[Tokyo Sox]

This Nikkan Sports article (Japanese) paints the Sox as very strong frontrunners. According to the article:

- Tazawa himself has "firmed up" his intention of signing with the Sox
- M's and Braves only other teams to offer contracts so far
- Sox offer is a multi-year MLB deal, and along with a spot on the 40-man, also includes a "long term development plan" for Tazawa
- Tazawa's manager, Okubo, says it's not just about the money or # of years in the contract, it's also about putting Tazawa's future first and helping him grow, and the Sox get that. Also cites the other Japanese pitchers on the Sox, and the Japanese staff.
- Article expects him to spend the rest of this month refusing advances from the 7 or so other teams that have expressed interest so far, and to sign with the Sox sometime in early December
- Shipley, who wasn't commenting during the tournament, said (reverse translation, dunno what the original English was) "He's a nice young man and allowed us to make our proposal. We expect him to think carefully, and choose the Sox."

[E5 Yaz]

Tokyo Sox, on Nov 24 2008, 03:41 AM, said:

- Article expects him to spend the rest of this month refusing advances from the 7 or so other teams that have expressed interest so far, and to sign with the Sox sometime in early December

I'm not sure I get this one. Unless it's a wink-wink deal and the Red Sox need the roster space until then

[Tokyo Sox]

E5 Yaz, on Nov 24 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

I'm not sure I get this one. Unless it's a wink-wink deal and the Red Sox need the roster space until then

Sorry, not very clear. I think it means he is expected to still meet with other teams but more as a polite formality rather than with any real intention of signing with them.

[Corsi Combover]

E5 Yaz, on Nov 23 2008, 10:44 PM, said:

I'm not sure I get this one. Unless it's a wink-wink deal and the Red Sox need the roster space until then

Well, the article mentions that the deal guarantees him a spot on the 40-man roster, so I'd venture to say it has to do with this. The 40-man currently sits at 37. Tazawa would make it 38 if he were signed immediately, and you can probably assume we're going to sign a free agent or two, so things could get tricky with the limit. This allows them to have Tazawa in their back pocket, while having the flexibility to sign free agents and possibly open up even more space on the 40-man by trading someone like Bowden, Buchholz, Lowell etc.

There's really no reason not to do it as long as there's a handshake deal in place, and I'd imagine such a deal holds a lot more weight in Japan than it would here.

This post has been edited by Corsi Combover: 23 November 2008 - 11:12 PM

[TomRicardo]

mt8thsw9th, on Nov 23 2008, 09:00 PM, said:

Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett were both acquired before the Winter Meetings.

Curt Schilling was only going to go where ever he wanted and there were no other takers for Lowell's contract.

[Rough Carrigan]

TomRicardo, on Nov 23 2008, 11:31 PM, said:

Curt Schilling was only going to go where ever he wanted and there were no other takers for Lowell's contract.

I don't think that latter part is true. From what I've read from Gammons and others, the predicating factor in the deal, from Florida's point of view was that they wanted a top shortstop prospect. The Red Sox had that. None of the other teams with the money and willingness to take on Lowell's contract had a shortstop prospect to trade.

[Corsi Combover]

If you'll recall, it was reported that the Rangers were close to acquiring Beckett and Lowell in a deal involving Hank Blalock. Shortly thereafter, we find out the Red Sox are involved and the rest is history.

edit: the link:

Quote

Palm Beach, Fla. (Ticker) -- Josh Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP, could be on his way to the Texas Rangers, according to a report in Saturday's Palm Beach Post.

According to the report, the Marlins would send Beckett and and third baseman Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers for third baseman Hank Blalock and a pitching prospect, either John Danks, a 2003 first-round pick, or Thomas Diamond, the club's top pick the following season.

However, the paper says the Rangers are reluctant to include a pitcher in the deal.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/base...port/index.html

Then there's this:

Quote

"Florida is being very aggressive, trying to beat everyone into the market," a GM for another team said. "Once again, they are being very creative."

