Plouffe returns soon. I can't imagine they'll keep Nishioka around much longer. Alexi Casilla is a streaky hitter at best but he can catch the ball. Nishioka doesn't field well enough to keep a job and he can't hit either. I still don't understand how he won three Japanese gold gloves.

He made me so mad yesterday. He completely lost a routine popup despite his huge, gift wrap around shades. the runner advanced to third and the next batter hit a slow grounder to second. Instead of getting the out (down 4-2 at the time) he threw home about three steps behind the runner and above the catcher's head. It would have been a dumb play for advanced little league.

At worst I was hoping for Kaz Matsui when they signed Nishioka. No great shakes but not a total drain. Instead he's been one of the worst players in baseball.

Star-Tribune's headline reads "Nishioka awful again in Twins loss." It isn't awful you see a mainstream newspaper headline straight up call a guy "awful," usually you see it say that someone "struggles" or something a little gentler. Nishioka must be pretty freakin bad

Nishioka must be pretty freakin bad

He's managed to screw up in the field in pretty much every way. Bad decisions throwing, missed grounders, missed popup, forgetting to cover the bag, wrong position for the cutoff. No baserunning errors that I'm aware of but he's only been on base once.

It isn't awful you see a mainstream newspaper

Er, "It isn't OFTEN" I mean....

Er, "It isn't OFTEN" I mean....

In this case, it isn't awful either. It's perfectly reasonable.

Star-Tribune's headline reads "Nishioka awful again in Twins loss." It isn't awful you see a mainstream newspaper headline straight up call a guy "awful," usually you see it say that someone "struggles" or something a little gentler. Nishioka must be pretty freakin bad

It actually makes him intriguing. As in, I would really love to see a highlight (erm..."lowlight"?) reel of this guy's Greatest Hits in the field, given what I've read.

What I find impossible to understand is how he was able to make it to the Major Leagues, or the Japanese professional league for that matter, if he's really and truly this bad. I mean, some of this stuff seems like Little League clownshoes stuff. How is it possible?

What I find impossible to understand is how he was able to make it to the Major Leagues, or the Japanese professional league for that matter, if he's really and truly this bad. I mean, some of this stuff seems like Little League clownshoes stuff. How is it possible?

My best guess at this point is that he has become psychologically overwhelmed. Dealing with pressure is obviously part of the job for a big leaguer, and it's not like he has even played in any big games since he came over. Still, he started with a ton of Japanese media attention in spring training last year, and really high hopes from the franchise, then immediately broke his leg on a boneheaded double play turn where he stood like a statue while the runner slid through him. At that point, the media started to trickle away, and he probably felt like he was letting his fans down. It wouldn't surprise me if he started putting more pressure on himself at that time. When your baseline talent is already marginal, expecting yourself to play like a star will get you into a failure spiral pretty quickly. Since then, it has just been disappointment after disappointment, and it may be one of the rare cases where a guy is permanently screwed by losing confidence.

Yesterday was actually a good example of that. After he made the stupid (and pretty unlucky) play of losing the popup in the sun, he compounded the mistake by throwing home when he had NO CHANCE of getting the runner. Routine mistake -> pressing -> bigger mistake -> failure spiral. It's a microcosm of his time with the Twins.

Yesterday was actually a good example of that. After he made the stupid (and pretty unlucky) play of losing the popup in the sun, he compounded the mistake by throwing home when he had NO CHANCE of getting the runner. Routine mistake -> pressing -> bigger mistake -> failure spiral. It's a microcosm of his time with the Twins.

Your entire post was a great answer, so thanks. I had completely forgotten that Nishioka was the guy whose leg was broken in that double-play slide last year...your shoestring psychoanalysis seems pretty darn plausible.

Ain't talkin' 'bout glove.
His glove is rotten to the core.

If you are searching for psychoanalysis, he also went through a high profile divorce from his super model wife.

The reason for the breakup, according to the Doshin Sports Daily, was Nishioka’s fooling around. The news of his affair was made public in March of last year, at the same moment he was at spring training. Tokuzawa was five months pregnant at the time, and gave birth to a baby girl in September. (You can also check out this site as well)

I still need to confirm the above, but it can help explain a lot about Nishioka’s poor performance. The broken leg incident (see here) was just bad karma.

I liked this signing - thought there was some risk, but for the price...
Hasn't really worked out, huh?

I liked this signing - thought there was some risk, but for the price...
Hasn't really worked out, huh?

Right, the price tag isn't crippling. It seemed like there was good potential at the time. He has just been so mind-bogglingly, maddeningly awful. It is one thing to play like your 10th percentile stat projections (hey, it happens), but another to suddenly not understand fundamental baseball concepts and strategy. That's the part that has made me start guessing about his mindset.

No baserunning errors that I'm aware of but he's only been on base once.

I chuckled, thinking this was an amusing hyperbole meant to take a swipe at a guy who's an out factory.

But no, he literally has only been on base once.

but another to suddenly not understand fundamental baseball concepts and strategy. That's the part that has made me start guessing about his mindset.

Me too; he's completely imploded.

He's just been unlucky, as his .000 BABIP attests.

This may be prejudice on my part but Nishioka reminds me of Akinori Iwamura after he came to the Pirates. He'd been good for three seasons with the Rays, interrupted in May 2009 by what looked like a serious knee injury from which he returned faster than expected (August) and seemingly as good as new. The Pirates added him as part of the extremely low-key "We are done trading everyone away, and we may even add some veterans" movement, along with Bobby Crosby and Ryan Church.

