's 2008 season in Japan. It's just the timing of it he can't understand.

The former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager will be on the bench as his Chiba Lotte Marines take on Sadaharu Oh's Softbank Hawks in Fukuoka just as the Red Sox and A's meet at Tokyo Dome next week in their MLB season opener.

Few people are better qualified to comment on the merits of Japanese and American baseball than Valentine, who believes Japan is selling itself short by hosting MLB games while launching its own season.

"I hope the Red Sox and A's have a great time here and I'm sure everyone will enjoy it but it's ludicrous that our games will be going on at the same time," Valentine said. "The timing is a mistake and I guess that's something that slipped through the cracks when they were planning the schedules."

With all the fanfare surrounding the arrival in Japan of the World Series champions Boston and their Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, the opening of Japan's professional baseball season on March 20 seems like an afterthought.

Not for Valentine.

Entering his sixth season as manager of the Marines, Valentine is as big a booster of Japanese baseball as he is of his own team and thinks the game here is letting the major leagues steal the spotlight on its home turf.

"The (Japanese) players are proving that the talent level here is on par with Major League Baseball but the Japan Professional Baseball business model is lagging behind," said Valentine.

Valentine has 1,117 wins over 15 seasons as a manager in the majors with the Rangers and Mets.

He led the Marines to the Japan Series championship in 2005 and the team has been a contender ever since.

He is one of three American managers in Japanese baseball this season. The others are Terry Collins with the Orix Buffaloes and Marty Brown with the Hiroshima Carp.

After winning the Japan Series, Valentine proposed his team take on the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox in a seven-game series in Hawaii.

Major League Baseball, which was getting set to launch the 2006 World Baseball Classic, balked at the idea but it's one Valentine is still passionate about.

Off the field, Valentine has done everything he can to help promote Japanese baseball and his club does a better job than most teams in Japan of getting more fans out to the ballpark.

The dual challenge of getting his team to the Japan Series and helping to invigorate the game in Japan is something that appeals to the 57-year-old Valentine, who could have made himself available for consideration for several major league jobs during the offseason including the chance to manage the New York Yankees.

But he chooses to stay in Japan.

"I love the Lotte organization," Valentine said Tuesday. "I love the direction the team is going in and I love my life here in Japan on and off the field."

[Greji]

The players' association just send out a flyer that they were opening an inquiry as to why Barry Bonds had not been signed by any clubs yet!

[Gilligan]

The players' association just send out a flyer that they were opening an inquiry as to why Barry Bonds had not been signed by any clubs yet!

Good thing they have a union to protect the helpless players who are powerless to look after themselves.

It was one thing back in the late '80s when the owners colluded to bring down the price of free agents. In that case the collusion had an actual impact on a number of players' salaries, and, had the union not intervened, it would have had an impact on the salaries of all future free agents.

In this case, they're supposed to have colluded for what purpose? To bring down the salary of all current and future players named Barry Bonds? I guess Donald Fehr must be bored.

[Greji]

In this case, they're supposed to have colluded for what purpose? To bring down the salary of all current and future players named Barry Bonds? I guess Donald Fehr must be bored.

I don't follow your point Gil? What has Barry Bonds done illegal? Nothing yet, his case is still in court.

They are asking why the all time home run leader and a tremendous fan draw is not being signed? It is in fact odd. Most teams will jump at a chance to get someone like Bonds on contract. Even if it's only for part of a season, just a chance to get him in their uniform is a marketing premium for a longtime into the future.

I think the players association/retired association is right on top here and should determine if there is something funny going on here. Are they recreating the policy of the old days of banning certain ballplayers without due process, or if management somewhere just don't like them?

[ttjereth]

I don't follow your point Gil? What has Barry Bonds done illegal? Nothing yet, his case is still in court.

They are asking why the all time home run leader and a tremendous fan draw is not being signed? It is in fact odd. Most teams will jump at a chance to get someone like Bonds on contract. Even if it's only for part of a season, just a chance to get him in their uniform is a marketing premium for a longtime into the future.

I think the players association/retired association is right on top here and should determine if there is something funny going on here. Are they recreating the policy of the old days of banning certain ballplayers without due process, or if management somewhere just don't like them?

I don't see where Gilligan said he did anything illegal, I think he's just questioning the whole inquiry thing. (seriously though Bonds=guilty )

If it's not a case of some shadowy order coming down from on high not to sign Bonds but rather just that nobody wants to sign Bonds (far more likely I think), is the association now going to try and force someone to sign him?

The whole steroid thing isn't exactly Bonds' only problem, he's had plenty of problems with coaches and teammates and such in the past, and with current circumstances I can't imagine too many teams would think signing him would be in their best interest.

There's a reason you get a 115,000 results when searching for "Barry Bonds jerk" on google

[Gilligan]

I don't follow your point Gil? What has Barry Bonds done illegal? Nothing yet, his case is still in court.

They are asking why the all time home run leader and a tremendous fan draw is not being signed? It is in fact odd. Most teams will jump at a chance to get someone like Bonds on contract. Even if it's only for part of a season, just a chance to get him in their uniform is a marketing premium for a longtime into the future.

