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"Rising Sun Struggles."
Kenji
Johjima is having an absolute rough times in the batter's box
with a .184 batting average. Johjima is a career .299 hitter back
in Japan during his Fukuoka Daiei Hawk days and have hit a very
respectable .289 in his first two seasons with the Seattle Mariners.
Kei Igawa's
another chance in the Major League went from
bad to worse. After giving up a run in the first inning, he was
tagged for another 5 runs when he exited the game with no
outs in the 4th inning. Igawa pitched 3 innings, allowed 6 runs
on 11 hits, and New York Yankees lost to Detroit Tigers
6 - 5.
(5/9)
Johjima sits while working on swing
Igawa no better than Kennedy in debut
"Taiwanese Toughness."
New York
Yankees went 14-15 in April, however Chien-Ming Wang
went 5 - 0 and the Yankees won all 6 of his starts. After outdueled
other ace hurlers such as Roy Halladay, C.C. Sabathia etc, Wang
was named April's Pepsi Clutch winner for his ability to help his
team
win close games to provide a much needed victory during any slump
over other stars such as Manny Ramirez and Brandon Webb etc.
(5/9)
Wang voted April's Pepsi Clutch winner
"Ichiro Effect."
Kaz Matsui
is not that much talented like Ichiro, but he is giving
his team, the Houston Astros the spark on offense as the catalyst
like Ichiro have done for the Seattle Mariners the last few years.
(5/8)
Kaz paces Astros' new-look offense
"The Blue Crew."
Los Angeles
Dodgers' bullpen is about as diverse as you can
get on any Major League club. Both Chan Ho Park (South Korea)
and Hong-Chih Kuo (Taiwan) are pitching in long relief role with
closer Takashi Saito (Japan) anchoring the 7-man bullpen.
(5/8)
Under the radar, Dodgers 'pen thriving
Hiroki
Kuroda's inconsistency where he could not get out the
4th inning gave Hong-Chih Kuo another chance of pitching in
long relief. Kuo struck out 8 hitters and held his opponent hitless
in his 3 2/3 innings of work where his fastball was consistently
clocked in the mid-90s. Los Angeles Dodgers beat New York Mets
5 - 4, Kuo got the victory and now 3 of his 4 career Major
League
wins have come against the Mets. Chin-Lung Hu went 1-for-4 and
Takashi Saito pitched the 9th inning for his 5th save of the season.
Detroit Tigers
have signed their first Asian Minor Leaguer after
having Masao Kida and Hideo Nomo pitching on their Major League
team almost ten years ago. Taiwanese outfielder Chao-Ting Tang
inked a Minor League deal with the organization this past week.
(5/7)
Kuo puts on a display
Torre expresses confidence in Kuroda
Minor
League Transactions (April 26 - May 6)
"Up Again."
Kei Igawa
was a disaster during his first season with the
New York Yankees, he will be given another chance to impress
the team as he filled the spot in the rotation opened up by
Ian Kennedy's demotion to AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
(5/6)
Yankees tab Igawa for Friday's start
"Walk This Way..."
Daisuke
Matsuzaka issued a career high 8 walks during
his 5 innings of work but still remained undefeated after
Boston Red Sox beat Detroit Tigers
6 - 3. Hideki Okajima
recorded his 6th hold of the season, gave up only 1 hit in
1 1/3 of inning. ERA for Matsuzaka is 2.43, Okajima 0.64.
(5/6)
Homers lift Sox on Dice-K's wild night
"Mariners Musing."
Chien-Ming
Wang is the first 6 games winner in the AL,
Wang almost joined Seattle Mariners eight years ago until
New York Yankees bulked up their signing bonus gave his
team another quality start and is now 7 - 0 against them
after the
4 - 1 win. Wang's first two career wins have also
came in the expense of the Mariners and Ichiro is hitting just
.217 in 23 career at-bats against Wang but did go 2-for-4
with a run scored. Hideki Matsui went 1-for-4 with an RBI
while Kenji Johjima caught the last half inning of the game.
Another pitcher
Mariners' courted was Hiroki Kuroda, who is
now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is a conspiracy that
former Japanese Major Leaguer Shigetoshi Hasegawa had
influenced Kuroda's decision to snubbed the Mariners in favor
of the Dodgers, which Hasegawa has denied any involvement.
Ichiro's
hand-eye coordination is arguably the best among
all the Major Leaguers. Joe Girardi mentioned that he has to
change his defense plans when Ichiro goes up for his at-bats.
(5/3)
Yanks make Wang AL's first to six wins
Hasegawa denies swaying Kuroda
Girardi marvels at Ichiro's talent
"Ryno's Take."
Former
Chicago Cubs' great Ryne Sandberg, who is currently
managing A-Peoria that features Korean and Taiwanese players
Dae-Eun Rhee and Hung-Wen Chen said he is very impressed
with Kosuke Fukudome, who takes care of business and being
a leader on this year's Cubs' squad despite his lack of English.
Fukudome could be the first Cubs' rookie player to make the
All-Star team in over 50 years if he is selected to participate.
(5/1)
Sandberg impressed with Fukudome
"SI Cover Boy."
Kosuke
Fukudome's great start with Chicago Cubs
have featured him on this week's Sports Illustrated.
