Via Mark Feinsand -
In a sign that the Yankees could be involved in some overseas bidding this winter, Gene Michael was sent on a scouting mission to Japan, although it is unclear whether the Yankees have their eye on a particular player.
That Michael was sent to Japan for the first time signifies a shift for the Yankees, who have relied on their Pacific scouts for several years. Following the disastrous signing of Kei Igawa, however, the Yankees aren’t taking any chances, sending one of their most trusted talent evaluators to look at potential acquisitions.
Among the potential free agents is Koji Uehara, a 33-year-old righthander who was Hideki Matsui’s teammate with Yomiuri for four years before the Yankees lured Matsui to New York in 2003.
Uehara, who is 109-61 with a 2.96 ERA since making his debut in 1999, has made it known he intends to pitch in the majors next season. He spent eight seasons as one of the Giants’ top starters before moving into the closer role in 2007, although he is expected to be a starter in the majors.
Two other players who could make the move from Japan to the U.S. are righthander Kenshin Kawakami, a righthanded starter, and Hitoki Iwase, a lefthanded reliever, both of whom play for the Chunichi Dragons.
Kawakami, 33, is 110-72 since 1998, while Iwase, also 33, has saved 180 games in the last five seasons for Chunichi.
Via the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, here’s how every pitcher who was born in Japan and who has pitched in the major leagues, here, has performed through yesterday’s games:
Pitcher RSAA IP Shig. Hasegawa 72 720.1 Takashi Saito 53 184.0 Akinori Otsuka 44 232.0 Tomo Ohka 39 999.0 D. Matsuzaka 38 351.1 Hideki Okajima 31 124.0 Kazuhiro Sasaki 28 223.1 Shingo Takatsu 15 98.2 Masato Yoshii 10 757.2 M. Murakami 4 89.0 Keiichi Yabu 3 117.0 Steve Chitren 2 78.0 T. Kashiwada 0 31.1 Kazuhito Tadano 0 54.1 Craig House -2 13.2 Takahito Nomura -7 13.2 Satoru Komiyama -8 43.1 Mike Nakamura -11 38.1 Mausmi Kuwata -12 21.0 Masao Kida -13 95.2 Kei Igawa -16 71.2 Stephen Randolph -17 153.2 Jeff McCurry -19 128.1 Kazuhisa Ishii -28 564.0 Hideo Nomo -31 1976.1 Hideki Irabu -36 514.0 Mac Suzuki -41 465.2
The odds of the Yankees finding anyone in Japan, who is going to pitch well here, in the long run, are somewhere between slim and none. It’s a shame that they don’t get it.
2 Responses to “Yanks Send Stick To Japan”
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September 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
The odds of the Yankees finding anyone in Japan, who is going to pitch well here, in the long run, are somewhere between slim and none.
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Given your list, it appears they have about a 50% shot.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
It doesn’t hurt to send someone out to take a look. If there’s nothing there, then big deal. There’s no obligation.