Archived Weblog Entry - 02/14/2003: "Japanese Baseball News: For Tampa, Matsui is the Ten Million Dollar Man"

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02/14/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: For Tampa, Matsui is the Ten Million Dollar Man"

Matsui: Japanese for Cha-Ching!

According to Sports Nippon, the economic effect on Tampa by Hideki Matsui's coming to the Yankees could be very sweet indeed, maybe as much as $10 million. With the 100 Japanese tv and print reporters as well as increased tourism from Japan that Godzilla will entail, it adds up to a nice chunk of change for the city's coffers. A Chinese restaurant near the Yanks' spring training facility, Crazy Buffet, comped Matsui and a couple of friends Wednesday since his presence has brought in tons of business.

Altogether, the Yankees have issued 150 press credentials when you figure those given to American media. A public relations flack for the city of Tampa, Kelly Ernesto (and I hope that I have that transliterated correctly), estimates that each member of the press is spending $250 a day when meals, rental cars, hotel charges and etc are taken into account. This is in addition to the free publicity that the Florida metropolis is now receiving on a daily basis in Japan.

How lucrative could Matsui's presence ultimately make? Well, let's look at what Ichiro does for Seattle. According to the Oregon University Sports Marketing Center, the ex-Orix outfielder will mean in excess of $100 million over a five year period for Seattle. The same University, figuring the larger market in NY, figures that could swell to $500 million with Matsui now in town.

One interesting effect of the Matsui phenomenon was a hot dog stand that opened a couple of days ago just to feed the mass of press folks at two dollars a dog, according to the stand's 80 year old proprietor. If the Japanese media wasn't there, neither would the hot dog stand. The proprietor's opinion of Matsui? "He's a nice guy. He will definitely do well."

Meanwhile, back in New York, the major Japanese tour firm JTB is planning to conduct tours to all 81 Yankees home games. In all, the company expects to bring 10,000 fans to Yankee Stadium as well as to Safeco Field to see Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki play over the course of the year, a three fold increase over last season. They've been able to procure 50 box seats in left in Yankee Stadium for each game and expect a total of more than 5000 Japanese to be in the ballpark on those tours.

JTB has also obtained seats in right in Safeco for every game and will sell more than 200 tickets for each faceoff that feature both Ichiro and Matsui there.

That is just one tour outfit. When you put Nihon Kinki Tourist, HIS, and other firms into the mix, this becomes a phenomenal marketing bonanza.

MLB Players Union May Cancel Seattle-Oakland Japan Opener

According to this Seattle Post-Intelligencer piece, due to the controversy revolving around Kevin Millar, the MLB Player's Association is about to declare war on Japan, as they may cancel the openers of the Mariners and Athletics in Tokyo in reprisal for Chunichi not allowing Millar to go to the Red Sox. Are you kidding me? Does MLB and its players have any feet left after shooting them so many times? Who is the cretin who came up with this idea? This would finish MLB in Japan and erase the millions upon millions in future income that MLB would accrue from that market. What a bunch of as*holes.

Moreover, why does the U.S. press insist on reporting that the Millar matter is near resolution when Chunichi execs said yesterday that report is "nonsense"?

In a related, but seemingly different turn that may do in the Japan opener, the Seattle Times is quoting Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln as looking into alternate proposals if they feel security considerations dictate the cancellation of the Japan trip. MLB is in contact with Washington D.C. about the security issue, but I don't think you can give in to terrorists by doing away with opening day in Japan. In fact, going ahead with the games would be a good way to middle digit the criminals.

Team Reports

Yomiuri Lefthander Kimiyasu Kudoh felt some discomfort in his right calf today and took the rest of the day off. He experienced the same unpleasant sensation yesterday, too. Kudoh doesn't believe it's any big deal, but leg injuries have sabotaged his time with the Giants to some extent and the team has to be concerned. Pitching coach Masaaki Saito posited that Kudoh is probably going to miss a scheduled intrasquad game appearance on the 20th....Giants coaches were pleasantly surprised by Roberto Petagine's performance in right during a defensive simulated game drill, as he made several strong, accurate pegs. Second baseman Toshihisa Nishi, who was taking Petagine's relays, revealed that the Venezuelan's throws had some hot sauce on them. Hanshin scout Watanabe thinks Petagine looks like he will be fine in the outfield, though his club plans to run on the former Swallow in the early going. Petagine slugged six homers in 64 swings during batting practice against live pitching and then took another 150 cuts off of a pitching machine....Speaking of Nishi, he is tinkering with the mechanics of his swing, but has refused to tell the media what he's doing. Second year righthander Hiroki Sanada threw 207 pitches in the bullpen today....Rookie Yuya Kubo threw 150 pitches in his bullpen session while pitching coach Yoshitaka Katori instructed him on the curve ball.....Koji Uehara will throw batting practice tomorrow....Tomonori Maeda, who will be moving to leftfield after the defection of Tomoaki Kanemoto to Hanshin, went yard ten times in 65 swings.

