Keith Law:  Red Sox did well by signing Tazawa

Junichi Tazawa has now reportedly signed a term sheet with Boston, meaning that as long as he passes a physical he’ll be a member of the Red Sox. Tazawa apparently turned down more money—perhaps significantly more, depending on where Boston’s final offer landed between $3 million and $6 million—from other clubs, signing with the team that had been scouting him as early as last year.

Signing Tazawa was a no-brainer for the Red Sox. If he was an American college player eligible for next June’s draft, at worst he’d be taken in the top two rounds, and I think it’s likely he’d go in the back half or third of the first round. Boston has to burn a spot on its 40-man roster on him, but they had two spots open already and have at least two or three players they could outright if they need the room.

Keith Law is still free from ESPN Insider, but for how long…

NPB: Darvish Signs for 2009

That’s a lot of ￥u’s.

Yu Darvish has renewed his contract for ￥270m ($2.7m), a ￥70m ($700k) increase over 2008. Although Darvish was expected to hit the ￥300m ($3m) mark, he still set a record high for 5th-year players. “The didn’t win and I didn’t earn any personal titles,” explained Darvish.

NPB players are under team control for a minimum of eight years, and pre-free agent players sign get multi-year contracts (not that I’ve heard of anyway). So each offseason players and teams negotiate salaries for the upcoming season. It’s a little like the arbitration process in MLB, but players’ salaries will decrease after a bad year, and there’s never a third party mediator involved. Players who hold out sometimes pay their own way to spring training.

Boston Globe: Tazawa agrees to 3-year Red Sox contract

Hmm, I wonder if he has the will to learn the gyroball…

According to a baseball source, the 22-year-old Tazawa will arrive in Boston this week after reaching agreement with the Sox on a three-year contract worth roughly $3 million. Tazawa is expected to undergo a physical in the next few days that will allow the sides to clear the final hurdle in negotiations. The Sox hope to officially announce his acquisition by the end of the week.

Though Tazawa was courted by several teams and offered more money by at least one - the Texas Rangers - the pitcher reportedly was interested in pitching for the Sox. Team officials have been scouting Tazawa for more than a year after having made major inroads in the Japan talent pool with the signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima during the 2006-07 offseason.

Despite his having no professional experience in Japan, Tazawa’s deal is a major league contract, meaning he will occupy a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster. Nonetheless, Tazawa is expected to begin his career in the minor leagues, though his ascension to the majors could come rapidly.

Yoshinaga: Yep, There is A Generation Gap

Scroll down the Rafu Shimpo for some primo Yoshinaga.

I bring this up again because I was kind of disappointed when the news about Don Wakamatsu becoming the first Japanese American to gain the title of Manager of a Major League baseball team when the Seattle Mariners hired him to fill the role for the 2009 season, made the media.

The stories about Wakamatsu identi­fied him as the “first Asian American” to be named as a Big League Manager.

I wish he was identified as the “first Japanese American,” instead of “first Asian American.”

It makes me so proud that Wakamat­su was accorded the honor of heading a Big League team.

Perhaps this is because those of us who are older and lived through the crisis of World War II and were the target of racism, gain a sense of pride when a Japanese American accomplishes something that we could never imagine would happen.

When I was discussing the Waka­matsu story with one of my sons, I began to realize this because he said, “What’s the big deal what they call him, Asian American or Japanese American?”

It made me realize that one has to live through something to really un­derstand.

I’m sure that the younger generation have experienced some racism in their lives but how many can say they were tossed out of a restaurant because the owner, “didn’t serve Japs.”

Red Sox Pursuing Junichi Tazawa

Here’s the thing, though: Tazawa has never pitched professionally, so you may not even see him in the majors this year, no matter whose contract he signs. ESPN’s Keith Law ranks Tazawa just 25th among his top 50 free agents, and not even the top Japanese pitcher. That honor goes to 33-year old Koji Uehara, a righty finesse pitcher with lots of experience but some injury history the last two years. Given the right environment, he could be a decent 4th or 5th starter right now, whereas Tazawa will need to prove himself in the minors for a while first.

