Baseball for the Thinking Fan

Login | Register | Feedback

btf_logo
You are here > Home > Baseball Newsstand > Baseball Primer Newsblog > Discussion
Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Thursday, April 02, 2009

WBC stars Darvish, Iwakuma to start 2009 Japan baseball season

A general short preview of the upcoming NPB season.

Yu Darvish and Hisashi Iwakuma combined last month to help Japan win the World Baseball Classic. On Friday they’ll be competing against each other as Japan opens its 2009 regular season.

...
Iwakuma, 27, who won 21 games last season for the Rakuten Eagles, attracted the interest of major league scouts at the tournament and will be looking to help the Eagles improve on their fifth-place finish last season.

Darvish, 22, entering his fifth season as a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters, also made a name for his himself at the WBC and will be on the radar of major league teams for years to come. Widely regarded as the best pitcher in Japan, Darvish had 16 wins last season for the Fighters.

Former New York Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner will join Iwakuma in the starting rotation for the Eagles. Rasner signed a one-year contract with the Eagles after being released by the Yankees after the 2008 season.

Among the other storylines the article brings up is Valentine’s final year, Tuffy Rhodes (who has now been in Japan so long that he no longer officially counts as a Gaijin) and Kevin Mench (who will help the Hanshin Tigers prove that the Curse of the Colonel is over).

Gamingboy Posted: April 02, 2009 at 03:59 PM | 1 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
  Related News: GeneralInternationalJapan

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 1 pages
   1. Jarrod HypnerotomachiaPoliphili(Teddy F. Ballgame) Posted: April 02, 2009 at 09:49 PM (#3122664)
The big story in Fukuoka will be the absence of Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, who stepped down as manager of the Softbank Hawks for health reasons after the end of the 2008 season.


Hadn't heard about this. When did he leave the Giants and what was the story there?
Page 1 of 1 pages

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

 

 

<< Back to main

Support BBTF

donate

Thanks to
JE (Jason Epstein)
for his generous support.

Bookmarks

You must be logged in to view your Bookmarks.

Hot Topics

NewsblogNYT: Alderson Remakes Needy Mets From Bottom Line Up
(38 - 12:26am, Feb 10)
Last: PreservedFish

NewsblogSources: Cubs’ Starlin Castro Accused Of Sexual Assault
(5827 - 12:25am, Feb 10)
Last: Dan Szymborski

NewsblogJeff Sullivan: The Worst Team Ever Projected?
(40 - 12:23am, Feb 10)
Last: McCoy

NewsblogWhatever Happened to the Spitball?
(18 - 12:15am, Feb 10)
Last: Sleepy supports unauthorized rambling

Jim's Lab NotesPlease Excuse the Mess
(174 - 12:06am, Feb 10)
Last: SoSHially Unacceptable

NewsblogThe Book Blog: MGL: Today on Clubhouse Confidential
(78 - 11:50pm, Feb 09)
Last: RayDiPerna

NewsblogOT: NBA Monthly Thread, February 2012
(379 - 11:31pm, Feb 09)
Last: robinred

NewsblogGrantland/Bill James: An Open Letter to the Hall of Fame About Dwight Evans
(25 - 11:28pm, Feb 09)
Last: Dan Szymborski

NewsblogNY Daily News: Brian Cashman's accused stalker says Yankees GM misled feds on steroid probe
(46 - 11:13pm, Feb 09)
Last: The Piehole of David Wells, Red Sox Colostomy Bag

NewsblogYankees TV host Bob Lorenz charged with drunken driving; cops found YES anchor passed out in car
(15 - 10:56pm, Feb 09)
Last: boteman

NewsblogStrange Times in Baseball: 1891-1895
(13 - 10:48pm, Feb 09)
Last: boteman

Newsblog'Duk: Tim Lincecum slims down with swim routine, loses appetite for McDonald’s
(281 - 10:43pm, Feb 09)
Last: phredbird

NewsblogJustice: 5 things that could make the 2012 season a successful one for the Astros
(28 - 10:17pm, Feb 09)
Last: bbc is prejudice bout men

NewsblogFangraphs: Cameron: The 10 Worst Transactions Of The Winter
(82 - 10:10pm, Feb 09)
Last: Cooper Nielson

NewsblogMLB: Hall of Fame worthy? Furthest thing from Schilling's mind
(11 - 10:00pm, Feb 09)
Last: Squash

Buy MLB playoff tickets, plus 2011 World Series, 2011 ALCS tickets and NLCS game tickets. We also have Texas Rangers playoff schedule, tickets to Red Sox games and Yankees game tickets. Plus, buy Phillies baseball tickets, Tigers playoff tickets and the biggies like ALDS baseball tickets and 2011 NLDS tickets.

Demarini, Easton and TPX Baseball Bats

 

 

 

AllianceTickets.com has cheap MLB Tickets. Get all your Colorado Rockies Tickets, Seattle Mariners Tickets, San Francisco Giants Tickets and all your favorite baseball tickets here. We also carry cheap Denver Broncos Tickets, Seattle Seahawks Tickets and Denver Nuggets Tickets.

Page rendered in 0.2296 seconds
40 querie(s) executed