Yakult Eighth round draft choice Masahiro Yoshikawa, was impressive in a simulated game today, allowing just one hit and fanning three in a three inning stint, flashing a nice sinker that has drawn comparisons to closer Shingo Takatsu. Last year at this time, Yoshikawa was a Lawson's convenience story clerk and played for that company's industrial league team, which was recently abolished in a cost cutting move....The Swallows also announced that lefty Yuhei Takai won't be demoted to the minors during the next phase of the club's spring training regimen. Takai got behind in his conditioning when he had some discomfort in a quadracep ....First baseman Todd Betts was impressive in the above simulated game, going 2-3 with a walk, both safeties coming on breaking balls.

Chunichi The Dragons had their first intrasquad game today and first baseman Ivan Cruz connected for a homer to leftcenter. in the sixth. He had a first inning double off the leftfield fence to accompany the dinger, finishing 2-4 with two RBIs. The former Cardinal has also reportedly rectified his tendency to swing at balls in the dirt. A Yomiuri scout was impressed enough to say that if Cruz can avoid injury, he will hit....Unfortunately, the top three hitters in the club's lineup, shortstop Hirokazu Ibata, second baseman Masahiro Araki and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome all took donuts. But 18 year old outfielder Yoshimi Sakurai went 1-3, the knock being a single to center. He struckout and popped out in his other times up...According to Chunichi Sports, the Dragons may foresake previous plans to bring in Sherman Obando in favor of signing Cardinals outfielder Alex Ochoa. Certainly, as an all around ballplayer, Ochoa is a superior choice....Shigeki Noguchi threw 185 pitches in the pen today, including his breaking pitches. He says his elbow feels fine....Pitcher Kenta Asakura, who has been on the shelf due to back pain, did some long tossing today. He will have a bullpen session tomorrow....A scout for Chunichi indicated that his team may test Yomiuri first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara's bad wheels with bunts during the regular season.

Hanshin Shortstop is the Achilles heel for the Tigers right now and to ameliorate that concern are going to go after Kazuo Matsui this coming offseason. Matsui is an Osaka native. Skipper Senichi Hoshino noted that second baseman Makoto Imaoka isn't really a true number one hitter since he doesn't steal enough, so if they get ahold of Little Matsui, he will be slotted into the leadoff role. However, they are going to have to forkout bigtime, as you can expect at least half a dozen MLB teams, including the Dodgers, Mariners, Mets and Red Sox, to seek his services. In addition, Barry Bonds wants his team to make a run at the PL Gakuen High School grad and don't count Atlanta or the Cubs out, either. And it wouldn't exactly knock me out of my chair if the Yankees got in on this as well, leaving the option of moving Derek Jeter to second or third in favor of the more defensively talented Matsui.... Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto's leg is feeling better and he will be back working out with the Tigers. He intends to be in the lineup when the Osaka favorite sons meet Daiei on the 7th at Fukuoka Dome....Hideki Irabu said some medicine he bought the other day knocked out a ad cough he had from a recent cold and he says he will be able to make up for lost time rather quickly....Yuya Ando will start in an intrasquad game tomorrow....Pinch hitting specialist Hiroshi Yagi and outfielder Katsumi Hirosawa have been promoted to the big club's camp. Yagi will be a DH in that intrasquad battle.

Hiroshima Veteran Shinji Sasaoka threw 150 pitches in the bullpen today and said that both his shoulder and elbow feel fine.... Third baseman Takahiro Arai mortared 17 homers in 68 swings during batting practice, one soaring some 490 feet.

Yokohama Manager Daisuke Yamashita is trying leftfielder Takanori Suzuki out in the two hole behind shortstop Takuro Ishii and ahead of outfielder Tyrone Woods, first baseman Steve Cox and third baseman Katsuaki Furuki. Suzuki, a two time batting champ and multiple Gold Glove winner with little pop, is an ideal candidate for that role and, at least in the early going, the Stars are looking like they could be pretty formidable offensively. Yamashita is hoping that the holes that Ishii will create stealing will open more holes for the spray hitting Suzuki, whose surgically repaired shoulder has healed. If I were Yamashita, though, I would bat Furuki fourth with Cox third and put Woods in the five hole to provide Furuki, who is still developing as a hitter, some protection ....Ace Daisuke Miura is apparently feeling some tightness when he throws, so he will remain in the minor league camp while he rehabs his elbow. There is no timetable right now as to when he will be back with the big club.

Seibu Daisuke Matsuzaka, paying no attention to having been overused the first three years of his career before suffering an elbow injury last season, was back in the pen again at the Lions Haruno spring training camp and threw 365 pitches, the most he has ever delivered in a single practice session. The thing that amazed pitching coach Hirohisa Matsunuma was that Matsuzaka's pitches didn't lose any life even late into the workout. He was also working on an overhand curveball and is now fooling around with a changeup. He used a slide step out of the set position for 108 of those pitches to work on making his arm action more consistent in that stretch....Shigeo Nagashima will be observing a Lions intrasquad match on the 19th....Takashi Ishii threw 65 pitches in batting practice today, all fastballs.