Tazawa pitched for Nippon Oil in Japan’s corporate league, which is a much bigger deal than it sounds. Japan, like many Asian countries, has an economy dominated by large corporations, and these companies have tens of thousands of employees from which to choose. It might be comparable to the talent level you’d get in a league of NCAA I-AA schools or something like that. Most of the time it’s not worth paying them much attention, but every once in a while a Jim Bunning or Bob Gibson or Eddie Plank comes out of a school like that, so you can’t just write them off.

D-Backs release Japan-bound D’Antona

The Diamondbacks released infielder Jamie D’Antona on Monday so he could sign a professional contract with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Central League.

D’Antona made his major league debut on July 22 in Phoenix, singling in his first career at-bat against the Cubs’ Sean Marshall as a pinch-hitter. He hit .176 (3-for-17) with one RBI in 18 games with the Diamondbacks.

As a team spokesman for Yakult put it, “一発は打てても穴が大きいタイプではなく、打者としてのレベルが高い選手を探している”. Too true.

LEAD: Baseball: Tazawa gets offer from Rangers, nearing decision+

Highly regarded Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa received a lucrative offer from the Texas Rangers on Monday and is expected to decide on his future shortly, his manager said.

Toyota defends baseball title

Yukinaga Tanaka hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning as Toyota Motor took its second consecutive national corporate baseball title with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over Central Japan Railway on Sunday.

Tanaka’s shot to left turned a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead and Toyota added a run in the ninth at Kyocera Dome en route to becoming only the second team to win back-to-back national titles and the first since Sumitomo Metal Industries achieved the feat by winning in 1983 and 1984.

Japan’s beer leagues kick our beer leagues helluva far!

Red Sox Offer Tazawa $6M

Sanspo is reporting that Red Sox VP for international scouting Craig Shipley spent 1 hour 50 minutes negotiating with Junichi Tawaza, resulting in a $6M contract offer. No word on whether it’s a major league deal or not.

He’s apparently a nibbler. Should make Red Sox games even more excruciating to watch.

Kawakami heads questionable Japanese free-agent class

With no stars expected to be posted this winter, just five players have stated their intent to play in the majors. Four are pitchers, including a marginal 39-year-old left-hander and small amateur right-hander Junichi Tazawa.

The safest bet in the group is Chunichi Dragons ace Kenshin Kawakami, 33. He is followed by Yomiuri Giants ace Koji Uehara, also 33, an intriguing right-hander.

“The question is how they’re going to react to pitching every fifth day,” said Marty Brown, who has been managing the Hiroshima Carp since 2006.

Waiting for Darvish: 2008/09 Offseason Edition.

Matsuzaka commits to WBC

The 28-year-old’s signal of intent comes as Japanese officials met on Friday to select staff to assist new national coach Tatsunori Hara.

“It would be an honor to play,” Matsuzaka told reporters after arriving in Japan following the U.S. Major League Baseball season.

“I will keep myself in peak condition to play. I have not spoken much with coach Hara but he is a refreshing presence and very passionate about baseball. You can feel his energy.”

Matsuzaka did not play at this year’s Beijing Olympics in August when Japan failed to win a medal under Senichi Hoshino but was the most valuable player at the inaugural WBC in 2006.

Samurai Japan has Dice-K. I wonder, if they use him in a unexpected way, would they be rolling Samurai Dice?

Baseball With Nunchucks?

Japan has given the world some pretty good baseball players …

Ichiro, Wally Kaname Yonamine, Hideki Matsui, Kosuke Fukudome (jury’s still out) and the legendary Sadaharu Oh (and his World Record 868 Home Runs - suck it Barry) come to mind.

But none of them did anything as cool as this guy …

Watch as this martial arts master shows some incredible baseball skill by hitting a baseball with a pair of nunchaku.

If at first you don’t suceed, submit a post of a guy hitting baseballs with a nunchaku again! This is proof that Ninjas are good ballplayers, by the way, further making us fortunate that Japan will be called “Samurai Japan” and not “Ninja Japan” during the WBC.

Darrell Rasner sold to Japanese team

When the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League showed interest, Rasner told his agent, Matt Sosnick, to pursue the opportunity. Sosnick told ESPN.com on Saturday night that the Yankees had sold Rasner’s rights to the Golden Eagles for $1 million.

