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New York Yankees Trade Rumors: Rangers Got Yu But Could Use Hughes Too

Posted by on 20 January 2012, 1:18 am

Ok so the Texas Rangers finally got their man, as Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish signed a 6-year, $60 million deal to play in Arlington.

Add in the $52 million posting fee the Rangers paid to talk to Darvish for a month, (= $1.7 million per day) and that makes a grand total of roughly $111.7 million.

That’s a lot of dough to pay for a pitcher with zero MLB experience, but the Rangers really had no choice in the matter after letting CJ Wilson walk into the arms of the division rival Angels.

The Rangers are gambling on Darvish, just like the Yankees and Red Sox did with Kei Igawa and Dice-K.

Can Darvish rewrite recent history by being the same dominate pitcher he was in Japan?

That is what the Rangers are counting on, but they are not alone.

David Schoenfield of ESPN’s Sweet Spot wasted no time Ranking The Five Best Starting Rotations this past Thursday morning, and he ranked the Rangers third behind only the Angels and Phillies.

Darvish was obviously the difference maker for Schoenfield when he wrote that… Darvish is expected to be the ace of this team.

The fact is no one can accurately judge an unproven, foreign pitcher’s worth before he ever steps on a MLB mound.

Maybe Schoenfield also forgot the huge risk that comes with Japanese pitchers. Or maybe he didn’t know that 25-year old Darvish has thrown 200+ innings in his last four seasons in Japan and just signed with a team that completely shuns the use of “innings limit.”

Since Darvish is the first expensive toy for the new Rangers ownership, easing him without implementing an innings limit is something Texas needs to reconsider about.

How Phil Hughes Could Help? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Trade Rumors: Rangers Got Yu But Could Use Hughes Too’ »

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New York Yankees Hot Stove: Matsui Rumors Are Not Funny For My Dad

Posted by on 17 January 2012, 1:23 pm
Hideki Matsui Reprint from Flickr

Image via Wikipedia

The latest question swirling around Yankee Universe is who will fill the void at DH?

Rumors are that the Bombers are interested in Johnny Damon and Carlos Pena, but have actually reached out to Hideki Matsui according to a  tweet from Jon Heyman at CBS.

Matsui was the 2009 World Series MVP and was let go after single-handily leading the Yankees to their 27th Championship, and fans were not happy at all.

So, when I told my dad that the Yankees were thinking of bringing back Hideki Matsui in 2012 his hopeful excitement made me reconsider if I should have said anything.

Matsui has been my father’s favorite player from the day he came to the US from Japan, and he still rants about the reason behind letting Godzilla leave in the first place.

My thought is would Matsui want to come back after being treated so poorly?

One aspect of Japanese culture that I am in utter awe of is the sense respect, tradition and commitment that each possesses in all aspects of life. Matsui was so level-headed, and like my father his work ethic and sportsmanship was almost surreal.

So, this makes me wonder whether Matsui would even listen to the suggestion of playing in the Bronx again because it is a sign of disrespect? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Hot Stove: Matsui Rumors Are Not Funny For My Dad’ »

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New York Yankees: Phew, Rangers Got Yu

Posted by on 20 December 2011, 6:01 am

Are the New York Yankees are officially cheapskates?

The Ballpark in Arlington home of the Texas Ra...

Yu Darvish's New Home In Arlington, TX.

Not quiet, but when Japan’s Mainichi Daily News publicized that pitcher Yu Darvish had the highest bid for a Japanese player under the posting system, a reported $51.7 million and that the team was the Texas Rangers, I was totally relieved.

The Yankees do not need another Japanese import to implode, or pay millions for a pitcher to be chauffeured to throw in Scranton-Wilkes Barre for five years.

As for now Nolan Ryan and Co have just bought 30-days to negotiate with the latest Japanese import and if Darvish signs a contract the Nippon Ham Fighters will get a cool $51.7 million.

You can bet that the Rangers will have to offer Darvish at least six-years and well-over $60 million bucks for him to stay in Arlington.

Remember that in Japanese culture if Darvish were offered less, or even equal a contract than fellow countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka made with the Boston Red Sox back in 2006, it would be considered a sign of disrespect because Darvish is regarded more talented.

The Red Sox gave Dice-K a six-year, $52 million deal, which had another $8+ million in incentives and a no-trade clause. Also, add in the $51 million posting fee, a personal translator, and a Japanese chef for clubhouse in exchange for one good season in 2008. Not to mention that Red Sox fans can’t stand Dice-K, who will be out till next September recovering from Tommy John surgery. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Phew, Rangers Got Yu’ »

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Baseball Basics: The Posting System

Posted by on 16 December 2011, 3:49 am

If you are a baseball fan, you must have heard the name Yu Darvish.

Darvish is Japan’s newest pitching phenom who is coming to MLB in 2012, but that seems to be the extent of some fans knowledge by choice or not.

Well, since I did receive a few emails this week asking me to explain what the process is for a MLB team to sign a Japanese player in a Baseball Basic, now seems to be the perfect time.

What is the Posting System?

The posting system is the process used by a MLB team can acquire a player from Japan’s Nippon Pro Baseball.

