Hiroyuki Nakajima
Posted by Steve L. on March 13th, 2013 · Comments (1)
Via Danny Knobler -
When the A’s traded for Jed Lowrie, they didn’t have a full-time position for him. They said he’d play, but they said he might be moving around.
Halfway through spring training, they still don’t know, but now the problem is different.
The problem then: They already had starters at every spot.
The problem now: They don’t like those starters.
A’s people say Japanese free-agent Hiroyuki Nakajima has been so unimpressive at shortstop that they now describe the position as “open.” But they say Scott Sizemore has been equally unimpressive at second base.
When will teams learn to avoid Japanese infielders?
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | From | To | Age | G | PA | SO | SB | CS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadahito Iguchi | 5.4 | 2005 | 2008 | 30-33 | 493 | 2079 | 387 | 48 | 13 | .268 | .338 | .401 |
| 2 | Kazuo Matsui | 4.5 | 2004 | 2010 | 28-34 | 630 | 2555 | 403 | 102 | 18 | .267 | .321 | .380 |
| 3 | Kenji Johjima | 4.5 | 2006 | 2009 | 30-33 | 462 | 1722 | 148 | 7 | 5 | .268 | .310 | .411 |
| 4 | Akinori Iwamura | 4.0 | 2007 | 2010 | 28-31 | 408 | 1755 | 330 | 32 | 16 | .267 | .345 | .375 |
| 7 | Munenori Kawasaki | -0.4 | 2012 | 2012 | 31-31 | 61 | 115 | 18 | 2 | 2 | .192 | .257 | .202 |
| 9 | Norihiro Nakamura | -0.8 | 2005 | 2005 | 31-31 | 17 | 41 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .128 | .171 | .179 |
| 10 | Tsuyoshi Nishioka | -2.5 | 2011 | 2012 | 26-27 | 71 | 254 | 44 | 2 | 4 | .215 | .267 | .236 |
.
I don’t think they’ll ever give up on Japanese infielders, nor should they. If they show talent, they should get a shot.