So Taguchi

[Guest iramets]

bats leadoff for the Birds! I'm supposed to be impressed by this? Big deal.

[MFS62]

That pesky fucker has been a real thorn in the side of the Mets for a long time.
If I were managing the team he's playing for, I'd give him the chance for as many at bats against the Mets as I could, too.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

MFS62 wrote: That pesky fucker has been a real thorn in the side of the Mets for a long time.

No, he really hasn't:

http://leaptoad.com/mets/profile.php?PlayerCode=6439

You're thinking of three games in 2004 and one homer last October.

Mostly, he's been pretty ineffective against the Mets. And the Mets have very few pitchers this season who were around in 2004.

[MFS62]

I'm still having flashbacks from one spring training when he had something like 8 or 9 straight hits against the Mets. And sometimes, it hasn't been how many hits, or how far they went, but when he got them (in rallies).

Then again, who was it who drove in the only Cards run last night?

Later

[Centerfield]

Isn't it funny how wrong perceptions can be?

Last night, I thought to myself, why is Willie letting Wagner pitch to Taguchi? The guy wears him out. Then they flashed a graphic where it showed that Taguchi has like one hit off Wagner in his lifetime.

Hell of a hit it was though.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Unless we're going to part with the notion of a designated closer, I don't see lifting our DC to get a better matchup with a 163-pound reserve outfielder of any history. Let him pitch around the guy if he's a tough out.

So Taguchi turns 38* years old next week. It's easy sometimes to forget these Asian players aren't in their twenties when they arrive.

* Rod Beck's age.

[MFS62]

I just happened to check out his career numbers.
After a So So career (I couldn't resist) in Japan, his numbers (avg, obp and slg) have actually been marginally better during his stay in the majors.
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/T/So-Taguchi.shtml

Maybe he has shown that it isn't just the star position players who can come here and do fairly well. Or that Japanese baseball isn't as far below the current level of play in the majors as some may think.

Later

[metirish]

Taguchi would be a fine bench player on a decent team.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

]Maybe he has shown that it isn't just the star position players who can come here and do fairly well. Or that Japanese baseball isn't as far below the current level of play in the majors as some may think.

Shinjo proved as much 6 years ago. Yoshii 8 years ago.

[MFS62]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: ]Maybe he has shown that it isn't just the star position players who can come here and do fairly well. Or that Japanese baseball isn't as far below the current level of play in the majors as some may think. Shinjo proved as much 6 years ago. Yoshii 8 years ago.

I said "position players".
Yes, Shinjyo's (approx) .250 avg was comparable to his numbers in Japan, but his stay here was brief. It was subject to the "let's see what he does the second time around" qualifiers. So has been here about 5 years, so the numbers have had a chance to normalize.

Later