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.