Rasner made less than $400,000 last season and was not eligible for salary arbitration. He said Sosnick was working out the details of his contract in Japan.

Rasner follows in the footsteps of legendary Yankee Jack Elliot…

Seibu wins in Asia Series baseball

The Seibu Lions edged the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan 1-0 on Sunday, winning Japan its fourth consecutive title of the Asian Series, which also features champions from China and South Korea.

It was Seibu’s first Asia Series title and comes after they topped the Pacific League and Japan Series this year.

Japan’s Lotte Marines won the inaugural Asian Series title in 2005, followed by victories by the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2006 and the Chunichi Dragons last year.

Will a non-Japan team ever win?

Japanese schoolgirl drafted by pro team

High school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a professional team in a new independent Japanese league that will start its first season in April.

“I always dreamed of becoming a professional,” Yoshida, who is 5-feet (152-centimeters) tall and weighs 114 pounds (52 kilograms), told a news conference Monday. “I have only just been picked by the team and haven’t achieved anything yet.”

Yoshida throws a side-arm knuckleball and says she wants to follow in the footsteps of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career throwing a knuckleball.

Japan’s Independent Leagues continue the fine publicity headlines of their American Counterparts.

Japan to be known as “Samurai Japan” at WBC

Japan baseball officials announced on Wednesday that the national team for the 2009 WBC will be known as “Samurai Japan”, named after the country’s former warrior nobility.

Samurai Japan? Why not Ninjas!? I mean, Ninjas flip out and kill people!

Seibu wins Japan Series

The Seibu Lions won their first Japan Series title since 2004 on Sunday by defeating the Yomiuri Giants 3-2 in Game 7.

Former major leaguer Hiram Bocachica hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning and former New York Yankees pitcher Alex Graman recorded the final six outs for the save as the Lions won their 13th Japan Series title.

Infielder Hiroshi Hirao drove in the winning run with a single up the middle in the eighth inning at Tokyo Dome.

Seibu pitcher Takayuki Kishi, who was named series MVP, won Game 6 to set up the decisive Game 7.

Giants suck! Giants suck! Giants suck!

(^What the Japanese would chant if they were Americans)

End of an era, as Hiroshima Municipal Stadium prepares to close its doors for good

Only 7,000 copies of the two-volume comic were printed, and they are now out of stock. “The Hiroshima Carp Story” ("Hiroshima Carp Tanjo Monogatari") was written at the request of its publisher Chobunsha in 1994, and, although a minor work compared to “Barefoot Gen”—which sold 8 million copies—it has the distinction of being one of the few stories that Nakazawa has written about baseball.

The hero is a 14-year-old atomic bomb survivor living in an old air-raid shelter. As the boy grows, he is drawn into the excitement of rooting for the new hometown team, formed just four years after the war’s end, and the story ends happily as the Hiroshima Carp wins its first pennant in 1975. In contrast to the suffering and anger of “Barefoot Gen,” this tale focuses on the invincibility of the human spirit.

Nakazawa survived the bomb with his mother and two older brothers. They lived in a ramshackle hut and warded off starvation by eating the tiny shrimp that clustered on human remains lying on the river bottom, among other things. As life returned to normal, Nakazawa fashioned a ball and glove out of old rags and began to play baseball again. His playmates and their families were mostly bomb survivors like himself.

“We used to play around the Bomb Dome,” he said. “I can remember the tinkling of broken glass under our bare feet as we played ‘three-base baseball’ until dark.”

The grownups played sandlot games of their own with fellow workers and neighbors, to momentarily escape the hardships of life after the bomb. Everyone passionately rooted for the Hiroshima Carp: “A win for the Carp is a win against the Pikadon (the atomic bomb)!” “They give courage to people with the Pika sickness and to people who’ve been beaten down.”

Proof that sentimentality about doomed Ballfields is not unique to America. Although, to the best of my knowledge, the Yankees never had a Manga written about them and their stadium.

Lasorda to be honored by Emperor of Japan

Order of the Rising Bunt Cake. Nice touch.

Tommy Lasorda: The Hall of Fame manager will receive the Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to Japanese baseball.