(4/29)
Fukudome featured in Sports Illustrated
"WBC Forecast."
Kenji
Johjima mentioned that he would be willing to
play in next year's World Baseball Classic, but only if he
stayed with his current team, Seattle Mariners. After
signing with the team just last week, Johjima should
have no problem of playing in next year's tournament.
(4/29)
Johjima dreams of Classic
"Iguchi's Interest."
Tadahito
Iguchi returned to the city of brother love for the
first time since leaving as a free agent. Iguchi spend two month
with the Philadelphia Phillies last season but decided playing his
natural position of 2nd base was more important than money.
(4/29)
Iguchi could have stayed with Phillies
"Hu's Hero."
Chin-Lung
Hu grew up in Taiwan idol former Boston Red Sox's
shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, this season Hu is serving as the
utility infielder and his locker is right next to Garciaparra, who
has taught him to enjoy the game and be ready for anything.
(4/27)
Hu has found a mentor in Garciaparra
"Resty Against Lefty."
Hideki
Matsui usually only have his name out of the lineup
if he sustain an injury found himself on the bench because
manager Joe Girardi wants to use as many right-handed
hitters against last year's AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia.
The move did
not make any difference, Chien-Ming Wang stayed
undefeated and won the pitcher's duel against Sabathia by
pitching 7 scoreless innings where he allowed only 4 hits
and
2 walks to go with 9 strikeouts. Masahide Kobayashi pitched a
scoreless 9th inning out of the bullpen and lowered his ERA to
only 1.59. New York Yankees shutout Cleveland Indians
1 - 0.
(4/27)
Matsui rests as Yanks counter lefty
Wang outduels Sabathia
"Rangers to RedHawks."
For the
second time this season, Kazuo Fukumori
have been optioned down to AAA-Oklahoma.
(4/26)
Texas options Fukumori to Triple-A
"Fat Lady Sings."
Akinori
Iwamura's first homer of the season with two outs
during bottom of the 8th inning gave the Tampa Bay Rays
a come from behind
2 - 1 victory over Boston Red Sox.
(4/26)
Iwamura picks prime time for first homer
"Birthday Bash."
Otanjou-bi
Omedetou Gozaimasu to Kosuke Fukudome,
or in English, Happy Birthday. Fukudome celebrated his
31st birthday with the Japanese media contingent that
have followed his every move here so far in America.
(4/26)
Happy Birthday, Kosuke Fukudome
"Mariners Diaries."
After two
months of negotiations, Seattle Mariners have signed
catcher Kenji Johjima to a three year extension for about 24
million.
8 million a year for a starting catcher is about the going rate, but
Johjima is not hitting well, albeit only the first month of the
season
while with contract extension in his mind, but keeping any catchers
until they are 35 is a huge gamble and the Mariners should have
learned that with Dan Wilson back in 2005. With Johjima's signing,
this also create a tough situation for Jeff Clement, former 1st
round
pick of the team who is hitting the ball very well in AAA-Tacoma.
On the field,
Seattle Mariners lost to Oakland Athletics
4 - 3,
but reliever Cha Seung Baek who have not pitched in almost
two weeks gave them a very gutsy performance with starter
Miguel Batista out early in the game with injury. Baek pitched
6 innings and gave up only a hit and a run to go with 4 strikeouts
and a walk. Ichiro was 1-for-4 with a run scored while Kenji Johjima
finished the night 0-for-2 before being removed for a pinch-hitter.
(4/26)
Mariners keep Kenji through 2011
Baek sparkles in a pinch
"Lineup Shuffles."
Tadahito
Iguchi is batting only .213, manager Bud Black decided
it is the best for him to get a day off to break out of a 4-for-41
slump that he is in. Iguchi is not the only Japanese hitter
struggling
hitting the ball, as Akinori Iwamura, Kenji Johjima also hitting in
the Mendoza Line and only Kosuke Fukudome and Hideki Matsui
are hitting well over .300 for the first month of the 2008 season.
To Iguchi's defense, playing half of his games at Petco Park, an
extreme pitcher's park might have some effect, Kevin Kouzmanoff
is the leading hitter for the San Diego Padres while hitting just
.279
(4/25)
Slumping Iguchi gets day off Friday
Daisuke
Matsuzaka is fighting the flu that caused him to miss his
scheduled start, he should be back for his next scheduled start.
Kaz Matsui was
out of starting lineup because the
Houston Astros had a day game and he have not gotten
a day off since coming off the DL more than a week ago.
(4/24)
Flu bug bites Dice-K
Cooper gives regulars day off
"Head on...Apply Directly by Fukudome."
Kosuke
Fukudome has reached on base safely the last
seven time by either hits or walks, his OBP is currently .477,
best among the Chicago Cubs and third overall in all of MLB
behind only Albert Pujols (.495) and Rafael Furcal (.489).
(4/22)
Fukudome at center of offensive surge
"The New Order."
Tadahito
Iguchi is in a hitting funk, that led to his move
from hitting second to eighth in San Diego Padres' lineup.
Manager Bud Black said he like the newer lineup and
Iguchi hitting eighth is likely going to be a permanent move.
(4/21)
Black makes changes to lineup |
