NPB Tracker

• Kikuchi to Debut as Reliever?: Seibu Lion’s manager Hisanobu Watanabe has suggested that his plan for Yusei Kikuc… http://bit.ly/649HX7 #
• Okajima Prioritizes Comfort, Security: Hideki Okajima needs to work out a deal with Boston for the remainder of his… http://bit.ly/8iTDcC #
• Orioles in on H. Takahashi: Sponichi is reporting that Baltimore is looking at free agent lefty Hisanori Takahashi,… http://bit.ly/8ZtYzL #
• Hanshin to fire US scout Tom O'Malley http://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/p-bb-tp0-20091127-569996.html #
• Sanspo reports free agent Shugo Fujii is leaning toward joining the Yomiuri Giants: http://bit.ly/5yuaM1 #
• Masahide Kobayashi officially signs with the Yomiuri Giants: http://www.giants.jp/G/gnews/news_392261.html #
• Moves & Notes, December 1, 2009: A couple of player personnel notes to pass along…

  Sanspo via Yahoo! Japan is sa… http://bit.ly/4GOIO7 #

• Germano Out, Contreras In?: The last thing we heard about Jose Contreras was that the SoftBank Hawks had decided to… http://bit.ly/692ST4 #
• Chiba Lotte Imports Pitching: The Chiba Lotte Marines like what they see in Eric Stults. A source with the team quo… http://bit.ly/6lA3Fw #
• Omar Minaya asked Arn Tellem for the results of Hideki Matsui's physical: http://bit.ly/6tOF7A #
• One-for-One trade in the works sending Kisanuki to the Orix Buffaloes and Takagi to the Yomiuri Giants: http://bit.ly/6OS7Ab #
• Atlanta Braves to introduce Takashi Saito live at 4:30 PM ET: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?topic_id=6261176 #
• Winter Meetings Preview: The MLB offseason is heating up, and figures to kick into full gear when the Winter Meetin… http://bit.ly/78ET7z #
• O's have mild interest in Takahashi, Igarashi: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-sp.osnotes06dec05,0,4262395.story #
• Payano Weighing Japan Departure, US Return: “I won’t go back to Japan.”
  That’s the quote Nikkan Sports lead… http://bit.ly/4MnIOY #
• Hanshin Close on Messenger: Hanshin appears to be making progress in their search for pitching.
  Daily Sports is rep… http://bit.ly/8NcGGA #

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-22:
  Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-15:
  Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-.. http://bit.ly/5rGB3V #
• Lotte Marines interested in bringing back their former reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/news/2009/11/23/24.html #
• Sponichi reports San Francisco Giants are showing mild interest in Hisanori Takahashi: http://bit.ly/7nK8px #
• プロ野球 7年ぶり巨人優勝パレードに34万人: Scenes from the Yomiuri Giants parade; http://bit.ly/762d6p #
• Yasuhiko Yabuta returning to Chiba Lotte, official announcement coming soon: http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/news/20091123-00000045-jij-spo.html #
• Hisanori Takahashi From 30,000 Feet: Despite the fact that we’ve known for some time that Hisanori Takaha.. http://bit.ly/4SG0tD #
• Kyuji Fujikawa still showing interested in the MLB, but will not be posted in this off-season: http://bit.ly/6QcMgI #
• Some of the scouts comment on the pitching of Yuki Saito from the U-26 vs. College Game: http://bit.ly/6gM0RB #
• Yabuta's deal with Lotte: 1 year, 40m yen ($400k). http://bit.ly/8HFVu7 #
• Daisempai: Long before Yusei Kikuchi entertained eight MLB suitors, before Junichi Tazawa rattled the cage by s.. http://bit.ly/4ULbuM #
• NPB Live page updated with Dominican Winter League video feed: http://www.npbtracker.com/games-on-justintv/ #
• Atsushi Fujimoto joining the Swallows via free agency: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/flash/KFullFlash20091124080.html #
• Lotte announces the addition of Hidetaka Kawagoe: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/flash/KFullFlash20091124067.html #
• Free Agent Tasuku Hashimoto agrees to term with the Yokohama Baystars: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/flash/KFullFlash20091125059.html #
• but that works out okay for Seth Greisinger @daigofujiwara Having fun with currency (count)… #
• Former Major Leaguer Masao Kida will be signing with his seventh team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters: http://bit.ly/5iZX9C #
• Nagisa Arakaki feeling good after pitching for the first time in four months: http://bit.ly/6nRUaB #
• Baystars interested in signing Terrmel Sledge and will look further into Shugo Fujii as a possible addition: http://bit.ly/4DZInO #
• Johjima at it Again: Holiday and business activity kept me away from blogging this week, but after a relaxing B.. http://bit.ly/4MP89W #
• SoftBank Moves on from Contreras: A few weeks ago, when the news of Jose Contrera’s prospective move to J.. http://bit.ly/4HMjQu #
• Hiroshima Looking at Alvarado: Hiroshima’s final offseason acquisition target is Giancarlo Alvarado, who .. http://bit.ly/7o2DdA #
• Orix, Rhodes Part Ways (Again): Here’s one I didn’t quite expect: Hochi Sports is reporting that the Orix Buffa… http://bit.ly/5ZtNOP #
• Source: Alvarado Signs in Japan: Ryo posted earlier today that the Hiroshima Carp have been after Dodger’s 3A arm… http://bit.ly/6SQ8bC #