All three were incredibly bad, but Crosby and Church at least looked like washed-up versions of their former selves. Iwamura was more likely to make people say "What is that guy doing out there? Is he even trying? Should they substitute him in the middle of an inning?"

This may be prejudice on my part but Nishioka reminds me of Akinori Iwamura after he came to the Pirates.

Hatemonger.

(Nah, it's a good analogy.)

Wasn't Bobby Crosby always a washed-up version of his former self?

If you are searching for psychoanalysis, he also went through a high profile divorce from his super model wife.

You know, I've often wondered -- what's the line for getting the "super"? Are there any famous people just married to "models"? How does a "model" become a "super model". Is there an induction ceremony? A certain earnings threshold?

I'm always curious about things that will never have any bearing on my life...

what's the line for getting the "super"?

A cover for something in the range of SI swimsuit to Vogue.

EDIT: Or their Japanese equivalents I suppose.

This February article turns out to have been wrong in its claim that Nishioka had hit rock bottom. Also they only got married on July 27, 2010. What a disaster.

I can't tell if Nishioka's wife (Naoko Tokuzawa) is really a SUPERmodel. She doesn't seem to have crossed over from the Japanese market in any way and since I don't know Japanese her Wikipedia page is of limited use. In fact I can't even link to it.

Naoko in action in a car commercial

Naoko in a gum commercial

You know, I've often wondered -- what's the line for getting the "super"? Are there any famous people just married to "models"? How does a "model" become a "super model". Is there an induction ceremony? A certain earnings threshold?

This reminds me of one of the more memorable incidents in Stern show history - Fred Norris freaking out on Carol Alt, emphatically denying that she's a "super" model.

#23 - She looks pretty super to me.

If you make a couple of SI swimsuit issues or a couple of those Victoria Secret TV fashion shows, you've probably got a good case for the Hall of Supermodels. Having a few threads on who deserves induction there would should be a lot more fun than doing Ichiro or Jack Morris again.

Moving him from shortstop to second when he came to the US may not have been a good idea...

Moving to the US may not have been a good idea.

I saw a Rochester Red Wings game earlier this year and poor Nishioka wasn't even playing, they had him coaching first base. In the rain. He was just standing there, and it was not hard to imagine he was thinking "I can't believe I left Japan for this." I guess there have been some Japanese players (Shinjo, Fukudome, etc.) who had careers of acceptable, but not remarkable, performance but it sure seems like there are a lot of boom (Matsui, Ichiro, Nomo) or bust (Kaz Matsui, Nishioka, Irabu, Igawa) types.

a lot more fun than doing Ichiro or Jack Morris again.

Doing those guys for even the first time is by no means my idea of fun.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

I would put both Irabu and Kaz in the acceptable/unremarkable pile - back-page headlines aside, they're both a lot closer to Shinjo and Fukudome than they are to Igawa or (apparently) Nishioka.

Japanese players with acceptable but unremarkable careers:

Tad Iguchi
Kenji Johjima
So Taguchi
Any number of relief pitchers

Taguchi's career is quite odd. Basically it looks like the decline phase (ages 32 to 39) of a really really really good player. I think H. Matsui and Ichiro! are the only other Japanese players to stay in MLB for their whole decline phase, instead of returning home at the first sign of decrepitude.

Still, he started with a ton of Japanese media attention in spring training last year,

Does that crap still happen whenever a player from over there comes to the U.S. Just how insanely empty are people's lives in Japan, anyway? My god.

If you make a couple of SI swimsuit issues or a couple of those Victoria Secret TV fashion shows,

Now this depends on whether you're using "fashion" criteria or not. Fashion/runway modelling is all about the face and height/anorexia; swimsuit/lingerie modelling is much more about the body. Kate Moss was unquestionably a supermodel but they wouldn't have let her near an SI cover while Paris fashion shows aren't rushing to book SI cover models (most of the time).

Or ... fashionistas adore the cheekbones but dudes dig the boobies.

I once had a girlfriend where, the first time I saw her in a bra and panties, I audibly gasped and thought "OMG, I'm about to (expletive deleted) a super model!". I had the good sense to marry her.

Moving him from shortstop to second when he came to the US may not have been a good idea

He doesn't have the arm or range for SS. It's 2B or bust in the majors. We're looking at bust right now.

#34 - what's her BBTF handle? Because the only reason you'd write that post is to impress her and/or suck-up.

She knows it's true, because she heard the gasp. But I did show it to her before I posted. I ain't no fool!

Does that crap still happen whenever a player from over there comes to the U.S. Just how insanely empty are people's lives in Japan, anyway? My god.

Yeah, how dare they pay a disproportionate amount of attention on baseball?! My god.

Hiroki Kuroda is a Japanese player who's had a pretty good MLB decline phase.

Japanese players with acceptable but unremarkable careers:

Tad Iguchi
Kenji Johjima
So Taguchi
Any number of relief pitchers

Masato Yoshii

Yeah, how dare they pay a disproportionate amount of attention on baseball?! My god.

Baseball on the other side of the world? I don't. Do you?

Baseball on the other side of the world? I don't. Do you?

To some degree. If the best quality of play was on the other side of the world, I'd certainly pay more attention.

Calling their lives "insanely empty" was a cheap shot, imo.