The former Dodgers skipper will be honored Dec. 2 by Consul General Junichi Ihara in Los Angeles.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award,” Lasorda said Thursday. “I have the highest respect for the Japanese people and have loved working with them in every aspect to help build a bridge between our two countries through baseball.”

Seattle pi: Hickey: Valentine could be in mix for M’s

Ummm...Good Choice!!

Will Bobby Valentine be the Mariners’ next manager?

General manager Jack Zduriencik hasn’t scheduled even a first set of interviews for candidates, but it’s likely Valentine will be in the group of five to seven, especially after Zduriencik raved about him Wednesday at the general managers meetings.

“Bobby Valentine and I go way back,” Zduriencik said. “We have some history when I was with the Mets. He’s a very interesting individual.”

A National League executive with more than 20 years in baseball said Tuesday he thought the Mariners were being lobbied hard on behalf of Valentine, 58, who manages the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific Coast League. Valentine has one year remaining on his contract, but that is seen as a little hindrance to a potential deal with the Mariners.

Giants even up Japan Series on Ramirez sayonara home run

Alex Ramirez of the Yomiuri Giants hit a game-ending home run off of Seibu’s Daisuke Ochi to even the Japan Series at one win apiece, as the Giants won 3-2 at the Tokyo Dome.

Seibu lead 2-1 after four on a 2-run homer by Hiroyuki Nakajima, his second of the series. The Giants tied the game in the sixth on an RBI double by Yoshiyuki Kamei.

The series now shifts to the Seibu Dome in Tokorazawa for Games 3 through 5.

Two things:

1. Dear god, in Japan they play baseball into NOVEMBER REGULARLY! Although since they have a ton of domes, I guess it is not as much a problem.

2. Who else agrees that MLB Network should show Japanese games early in the morning so we can watch Baseball while eating breakfast?

Nick James’ take on Junichi Tazawa

With Tazawa not being selected by a Japanese team . . . looks like he is States-bound.

Tazawa could be groomed as a reliever or a starter. Any team hoping for him to become a successful starter would be well advised to try and correct his kick-and-recoil coming out of his leg kick, and lengthening his stride. This may be too much, though, in which case his stuff could certainly play in short stints out of the pen (which is my projection). If he’s able to add some velocity to his fastball and/or develop his slider/change into plus-pitches, he could eventually turn into a mid-rotation guy. However, his size and the stress he places on his shoulder with his quick arm action raise durability questions. The best bet would be to switch him to the pen and focus on the fastball/slider combo. He has enough feel for the curve to use it as a “show me” pitch, and the change is serviceable as is. Depending on how the pitches develop, he could be anything from a seventh inning guy to a potential closer.

James also breaks down some video.  Pretty cool stuff.

NUNCHUCK BASEBALL

NINJA’S AND BASEBALL?  TOGETHER? IT’S LIKE A CASSEROLE OF AWESOMENESS

Markusen: Card Corner--Roger Repoz

Mantle schmantle. Try living down Pynchon!

Roger Repoz (pronounced re-POZE, as in someone “lying in repose”) not only had a lyrical name, but also seemed destined to become a major league superstar. Some members of the Yankee organization regarded him as the next Roger Maris, but Repoz (seen here in his 1966 Topps card) would end up settling for a career that was more along the lines of Roger Cedeno or Roger Metzger. As if the Maris comparisons weren’t stressful enough, many New York writers and fans began referring to Repoz as the “next Mickey Mantle,” in part because he shared a blonde crew cut and a powerful uppercut swing with the legendary Mantle.

Playing for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens and employing a newfound batting stance in 1965, Repoz emerged as a top-flight Yankee prospect, prompting minor league manager Frank Verdi to call him the best everyday player in the International League. Shortly thereafter, Repoz earned a mid-season promotion to the Yankees, with mediocre old favorite Horace Clarke sent back to Triple-A to make room for the young outfielder. (That exchange, in and of itself, should have been something of a harbinger of doom.) Given his talent, Repoz seemed like a can’t-miss superstar in waiting. An excellent defensive outfielder with the speed to play center field, Repoz also owned the kind of left-handed pull hitter’s swing that made him a perfect fit for Yankee Stadium.