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-15:
  Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-08:
  Shinjo returns from the 70's.. http://bit.ly/6isn8 #
• Four to Audition for Lotte: The Chiba Lotte Marines are bringing in four foreign players for tryouts from Novem.. http://bit.ly/3uCpQN #
• Hiroshima Cut Ties with Four: The Hiroshima Carp are turning over most of their import roster this offseason. O.. http://bit.ly/4hThTY #
• Morillo Headed to Japan: According to a baseball source, righty Juan Morillo has signed with a Japanese team. I.. http://bit.ly/p8SHU #
• #
• Matsui in Demand: Before free agent Hideki Matsui begins receiving calls for his service on the field, he&#8217.. http://bit.ly/4c7Ot8 #
• Hisanori Takahashi to declare free agency; will likely try to catch on with an MLB club http://bit.ly/4pk9HU #
• Interview with Hisanori Takahashi: We mentioned on Twitter that Hisanori Takahashi has declared free agency and.. http://bit.ly/NEkMG #
• Hisanori Takahashi velocity: http://bit.ly/3zZ4YR #
• I made a minor minor minor contribution to the Bill James Handbook 2010, now on sale – http://bit.ly/kTsAI #
• The Sawamura Award and the Best of the Rest: The 2009 season concluded with Hideaki Wakui of the Seibu Lions be.. http://bit.ly/2VW4Ay #
• Sanspo: Yankees stand to lose at least $15m in revenue if Matsui leaves: http://www.sanspo.com/mlb/news/091119/mla0911190504003-n1.htm #
• Awards Announced: The 2009 season is in the books, and the MVPs go to Yu Darvish in the Pacific League, with Al.. http://bit.ly/1oDaOd #
• Five Players File For Free Agency: Out of the 87 players eligible to file for free agency this off-season, only.. http://bit.ly/ts9jv #
• SoftBank Signs Lee; Carlyle to Nippon Ham: The SoftBank Hawks have picked up Korean slugger Lee Beom-Ho on a tw.. http://tinyurl.com/yh3jhh2 #
• Rakuten cuts ties with Rick Short: http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/news/20091120-00000118-jij-spo.html #
• Yokohama to Acquire Three: According the local Kanagawa news website Kanaloco.jp, the Yokohama BayStars are wor.. http://bit.ly/1kGpvM #
• sumo on justin.tv: http://www.justin.tv/meietv #
• Dominican baseball on ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/off-season-baseball #
• Hiroshima Movement: According to Chugoku Shimbun, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp have agreed to re-sign right hander M.. http://bit.ly/6Y8fsK #
• Kikuchi Signs With Seibu: Yusei Kikuchi is officially a pro. The young lefty has inked his first contract with .. http://bit.ly/079x28n #
• Giants Sign Chih-Lung Huang: The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants have agreed to terms with 20 year-old Taiwanese pitcher C.. http://bit.ly/6S4AY9 #
• Contreras, Son Reportedly Looking for Move to Japan: Here’s one I didn’t think of: Jose Conteras is.. http://bit.ly/4sOh2u #
• U-26 vs college game on justin.tv: http://www.justin.tv/athletics_ch #

