mrmiyagi comments

Otani was put under a pressure similar to Masanori Murakami 50 years before... I had really hoped that he would choose the MLB route... but his dream is still to be in the Majors, so Nipponham would be wise in their handling of him...

Those are the obvious points that have been argued to death... scheduling is something that the MLB would have to work around, its as simple as that...

As for players... MLB and the owners can't stop players from competing in it... teams can express their discontent of a player wanting to participate... I'm sure Nolan Ryan was very influential there, and Darvish will listen to someone of his stature... the only time owners have control is with FAs just before the tournament, which is why you will probably not see Ichiro playing... would there be an unbalance during playoff race? sure, that's the breaks, but MLB has to learn to adjust... Soccer has learned to adjust, the JPB is getting there... MLB just needs to suck it up if baseball is to truly become a competitive world sport... and FWIW, they did just fine in 2001 with the sudden break in play...

sfjp330

I get what you're saying, but it should be in Summer... if baseball is ever to return to the Olympics, it will require Major Leaguers... there's no reason why MLB can't extend the All-Star break another 10 days...

From a business standpoint, March is also bad... you don't compete against March Madness in the States...

As for Iwakuma, I doubt he will pitch in the WBC... despite his new contract (which may have a clause preventing him from participating), he still has much to do to prepare for next season... Japan will have to make do with the pitchers they have in the Japanese leagues, which is still not bad...

Darvish will be fine, he won't be the next Matsuzaka, not with the Ryan Express around helping him...

Simply put, Ichiro was, at one point, one of the top 5 "baseball" players in the world (just like Bobby V. said)... but Ichiro, in his 11 years (or 13, if you consider his spring training episode in 1999) in the big leagues, has yet to become a true "Major League" baseball player, figuratively and literally... as much as I hate the Yankees, I seriously hope that he finally "gets it" during his short stay with them... There is so much more to the league than just playing the actual game, most of which was not forcefully taught to him during his time in Seattle (Buhner could have done it)... and I hope he learns just how important leadership (which he thinks is unnecessary for a player) is on a team through Jeter... as Yogi might say, you can observe a lot by watching...

Ironically, Japanese April Fools jokes catch me off-guard... more so than in America... I still remember the stolen Hachiko joke a few years back; I actually had to check!

Spring training in Arizona's climate with MLB standard baseballs can be quite a change for any Japanese pitcher... but, Texas will be no different, so Darvish needs to get this figured out soon... fortunately (or not) for him, most of Texas' home games are in the night...

also, at 145kgs, Osuna-arashi is a big boy... he doesn't look it from that picture, though...

here's a thought... should Baruto take this tourney or get 14 wins, he would be the first Yokozuna from...? (what word would the media use?)

Gaijininfo, look up Musashimaru's background... that was his dream to become a pro football player, and when you see his early sumo pictures, you can clearly see a line man's body... obviously, he was able to make the necessary body adjustments... however, his flexibility was poor... generally speaking, sumo wrestlers are much more flexible than NFL players, I would even say that at least 75% of them can do the splits...

Ultimately, its about what Nintendo wants...

if you were to tell him that he was going to hang that day, he probably wouldn't comprehend it; go in one ear, out the other... his green mile would be the easiest to walk; I doubt officers would have any resistance from him...

On the other hand, every morning when he wakes up he doesn't know if he's going to have breakfast or the rope.

'Lady Gag" hahaha...

Nb4 the edit...

Actually, I think if Matsuzaka would've played closer attention to the Red Sox training staff he would've avoided a lot of the arm trouble he ended up having. It was because he kept following the his "old" routine that he ended up overthrowing a lot during his off seasons and just kept adding unnecessary wear and tear to his arm. Throw in his participation in the WBC which kept him out of most of the 2009 Spring Training and also his unwillingness to be upfront about his physical condition with the Red Sox or Team Japan during that 2009 WBC and it was no surprise that he had arm troubles that year. He did some incredible things as a HS player and young pro, but he refused to adjust his training schedule as he got older and his body just couldn't seem to handle it as well as it once did.<

"actually, I think"? ... anyways, thats what the internet news will tell you... that's what the Boston media will tell you... and it's misleading... I won't disagree with the 2009 unwillingness to be upfront about his physical condition, that was a mistake and he took responsibility for it... but he did indeed change his routine... he was forced to train the way that Boston's coaches had prepared for him from the very start... he did not overthrow by his standards, but by Boston's standards... the "wear and tear" argument has been overused and never proven... he adjusted his training schedule many times, still is... but it's still not to the level when he was with Seibu (and it won't be now)... now, had he been able to train with his standards from the get-go, makes you wonder what kind of condition he would have been in during the 2009 WBC (he was quite fine after the 2006 one)...