I think the players association/retired association is right on top here and should determine if there is something funny going on here. Are they recreating the policy of the old days of banning certain ballplayers without due process, or if management somewhere just don't like them?

By most teams, you mean who exactly?

The Red Sox? With Ortiz at DH and Ramirez in left, no need for Bonds.

The Yankees? With Matsui in left and Giambi/Abreu at DH, no need for Bonds.

My be-loved Orioles? Why would a team that is in the middle of a re-building project consider signing a&#12288]to consider[/I] Bonds is a team that has money to burn, is a potential contender, and needs a LF-DH. And then they have to be comfortable with his attitude, any possible health problems, and the media circus that will ensue. Name that team.

In fact, Bonds may very well find himself under contract at some point this season. But it's more than likely to come in June or July (when a team that finds itself in contention loses its starting LF-DH to injury) than by opening day.

BTW, I don't agree with you that he is necessarily a tremendous fan draw. While highly popular in San Fran, he's highly UNpopular in many other cities. While people may go to the stadium to boo other teams' left fielders, they don't usually go to boo their own left fielder. And that makes it a potential PR disaster, especially at a time when MLB is coming under more and more scrutiny for turning a blind eye to steroids over the years (and while you're right that he hasn't been found guilty in a court of law, in most cities and to most sportwriters, he is the poster boy for steroid abuse). It would take a GM with big brass cojones to pull off that move--and most GMs just don't have them.

[Greji]

By most teams, you mean who exactly? It would take a GM with big brass cojones to pull off that move--and most GMs just don't have them.

Blacklisting is an old trick, although it has to be done carefully now days because of the giving a player legal cause for redress.

It is simply done with a phone call consensus by various GMs. It even involves Japan PB on occasion. The last one I know of first hand from Japan was "Bump" Wills, son of Dodger great Maury Wills. He had received a three year contract at a million per from the old Hankyu Braves (forerunner of Orix). He did two years and essentially quit. Hankyu ended up letting him out of the contract officially, simply because they couldn't use him and the presence of his name precluded them from signing anyone else. The word was sent out on him and he never again was never offered a contract or allowed to play organized ball. The last I heard of him, he was managing in an independent league.

It used to be used more frequently to keep the bad boys in line. i.e. mess with the system or management and you'll never step on the diamond again. A Pro Sports career is a perishable quantity for the individual. He only has a few prime years to play and if he gets caught up in contract kitches, can't get released, or shuttled around, or the ultimate, openly blacklisted, his prime goes by and then he is of no use to anyone and is totally out of work.

You are correct that a lot of people don't like Bonds, but a lot do. He is still capable of hitting the long ball and could probably but up 40+ dingers for a full year. The big thing is that people will come to see him play. Those that love him, come hoping to see him hit a tape measure. Those that hate him will come hoping to see him fall on his ass. Either way he draws a crowd.

Going back to the post, the Players' Association are looking to see if he has been blacklisted, or otherwise denied employment in anyway because of his indictment. They don't want to see this occur as it would set a dangerous precedent for other players. If he is convicted then it can be addressed on the terms of what he has done. It is not about Bonds, as much as it is about how it would effect other players!

[Greji]

By most teams, you mean who exactly? It would take a GM with big brass cojones to pull off that move--and most GMs just don't have them.

Blacklisting is an old trick, although it has to be done carefully now days because of the giving a player legal cause for redress.

It is simply done with a phone call consensus by various GMs. It even involves Japan PB on occasion. The last one I know of first hand from Japan was "Bump" Wills, son of Dodger great Maury Wills. He had received a three year contract at a million per (incidentally, the first of its kind in Japan) from the old Hankyu Braves (forerunner to Orix). He did two years and essentially quit. Hankyu ended up letting him out of the contract officially, simply because they couldn't use him and the presence of his name precluded them from signing anyone else. The word was sent out on him and he never again was offered a contract or allowed to play organized ball at a professional level. The last I heard of him, he was managing in an independent league.

It was formerly used more frequently to keep the bad boys in line. i.e. mess with the system or management and you'll never step on the diamond again. A Pro Sports career is a perishable quantity for the individual. He only has a few prime years to play, so he can be messed with in a lot of ways. If he gets caught up in contract kitches, can't get released, or gets shuttled around to lower level teams in the minors, or the ultimate, openly blacklisted, his prime goes by and then he is of no use to anyone and is forever, totally out of work in the sport.

You are correct that a lot of people don't like Bonds, but a lot do. He is still capable of hitting the long ball and could probably but up 40+ dingers for a full year. The big thing is that people will come to see him play. Those that love him, come hoping to see him hit a tape measure. Those that hate him will come hoping to see him fall on his ass. Either way he draws a crowd.

Going back to the post, the Players' Association are looking to see if he has been blacklisted, or otherwise denied employment in anyway because of his indictment. They don't want to see this occur as it would set a dangerous precedent for other players. If he is convicted then it can be addressed on the terms of what he has done. It is not about Bonds, as much as it is about how it would effect other players!

[GuyJean]

There was some interest by the Ms to get Bonds earlier. It kind of died down though.. I think mixing strong NW coffee with roids wasn't recommended by the players association.

Don't want to change the subject, but has anyone subscribed to MLB TV? Is it worth it in regards to quality?

GJ