The Only Possible Nickname For Daisuke

Okay, I've read enough stupid, asinine and flat out racist proposed "nicknames" for Daisuke that I have to throw my own... umm... hat... into... the ring. Or... something.

So here we have it.

Dai Hard.

What better way to describe a scrappy, strong pitcher with great power and 5 filthy pitches. We could get Bruce Willis to throw out the first pitch at his Fenway Debut. He could even sing the National Anthem before the game!

I'm getting too excited thinking about this.

Plus, as Kevin pointed out to me Dai is Japanese for "Grand" so it would be a tribute to him, in Japanese, without having to replace Rs with Ls, or making jokes about Toyotas or Yamaha Motorcycles.

Who among us doesn't want to hear this exchange:

Remy: This guy is just incredible.

Orsillo: The 2-2 pitch to A-Rod, nasty curve for strike three! Matsuzaka strikes out the side! Dai Hard!

Remy: With A Vengence!

Seriously, it's so awesome that it would mass impregnate anyone watching. Guys and girls.

Please, think of the children.

30 Days To Go

Daisuke Matsuzaka has made his first comments on the Red Sox staggering $51.1 million offer to bring him to the bargaining table. While he stressed that he's not part of the team yet, he seems excited to play for a franchise with a history like the Sox. No doubt that he's also excited to extend the Sox presence in Japan even further. Unconfirmed reports say that he's on a plane to Boston as we speak, to tour the park, see the city, and meet some of the executives.

Epstein and Boras are meeting again in Florida, presumably to begin contract discussions.

An Open Call To Boston Sports Bloggers

On the heels of winning the bidding rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka, I knew to expect a huge buzz in the Boston sports blog community. I also expected the usual headlines from the usual suspects you see when a player involved is from another country.

This is my plea to Boston bloggers (and general media) to avoid the stereotypical references, and maybe throw in some authentic facet of Nippon Pro Baseball culture into your articles. Less "domo agrigato Mr. Suzaka" and maybe more "he threw 200 pitches the day before his start to get into the team spirit. And PLEASE, refrain from replacing "L"s with "R"s. Boston has had an off-and-on racist rep (let's not forget the whole declining to sign Jackie Robinson thing) so let's show the baseball world we have a little class.

Boston Bound

The Boston Red Sox have won the bidding rights to negotiate a contract with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Nick Cafardo has confirmed that the bid may be upwards of $50 million. Boras and Epstein have already met today, and will be hammering out a deal over the next 30 days (most likely much shorter than that.)

More info as it develops.

Scouting Report

Here's the 8th and 9th inning of Matsuzaka's 17th win this past season. Just throwing this up here to give you guys a look at his stuff. These innings would have been decidedly less dicey if the defense wasn't horrific.

The Seibu Lions are holding a press conference at 8pm EST to announce the winner of the bidding. Scott Boras is usually pretty good at leaking news, so I trust that it will be the Sox.

How Does the Posting System Work?

One person riding the 66 bus this morning was up in arms about the Red Sox supposedly offering upawards of $38 million just to get Daisuke Matsuzaka to the bargaining table. Anyone with a scrap of Sox gear on was being harassed for some sort of answer. He eventually came over to me and I tried my best to explain how a player is transferred from Japan to America.

The highest level of professional baseball in Japan is called "Nippon Pro Baseball". Transferring from NPB to the MLB is a complicated process. In 1995, Hideo Nomo retired from NPB, and subsequently claimed free agency in the US. This prompted Nippon officials to tweak the rules about retirement (without notifying the MLB). In 1997 Alfonso Soriano retired and relocated to America as well. Bud Selig disapproved of the NPB's secret rule change and supported Soriano's free agency.

As a result of the retire and relocate loophole, the Posting System was devised to transfer players between the NPB and the MLB. To be posted, both the player and the team must agree on the terms of the posting. After a player is posted, MLB teams have four days to place a blind silent bid. Then the NPB team is notified of the highest bid, and given the option to accept or reject it. If it is accecpted, the NPB team gets the bid money, and the winning team has 30 days to negotiate a contract. If it is not accepted, the bid money is returned, and the player is not posted. If a contract agreement cannot be reached, or the player is not posted for any reason, that player is not eligible to be posted that season.

What that amounts to, is the Red Sox offering $38-$45 million to not only potentially improve their team, but to also potentially prevent their competitors from improving. No other team would have a chance to sign Matsuzaka this season if the Red Sox don't. The Seibu Lions get a sum of money much larger than the trade value of their player. It works out nicely for everyone.

This might not be news to everyone, but I figured we should start this blog off with plenty of background information.

Blog Launch Pending Matsuzaka ACTUALLY Coming to Boston

This blog is intended to introduce Red Sox fans to the wonder that may potentially be their new favorite pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka. We will give you background as well as keep you informed of his exploits in America. If you would like to contribute to this blog, please leave a comment.

Fingers are crossed!