Hey, if we can count on this guy to get Cabrera out every time, we‘ll have a good chance of taking the season series from Detroit!Would be nice to get a Tazawa type performance from him.
Yep andSomewhere Koji Uehara is high-fiving a whole bunch of people.
Not because of this move, just because he loves doing that.
Yep. This is the correct takeaway I think -- who knows what we're getting but for that money it's almost entirely upside. The change of scenery mid-season from Yomiuri to Lotte seemed to do him good; hopefully he also adjusts well to this much bigger change of scenery. His career once he moved to the pen has been mostly pretty successful. The walks are the only real area of concern imho.Sawamura hasn’t set the world on fire in Japan the past couple years, but neither did Okajima his last couple years in Japan before signing here. Sawamura might amount to nothing, but there’s upside you wouldn’t get with a domestic journeyman reliever who could be had on similar terms. I like the signing.
There's this.I've been trying to find a behind-the-plate view on his pitching because I suspect he's pretty tough to pick up.
Well, I didn't claim that my Japanese wasn't rusty . . . but thank you for sharing this one! Would love for a true behind-the plate, but darn this is great.There's this.
Keith Foulke was also 31 when the Sox signed him, why can’t he be the hopeful comparable?The comparable here is, hopefully, Hideki Okajima. He came here at about the same age (31) and gave us three seasons of good middle inning relief. He averaged 64 innings with WHIPs of .971, 1.161 and 1.262.
We have yet to see if he can stab a ground ball and underhand it to first.Keith Foulke was also 31 when the Sox signed him, why can’t he be the hopeful comparable?
this is an awful comparison based solely on race. Different kind of pitchers completely and even throw with different arms. Be better than basing projections solely on ones race.The comparable here is, hopefully, Hideki Okajima. He came here at about the same age (31) and gave us three seasons of good middle inning relief. He averaged 64 innings with WHIPs of .971, 1.161 and 1.262.
I think the comparison is more based on coming over from the same league at the same age to pitch in the majors for the first time. I don't see the post as comparing anything about their pitching style. Just hoping for similar results based on the circumstances. I know we are hyper sensitive to race, misogyny, etc. around here but I think this reaction is unfair.this is an awful comparison based solely on race. Different kind of pitchers completely and even throw with different arms. Be better than basing projections solely on ones race.
Agreed. Easily one of my all-time favorite Red Sox players.Koji continues to warm my Sox-centered heart ....
Speier's scouting report profiles him as a setup guy, similar age, played in Japan like Okajima with a similar lack of dominance there. The comparison is entirely apt.I think the comparison is more based on coming over from the same league at the same age to pitch in the majors for the first time. I don't see the post as comparing anything about their pitching style. Just hoping for similar results based on the circumstances. I know we are hyper sensitive to race, misogyny, etc. around here but I think this reaction is unfair.
Exactly. Or if they drafted a 5'7 middle IF from Arizona State.Speier's scouting report profiles him as a setup guy, similar age, played in Japan like Okajima with a similar lack of dominance there. The comparison is entirely apt.
If he was a 27yo outfielder from an indy league, people would compare him to Daniel Nava.
Agree with this except for the bolded. Sawamura has been significantly better for most of his NPB career than Okajima was for his. Oki was signed in part to keep Matsuzaka company, and happened to develop his best pitch by accident in Spring Training after we'd already signed him. That said yes the comparison is still apt because Oki became a much better pitcher than anyone could have expected and hopefully we get a few good similar years from Sawamura, for whom initial expectations should be higher.Speier's scouting report profiles him as a setup guy, similar age, played in Japan like Okajima with a similar lack of dominance there. The comparison is entirely apt.
If he was a 27yo outfielder from an indy league, people would compare him to Daniel Nava.
You know I've always found this so strange, and I don't know where it comes from. In a country where fundamentals are drilled into you all day everyday from the time you pick up a baseball, I don't know how so many hitches and twists make their way through the gauntlet to the bigs.He's also got a little funk in his delivery. I don't know if all the pitchers in Japan have more unique windups, if it's just the pitchers the Sox get (Nomo, Okajima, Koji), or just the ones I remember because they stood out. But if Okajima was the Bootsy Collins of funky deliveries, this guy is like one of the Ohio Players. Hopefully it helps his stuff play up.
They both pitched very well in the Japanese leagues. Both were elite in their 20s but had slipped from that level and hadn’t been elite for a couple years before signing with the Red Sox for short money. There’s certainly no assurance that Sawamura will replicate Okajima’s success — it’s more of a best-case scenario than a true comp — but the precedent shows it’s at least possible that a good but not great reliever from the Japanese leagues can come over here and enjoy some success.this is an awful comparison based solely on race. Different kind of pitchers completely and even throw with different arms. Be better than basing projections solely on ones race.
No need - I agree with the general thrust of your post, we're just parsing terms like 'elite' at this stage. I don't have much special insight beyond what you can find on BR. Sawamura was considered an elite closer at one point while Okajima never really was, and Oki always walked more guys. I think the expectations coming out of NPB should be higher for Sawamura, but as we know Oki developed his best pitch once he got Stateside.They both pitched very well in the Japanese leagues. Both were elite in their 20s but had slipped from that level and hadn’t been elite for a couple years before signing with the Red Sox for short money. There’s certainly no assurance that Sawamura will replicate Okajima’s success — it’s more of a best-case scenario than a true comp — but the precedent shows it’s at least possible that a good but not great reliever from the Japanese leagues can come over here and enjoy some success.
You’re the only one making it about race.
Edit: Certainly will defer to @Tokyo Sox in his description of their respective Japanese careers. I’m just looking at Baseball Reference.
Thanks for the reminder about that split/change thing of his. It really is remarkable that he developed that pitch here and how important it was to his success (and that year frankly). So much time has passed that the knowledge had simply vanished from the file cabinet.No need - I agree with the general thrust of your post, we're just parsing terms like 'elite' at this stage. I don't have much special insight beyond what you can find on BR. Sawamura was considered an elite closer at one point while Okajima never really was, and Oki always walked more guys. I think the expectations coming out of NPB should be higher for Sawamura, but as we know Oki developed his best pitch once he got Stateside.