Iwakuma to get U.S. Majors chance at last; Nakajima misses out

“Seattle really wanted to get me,” Iwakuma said. “That was the most important thing.”

The Nintendo Mariners, coming off some poor seasons, have little chance of competing next year with powerful rivals like the Rangers and the Angels.

It probably makes sense from a marketing standpoint for the M's to pick up Iwakuma and Kawasaki with the large Japanese-American population in the Pacific Northwest. Ichiro, for all his accomplishments, is getting near the end of his career and the excitement of him playing in Seattle has worn off for most Japanese fans across the Pacific.

Good luck to the Mariners in 2012. Let's see if they can win at least 70 games and stay relevant in the AL West for at least a month or so.

Iwakuma is getting much less than the Athletics offered him last year, and only a 1 year contract, not the multi-year one he was demanding from Oakland. See what getting injured in your free agency year gets you!

Japanese media last year had reported that Oakland made a four-year proposal worth $15.25 million. In terms of annual salary, it is equal to what Iwakuma made with the Eagles of Japan's Pacific League. His agent Don Nomura said of Oakland, "Their offer was low and they weren't sincere".

As an Oakland fan I must say I'm quite happy how this turned bad for him after dissing the Athletics

You should start seeing for of this. get posted, fail to agree, sign a one-year free agent deal in Japan, and then the next year sign a big major league contract if still healthy.

*start seeing more of this

Nakajima can negotiate a contract with any MLB team that is interested after next season once he gets enough service time for FA in NPB. If he plays well in '12, he will be well compensated to play in the U.S., if he finds a team that needs him to play regularly in the IF.

SO WHAT!.. he decided to take the money and go to Seattle.... don't be jealous people, you would do the same thing if you had baseball talent... Now, he joins Ichiro.... Good job, Mariners!

Hope the best for him and his family. We Rakuten fans in Sendai will miss him and his eight year old daughter and wife. The story about Iwakuma in Sendai is when Iwakuma came to Sendai in 2005 he wasn't adjusting well with the expansion team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He wasn't smiling to the fans and he was smoking. When his daughter was drawing to him to cheer him up, that changed him. Also, his wife was writing captions under their daughter's drawing to cheer him up as well. He won the Sawamura Award in 2008. I think this book is circulation.

Anyways, there's better sushi in Seattle. You know the Michelin Guide Book, three star ,Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo? Well, Shiro mentored for Jiro Ono a sushi restaurant in Seattle. Also, the quality of life for him and his family is in Seattle. There would be a big culture shock for him in Oaktown. Nice people in Oakland, but business in the Bay Area and the Silicon Valley would be too fast for him and his family coming out of Sendai. His family is more Bellvue or Clyde Hill, Washington. Iwakuma went for quality, not quantity.

Seattle really wanted to get me,Iwakuma said. That was the most important thing.

They were maybe the only team that was interested in him this year after his injury. Blew off $15.25 mil last year (4years), got $1.5 mil this year (only 1 year).

They were maybe the only team that was interested in him this year after his injury. Blew off $15.25 mil last year (4years), got $1.5 mil this year (only 1 year).

It's an incentive-laden contract that could get him almost $5 million. I bet the innings pitched and starts requirements shouldn't be too difficult to attain for the most part.

But, yeah, if he doesn't pitch well and stay healthy for another couple years, he will never come close to getting the $15 million the A's offered.

Seattle is actually getting a potential 10-12 game winner. Since signing of Iwakuma is a short term, it's a low risk for Mariners. He has good stuff and might have a good future. If he does well, Mariners could sign him to a longer contract.

Seattle is actually getting a potential 10-12 game winner.

I guess the potential is there, but he will be pitching regularly against some big-time lineups within his division that have ability he never saw in such numbers and quality in NPB. The M's probably won't be very good again, and they certainly didn't show much offensively last year to support their starters.

If he wins ten games, I bet he'll also lose about fifteen, and be a sub-league average starting pitcher when the final numbers are calculated at season's end.

Correction: Shiro, now 70 years old, mentored for Jiro Ono, now 85 years old, back in Japan. Shiro Kashiba's sushi restaurant is in Seattle

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2016783088_pacificptaste27.html?prmid=head_more

“Seattle really wanted to get me,” Iwakuma said. “That was the most important thing.”

You would thing finally seeing your 'dream' realized is the most important thing, but likely he's merely happy about the money (for by his own definition 'being wanted' means the team agreeing to the player's contract demands). Sad, but he's not the first athlete to be driven by and/or changed by money. Here's hoping at least he can improve the Mariner's standing, not add to their woes.

Too bad about Nakajima, but if Iwakuma is any indication, he'll get it next time around.

Brian Cashman failed to meet Nakajima's cash demand (!)