The Hiroshima Carp are turning over most of their import roster this offseason. On their way out are:

• Scott Seabol
• Scott McClain
• Ben Kozlowski
• Andy Phillips

Phillips had the best shot at returning, but Hiroshima’s impending acquisition of Justin Huber has ruled it out.

The Carp are working on new contracts for pitchers Colby Lewis and Mike Schultz.

The Chiba Lotte Marines are bringing in four foreign players for tryouts from November 16:

• Bryan Corey (Boston)
  
• Bill Murphy (Toronto)
  
• Chris Richard (Tampa Bay)
• Julio Zuleta (Mexican League Reynosa)

Richard is an interesting option, Corey somewhat less so, and I don’t quite see where Richard or Zuleta fit with the recent addition of Kim Tae-gyun. Zuleta also stunk up the Mexican League last season.

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-08:
  Shinjo returns from the 70's: http://bit.ly/7Xbkf #
  Twitter Weekly .. http://bit.ly/2efnCv #
• Shimizu Trade Finalized: The previously reported Naoyuki Shimizu deal to Yokohama is now complete. In an obviou.. http://bit.ly/1IBADP #
• Darvish pitched in Japan Series with a broken middle finger on his throwing hand! http://bit.ly/1TtwLZ #
• What’s Next for Matsui?: Hideki Matsui saw the ball well in this year’s World Series. I don’t.. http://bit.ly/P1qOn #
• Hanshin in Pursuit of Morillo: We’ve posted extensively on Hanshin’s offseason pitching shopping li.. http://bit.ly/4cxzez #
• Hisanori Takahashi to MLB? Gossip rag Gendai says he's signed with an agent: http://gendai.net/?m=view&c=010&no=22930 #
• 2009 Foreign Player Rundown: By my count, there were 78 foreign players (including ikusei players) under contra.. http://bit.ly/2NLmmi #
• Matsui Interest From Angels, Red Sox: The Hideki Matsui hot stove is warming up. Let’s see what the Japan.. http://bit.ly/1hIa3b #
• Sanspo: Boston looking to bring back Saito: http://bit.ly/2v9cjZ #
• this is true @keithlaw I believe they're also repping Igarashi. RT @mlbtraderumors Wasserman Media Group Clients http://bit.ly/332G11 #
• Interest for Igarashi: The market for Ryota Igarashi is showing it’s first signs of life. Sanspo has quot.. http://bit.ly/1eiMF5 #
• More on Matsui: It looks like the reports of Boston’s interest in Hideki Matsui drew quite a bit of atten.. http://bit.ly/2iyb3Q #
• 2010 Foreign Player Candidates: There’s always a high turnover among foreign players in Japan. This year .. http://bit.ly/30ubv0 #
• Rasner Re-signs with Rakuten: According to a baseball source, Darrell Rasner has agreed to a deal to return to .. http://bit.ly/2BcUTc #
• ラズナー楽天と再契約: 関係者によると、ダレル・ラズナーが楽天に復帰する契約に合意したというのが明らかになりました。楽天側は2010年のチームオプションを破棄したものの、新たな一 #
• Golden Glove Winners: The 2009 Golden Glove Winners have been announced, and Nippon Ham dominated the Pacific L.. http://bit.ly/ARs2b #
• ね。　@daigofujiwara 僕ももちろん文句無いですが、2004年最多安打新記録を樹立した262安打で取れなかったのはどんな基準？と突っ込みたくなります。 #
• Lotte Signs Kim: Lotte has made the first significant signing of this offseason, picking up 1st baseman Kim Tae.. http://bit.ly/W4Fej #
• Braves Interested in Kawagoe: Daily Sports has a report saying that the Braves have some interest in signing Hi.. http://bit.ly/zWIQ1 #
• The NPB-KBO Club Championship is on live now: http://www.justin.tv/athletics_ch #
• Kudoh returning to the Seibu Lions for the first time since 1994: http://bit.ly/2WmttN #
• Japan-Korea Club Championship: Here it is, live on justin.tv.