Daiei Rookie righthander Nagisa Arakaki threw in a simulated game today and was clocked at 93mph while striking out three hitters in a row and retiring all ten men he faced and displaying good fielding acuity. When manager Sadaharu Oh had Arakaki throw out of the stretch, he experienced no drop in velocity. Pitching coach Takao Obana said that Arakaki's slider reminds him of Yakult's Tomo Itoh and is "first rate." Nonetheless, Arakaki said that he is only at about 60% of game shape and is still looking to eclipse the 100mph mark. Three of his strikeouts came on his slider. Catcher Kenji Johjima was jumping out of his shoes to praise the number two choice. Arakaki will start on March 1st at Fukuoka Dome against Yomiuri in an exhibition game....Reliever Shinohara complained of pain in his backside today and received treatment at a Kochi area hospital....

Kintetsu Eighth round outfielder Shinji Shimoyama cracked an RBI double down the leftfield line off of a high fastball as part of a two hit performance during an intrasquad game today and stole a base. To add to the fun, he threw a runner out at the plate....22 year old reliever Takuya Matsumoto got himself some publicity in that game because he grunts loudly when releasing every pitch. He then takes the throw back from the catcher and stalks around the mound two or three steps, bringing comparisons with former Hankyu Braves hurler Brad "the Animal" Lesley. Matsumoto began his one inning stint by sawing off infielder Takasu before getting the next two men on a popup and a groundout.

Lotte Manager Koji Yamamoto designated submariner Shunsuke Watanabe to start their exhibition opener on the 23rd against Hiroshima. In an intrasquad game today, Watanabe surrendered two hits and a run in two innings on the hill. He then went to the bullpen and threw 108 pitches. Second baseman Bobby Rose went 0-3 in that tilt, the first time in 857 days he had faced live game pitching. Despite that, opposition scouts believe that Rose still has a good swing and will end up doing damage in the PL. The highlight of the game was when centerfielder Saburo Omura lead off in the first by hammering the ball completely out of the park to left....Infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, whose hitting style some think resembles Ichiro Suzuki's, stroked a single to left on an 0-2 fastball down and away from Junji Kuroki. If Nishioka, Lotte's top draft pick, makes it with the club right out of Osaka Toin High School, he will become the first Lotte player to do so right out of high school in 14 seasons. Pitcher Yukinaga Maeda, now with Yomiuri, was the last such example...Naoyuki Shimizu threw 266 pitches in the bullpen and said his shoulder felt fine afterward. Shimizu was a 14 game winner last season.

Nippon Ham At the Fighters camp in Nago, Okinawa, Shigeo Nagashima showed up and, after exchanging pleasantries with manager Trey Hillman, went to work tutoring outfielder Tomochika Tsuboi, warning Tsuboi about dropping his left shoulder during a batting session off of a tee. The press asked Hillman his reaction to meeting Nagashima and he replied, "I feel like I've just met Babe Ruth or somebody like that" ....Pitcher Itsuki Shoda is back playing catch after taking some time off due to shoulder discomfort, though he is unlikely to see the bullpen until the 25th at the earliest.

Orix While practicing cutoff playes, righthander Masato Yoshii hurt his calf and was given a lighter workout menu. He then iced the injured muscle when the practice was over. He should be back in the mix around the 16th....Infielder Scott Sheldon amassed 17 homers, including six in a row, in 68 swings.One of those shots travelled more than 475 feet and completely left the ballpark to rightcenter.

Miscellaneous Ichiro Suzuki arrived at the Mariners spring training camp today in Peoria, Arizona....Hideo Nomo threw 25 pitches in the bullpen today at Vero Beach, all fastballs, while Kazuhisa Ishii threw 30....The Matsui commercial shoot today took seven hours. He also said that he would like to appear in every game this spring since the more action he sees, the sooner he can become acclimated to the competition.... Kazuhiro Sasaki threw his forkball for the first time in spring training today as part of a 60 pitch bullpen session that he said din't go well. "I didn't know where anything was going today," he scowled.

Today's Pictures

Hideki Matsui in Pinstripes Taking BP for a TV Commercial

Another Shot of Matsuzaka's Delivery

A Close Up of Matsuzaka

Matsui Gets Made Up During Shoot

Daisuke Matsuzaka Throws in the Bullpen

Trey Hillman Bows to Shigeo Nagashima

Nagisa Arakaki from a Hitter's Perspective

Saburo Omura Bids Farewell to a Pitch

Yomiuri Number One Draftee Hiroshi Kisanuki

Yoshimi Sakurai Takes a Hack

Toshihisa Nishi During Batting Practice