Kawakami Down To Orioles, Cardinals, Twins

If the Twins do sign Kawakami, plan on seeing one of Perkins or Blackburn in either Seattle or Milwaukee next season.

I would really like this signing for the Twins. It would give them an older/veteran type pitcher that we lack. Also, the signing of him would mean we'd probably trade Blackburn/Perkins. A trade of Blackburn/Perkins and Delmon Young would bring in A LOT.

"he is young enough for Mozeliak to be comfortable in making a long term offer"
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33 years old isn't exactly what I'd call young.

I tell you what, i just watched this guy on youtube.. he has some pretty nasty stuff. He may be even better than Dice K. C'mon John Mozeliak

im personally as a Braves fan happy we didnt get him. He is not an ace nor would he give us more than 150 IP

hes not what we need. yes we need pitchers but we need an ace and someone who can go 200+ innings

BlueCatuli is indeed wrong, but there's no way Carpenter should close. They need him in the rotation. If he's going to be healthy enough to pitch, he needs to be healthy enough to start.

If the Cards add Kawakami, they'll be in real good shape.

How do you get off even saying they'd "be at the bottom again," Cantuli? They were 10 games over .500 last year, and that was with Pujols out for awhile and Carpenter down for the majority of the season. Plus they've added Greene, a good glove with a lot of rebound potential on the offensive side of things.

If they have a healthy Carpenter AND they add Kawakami, they'll be in good shape.

The Cubs are good... very good. But they're never as good as most of their fans make them out to be. Then again, no team really is.

I hope the Cards don't sign him; I'd love to see him on the Twins. But if he goes to Saint Louis, the Cubs need to watch out.

This signing would be awesome for the Twins. Good for them for trying to make a splash. With this signing, you could move Blackburn/Perkins into the set-up role and there's your search for a reliever. Can I just say Twins777: Whats with all the trade talk with Delmon? Hes 22 with great average and power potential. Also he has a great arm, and its not like he can't run at all either. After one mediocre season, people are telling him to pack his bags, when he has many seasons ahead of him. After this possible signing of Kawakami, I'd be up for trading one of the starters, but I do not see trading Delmon as the answer.

Wow I see we have a bit of a mixup here.

"The Twins better not sign this guy, their rotation is already set."

Perkins is a mediocre #5 starter who they can ditch and replace without missing a beat. Blackburn isn't much better.

"i dont understand why they would do it. japanese players usually never do anything so if we would get this guy and trade a young pitcher it would be totally pointless"

Japanese players never do anything?

Ichiro, Matsuzaka, Hideki Matsui, Takashi Saito, Hideki Okajima, Hideo Nomo, Akinora Iwamura, Kaz Matsui, Hiroki Kuroda, Tadahito Iguchi... all have shown success in the Major Leagues. Kenji Johjima was good his first two years as well.

Just because Fukudome and Kei Igawa were busts doesn't mean that Japanese players can't handle MLB.

The Cardinals has a well below average run differential last year...and there is no way I see Lohse and Wellemeyer doing anything but regressing. Carp in the pen will help if he is healthy, but thats a big if. If they don't sign an impact player, they aren't competing. That middle infield is just awful...