TOKYO -- Sorry for the lack of updates lately. With the Mets' elimination from the NLCS, followed by a ho-hum World Series, I figured it was a good time to jet to Japan for some news, and there may be some very shortly.
David Wright and Jose Reyes are among the headliners for the MLB All-Star tour of Japan, but much of the attention here is focused on Seibu Lions' righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will be available through the posting system. That means major-league teams can submit sealed bids to the Lions, who can then choose the club that gets negotiating rights to Matsuzaka.
Many here in Tokyo figure the Yankees to be the overwhelming favorites, and the buzz at Tuesday night's MLB news conference (we're 14 hours ahead of NYC here) indicated that Matsuzaka is supposed to hold some sort of media gathering of his own later Wednesday afternoon at a Tokyo hotel. Nothing official yet, but we'll keep you in the loop as best we can. Hopefully this jet lag thing won't be too bad.
Comments (3)
Is Matsuzaka pitching in the tournament? Is he going to showcase himself one more time or lay low for the offers that are going to start rolling in?
Also, is the 30M posting fee a realistic winning bid for negotiation rights?
That posting fee makes Matsuzaka way too overpriced. Omar could take that $30 million and $10-$12 million a year and pick up Barry Zito and Carlos Lee.
THE METS SHOULD BID ON ALFONSO SORIANO AND JEFF SUPPAN RATHER THEN GO AFTER THE JAPANESE PITCHER.WE HAVEN'T FAIRED TO WELL WITH JAPANESE PLAYERS IN THE PAST.MARK LORETTA WOULD ALSO BE A GREAT ADDITION AT SECOND BASE.