O's and Uehara agree to deal

[Old Beta]

Is that Spanish for "the nino"?

No, it was pretend Japanese that is the end result of a machine translation. He wanted to say something like "go get the other one", but it wound up as something only some software would love.

[Old Beta]

Wonder how many homes in Japan we can get MASN too?

Nobody will care unless he plays for Boston, NY, or a West Coast team. Iguchi got ignored in Chicago, and he even got a WS ring, which the others didn't have at that point.

[Ruzious]

A very positive review from Rotoworld.com:

This would be one of the better risks the Orioles have taken in many years. Uehara is no lock to stay healthy as a starter, but he could he a legitimate No. 3 for a major league team. The Orioles will pencil him into the second spot behind Jeremy Guthrie. Hopefully, they're still in the running for Kenshin Kawakami as well.

[Old Beta]

Although there were some questions about his conditioning, and drive to stay in shape while with Yomuri.

I read that, but there are no questions about Irabu being an 11 on the obnoxious dial. Uehara seems a bit hardheaded himself, but he's going to have to go a ways to reach Irabu territory.

[Osfan13]

I read that, but there are no questions about Irabu being an 11 on the obnoxious dial. Uehara seems a bit hardheaded himself, but he's going to have to go a ways to reach Irabu territory.

I hope your are right and that Uehara did not only sign here because no one else had serious interest in him. I can't remember anybody else being linked to him, outside of the Mets (although that was a passing interest I believe) and another team. Giants maybe?

[YaBoyTopher]

I read that, but there are no questions about Irabu being an 11 on the obnoxious dial. Uehara seems a bit hardheaded himself, but he's going to have to go a ways to reach Irabu territory.

Uehara actually has a fine reputation, The Giants penalized him because he made public his desire to play in MLB, so they put him in the bullpen which he was not happy with, He let his conditioning go a little bit out of anger with management. Even with that he went to the all star game as a closer the first year, had 32 saves and posted a 1.32 ERA as the closer.

I dont think he will be any type of problem here, he finally got his wish to play in MLB, that will be plenty of motivation for him to stay in shape and be a model team mate, he wants to prove he can do what Kuroda (his good friend) has done.

[Frobby]

The more I look at Uehara, the more I think we got a potential steal.

[YaBoyTopher]

I hope your are right and that Uehara did not only sign here because no one else had serious interest in him. I can't remember anybody else being linked to him, outside of the Mets (although that was a passing interest I believe) and another team. Giants maybe?

He had interest from several other teams but we were the only one offering pretty much a guranteed starting gig, everyone else wanted him in the pen, Uehara has a strong desire to prove himself as a SP so thats why he is with us.

[Old Beta]

He let his conditioning go a little bit out of anger with management.

That's what I meant about being a bit hardheaded. I just hope he doesn't get into the habit of cutting off his nose to spite his face with us.

[JTrea81]

If the Orioles do sign Kawakami, they will be the first team in the AL to have two Japanese pitchers in the rotation at the same time. The first team in MLB history was the Dodgers with Ishii and Nomo in 2002...

That should get them noticed in Japan...

[YaBoyTopher]

That's what I meant about being a bit hardheaded. I just hope he doesn't get into the habit of cutting off his nose to spite his face with us.

That is a valid concern, However I think his desire to prove himself in the big leagues will be enough motivation to keep him fired up and in shape. He has waited for this moment since atleast 06 probably even before that.

I am so pumped about this signing, As a avid follower of NPB (Japanese Baseball) I have wanted the O's to sign a Japanese player for awhile, And I honestly think we got a guy that will be fun to watch every fifth day, the guy is a bull dog on the mound who will go after guys.

[osbaseball08]

If the Orioles do sign Kawakami, they will be the first team in the AL to have two Japanese pitchers in the rotation at the same time. The first team in MLB history was the Dodgers with Ishii and Nomo in 2002...

That should get them noticed in Japan...

Orioles jerseys all over Japan.. I smile just thinking about it.

This is a great low-risk, HUGE reward situation.

I love it. :hearts:

[LA2]

Orioles jerseys all over Japan.. I smile just thinking about it.

That IS a beautiful image--hope it happens! (I think if we sign a second Japanese player, it's a lock.)

[RShack]

Here's a list of the things I like about him:

• He's an 8-time All-Star.
  
• He's a 2-time winner of their version of Cy Young
  
• He's a 2- or 3-time (not sure which) Gold Glove.
  
• He appears to be strongly disinclined to throw ball-4.
  
• All of which means he knows how to be a pitcher.
  
• By Japanese standards, he's a bit of a rebel. That doesn't take much there, but still. Why is he a rebel? Because he told everybody he wanted to leave Japan and play major-league ball, much to the chagrin of his Toyko Giants. The Giants are kinda like Japan's MFY's. They've won more championships than anybody. They once won 9 Japanese rings in a row. Another time they won 7 in a row. (The MFY's never did that.) So, he reached the top of his profession at the top franchise in Japan. He wants to reach higher than that, and he doesn't care whether the Japanese MFY's like it or not.
  
• According to his agent, one thing he liked about the O's was that they saw him as the #2, not a #4. Now, you and I know that really doesn't mean beans, he'd get the same work either way. What matters is that it does mean something to him. I think he's coming here to prove something.

I don't think we need to worry about this guy not being a serious pitcher. (I mean "serious" in terms of both know-how and purpose.)

It will be really, really nice to see a new O's pitcher who actually knows what the hell he's doing.

Yes, he's a few years older than Dice-K. He's also about $90M cheaper. We'll see how he does.

I can't wait to listen to Palmer talk while Uehara throws.

ps: In the youtube video, in about 1 in 6 of those pitching clips, he did something in his follow-through where his throwing arm bounced back up in the air, and sometimes his right leg did too. It looked like body-language for saying, "Whee!!!" ;-)

pps: According to this, he really, really doesn't like to walk people:

"[uehara] touched off a nationwide debate when, in October of 1999, he broke down in tears on the mound. Uehara's teammate, Hideki Matsui, was one home run behind Roberto Petagine in the league's home run race. The Yomiuri Giants bosses commaned that Uehara intentionally walk Petagine, but Uehara wished to battle the opposing slugger. Uehara capitulated to his employer and wept on the mound. Many Japanese fans were outraged at the Giants' decision.

[DrungoHazewood]

Lukewarm about this. $5M isn't much for a FA pitcher, but I don't really like the 2nd year. I like that they made it an incentive-laden deal.

If he pitches well enough to stay in the rotation, this will end up as a good deal. If he has to go to the bullpen, and not in a very important role, it'll end up being a poor one.

Finally getting into Japan is a nice silver lining though either way.

Lukewarm? You realize that $5M in free agency is paying for one marginal win a year? That's essentially 80 innings of league-average starting production a year. The O's will be breaking even if they get 160 innings of a 4.50 out of him, total (as a starter).

Even if his arm falls off on May 15th they're out about the same amount of cash they've casually dropped on zero-upside guys like Jay Payton in the past.

I don't see how this could possibly be a really bad deal. And it has tons of upside.