Dead Ball (JPN Baseball Thread)

[Bucky]

After an 0 for 20 slump and basically losing his starting job to Jeff Keppinger, Kazuo Matsui was released by the Astros on Wednesday.

sayonara

[TennoChinko]

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_15158127

[SIZE="3"]Ex-Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu arrested in Gardena on suspicion of DUI[/SIZE]

By Denise Nix Staff Writer
Posted: 05/24/2010 06:20:14 PM PDT


[SIZE="1"]The booking photo of former Major League Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu, arrested in Gardena for allegedly driving while intoxicated.[/SIZE]


[SIZE="1"]New York Yankees' starting pitcher Hideki Irabu delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a June 1998 game at Yankee Stadium in New York. (Henny Ray Abrams/AFP/Getty Images)[/SIZE]


Former Major League Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu, a one-time rising star from Japan, was arrested in Gardena for allegedly driving while intoxicated, police said Monday.

Irabu, 41, of Rancho Palos Verdes was stopped for a possible traffic violation about 1:30 a.m. May 17 in the 3100 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard, according to Lt. Steven Prendergast.

He was booked just after 2 a.m. and released around 10:30 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail, according to Sheriff's Department jail records.

Irabu was booked on a possible misdemeanor, but a decision on whether or what charges will be filed will come in about a month, Prendergast added.

Known infamously as the player called a "fat pus-y toad" by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for shirking his duties during a spring training game, Irabu pitched in the major leagues from 1997 to 2002.

He came to the United States with great promise after eight exceptional years in Japan. But he didn't live up to his reputation, and his professional

career was cut short after stints with the Yankees, Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers.
Last year, he signed with the Golden Baseball League's Long Beach Armada, an independent professional organization.

According to a news release issued in April 2009, Irabu returned to Japan and continued to play until he was sidelined by a knee injury.

The Long Beach Armada has suspended operations, according to its website.

Kevin Outcoult, commissioner for the Golden Baseball League, said Irabu left the Armada after half a season to return to Japan, but he doesn't believe Irabu is currently signed with any team.

Contact information could not be found for Irabu or his agent.

denise.nix@dailybreeze.com

[Behan]

[Bucky]

Looks like Iwamura will get in on the last 20 games or so of the season.

Akinori Iwamura will sign with the Oakland Athletics for the remainder of the season, the free agent infielder said Sunday.

Iwamura, who was cut loose by the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, will join up with the team in time for Oakland's game against the Kansas City Royals on Monday, putting him in the same division as Japanese superstars Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels' Hideki Matsui.

The Athletics are trying to fill the gap left open by third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is out with a lower back injury.

The 31-year-old Iwamura has played third as well as second base during his four seasons in the majors, and his high on-base percentage (OBP) is believed to be an attractive point for Oakland general manager Billy Beane.
Iwamura has batted .270 with an OBP of .347 during his big-league career.

Oakland is second in the AL West with 20 games left in the season, 8.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. The Athletics are way out of the wild card race, 15 games off the pace of the Tampa Bay Rays -- Iwamura's former team before he was traded to the Pirates this past offseason.

His 2009 season was cut short in May when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, and played in just 54 games with Pittsburgh, batting .182, before he was optioned to Triple A Indianapolis in June.

After being let go by the Pirates, Iwamura said he was keeping all career options open, including returning to Japan, where he played for the Yakult Swallows from 1997 to 2006.

[Bucky]

[Greji]

Any scouting reports on this guy?

The press tried to make him into Japan's and Rakuten's Ace after his good performance in the WBA, but he's not really of that class. He's got very good breaking stuff, that he keeps low and changes speeds quite well. His problem is he doesn't have a power pitch and with lower velocity, he has to depend on control. When his control is on he is a decent pitcher. When he's off, or leaves a pitch up, they tend to bounce off the upper deck, or land in the left field parking lot. He could make a 2-3 inning relief specialist. I don't think he can start in the show....
JMHO

[Behan]

[Bucky]

The news drifted out of Japan Monday, and figures to jump-start the Hot Stove League -- right-handed pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, considered the second-best pitcher in Japan behind Yu Darvish, has been posted. That means all 30 MLB teams have until Friday to submit their sealed bids for the right to negotiate with Iwakuma, who played for the Rakuten Golden Eagles

Let the bidding begin.

[IkemenTommy]

Let the bidding begin.

If I were Iwakuma, I would rather play for the shittiest team in the MLB like the Detroit Tigers than for the Rakuten Eagles.

[Bucky]

If I were Iwakuma, I would rather play for the shittiest team in the MLB like the Detroit Tigers than for the Rakuten Eagles.

Well he may just get his chance. Scuttlebutt has it that the lowly Mariners may be interested. Believe you me, the Mariners Suck big time and only the Pirates prevented them from being THE worst team in MLB.

[IkemenTommy]

Well he may just get his chance. Scuttlebutt has it that the lowly Mariners may be interested. Believe you me, the Mariners Suck big time and only the Pirates prevented them from being THE worst team in MLB.