Here is a simple breakdown of the process:

  • An NPB player and his team both have to agree that he can be posted.
  • The NPB player’s team informs Japan’s NPB Commissioner’s Office of the posting, then proceeds to call MLB, who in turn notifies all 30 teams. This can only take place between November 1st and March 1st.
  • Once posted, MLB teams conduct a four-day silent auction bidding to win just an exclusive 30-day window to come to contractual terms with the NPB player who is posted. Bids go directly to MLB Commissioner’s Office and are sealed.
  • Once four-days are up, MLB discloses only the highest bid to the NPB team without revealing the name of the bidding ball-club.
  • The Japanese team has 30-days to either accept or reject the bid, and no negotiation is allowed. The MLB team does not pay any money at this point.
  • If the bid is rejected, the NPB player remains with his Japanese team and cannot be posted again until the following year.
  • But if it is accepted, the MLB team has won the 30-day exclusive period to sign the NPB player. Continue reading ‘Baseball Basics: The Posting System’ »

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New York Yankees Hot Stove: Not Yu Again As Bombers Bid On Darvish

Posted by on 15 December 2011, 2:37 am
The Yu Darvish auction officially ended at 4pm yesterday, and rumors are swirling that the New York Yankees might have gotten trigger-happy.

English: Yu Darvish, starting pitcher for the ...

What exactly are MLB teams bidding for?

To win the negotiating rights of Japan’s latest pitching sensation, and MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the winning bid is “sky-high.”

ESPN’s Buster Onley tweeted that the Bomber did make a bid, which I was hoping would not be the case until now.

Is Yu Darvish Heading To The Bronx?

From the start of this Darvish fiasco I had little concerns about GM Brian Cashman making a go-of-it with another Japanese pitcher after the Kei Igawa catastrophe.

The Yankees literally flushed $46 million down the toilet to get Igawa, posting $26 million for negotiating rights and handing Igawa a $20 million, 5-year contract. And trading Igawa was not an option because once demoted off the 40-man roster, his salary no longer counted toward the team’s luxury tax payroll; so if traded Igawa would have to be added back on, which made him cheaper to keep down in the minors.

To his credit, Darvish is a better pitcher than Igawa ever was in Japan but he will cost more than double the money.

Look, it is no secret that the Igawa acquisition has tarnished Cashman’s legacy for too long already, and after watching Daisuke Matsuzaka bomb up in Boston, why would the Yankees take such an expensive risk again?

I recently wrote the reasons ‘Why Yu Do Not Belong In The Bronx,’ which also listed facts of why the odds are against Japanese pitchers transitioning to MLB in general.

And guess what, here are three more strikes against Japan’s latest:

1)     According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, Darvish was stalling on his posting decision but got pressured into it by his Japanese team the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The Fighters are financially strapped and need the money, so that is more added pressure on an already burdened 25-year old’s shoulders. Passan also wrote that Darvish would ‘refuse to settle for a well-under-market deal,’ which means that if no contract can be reached he will go back to Japan. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Hot Stove: Not Yu Again As Bombers Bid On Darvish’ »

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New York Yankees Hot Stove: Why Yu Do Not Belong In The Bronx

Posted by on 20 November 2011, 3:16 pm
Yu Darvish begins his pitch.

Japan pitcher Yu Darvish. Image via Wikipedia

The rumor mill is buzzing about the New York Yankees growing interest in signing Japan’s latest pitching phenom named Yu Darvish.

My guess, or hope is that the truth behind these rumors is more media driven than Yankee; and here are four reasons why:

1) When an MLB team wants to acquire a Nippon Pro Baseball player before even negotiating the individual’s salary, the MLB team has to pay a posting fee just for the exclusive right to talk a deal in the first place. The posting fees are not made public so if there are multiple MLB team’s involved, nobody knows. As expected the player’s rights always go to the highest bidder. If that team fails to work out a contract with that NPB player, the posting fee is returned and so forth; the process starts again.

When the Boston Red Sox were interested in Dice-K, MLB Trade Rumors said the posting fee was $51.1 million dollars just to talk to him. The Red Sox paid Dice-K $52 million for six years, bring the total to $103 million bucks, and look how that has turned out.

Since Darvish is better than Dice-K, he will cost a small fortune, which is not worth the risk even for a rich team like the Yankees.

2) Hal Steinbrenner told the NY Daily News about whether the past would play a part in the Yankees pursuit of Yu Darvish:

“Every person is different; every player is different. We’re going to look at every single one. We’re going to look at every single option, and we’re going to analyze it. It will be a go or no-go, but we look at each person as an individual.”

Well, I would find it almost impossible to discount the past, especially when two of the Yankees worst signings were Japanese pitching imports Kei Igawa and Hideki Irabu. Igawa is making $20 million and plays in Triple A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, but then add a $26 million posting fee and that makes a Igawa a $46 million dollar bust.

Igawa went 2-3 with a 6.66 ERA in his 13 starts in the Bronx. The Igawa acquisition is highly regarded as one of GM Brian Cashman’s worst deals ever.

3) Looking at the bigger picture, Japanese pitchers can’t handle the overall workload in MLB. In Japan’s NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) pitchers throw way less innings due to playing 18 fewer games in their regular season, and using a six-man pitching rotation. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Hot Stove: Why Yu Do Not Belong In The Bronx’ »

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