大塚、SI.comスカウティング・レポートの記事

Gagné may not look the part of the intimidating closer, with his squat, 6-foot, 245-pound frame, scruffy hair and rumpled pants (he requests them a size larger than necessary), but if he regains his form, Texas will have one of the best bullpens in baseball. Hard-throwing Frank Francisco and Wes Littleton will split work in the seventh inning, and Akinori Otsuka, who racked up 32 saves in 36 chances last season, will pitch the eighth (that is, if Daniels doesn't trade him this spring for more depth in the rotation or another bat).

Otsuka isn't thrilled about his demotion. He says the Rangers didn't talk to him before signing Gagné and that he was caught by surprise because, "I thought I pitched very well last year." Otsuka isn't the type to let his displeasure affect his performance, but it's a situation worth watching.

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クローザーとして期待されているガニエと評価はほぼ同じ。サムライの雰囲気を持っている大塚は今年も期待できる。

松井稼頭央、SI..comスカウティング・レポートの記事

In late August, after a once promising season had turned into yet another Rocky Mountain Horror Show, Colorado made what at the time seemed a trivial late-season roster move. The Rockies, who had plunged to last place after a 44-40 start, called up 31-year-old second baseman Kazuo Matsui, the former Japanese superstar who wilted in the Big Apple after signing a three-year, $20.1 million contract with the Mets in 2004. "At the time we were looking for an offensive identity," says general manager Dan O'Dowd, who traded utility player Eli Marrero to New York for Matsui in June, then immediately sent Matsui, who had been struggling at the plate, to Triple A Colorado Springs. "We weren't aggressive. We were first in sacrifice bunts and had little speed. We needed a spark -- but we had no idea it would come from Kaz."

After two and a half high-anxiety years in New York and two and a half months in Colorado Springs, Matsui (a .256 hitter with a .308 OBP in New York) arrived in Denver rejuvenated and without a Japanese media horde shadowing his every move. Batting mostly leadoff, he hit .345, had a .392 OBP and stole eight bases in 32 games, helping to turn a mediocre offense (ranked 16th in the majors over the first five months) into the highest-scoring in September. "We were a totally different club with him," says manager Clint Hurdle. "He [was] the fastest player on our squad -- the base stealer we hadn't had at the top of the lineup since Juan Pierre left [in 2002]."

The Rockies believe that the dynamic player they saw last September is the Matsui everyone had expected to see in New York.

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これだけのスペースを割いたのだから期待は大きい。しかし、別の欄には、次の記事もある。
But handing a job to second baseman Kazuo Matsui is a mistake. While Matsui certainly performed well in 32 games with the Rockies after being called up to the majors in August, his overall big-league record tells another story: an on-base percentage of .318 and only 13 home runs in 970 at bats. Jamey Carroll, who started 102 games at second for Colorado last year, isn't as flashy as Matsui, but his .356 career OBP and steady defense make him the better player.
出塁率が悪すぎるので、イチローと同様に、打率と安打で稼ぐしかない。

岩村、SI.comスカウティング・レポートの記事

The Devil Rays made sure that Japanese third baseman Akinori Iwamura wouldn't get lost or be late during his first spring training in the U.S. They placed him in a hotel across the street from the team's camp in St. Petersburg, and hired an interpreter to guarantee that he got to the right place at the right time. Now the club hopes the five-time Japanese Central League All-Star can help Tampa Bay find its way out of the AL East cellar.

Though he is not a seasoned major leaguer, the 28-year-old Iwamura is a baseball Yoda in a lineup that has only one other position player older than 25 (first baseman Ty Wiggington, who's 29). In nine seasons in Japan the 5'9", 176-pound Iwamura hit .300 with 188 home runs and 570 RBIs. His consistency at the plate is the most valuable asset he brings to a team that, with outfielders Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and highly regarded rookie Delmon Young, is already loaded with power and speed -- only 11 teams in major league history have surpassed the Devils Rays' 2006 totals of 190 home runs and 134 steals in the same season.

As an added bonus Iwamura, known as Top Gun back home because of his arm strength, was a six-time Gold Glove winner in Japan who will upgrade the left side of an infield that committed a league-leading 55 errors last year.

Reaching across the Pacific for talent -- Tampa Bay signed Iwamura to a three-year, $7.7 million contract after paying the Yakult Swallows $4.55 million for his negotiating rights -- is the latest strategy in the club's bid to crack .500.

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野球選手で、5'9", 176-pound はあまりにも小さい。イチローなみ。これでは主軸は打てない。予想ではサード７番となっている。

斉藤、SI.comスカウティング・レポートの記事

In his rookie season last year closer Takashi Saito put up a 3.73 ERA against NL West opponents but a microscopic 0.24 mark against teams from other divisions. Why the huge discrepancy? The 37-year-old Saito, who had never been a full-time closer during his 14-year career with the Yokohama BayStars franchise of the Japanese Central League, relies heavily on getting batters to chase a slider that he rarely throws in the strike zone; it's a neat trick but one that quickly wears thin the more times opponents face him. Manager Grady Little should consider using hard-throwing 22-year-old Jonathan Broxton as his closer against the West, reserving Saito for the rest of a league that doesn't see Los Angeles quite as often. After his May 1 call-up last season, Broxton settled into the Dodgers' setup role and struck out 97 in 76 1/3 innings.