Sasaki was a relief pitcher, not a starter. The demands placed on his body were much different than the ones that Matsuzaka had to deal with. Some relief pitchers may never throw more than 50 innings a season whereas a starter might get close to 200. A lot of things can get covered up, even poor training methods, when you only might have to face a batter or two every couple of games or so.<

thank you, John Madden... now, how many relievers do you know of that throw over 50 pitches in the bullpen before going to the mound?

Michael... I agree that he won't be babied... but I believe he will be more than capable of the workload... I always thought Texas would be the best team for him because of Ryan... take Kazuhiro Sasaki and Daisuke Matsuzaka as examples... the Mariners didn't like Sasaki's training and warm-up methods as they believed it to be too much... but there wasn't much they could do about it since the team was controlled by a Japanese owner... long story short, he flourished in his four seasons (well, his last season has its question marks)... as for Matsuzaka, Boston refused to let him stay on his usual routine, he publicly complained about it... this one is kind of a catch-22 considering the amount of money invested in him... but I really believe that had he been able to maintain his normal routine and exercises like Sasaki, he would have been more successful... Ryan will let Darvish maintain his training ways, and he will help him get adjusted to MLB... being from Seattle, I hate this... but as a baseball fan, I can't wait to see how Darvish does under Ryan's watch...

Should Texas get Darvish, I look at him becoming the most successful Japanese pitcher ever... he won't have the restrictions that Matsuzaka had/has in Boston; he'll be able to train and pitch the way he wants like Sasaki did in Seattle... it will just be better disciplined with Nolan Ryan around... generally speaking, I think he has the attitude and demeanor to play Stateside... I think the greatest question is whether he'll be distracted by his marital problems... and whatever team does get him should make an effort in convincing him not to play in the WBC in 2013...

Then lets just say Darvish is Iranian... there, case closed...

"If the MLB was so much better, then maybe they should prove it by winning the WBC for once ?"

one problem, Mr. Suzuki, MLB doesn't field a team to the WBC...

"Because I have a brain"

Then try using it, Mr. Suzuki...

-> Smithinjapan... seriously, is Japantoday your only source of information? Kawasaki has already said that he'd be willing to take a minor league contract, and that if he doesn't get a contract, he'll simply play in Japan... Ichiro probably has only one year left with the Mariners, let Kawasaki have his fun

^^^ what makes you think "ozawa's boy for the job" didn't win? Ozawa, while incompetent, isn't that stupid... I'm sure he knew quite well that whoever he supported would not get elected... reverse logic, if you may...

to me, Ozawa is like Natalie Portman's character in Star Wars Episode 1 Phantom Menace...

has died... rip...

Even if Japan does sign the treaty, there is still one more potentially big loophole: the fact that children take the mother's name (be it her maiden or changed name) at registration...

Hawker was 22 years old when she was killed. She worked as an instructor at a private language school, where Ichihashi was a student.

I see... so, apparently Nova was a private language school at that time...

Agreed that he was overused by Seibu and his high school... disagree with it being the primary fault... had the Boston Red Sox let him condition himself in his own way like he had done in Japan, he might have been able to perform better... the Mariners let Sasaki use his own routine and he never had problems with weigh gain(he actually lost some throughout the season) and pitched at an All-Star level...

a number of MLB players, most notably Americans, have already declined to play for 2013... if they were to hold the finals anywhere off of North America, even more players would decline... and I'd imagine team owners would be even more discouraging of their players playing... this tourney will continue to be a waste of time until MLB finally decides to have it in the Summer and not during March Madness...

I always thought the "Richard Hall Show" a few years back was similar to SNL...

Love how JT only mentions the love part...

Lets see... she was the youngest of 10 children, came from the countryside, poor family, mother died last year, went through the earthquake alone (assumingly), and probably wasn't making that much money... I can see why the supposed depression may have come...

the rags-to-riches thing is doubtful... she probably wasn't making any more than 250,000 a month, I'd be willing to bet under 200,000... that is nothing in Tokyo, especially Meguro... these kind of young "Talento" don't make much money...

So, everyone here seems to think that Kim Yu-na is crying because she lost... I see... it couldn't possibly be about something else... I know one thing, if I were competing for the first time in a long time, I would be emotional as well just making it to the podium... She's still the Olympic gold medalist, and in my opinion, still the favorite to win it again in Russia...

I'm just loving this paradox that has been created from the Ichihashi incident...

with the exception of ICHIRO, JPN players in the US know how to contribute to winning games at the MLB level..... little matsui, iwamura, hideki matsui, matsuzaka, are all coming back to Japan with World Series experience, some with Championships... they will all be able to teach Japanese kids what it means to be a Major Leaguer... btw, ICHIRO is the best from nippon in the game of baseball! hats-off:).... as a Major Leaguer, he is the worst from nippon! hats-off:(

"What's the difference between "socialism" and "communism"?" "That's like saying what's the difference between consumerism and facism."

here's a better one... what's the difference between the "USA" and a "paradox"?