  Watch live video from baseball?야구?野球?Béisb.. http://bit.ly/2aCNlp #

• Disastrous 7th inning for Kia #
• And the Giants scored again while I was typing that. #
• Abe flies out to finally end it. Seven run 7th. #
• Yes @Jbroks86 they playing the NPB-KBO game? #
• Hiroshima After Huber: The Chugoku Shimbun is reporting that the Hiroshima Carp are close to a deal to acquire .. http://bit.ly/2wdTIi #
• NPB-KBO Club Championship Notes: If you missed the NPB-KBO Club Championship, you can watched a Korean broadcas.. http://bit.ly/2BrPx6 #
• hearing that Juan Morillo has signed with a team in Japan. Don't touch that dial… #

Here it is, live on justin.tv.

Watch live video from baseball?야구?野球?Béisbol?棒球? on Justin.tv

Lotte has made the first significant signing of this offseason, picking up 1st baseman Kim Tae-gyun from Hanwha of the KBO. I’ll post more details at a later time; for now Matt and Gwynar have this story covered.

The previously reported Naoyuki Shimizu deal to Yokohama is now complete. In an obvious salary dump, Lotte sends Shimizu across the Tokyo Bay in return for pitcher Takumi Nasuno and catcher Toshio Saito.

The question now is, will we see Lotte shed any more payroll? Hanshin was interested in Shunsuke Watanabe…

• Shinjo returns from the 70's: http://bit.ly/7Xbkf #
• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-01:
  Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-25:
  Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-.. http://bit.ly/4rxtAy #
• Darvish Returns: Yu Darvish returning this season seemed unlikely couple weeks ago, but as time went on, the po.. http://bit.ly/25cPMA #
• Hideaki Wakui is the winner of the Sawamura Award. 5th straight year the winner has come out of the Pacific League. #
• Naoyuki Shimizu heading to the Baystars in a trade? http://bit.ly/2E8MB2 #
• Projected Game 3 starters for the Nippon Series: Itokazu vs. Obispo: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/flash/KFullFlash20091102124.html #
• Will check this out later @daigofujiwara Great documentary on Japanese high school baseball… Koshien. http://bit.ly/cmmt3 #
• よろしく　@hajime0130 日本の野球を英語で発信！http://twitter.com/npbtracker #
• Darvish’s Mechanics in Return: Yu Darvish returned after a nearly two-month layoff to pitch game two of t.. http://bit.ly/26gjoe #
• Hanshin to Import Pitchers: Sanspo is reporting on Hanshin’s import pitching shopping list, and is naming.. http://bit.ly/8WvuF #
• Shimizu Traded to Yokohama?: The Chiba Lotte Marines have reportedly agreed to trade Naoyuki Shimizu to the Yok.. http://bit.ly/nGpn8 #
• パイレーツは、トレードで岩村選手獲得 #
• Tomoya Yagi's velocity chart, Nippon Series Game Four: http://bit.ly/3hKsoi #
• Jonah Bayliss release by Seibu: http://bit.ly/kh6LE #
• 1934 All American Asian Tour: Little-known fictitious fact: today, November 5, is the date in 1955 that Marty M.. http://bit.ly/16IsH9 #
• Hideki Matsui rules out the possibility of returning to Japan: http://bit.ly/3VsxoP #
• Great Mariano Rivera infographic: http://bit.ly/1EF1ch #
• Johjima Scouts for Tigers: One of the fringe benefits Hanshin trying to get out of bringing in Kenji Johima is .. http://bit.ly/2qar1J #
• I'll re-file this one under 'debunked' RT @hyphen18 Speaking of rumors ….Japan???????? http://bit.ly/3mNxET #