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斉藤は高津の二の舞になりそうな気がしてしようがない。評価が高すぎる。ドジャースの評価も高すぎる。

イチロー、ＳＩ.comスカウティング・レポートの記事

Yet for the declining number of Mariners season-ticket holders, the inimitable Ichiro, 33, remains the primary reason to show up at the park every day. (King Felix is a once-every-five-days excuse.) With both Jeremy Reed (.260 OBP) and 21-year-old Adam Jones, the Mariners' top pick in the 2003 draft, in over their heads in centerfield, Ichiro voluntarily made the switch from rightfield last August and looked terrific. Ichiro is not the force he once was with the bat (he hit .228 with runners in scoring position last year, for example), so don't expect a repeat of his ridiculous 2004 (when he won the AL batting crown with a .372 average and set a major league record for hits in a season, 262). Still, he remains one of the game's elite leadoff hitters. The Mariners must re-sign him.

For now, Ichiro is noncommittal. "Everything that was done in the past and has built up to this point is an important part [of my decision]," he says, "but what happens in this season is important also."

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マリナーズでは間違いなくNO.1の選手だが、チームが最下位続きでは、野球へのモーティベーションが下がってしまう。ＦＡで強いチームに行くべきだ。

安藤優勝、マイズナーは４位

SI.comより抜粋。
Japan's Ando wins women's world skating title, Meissner is fourth

Miki Ando won gold, and didn't even need her much-anticipated quad.

Japan swept the top two women's places Saturday at the World Figure Skating Championships, with Ando taking the title and Mao Asada the silver, after South Korea's Kim Yu-na fell twice in her final skate and had to settle for bronze.

Defending champion Kimmie Meissner of the United States was fourth.

Ando didn't do the quad she had been practicing, but her seven triples to a Mendelssohn violin concerto earned her a total score of 195.09. That was enough to edge Asada, who had the best marks in the free-skating portion to total 194.45 points.

"I didn't think I would end up at the top of the podium,'' Ando said. "So I was very happy to hear I won the gold medal.''

Kim, last year's junior world champion, had a commanding lead entering the free skate after a record 71.95 in the short program. Two minutes into her free skate, it appeared she would take home her country's first title.

But it all fell apart quickly for the 16-year-old, who needed acupuncture during the world championships because of a back problem.

She fell on the first jump of what was to be a three-jump combination, fell again and had another combination ruled scoreless. Her final score was 186.14, relegating her to third place.

"I didn't really feel any pain in my back. But my legs felt heavy and so I was unable to perform well and I wasn't as confident in my jumps,'' said Kim, who won the Grand Prix final over Asada and Ando in December.

Meissner, who performed to flamenco music, said skating against the Japanese in Tokyo was a challenge.

"It was tough tonight,'' Meissner said. "Mao skated before me and obviously did very well, so the crowd was really into it. It was very emotional and intense. I couldn't tune out the screams.

"It was not my best, I can do better,'' she said. "So I will regroup and come back next year.''

Emily Hughes, the sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, came in ninth. Another American, Alissa Czisny, was 15th.

Ando's victory is another big skating crown for Japan. Shizuka Arakawa won the title last year at the Turin Olympics, as well as the world title in 2004.

"I am very happy to have won the title in my home country,'' Ando said, tears streaming down her face.

Skating last, the 19-year-old Ando kept her poise and delivered a solid performance. Known more for her jumps than her artistry, Ando had a triple-triple for starters and landed all her jumps cleanly. But her routine was also smooth and graceful.

Asada won the free skating, but was just fifth after the short program the day before, and Ando's score in the free skate was good enough to put her on top.

"After the Turin Games I had such a hard time,'' Ando said, tears running down her face. "I came back strong.''

Until winning the world title, Ando's main accomplishment had been her quadruple salchow. She is the only woman to land one in competition, though that was more than four years ago.

Going into Saturday's free skate, she had been coy about whether she would unleash it here. She tried it in Turin, and it cost her. She fell, and then melted down, failing to get a medal as Arakawa wowed the crowd and took the gold.

Ando was ready to try it again here if she needed it. She landed it in practice, creating a buzz in Japan's media. But she chose to play it safe.

"I decided not to jump the quadruple because I wanted to give all of my best effort to my performance,'' Ando said. "That was my priority tonight and so I just did a triple salchow.''

The women's free skate was the last event of the world championships.

"As the women's singles is the last event and I skated last, it was hard to keep my concentration,'' Ando said. "I'm very happy to have won the title in my home country.''

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浅田がガッツポーズをした時は、優勝したと思っただろうが、安藤が良く頑張った。安藤がミスをしない様に、応援しながら見ていた。良かった。おめでとう。