Royals' interest in Kawakami is uncertain
With Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami announcing that he was becoming a free agent and might be heading to the U.S., an inquiry to Royals manager Trey Hillman was in order. Kawakami, 33, had 11 seasons with the Chunichi Dragons, the team that beat Hillman's Nippon Ham Fighters in the 2007 Japan Series.
"Kawakami is a real good competitor," Hillman said. "I would say he's probably a three, four or five starter. He's not very big. It may have been last year or two years ago, he had some arm trouble early in the season but he came back real good and pitched very well."
Hillman hasn't discussed Kawakami with GM Dayton Moore and any Royals' interest is not known at this point. What they need to assess is how Kawakami might adapt to the Majors, in light of the problems encountered by the troubles of their Japanese import, Yasuhiko Yabuta, last season. Their interest would also depend, of course, on how much money might be sought by Kawakami. He's expressed interest in the Red Sox in the past and his name has been linked to the Rays and the Braves as well.
-- Dick Kaegel
Royals need all the help they can get. At this point they need to take everything life hands them to get their franchise in order. Good draft picks will help.
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I Say These **** Cant Play Ball Only Exception Is Ichiro & Hideki Matsui.. Dice-K Was Decent But Not As Good As Beckett... Remember Irabu? Or Kaz Matsui.? If The Royals Get This Pitcher He'll End Up Digging Them Into A Deeper Hole Then They Are Already In.. BTW, NOT A ROYALS FAN... METS FAN..
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Way to rag on Japanese player except for the fact that they won the WBC in 06 GOOD ONE BIG GUY!...and just in case you couldnt tell there is a SLIGHT HINT of sarcasm in my post.
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The Rays have never turned a deaf ear to the Japanese League. They got thier current second baseman Akinora Iwamura on just such a tip and scouted the guy and signed him as soon as possible.
What transpired since then is the Rays got the guy considered one of the hardest to double-up in the major leagues the past two seasons. And also got a classic hustle and work ethic guy to boost their infield.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
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The Japanese can play. Nomo had 2 no hitters. I looked at list of current and past players. Some of these guys are close to 40 and can still pitch. The problem is they don't come here in thier prime. I can't wait to see what becomes of Tazawa being so young. Iwamura is a pain in the ***; beleive me I know. He cost the Sox a few wins this year and would be an asset to any team! Dice-K is still adjusting and will get better. Okajima was reason we were so good in 2007 and got back in form from mid August through rest of year. Do a search on Japanese players in mlb. 90% of the best players in the game arn't american anyway!!
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