Indians sign Japanese closer Kobayashi

Masa (through translator):  A beautiful lake......, the Indians.......

I guessed the terms pretty close too today.

http://letsgotribe.com/comments/2007/11/20/13336/891/4#4

I like yours better, for both comedy and predicted outcome.

I've done a bit of ESL teaching and judging by the sss of responses, I get the feeling he'll be able to communicated a bit right from the start with those in the clubhouse.  Plus he's going to be going through a pretty hardcore immersion program given the plethora of Japanese in Cleveland.   I don't know his travel or scholastic background, but for someone who's never worked in the US I was fairly impressed.

Ya think it would help is somebody told this douche nozzle that the Tribe was the second - and only by a whisker - best team in all of baseball last year?  Probably not.

Step 1:  We don't know what to expect from every player next year.

Step 2:  We should look to improve our team if that opportunity presents itself.

Pretty basic.

Look at F-Cab or Jason Davis, we continued to think that they would perform well given the chance. I also don't think we should count on the bullpen being deep again next year. J.Lew and Perez could regress easily. An injury here or an injury there (remember early 2006 when Miller and Raffy B went down) If we simply go with minor leaguers in these roles, then we significantly weaken our overall depth.

yawn.

the point of signings like this and of fultz is depth utilizing calculated risk.

i'm sure that guy we got for jason davis could get some guys out at the majors right now too, and super cheap.

but you have to balance proven/established talent, youth with upside, and some monkey poop flung against the wall to see if it sticks.  how much of each, and how much to pay for it is ultimately one aspect of what a gm's job is.

Hello Joe,

Realize that in 2009, Borowski and Fultz likely won't be here - that's at least two spots that open up.  Plus, I'm not sure the Indians know if Mastny is a guarantee to fit this bullpen long-term, so that could be 3 spots (presuming he's DFAed or traded.)

Essentially, for 2009, without counting Kobayashi, you have:

Betancourt
Perez
Lewis

If you add Kobayashi, that's four, leaving 2-3 more spots from among the following group (projected):

Sipp
Stevens
Mujica
Santos

There are other possibilities, like Slocum, S. Lewis, Lara, Buzachero, etc., that could be in that mix, but we know pretty much for sure that those four above will likely be options to choose from.  And, of course, this is presuming we don't sign any more FAs.

Now, right now, outside of Mujica, the other three have only had AA experience, so they'd be better off spending most of 2008 at AAA Buffalo, so signing Kobayashi for 2008 certainly doesn't seem like a bad move.  Add in the fact that Sipp is coming back from TJ surgery and hasn't had AAA experience, plus the fact that Mujica ended last season with an injury (something with his leg or ankle, I believe, while doing pre-game drills,) and hasn't fully adapted to the MLs yet, and I think the signing makes even more sense.

Plus, we know that not every prospect turns out (see Jason Davis and Fernando Cabrera for recent examples,) so adding an experienced, quality arm at reasonable dollars doesn't seem like a bad move to me.  Who knows - the Indians could get lucky like the Red Sox did with Okajima; I'm not sure many were raving about that signing when it occurred either, yet it turned out pretty well for the most part, arguably better than the signing of Matsuzaka did for their 2007 season when you factor in the cost and the overall production.

In addition, this gives you another closing option to go to in case Borowski falters or becomes injured.  Also, by adding him as a set-up man to go along with Betancourt, this effectively pushes Perez and J. Lewis back to earlier roles, making the bullpen that much stronger, provided of course they can duplicate or come close to their 2007 performances, a decent IF.  

Plus, Kobayashi and his agent were probably looking for a multi-year deal; if the Indians don't give him at least 2 years, chances are, we don't get him, and supposedly, there were many teams interested in signing him, not just us.  That we were able to add a 3rd year as a team option seems like a bonus to me, since we could keep him for 3 years, and if he doesn't work out in the first two years, you can buy out the option for a relatively small amount.  

So, overall, I like the move - it remains to be seen whether it will turn out or not, but compared to what other FA relievers were out there, I think the Indians could have done much worse than Kobayashi.

Just my 2 cents - no offense.  :-)

What Shapiro did last year is what he'll probably do for as long as he runs the Indians.  That is pick-up 4 or 5 seasoned relief guys who've had mediocre to disappointing years and see if one or two of 'em can bounce back.

Borowski, along with Fultz, Hernandez and Foulke, fit the profile.  Throw in Betancourt and you can see that none of these guys were seen as saviors, merely risk/reward signings.

Shapiro's playing the hand he's been dealt brilliantly - but not flawlessly.  Nobody plays it flawlessly.

Forget the curve ball, Kobi, throw `em the Death Ball!

Kobayashi drinks THREE JIN POTION (-2 self-fault points)
Kobyashi fires DEATH BALL, misses. (T.F.R.=2.05)
Kobayashi: 'this is the best team, please'
Kobayashi casts HOLOCENE SLAUGHTER, hits! (85 ahn strokes)
Kobayashi: 'ha! first strikeout abduction!'
Iguchi: 'ns'