Igarashi close to deal with Mets

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This is in the Times' baseball blog. I like that they're trying this guy

December 15, 2009, 2:43 PM Mets Near a Deal With Ryota Igarashi By DAVID WALDSTEIN The Mets are close to signing Ryota Igarashi, a Japanese pitcher, to a two-year deal, according to a person briefed on the situation. Yes, they need an outfielder to hit in the middle of the batting order and another starting pitcher, but they also needed to improve their bullpen. Igarashi, a 30-year-old right-handed reliever, pitched for the Yakult Swallows in the Japanese Central League since 1999 and was scouted heavily this year by many major league teams, including the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Mariners and the Indians. Most of those scouts projected him as an effective late-inning reliever at the major league level. With the Mets, Igarashi will have a chance to become Francisco Rodriguez�s set-up man. The Mets lost Billy Wagner and J.J. Putz from last year�s patchwork assemblage of late-inning relievers and needed to upgrade that area. Last season Igarashi was 3-2 with a 3.19 earned run average in 56 games. Other than 2004, when he had 37 saves and a 2.66 E.R.A., he has not been the Swallows� primary closer, but he has excelled in the set-up role.

[metirish]

take that John fucking Harper....

[ashie62]

There's our eight inning guy, viola!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't know. Maybe he has enough left in his arm to be a one-inning man, but Viola will be 50 next year. He's probably out of shape and hasn't thrown a pitch since 1996.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Mets don't have a chance at signing Frank Viola, unless they throw Johan Santana money at him.

[TransMonk]

[metirish]

Hey they should sign Wang now...

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Igarashi, Wang, teen Honkballers... all we need is to sign a gay Kalarhari bushman and an amputee on death-row and we've got ourselves an Offseason by Benetton.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

I'll be standing by to see Edgy's entry in the Wifey Watch thread for the significant other of the gay Kalahari bushman.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I hear he's quite well !Kung.

[Guest attgig]

vid of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvwEoV0YVjE

according to metsblog, Omar talked with bobby about this guy before signing him.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Nice movement and decent velocity (if their gun's right he's about 92-94 mph on the fastball, with some Maine-like "rise;" the hard curve/split-finger business he threw on the first K runs about 86-88, and has nice drop, and his curveball seems to go 82-83).

That precision's a bit scary, though-- the catcher's mitt was bouncing around back there like it was leading a singalong.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

That precision's a bit scary, though-- the catcher's mitt was bouncing around back there like it was leading a singalong.[/quote:2y9lo450]

That dude Murata was swinging at everything. I think he looked a bit upset at himself after he laid off the first pitch as it came in around his ankles.

[bmfc1]

Good information on Igarashi, including his blood type:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/player%3Ft%3Ddp%26id%3D11606

[Frayed Knot]

Keith Law:
Igarashi is a slightly wild power reliever who missed all of 2007 and part of 2008 due to Tommy John surgery, but has fully recovered and handled a regular workload in 2009. He has a very quick arm and has been clocked at 98 mph, although he'll probably pitch at 93-96 in a one-inning role in the U.S. His best off-speed pitch is a mid- to upper-80s splitter with good bottom, and he can throw the pitch for strikes instead of waiting for hitters to chase it in the dirt. He has some deception in his delivery, and he's almost a "drop-and-drift" guy without great forward momentum towards the plate.



Frayed Knot:
Beats the hell out of multi-year deals for the likes of LaTroy Hawkins

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That's funny -- elsewhere I read him described as a slowball pitcher with good control.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Two years away from Tommy John is better than one-- assuming he can sing for his supper, we might even see a better outright performance out of this guy than he gave Yakult last year.

(And I knew that was a splitter. I can have lobby for player development position?)

[metirish]

Is it really called Tommy John surgery in Japan?

[metirish]

Not so fast...this report below has the Red Sox as the team in the lead to get this guy

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translation courtesy of this guy..

http://fonzieforever.blogspot.com/2009/12/ryota-igarashi.html

the Red Sox offered Igarashi a two year deal reportedly worth 2 - 3 million dollars. the Mets and Phillies have made offers too but the Red Sox are the front runners right now. He trains at the same place as Dice-K, who has described Red Sox camp to him. The Red Sox have Papelbon, Okajima and Bard who are solid, but they are looking for someone reliable to pitch the 6th and 7th innings. One point of appeal to Igarashi is that with Dice-K and Okajima already on the team, they would be the first American team with three Japanese pitchers. He went with Dice-K to the Athletes Performance Institute in Phoenix today to start training to be in shape for camp. The Mets and Phillies are still possibilities but the Red Sox appear to be in the lead. Igarashi says that American teams change their minds a lot, so you don't know what's going to happen until you sign.

[Guest Edgy DC]

They have the best rotation in the league, the pitchers protected from batting, and are looking for somebody "reliable" to pitch the sixth and seventh innings?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

They have the best rotation in the league, the pitchers protected from batting, and are looking for somebody "reliable" to pitch the sixth and seventh innings?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

As per NPBTracker tweets, we've got ourselves a setup man:

Sanspo: Igarashi has basic agreement with the Mets: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/news/091217/bsf0912171034001-n1.htm

Arn Tellem "I think Igarashi is a member of the Mets. We're working out the fine points of the contract" ?????????????????????????????????

[Guest Swan Swan H]

IG-GY...IG-GY...

[ashie62]

IG-GY...IG-GY...[/quote:22y17r33]


POP!

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Let's hope the set-up crew isn't Iggy and the Stooges.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

How do you nominate a post for bullet of cool recognition? I would like to nominate Swan Swan H for the above post in refernce to the Mets bullpen.

[Guest Edgy DC]

In the lower right hand corner of his post, there's a red exclamation point.

Click it to report a post. In the case of a Bullet of Cool, typing BoC is the only information you need to put in a report.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Don't want to sound too negative, and I'm usually a Pollyanna. But our track record with Japanese relievers is not especially good.

[Guest Edgy DC]

To be honest, neither is our track record with Japanese starters, infielders, and outfielders. I just wish they'd sign a catcher.

But I take nothing but joy from them continuing to shop over there, indefatigibaly going back into the breach where they've been so frequently battered.

If nothing else, he's a veteran with options. My attitude with pitching is not to get me a great one, but get me a lot of good ones, hoping that the right combination will put together very good seasons, while others fall away. Some might even become great.

[MFS62]

And the next to sign is:

http://www.fandome.com/video/110789/Eri-Yoshida---Teenage-Female-Pitcher-Makes-Pro-Debut-in-Japan/

Later