Here Comes Tazawa

Posted by Adam Hart November 30, 2008 at 12:48 pm

As December falls upon our fair city, so does another — Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa. Time to snatch up those Portland Sea Dogs tickets!

NPB Tracker reports that Tazawa is “shipping up to Boston” in order to ace a physical and finalize terms of his contract. The report includes yet another figure attributed to the deal. We’ll await a final report before issuing another, but think less than the $6 million reported by other outlets in Boston.

So, keep your eyes peeled on the streets. Maybe you’ll see a 22-year-old pitcher named Tazawa. In honor of his trip, here’s a fitting tune to listen to as you read on. And no, I’m not 93. I just like the word tune.

Daily Yomiuri reports on his potential for playing in the Bigs this season, which we already know as essentially non-existent:

“He is not like the player we usually think of as going over, someone ready to contribute [at the major league level],” Okubo said. “You can’t look at him in the same way one sees other free agents who have already played [pro ball in Japan].

“I think these offers reflect their evaluation of his potential.”

As I said, get on those Portland Sea Dogs tickets.