Ichiro suggested as Japan WBC manager

Katsuya Nomura, manager of the Rakuten Eagles, thinks the Seattle outfielder could be just the man to lead Japan’s defense of the title at the 2009 WBC.

“Maybe we should just let Ichiro be a playing manager,” Nomura was quoted to say on the Nikkansports Web site Friday.

The Suzuki suggestion is a possible answer to Japan’s difficulty in finding a suitable person for the position.

Senichi Hoshino, who was the manager when Japan failed to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics, was considered a candidate but has said he doesn’t want the job.

Ichiro would be totally awesome as a manager. He’d be like the Japanese John McGraw.

Ichiro Suzuki urges Japan to get serious about World Baseball Classic

Free the Rajsich brothers from their unfair shackles!

Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is urging Japanese baseball officials to get on with the job of picking a manager so the country can defend its title at the World Baseball Classic.

“(Japanese officials) say they want to build the strongest team, but at the same time say its difficult to pick an active manager,” Suzuki was quoted as saying in Sunday’s Nikkansports newspaper. “I wonder if they really want to build the best team.”

...Suzuki also said it’s important that Japan restores its baseball pride after such a disappointing result in Beijing.

“We have to start out on the right foot if we want to get revenge for Beijing at the WBC,” said Suzuki.

Japan finished fourth at Beijing despite having a team made up entirely of players from Japan’s pro leagues.

Officials to select WBC skipper this month

If America is lucky, they will pick the Japanese counterpart of Buck Martinez.

MASN: Melewski: O’s take first steps in scouting Japan

Go to Greece and make a right.

Scouting Japan is different because of the disparity in talent on a team from its top players to those on the bench.

“In Japan you can watch their number one starter, he may be very good, then you watch their number five starter and he might not pitch mid week for an NCAA Division II team,” added John Stockstill. “There are some top of the line Major League guys all the way down to guys who wouldn’t make a college team here.”

..."In Japan there are probably about 100 that could play in some capacity in MLB right now. There are probably 20 to 30 players that most clubs would target, they could be first or second-year players or some that could be 35 years old. Some could make a difference next year depending on what your clubs’ needs are.”

I asked Stockstill if there are any elite, Ichiro or Matsuzaka types playing in Japan right now.

“There are some (real top players there now). I won’t name names, but there’s good starting pitching. I’ll go that far, but don’t want to say if I feel there any elite players there now. But it will be up to each club to decide how they fit with their club here. Andy has to decide out of all of this, Asia, Carribean, the rest of the world, which markets do we want to be in and how heavy we want to be there.”

It’s Official: World Baseball Classic will be on ESPN and MLB Network

ESPN also acquired the English and Spanish radio broadcast rights, as well as digital rights, including the live-streaming of games on ESPN360.com. It will show 23 games, including the semifinal and championship, on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

The World Baseball Classic, running from March 5 to March 23, will have 16 countries playing in seven venues in five nations.

“ESPN looks forward to working with the World Baseball Classic to build on what we started in 2006,” said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president for programming and acquisitions. “We look forward to collaborating to make this the best global championship in March.”

ESPN televised the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, which was watched by more than 24 million.

“It was a simple calculus that produced our agreement with ESPN to broadcast once again the World Baseball Classic,” said Gene Orza, Major League Baseball Players Association chief operating officer.

MLB Network, which will debut on Jan. 1, 2009, will broadcast 16 games, and will put on a nightly highlight show beginning in late February.

The first round of the 2009 tournament will be played entirely outside of the United States. ESPN will show the Tokyo pool, three games from the Toronto pool, and four games from the San Juan pool.

MLB Network will televise the Mexico City pool, three games from the Toronto pool, and two games from the San Juan pool.

SEE! The Dominican embarrass Panama!
HEAR! Orestes Destrade translate Japanese!
WITNESS! The Skydome in March!

Japan baseball execs to introduce ban to curb drift to major leagues

An executive committee representing Japan’s 12 professional baseball teams have agreed to introduce a ban on players returning to Japanese baseball after turning down rookie draft nominations in Japan and signing with overseas pro teams.

The committee decided to ban players who had graduated from high school from entering professional Japanese teams for three years after returning to Japan from overseas stints, and introduce a two-year ban for such players who had been in university or company teams.

The Rule that Tazawa Built.