SUNDAY, 8:57am: We've been informed by the Phillies that they have not signed any pitchers from Japan.
FRIDAY, 7:36pm: The Phillies have signed Japanese southpaws Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto to minor league contracts according to Daily Sports Online (hat tip to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker).
Both Yamakita (32) and Okamoto (26) spent the 2009 season with the Shonan Searex, a farm team of the Yokohama Bay Stars. Yamakita posted a 2.67 ERA with a 24-7 K/BB ratio in 27 innings, Okamoto a 5.28 ERA with a 10-9 K/BB ratio in 15.1 innings.
I’m convinced…They just signed the next Randy Johnson and Lefty Grove.
Why don’t the phillies just pony-up some money/prospects and get some real bullpen arms…danny Baez? Jose contreras? Puh-lezzz instead of taking 6Mil in cash considerations from Toronto.. Why not get one of their 2 ( now 3 with gregg ) closers
The last thing the Phillies should do is trade their prospects…
yea i kinda agree. woulda liked to have the jays throw in a downs or accardo as a lefty option with the halladay deal. especially since scott downs is being shopped by the jays right now anyway i think. but, if they added in another piece to the trade to the phils with roy halladay, that would have been another prospect the phils probably would have had to include…they had the money to get bullpen options, whereas you know the phils’ stance on keeping prospects…
YES! now they don’t have to trade kendrick 😀
Over the last few years, the Phillies have been pretty good at finding talent. We’ll see.
The thing about Japanese pitching that is so awesome is the commonplace of odd deliveries. If these guys have a strange delivery it will take about 2 seasons for guys to pick up on it. They can have extremely average stuff, but with the deception they usually carry they can pitch like Sandy Koufax. Look at Hideo Nomo. Pitched good with the Dodgers for 3 seasons, got figured out. Went to the AL, started out great in the early season then got rocked late season when he got figured out. With these guys being relievers, it will take forever for them to be figured out. I think a perfect example of that is Hideki Okajima. His pitches are alright at best, but his delivery is so deceptive and hitters don’t see him enough to figure him out.
they wont be nothing in the majors…nuff said good AA or AAA players at best
I think we’re missing the big picture here. Sign a couple players from Japan now may very well help the Phillies’ chances of acquiring the next big catch from Japan.
Although I am a Phillies Phan I will have to agree with met’s ville on this one You just wanted to cause trouble. It not the Met’s fault that they had a triple A team on the field last year. oh wait excuse Triple A team and David Wright. though even he went down for a few days. This year hould be better if they aren’t handicapped.
Now to my point. A met’s fan shouldn’t be posting about how terrible a prospect we picked up is, not when MLB.com didn’t have 1 Prospect on the met’s listed in the top 50 while we had 2. Yes I admit to many of you haters out there that “Trading Lee was dumb” but I agree with Rueben, We can’t bet the Farm on one year, we have to be willing to grow and continue to win. Lee wasn’t going to sign the way the phillies wanted him to so we let him go.
Drabek is good but he’s still just a prospect, no proof yet on how good he is at major league level. By the way I heard that universal Sign for Choke has been changed to the Mets Baseball.
By the way Philly Fans Enoy Howard while we have him, expect him to be traded in 2011.. You heard it here first.. We cannot afford to keep him.
I wonder if they got a spring training invite though.