Alex Cabrera a Yankee in '05 ??

[MonoMario]

What u guys think bout alex cabrera?
Im in venezuela and lot of reporters here said that the yankees would like to sign him, check his stats here, specially those last 2 season in japan:

http://www.sports-wired.com/players/....asp?Name=JFCA

Ive seen him play and his very good.
Hope the yanks can sign him.

[Yanks21]

He chased Sadaharu Oh's single season homerun record for the last two seasons. He'd be an interesting player to bring into Spring Training. I don't think a team would commit a major league deal to him, but he's an intriguing option for any team. He could be the next Cecil Fielder...

[Yankee Bulldawg]

never heard of him to be honest

[ChrisV82]

I have heard about him, but he's already over 30 and only has 31 games of MLB experience. I'd REALLY need to see him have a fantastic try-out in the Spring before I decided to take him on.

[hobokenfish]

Originally posted by Yanks21
He chased Sadaharu Oh's single season homerun record for the last two seasons.

So did Tuffy Rhodes. Should we sign him too??

[Looie #19]

Originally posted by hobokenfish


So did Tuffy Rhodes. Should we sign him too??

How about Fernando Seguignol who batted .304/.413/.657 with 44 home runs this season in Japan. Tsuyoshi Shinjo hit .298 with 24 home runs this season.

Two pitchers I'd keep an eye on for the future are Kei Igawa and Koji Uehara.

[incarnadine]

What is up with homers in Japan?

Tuffy Rhodes shows more power than Hideki did when he was there, and clearly Matsui is a very good player here as well. Why couldn't Tuffy be a good MLB player?

And why did we let Seguinol go? He would've been a great backup 1B.

[Looie #19]

Whatever Japanese team Seguignol went to offered up cash for him, I believe that is why the deal was made.

And other name that completely slipped my mind as someone to watch for in the coming seasons (if he is posted by his team) is Daisuke Matsuzaka.

There's an interesting website on the Japanese League, though whoever runs it doesn't update the player page real-time.

[STNYY]

Originally posted by incarnadine
What is up with homers in Japan?

All the parks are domed, so no wind to bring balls down. Also, average dimensions are smaller: no more than 400 ft to center, average of 370 in the gaps. Pretty similar to new-retro parks, but small compared to old-time parks like pre-renovation Yankee Stadium, Polo Grounds, etc.

You could also argue that the pitching is weaker, and there is no tradition of pitching inside/brushing guys back so hitters are more comfortable at the plate. However, this is just what I've heard/read, I've never watched a game from Japan.


http://baseballguru.com/jalbright/stadiums.htm

[DiMaggio5CF]

He's also had a decent minor league career.

He's worth an invitation to Spring Training, but no more than that. At 32 years of age, he's not worth investing a lot of money or time in.

Who knows? Maybe he can be a solid bench player.

[brosiusbuddy]

there's a reason guys who arent japanese play in japan. no thanks.

[maldon]

Originally posted by brosiusbuddy
there's a reason guys who arent japanese play in japan. no thanks.

Alfonso Soriano and Cecil Fielder say hello.

[yankeesfaninaz]

Some guys play in Japan but it does not mean that they are bad players and guys who can't make a team. Some guys may go to Japan because that is where they get the best offer to play all the time.

[maldon]

I believe the Red Sox pulled Kevin Millar from playing in Japan after some team bought his contract from the Marlins.

[Reno]

Originally posted by maldon
I believe the Red Sox pulled Kevin Millar from playing in Japan after some team bought his contract from the Marlins.

I think he signed with the team, then wiggled his way out to join the Sox.

[Yanks21]

Originally posted by hobokenfish


So did Tuffy Rhodes. Should we sign him too??

Please, point out the part of the post where I suggested the Yankees sign him. Thanks in advance...

[Looie #19]

http://www.asahi.com/english/sports/...411120158.html

Matsuzaka mows 'em down

Daisuke Matsuzaka wasn't going to be outshone by Hisashi Iwakuma.

A night after Iwakuma limited the MLB All-Stars to two hits over seven innings in a 3-1 win in Osaka, the Seibu Lions ace dominated over the distance as the Japan All-Stars took Thursday's Game 6 at Sapporo Dome 5-1.

Matsuzaka gave up five hits and fanned six while not issuing a walk to record the first complete game of the series. He is the first Japanese pitcher in 20 years to go the full nine against an MLB All-Star club.

``I've been looking forward to this game,'' said Matsuzaka, who skipped his scheduled Game 2 start due to tiredness. ``I'm happy with he way I pitched and felt great when the last out was recorded.''

Moises Alou flied out to right to end the game, which was played before a paltry crowd.

``I discussed sitting out Game 2 with (manager) Sadaharu Oh and we decided I would wait until Game 6,'' said Matsuzaka, who was 10-6 in the regular season.

``I had plenty of time to rest and I came in to tonight's game feeling fresh and confident.

``I'm just disappointed that I didn't get to face (Red Sox sluggers) Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.''

[hobokenfish]

Originally posted by Yanks21
He'd be an interesting player to bring into Spring Training.

Here you go. I made the extra logical leap that you wouldn't be able to bring him to spring training without signing him to some sort of contract. But that's not really important -- the main point really was that you can suck pretty badly in the majors, but kick ass in Japan.

[kaos1]

Japannnnnn!!!!!

[Sam18]