Uh, that's yen. It's about $3.6 million dollars.
Chickenfeed. I speet on $3.6 million. I won't get out of bed for less than $4.5 M.
He's gone. All we can do is wish him well.
According to the Internet, Tanaka hoped to someday return to the Yankees, that he might have considered a one-year deal for what will presumably be his final season. For better or worse, the signing of Carlos Rodon killed that.
Let the record show that Tanaka pitched at least six seasons with a partial tear in his elbow, refusing Tommy John surgery and always answering the bell. He's one of the gutsiest pitchers ever to play for the Yankees.
Considering his personality, skill set and contributions, I cannot understand why the franchise has been so slow to sign another Japanese star. While the front office was preoccupied with keeping Aaron Judge, the Redsocks sneaked in and signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year contract. Yoshida bats LH and plays left-field: Does that ring any bells? He projects to be the best Japanese hitter since Godzilla.
A left-handed hitting left fielder.
Look, I get it: We can't sign everybody. And right now, the Yankee rotation larder looks stocked - we don't need a sixth starter, not with Domingo German in our email thread. But just wait.
There will come a time in 2023 when Tanaka would come in handy - and provide a low-cost solution to a major problem. We all know it. We all see it. Just wait...
Good luck, Mr. Tanaka, wherever you are.
There is a big home run hitting first baseman in Japan that’s a free agent after 2024 and just did an interview about liking the Yankees, can’t find the link but I’ll post it if I do. Perfectly timed for the end of the Rizzo contract.
ReplyDeleteDamn, he won’t post till 2025, check out Munetaka Murakami
ReplyDeleteThere's still hope. Maybe we can sign the Grand Wizard of Wrestling.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteLet’s stop all the complaining about the lack of effort the new front office team is putting into acquiring a left fielder - we’re only going to annoy them and interfere with their shuffleboard games at the retirement home.
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ReplyDeleteI’m truly, sincerely, wholeheartedly hopeful that the new grey(ing) matter trust of the front office sign M3GAN to to play left field.
ReplyDeleteIf that can’t get done AT LEAST have her throw out the first pitch of the season.
I don't know enough about Murakami the ballplayer but Murakami the author is one of my favorites. Very clean prose that always seems to suggest that more is going on than actually is. Like there is a book hidden in the book.
ReplyDeleteHe's a big baseball and jazz fan as well. Interesting guy. You know where they ask people, "Who you would like to have dinner with?" He'd be on that list.
As far as the Yankees go... Yes, it would have been a good move to sign Yoshida but based on what I read he's not a good left fielder at all. More of a DH and we already have Stanton clogging up that space. (At least the 68% of the time he's able to play)
Yoshida should benefit from Fenway's extremely small left field and Yankee fans are not kind to left fielders who have trouble playing the position. (Cough. Aaron Hicks last year. Cough.)
That said, the Yankees passed on a number of good ball players from Japan (and Cuba!!!) despite having success with players from those places in the past.
I still think that Seiya Suzuki the Cubs OF was the guy we needed to sign. He played reasonably well despite being injured for 1/3 of the year. This should be a big year for him.
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In other news...
Bunch of trees fell down last night. Plus the fence on the side of the house. Something big bounced off the roof as well, but I can't figure out what it was. Nice day today. More rain tomorrow.
Can't complain. The air is clean. The reservoirs and snow packs are filling up and there's a beautiful quality to the light this AM.
Duque "I cannot understand why the franchise has been so slow to sign another Japanese star."
ReplyDeleteIt has to be one or a combination of two things: (1) Yankee scouting sucks and (2) Cashman has become extremely risk averse over time.
They've had an excellent signing (Matsui); one very good signing (Tanaka); one so-so signing (Kuroda, although he was already an experienced major leaguer); and a couple of dreadful signings (Irabu and Igawa).
Their record with Japanese stars is 50/50 at best.
With Cuban stars of recent vintage, they've had one fabulous signing (Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez); one up and down roller coaster signing (Chapman, again, an experienced major leaguer and an experienced domestic violence specialist and Wild West garage cowboy); and one bad signing (Contreras [In fairness to Contreras, though, they may have given up too soon on him and lacked the right coaching to bring out the best in him.])
And so their record with Cuban signings is also 50/50 at best.
Apparently Nasty Nestor was born in in Surgidero de Batabano, Cuba.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that until today.
Doug, was that the "Bomb Cyclone"?
ReplyDeleteIt's been a series of storms. Each one brings additional damage. The groundwater doesn't get absorbed and the trees get weaker each time. Particularly when the wind gets up to 60+MPH
ReplyDeleteMore rain and wind tonight. Supposedly it will continue through at least Thursday. The 18 foot branch that landed on my roof and shook the house came from a Redwood tree around 80 feet away. It broke off from higher up and then carried the distance.
This link has a bunch of photos that is typical of what's going on in the residential parts of downtown.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sacramento/comments/106n1t0/alot_of_downed_trees_damaged_cars_and_large/
Here's a video from YouTube. It's overly dramatic but does give you a sense of it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=ir_PNzmAfGY&feature=emb_logo
Oy. Sorry to hear about that.
ReplyDeleteWHY THE FUCK CAN"T WE SIGN EVERYONE!? FUCKFACE HAL'S DAD DID THAT ALL THE TIME!!!
ReplyDeleteFUCK YOU HAL!! MAY YOU DIE ALONE AND UNFULFILLED, YA PRICK!!!