Source: http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=2229919

This post has been edited by Corsi Combover: 23 November 2008 - 11:42 PM

[Corsi Combover]

Rough Carrigan, on Nov 23 2008, 11:36 PM, said:

I don't think that latter part is true. From what I've read from Gammons and others, the predicating factor in the deal, from Florida's point of view was that they wanted a top shortstop prospect. The Red Sox had that. None of the other teams with the money and willingness to take on Lowell's contract had a shortstop prospect to trade.

From what I remember, and what the articles I linked indicate, is that it was the inclusion of a pitcher that put it over the top. At the time, Blalock looked like a future star in this league and he was definitely more valuable than Hanley. The Rangers balked at including a pitcher, we didn't. Thus, the Marlins dealt with the Sox.

[Corsi Combover]

Quote

Sponichi has published a detailed account of the contract Boston offered to Junichi Tazawa. The article also quotes ”They want me to come over, and I understand how I can develop. I feel like it’s a good team”. Nikkan Sports is reporting that Tazawa has already decided on the Red Sox, and says that he’ll be able to officially sign at the beginning of December.

Some highlights:

* 3 year, $3M contract (that’s $1M/year)
* Major League contract
* start off in class AA
* remain a starter
* personal translator

The dollar figure is a little surprising — there were numerous reports of a $6M offer earlier in the day. Maybe there is a bonus or incentive package that was left off of this report. We’ll learn more over the next couple days.

Source: http://www.npbtracker.com/2008/11/details-...tazawa/#content

[Tokyo Sox]

Corsi Combover, on Nov 24 2008, 12:50 PM, said:

Source: http://www.npbtracker.com/2008/11/details-...tazawa/#content

Yeah the Nikkan article is the same one I linked to; the Sponichi one however is new to me & chock full of details. In addition to what NPBTracker breaks down, that Sponichi article echoes the Nikkan one in saying that Tazawa signing with the Sox is almost a done deal.

As for the low(er than expected) $$ figure, the article notes that 3mm over 3 years is lower than the Braves offer but adds that the environment the Sox are able to provide is really what will make them the winners here.

I think the fact that it has apparently been made clear to him that he'll start in AA and work his way up and he's STILL probably going to sign with the Sox is extremely encouraging.

[Corsi Combover]

Tokyo Sox, on Nov 24 2008, 12:16 AM, said:

As for the low(er than expected) $$ figure, the article notes that 3mm over 3 years is lower than the Braves offer but adds that the environment the Sox are able to provide is really what will make them the winners here.

I think this is our first concrete example of the $51.1M posting fee paid for Daisuke finally paying dividends. I'm happy to see this.

[mt8thsw9th]

TomRicardo, on Nov 23 2008, 11:31 PM, said:

Curt Schilling was only going to go where ever he wanted and there were no other takers for Lowell's contract.

Okay, Matt Holliday, Nick Swisher, Kevin Gregg, and Josh Willingham have been traded in the past two weeks. Miguel Cabrera was traded before the Winter Meetings last year, as were Renteria, Brad Lidge, Orlando Cabrera, Delmon Young/Matt Garza, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Quentin and so on.

Trades happen at the Winter Meetings, but there's not going to be some team that randomly comes into the picture and drives up the price for one of the Texas catchers, I'm pretty sure 100 percent of the GMs in the league are aware that one of them could be available for the right price.

What they are doing is waiting to see how the market works out, as it is, all notable (and I use this term loosely) catching options are still on the free agent market as of today. At the same time, the Red Sox aren't in a rush to work something out, as Varitek is at this moment in time, still a fallback option, desirable or not.

And if a deal does happen at the Winter Meetings, correlation does not imply causation. The most important thing to remember, is once again, the free agent market. Teams are waiting off making legit offers to some of the lesser Type As because of the December 1st/7th deadlines for offering and acceptance of arbitration. The Winter Meetings start the next day. If the Winter Meetings weren't until January, you'd still see a flurry of trades and signings through mid-December.

