Daisuke Matsuzaka

[The Loveable Losers]

Not sure if this is the best forum for this but it definitely applies as minor league news in the league in which I play.

Scouts from two MLB teams were in Japan to see Matsuzaka during the last week of May, the Japan Times reports.

It's now almost an open secret in Japan that Matsuzaka's club, the Seibu Lions, likely will allow Matsuzaka to go to the States this offseason via the posting system. The Lions could make Matsuzaka, who won WBC MVP honors earlier this year, stay with them for 2007, but Lions ownership would then have to pass up a posting fee from the MLB team that signs Matsuzaka, a fee that could well exceed $10 million. So far this season, Matsuzaka has gone 7-2, 2.21 in 10 starts for the Lions, with a 1.06 WHIP and a 77-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 73.1 innings. The Yankees and Mariners would appear to be the two teams most interested in pursuing Matsuzaka this winter.

Sounds like it's a foregone conclusion that the Seibu Lions are going to post Matsuzaka which means he's probably going to either be in Seattle or in pinstripes come 2007. As a Matsuzaka owner I REALLY hope George opens up the checkbook and makes the Seibu Lions very, very happy. The difference in value between Matsuzaka as a Mariner and Matsuzaka as a Yankee is staggering to think about.

[Amazinz]

The Mets reportedly have interest as well. They have scouted him this year and last.

[The Loveable Losers]

The Mets reportedly have interest as well. They have scouted him this year and last.

I would actually like that more than the Yankees. NL team that's an offensive powerhouse. ::drool::

[Members Only Jackets]

but if he winds up in Seattle, a pitchers park, it wouldn't be all that bAD...

But the Yankees make sense since most of their picthing staff is older than George Burns.

[The Loveable Losers]

but if he winds up in Seattle, a pitchers park, it wouldn't be all that bAD...

But the Yankees make sense since most of their picthing staff is older than George Burns.

My issue with Seattle is that he could pitch outstanding and end up winning 10 or 11 games. I'd much rather have an era 0.30 or so higher and get an extra 4-6 wins.

[Members Only Jackets]

Here's a nice rundown on him:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullp ... _Matsuzaka


*makes a good point neAR THE BOTTOM:

"...his arm might have been irreperably damaged by the workload he has shouldered over the years."

---he pitched a 250-pitch, 17-inning game at age 17 among others..

also....

Ken Rosenthal, FOXSports, offers a feature on the MVP of the WBC, Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka :

" ... next off-season, Matsuzaka could spark a frenzy among major-league clubs if his Japanese team, the Seibu Lions, is willing to sell his negotiating rights to the highest bidder. The one caveat: Matsuzaka, 25, indeed throws a lot. He has averaged a mere 174 innings in seven seasons with Seibu, but his performance in the 1998 Summer National High School Baseball Tournament in Japan remains a source of wonder and concern for major-league clubs. Matsuzaka pitched on four consecutive days in the tournament, starting and finishing three of those games, including one that went 17 innings. One day after that reported 250-pitch effort, Matsuzaka worked an inning of relief. And the day after that, in the tournament's championship game, he pitched a nine-inning no-hitter, becoming a legend at age 17." ... Matsuzaka, who throws 91 to 94 mph with a variety of off-speed pitches, could be at least a No. 2 starter, scouts say."



at least a #2? nice

[The Loveable Losers]

I hear people's concerns about workload but for people that can protect minor leaguers for a few years I think you have to look at him as a 2 year investment and then rethink things at that point.

While he's pitched a TON he has a very resilient arm (or else he wouldn't still be pitching) and he has wonderful mechanics. In addition to that pitchers that come to the major leagues from other countries tend to do very well for the first couple of years as the league adjusts to them.

During those two years he'll be 26 and 27 years old. I doubt the wear and tear really gets to him at that point.

Now, after those two years it will be a lot dicier on what to do next. Matsuzaka may cool down on those 334 pitch bullpen sessions that he likes to throw every year or he might not. If he cools down on those and he gets by as a pitcher (and not just due to the unfamiliarity of the league) then he'd be worth keeping beyond the two years. But if he's still going into the pen to throw 300-some pitches for the hell of it or if the league seems to be starting to figure him out you should be able to get some pretty good value for him at that point as there's a very good chance his first two years will look great.

[Another Blown Save]

Please don't go to the Yankees
Matsui crushed my heart already, and I don't think I can take it again

[Members Only Jackets]

well, I just added him in a keeper league...it's a good risk.

[The Loveable Losers]

Please don't go to the Yankees
Matsui crushed my heart already, and I don't think I can take it again

I think you may be crushed. If Steinbrenner doesn't get a ring this year he's gonna be pretty desperate and Matsuzaka is something the Yankees don't normally get - a YOUNG expensive arm. Normally their expensive arms are 'well aged'.