The mid-week Climax Series games are played well past my bedtime (if anyone has a justin.tv archive link, please do share), but I am following along asynchronously as usual.
Nippon Ham won Game 1 of the second stage of the Pacific League’s Climax Series on a walk-off grand slam hit by Termel Sledge. Deanna live-blogged it and a clip is available on YouTube.
I can’t hear about a walk-off grand slam without recalling Kintetsu’s 2001 Pacific League clincher, which is my favorite walk-off of all time. How many other big games have been won on a walk-off grand slam?
Hideki Okajima, who will be a free agent in the upcoming offseason is looking to re-sign (didn’t forget the hyphen this time) with the Boston Red Sox. To that end, he has dismissed agent Peter Greenberg and will be represented by Boston-based Joe Rosen.
Regarding the change, Okajima was quoted as saying “The agent and I were not on the same page regarding contracts. There was no specific communication done and I struggled to understand.” With the Red Sox showing strong interest in re-signing Okajima, he did not want to take any risks and went with a more established Boston-area guy. Okajima stated another positive point about Rosen is that, “he will be able to help me in community involvement as well.”
There seems to be no question that both sides are looking to reconnect and the change in agents shows how Okajima is committed to staying with the Red Sox. With the contribution of Okajima in his three seasons with the Red Sox posting a 2.72 ERA in 198 games, it should be a quick negotiation.
Manager Katsuya Nomura finally accepted an apology from Todd Linden. Linden was taken off the Golden Eagles’ roster for the first round of the Climax Series versus the Softbank Hawks for criticizing the coaching staff over being benched in a regular season game. At first, the situation seemed to be unresolvable as Nomura went to the extreme as telling Linden to pack his bags and go back to the States through the media.
The Golden Eagles were able to advance even without the service of the .292 hitter Linden. However both sides felt a reconciliation would benefit the team in order to beat the Fighters. Linden showed the respect to the coaching staff after the suspension was in order. Linden continued to practice at the ni-gun facility and attempted to apologize for his comments.
The situation turned the corner when Linden came to apologize with a suit and tie in front of Nomura. He also showed respect to the media and reflected on his comments. Linden’s behavior after the incident changed Nomura’s mind and the decision of adding him to the second rounds roster has been made.
Respecting the game of baseball and the coaching staff is a must in the Japanese baseball world and criticizing that can jeopardizeyour position as a player. The adjustments that Japanese players needs to make in the MLB are often publicized, but the same goes for foreign players attempting to make a name for themselves in Japan. It’s not just about the strikeouts and home runs in Japanese baseball, but how much you play the game with honor that will determine the success of a player. Linden learned the lesson in a hard way, but hopefully both sides will enjoy a happy ending at seasons end.
The Yusei Kikuchi watch marches on. Multiple sources out of Japan are saying that the soonest we’ll see a decision from the promising lefty is Oct 24 JST, and Sanspo quoted Hanamaki Higaashi baseball director Hiroyuki Sasuga as saying “he’s having discussions with his parents in the next few days, and we’ll hold a press conference when he’s made a final decision on how to proceed.” According to Nikkan Sports, Kikuchi has a self-imposed deadline of the 26th.
My draft coverage outside of Yusei Kikuchi has been pretty weak this year, but I have a week to catch up. I’ll start by pointing out how awesome Kazuhito Futagami’s and Masato Kiyashiki’s names are in Japanese.
二神一人 (Futagami Kazuhiro): “two gods, one person”
Futagami is a top college pitcher and should be drafted in the first round after the Kikuchi fallout takes place. Kiyashiki is a high school catcher who appears on some teams’ high pick list, and could sneak in to the first round as well.
As previously reported in Japanese, Kenji Johjima has decided to opt out of the final two years of his contract with the Seattle Mariners. Johjima was the first Japanese catcher in the big leagues, playing in total of 462 games in the span of four seasons.
His NPB power bat did not translate well for him in the big leagues and it became a struggle to earn regular playing time last season with the Mariners, as he appeared in only 71 games. A pair of injuries limited his playing time as well.
Earlier this week, there was speculation that an opt out move was in the works, citing Johjima’s cancelled off-season Mariners PR work. Johjima is known to be quoted in saying, “I do not feel strongly to live and die in the majors for the rest of my career. I would like to take back to Japan what I learned from the States, and want to go back while I can still contribute to a team.”
There have been reports already that the Hanshin Tigers are interested and his former team, Softbank Hawks, should be another possibility. Johjima should still be one of the best catchers in Japan, once landing with a team and Japanese fans should be happy to get him back.
Now the question is when will we see another Japanese catcher be to challenge for an opportunity in the majors, and who will it be? Motonobu Tanishige and Ryoji Aikawa both failed to garner offers in their attempts to move over as free agents.
Yabu had a solid season coming off the scrapheap with the San Francisco Giants in the 2008, throwing a total of 68.0 innings and posting a 3.57ERA. Even though his 2009 season ended early pulling his right calf muscle at Fresno, he has been quoted as saying he’s continued to train and wants to prove that he can still be a contributing pitcher.
Will Yabu get another shot with a team and add a final page to his playing career?
Yusei Kikuchi has wrapped up his meetings and now has some thinking to do. It may take him a little while to sort things out, based on comments made after the meetings: “(Japan and the US) are but wonderful. I’m more torn now than I was before the meetings.”
Mariners: has Ichiro, more international than other clubs.
Mets: offered a dedicated translator. Scout Isao Ojimi was quoted as saying “Yusei is a world treasure.”
Yankees: no comment to media
Indians: not at 18, but will have MLB ability in three or four years
And here’s a translation of a brief interview that appeared on MSN Japan:
-after meeting with 20 Japanese and American teams, are you feeling tightened up?
“It’s a wavering 50-50. I’m more torn now than before I had these meetings, in which I made new discoveries. Meeting with each team for 30 minutes was short, I thought I would like to hear them for longer. I think that the MLB teams traveled this far was a great honor.”
-comments on the impression left by both leagues after the meeings
“I thought both were great, and I want to go to both. Japan’s development system is gentle, and in America there is the stepped system of rookie ball, 1A, 2A,3A and the Majors”
-you met a major leaguer
“He had an aura of playing in the best place in the world.”
-what will the deciding factor be?
“I can comfortable play in either league. In Japan, there won’t be any problems with food or training. Even in the Majors, there are teams offering to provide a translator, so there’s no uneasiness. If I go to America, I believe the teams that said ‘don’t worry’. My manager and parents both said ‘we’ll leave it up to you’, so I want to come to a conclusion without regret.
The NPB draft is the 29th. We’ll see what happens between now and then.
Now, it’s getting interesting. Yusei Kikuchi has completed his first round of meetings with MLB clubs. The media reports lack the level of detail that the reports on the NPB meetings had. I think this is reflective of the Japanese teams wanting to use the media to lure, Kikuchi, while MLB teams are being tighter-lipped. Here’s a rundown.
Rangers:Â sent Jim Colborn and lefty Derek Holland; espoused the team’s development system and let Kikuchi ask questions.
Dodgers:Â sent Logan White, who was quoted in Nikkan Sports: “we didn’t tell him not to go to Japanese team” and the Yomiuri: “he’s among the top class of amateurs from any country. He certainly has the ability to play in the majors.”
SF Giants: pointed out that the Giants have a Japanese trainer for their 3A team; explained the team’s methods of practicing and training.
Red Sox: did not to the the media; it’s unknown what was discussed.
So if any financial details have been discussed so far, no one’s saying. Meetings conclude tomorrow with the Mariners, Mets, Yankees and Indians.