[SoxFanPJ]

Quote

Arm Action: Junichi limits the amount of reverse rotation in his delivery, which is good. He doesn't forcibly take the arm laterally behind his acromial line, which should help to limit stress on the anterior part of the shoulder. (It is theorized by many biomechanists and exercise physiologists that the elbows getting behind the shoulders in all types of activities - be it bench press of pitching - can cause tears in the labrum.) However, Junichi does have a bad "grab" like Barry Zito does; he tenses his wrist with the ball pointing skyward at the bottom of his arm circle. When viewed frame-by-frame (and aided by the stop-motion image above), it appears that his pitching arm is vertical when his shoulders begin to turn, which should limit stress on his UCL. His elbow is in line or slightly below with his shoulders before delivery, so there's no problem there. Overall, I give him an Average grade.

http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2008/11/...-tazawa-junichi

[Tokyo Sox]

SoxFanPJ, on Nov 24 2008, 03:08 PM, said:

http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2008/11/...-tazawa-junichi

That site would appear to be maintained by SoSH's own gyroballerkyle.

Rangers getting in on the mix: new Sponichi article in Japanese
- Rangers met w/ Okubo and Tazawa for about 2 hours
- Terms of their offer not disclosed but it's thought to be a MLB deal, and the longest/richest of the 4 offers he's received so far.
- They discussed a development program and translation (though it doesn't say he'd have his own translator)

Okubo is quoted at the end as saying they expect to reach a decision about the whole process in "3 to 4 days."

[Trautwein's Degree]

More video:

sxRKY_Xg5tQ

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Rough's categorization of Tazawa's pitching motion as being similar to Bowden's really strikes me as completely accurate. Both have that unusual hitch in their delivery, which hasn't seemed to hinder Bowden's development so far.

Tazawa really intrigues me if he's actually at the level of a AA player. If the Sox are using this method of player procurement in an effort to supplement their draft picks I will be quite pleased.

[MiddletownYazMan]

Not sure of the source but if it's accurate it seems he chose the Sox:

Quote

They want me to come over, and I understand how I can develop. I feel like it's a good team," Tazawa told Nikkan Sports.

Red Sox sign Junichi Tazawa

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

MiddletownYazMan, on Nov 24 2008, 09:44 AM, said:

Not sure of the source but if it's accurate it seems he chose the Sox:
Red Sox sign Junichi Tazawa

Your link appears to cite the same source that TokyoSox cited at 10:41 last night (both appear to have the same Nikkan URL, tho I suppose the page could have been updated without them changing the URL at all).

I'd say no new info, just a firmer interpretation thru rose colored glasses.......

This post has been edited by Omar's Wacky Neighbor: 24 November 2008 - 10:14 AM

[Tokyo Sox]

MiddletownYazMan, on Nov 24 2008, 10:44 PM, said:

Not sure of the source but if it's accurate it seems he chose the Sox:
Red Sox sign Junichi Tazawa

No. It's from the same Nikkan Sports article I linked to earlier, and to say "Sox sign Tazawa" is really jumping the gun. The Sox certainly sound like heavy favorites, but even after that article in Japanese was originally posted, he then met with the Rangers who, as I mentioned, then made the longest & richest offer he'd seen to date.

I do think he'll end up signing with the Sox, and while he may be very very close to doing so, this is NOT yet a done deal, at least not according to anything available out there in Japanese just yet. Someone at firebrand has taken some liberties with their translation.

[E5 Yaz]

The Texas stuff goes back to the question I raised yesterday. If this were all but over, why the wait? I understand his need to fulfill obligations to meet other teams, but isn't it just as culturally poor to meet those teams after already agreeing to join the Sox?

If he wants to sign with the Red Sox, screw the roster spot and get it done.