There was a team that sucked harder than Rakuten and that was the Yokohama Baystars. The Bay Stars have to really try hard to be that mediocre.

I can see the Mariners picking him up but don't they already have a Japanese pitcher in their bullpen?

[Bucky]

There was a team that sucked harder than Rakuten and that was the Yokohama Baystars. The Bay Stars have to really try hard to be that mediocre.

I can see the Mariners picking him up but don't they already have a Japanese pitcher in their bullpen?

Nope Ichiro is flying solo these days. They once had Shigetoshi Hasegawa in addition to Kaz Sasaki who was closing. However, after dumping Johjima last year Ichiro has been the token Nipponjin. If you want to get into the Wayback Machine you might recall Mak Suzuki as their first Japanese import in the 90's. Mak Suzuki's biggest claim to fame in Seattle was crashing his Hummer in front of the Kingdome one day.

[Bucky]

[Mulboyne]

AP: Japanese translators handle more than just words in baseball

[Greji]

AP: Japanese translators handle more than just words in baseball

It might be of interest to Sumo fans (and Yank fgs) that the former Japanese interpreter for the Yankees, Yumi Watanabe, is the son of "Jessie" Takamiyama of Sumo fame......

[Mulboyne]

[Bucky]

[Bucky]

[Greji]

YIKES!! Dice K is wearing his welcome quite thin these days:



more

He sounds like a doomsday writer for Japanese players. I would take exception to his comment that "Kaz Ishii stunk". Ishii had a 4.28 era for three years with the Dodgers and won close to 40 games while losing about 25. He was 14 and 9 one year with 143 whiffs. I don't think that writer could have that kind of season. You may recall that Ishii almost ate a line drive that ended up almost blinding him and he never came back strong in MLB. He was throwing reasonably well for the Lions through last year and he far from stunk back then and even now.

[Pearse]

You may recall that Ishii almost ate a line drive that ended up almost blinding him and he never came back strong in MLB. ....

That was a nasty hit he took. I give him credit for ever playing again.

[canman]

There were reports that the Eagles Iwakuma was posted by the Oakland A's but that they didn't really offer him a contract that he felt he was due or in good faith, and that they only wanted to prevent him from joining another team. But with the track record of most Japanese pitchers in the majors, I would think twice about offering a big contract to one of these guys.
I know lots of teams are salivating over Darvish, but I wonder what will happen with him.
What ever happened to the phenom from Hanamaki Higashi Takeshi Kikuchi, who was going to join the Atlanta Braves, but his coach pressured him to stay in Japan and then was picked by Seibu. I haven't heard a peep about him.

[nikoneko]

[Greji]

There were reports that the Eagles Iwakuma was posted by the Oakland A's but that they didn't really offer him a contract that he felt he was due or in good faith, and that they only wanted to prevent him from joining another team. But with the track record of most Japanese pitchers in the majors, I would think twice about offering a big contract to one of these guys.

The attempt to block him from other teams was a J-media blow hard story to show how good their J-pitcher was and that he was "another" threat to MLB. It was even picked up as a story by some hard hit sports writers in the states. The truth was that even though he was good enough to qualify for a posting, he wasn't good enough for the amount he was seeking in a contract.

I know lots of teams are salivating over Darvish, but I wonder what will happen with him.

He is of interest. However, with the injuries he had the year before last and to some extent, last year, worring prospective teams and the fact he doesn't want to sign a contract until he's free of his wife, the interest from MLB continues. I do think they they seem to be worried about his physical condition.

What ever happened to the phenom from Hanamaki Higashi Takeshi Kikuchi, who was going to join the Atlanta Braves, but his coach pressured him to stay in Japan and then was picked by Seibu. I haven't heard a peep about him.

He actually wanted to go to the Dodgers and they were interested in him, before the coach and former team mates talked him out of it. The LAD scout in Japan, Kojima Keiichi had followed him all through HS. But like so many other rookie pictchers coming off a long HS season with massive amounts of innings pitched through Koshien, they immediately burnt him up in spring training. He has been on and off the DL because of injuries every since.

[Pearse]

[Greji]

I remember seeing Matsui Hideki do that when he was with the Yankees.

Actually, it's happened more than a few times. These guys play ball around 150 days a year (or more) and it's easy to see where they can make a mistake sooner, or later....

[AssKissinger]

[Mike Oxlong]

Kei Igawa: The Lost Yankee
via NYT

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Kei Igawa: The Lost Yankee
via NYT

He gets paid $4 a year to do nothing and still doesn't bother trying to learn Engrish?

Hope he gets another chance, though....

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Kei Igawa: The Lost Yankee
via NYT

He gets paid $4 million a year to do nothing and still doesn't bother trying to learn Engrish?

Hope he gets another chance, though....

[matsuki]

He gets paid $4 a year to do nothing and still doesn't bother trying to learn Engrish?

He must some sort of anomoly because I am reminded everyday that "Japanese baseball is #1 of the world!"