White Sox add Iguchi
DMZ · January 24, 2005 at 8:27 pm · Filed Under Mariners
The White Sox signed Tadahito Iguchi to a two-year deal with an option for a third. ESPN’s story here. Japanese stats. Without having seen any kind of translations, I have to say that on first glance I’m not impressed — power hasn’t crossed the water for Japanese players in general, and there’s not much else to his offensive game.
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17 Responses to “White Sox add Iguchi”
With the Yankees signing Rey Sanchez this same week??
Wow… the balance of power in the AL continues to shift!!!!
His lines in the last two full seasons are .340/.438/.573 and .333/.394/.549, which seem just fine to me. If he can field at shortstop and can get on base at least a bit, he may be worth the shot.
I think Iguchi would have been a good fit for the M’s at that price, its not that big of a commitment, and he is exactly what we need; a guy that can play 2B and SS to shuffle with Pokey and Boone, that can hit some. I realize there’s the possibility that he might put Kaz Matsui like numbers, but I think there is a significant chance that he could be an above average player. Even if he does tank he would be easy to move because of his relativlely small contract, and I think many teams would be willing to take a chance on him because it can take time to adjust when swithing leagues.
I doubt that Iguchi would have signed as a back up for any team. While he was not a superstar like Ichiro! or H. Matsui, he was one of the better players in Japan. I am curious to see how well someone like him would do in MLB. His numbers before 2003 are not very impressive. He might do well here, but might end up being like Shinjo.
OK, I got an update. According to a Japanese press, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees, Cardinals and Angels expressed interest in Iguchi, but only the White Sox went as high as ~$4 mil/2 yrs. Another press says that only the White Sox guaranteed a starting position. They also say that Nomo has received offers from 4 clubs, for none of which he has played before (no names mantioned). I am wondering whether the M’s are one of them. I’ll try to find out the detail.
Considering the way the Matsui(s) and even the (gasp!) Ichiro power adjustments went… I think theres definetly a nightmare scenario for the White Sox in which he slugs under .400…
and don’t forget Ozzero possibly lowering his .OBP with endless bunts and hits and runs…
remember, its “speed and defense” this season for the Sox
Iguchi fits perfectly into Kenny Williams’ master plan. Since he could not win with players who were pretty good, such as Carlos Lee and Ordonez, he has decided to see if players who are not as good, like Podsednik, Dye, and Iguchi, can win that elusively mediocre AL Central Division pennant.
On a side note, I noticed that the sandwiches I made with day-old bread did not taste that great. So I decided to use bread that was three days old to see if I could make a tastier sandwich.
Sure, Iguchi’s last two years were good. But it’s like looking at any other player — do you only take the years you want, or do you look at the career? Iguchi’s got six years of not hitting followed by two years where he looks good. If the White Sox get the latter, this is a good deal. Otherwise, it’s wasted money.
Iguchi is five days older than me, and I’m pretty sure that I’m past my best playing years.
That age 28 season looks a lot like a peak, to me.
Taking the last two years of performance only partly counts as cherrypicking, in my mind. At least it beats taking the two-year period that ended three years ago, as the M’s have done lately.
More nasty dismissals of Japanese players by blog-experts and fans who have analyzed a few lines of data? I do begin to wonder if the last of this sort of chauvinistic-like flavored “knowledge” is finally reaching its proper level of white noise after some fifty-plus years of being disproven.
Pardon me if I misrepresent some of you by saying that (and I know I am, to some of you). I’ve tried to find alternate reasons for the odd hostility shown to every Japanese player from some quarters, and avoided voicing this one for years, but a fan can only take so much.
Most of the comments above show exactly why I rarely join in these “disgussions” since neither information nor enjoyment of the game is their objective.
Ah, enough. I’ll check the site to get news, and comment further to pass on what I can about what NPB is, if it seems needed. Go back to your, you-know.
Breaking news. Delgado goes to the Marlins.
Which is okay. At least he didn’t get stuck in Baltimore, yet another team struggling to finish third in th AL East.
I am offended by this. I wrote a column for BP, “Xenophobia” about the prejudice Ichiro faced in his RoY campaign. I’ve written over and over about Japanese baseball and the success of Ichiro! and last year’s unheralded crop of fine relief pitchers. You will not find a writer more interested in Japanese baseball than me.
To say that power hasn’t carried across — it’s true. Japanese hitters have seen their power numbers drop severely in the major leagues, and every new piece of translation software ups their estimation of how bad that’ll be.
Maybe you don’t know me, or my writing, but if that’s the case, maybe you should hold up with these kind of implications.
#7, Your post had me in stitches. That’s hilarious.
#11 obviously has a serious chip on his shoulder. You really are going out of your way to take offense where none was ever intended. Feel free to go back to your own, you-know. I’d go on, but I’m afraid I don’t speak jackass as fluently as you do.
Carlos Delgado: 4 years/$52 million to the Marlins. Who would you rather have…this guy or Richie?
Hard to say.
For a 2-year deal, I’d rather have Carlos. He’s the superior player, with a less catastrophic injury history.
But, Carlos is also the older player, with more injuries and more recurrent injuries. Nagging injuries worry me more with aging players than one big injury does. By the time that fourth year rolls around, I expect Sexson to be the better value.
That said, Richie’s arm might fall off any time he checks his swing. I’m fairly confident we’ll get to see Richie collapse at the plate at least once during his stay in Seattle.
Given that we apparently had to offer four years to land either, I think I’m happier with Sexson.
Hmm.
DMX, I certainly somehow missed your previous defense of Ichiro, so I’m glad to give you that point.
Still, you’ve made a statement about “power” based on a terribly small sample over a very limited amount of time. I still read your initial comment on Iguchi as an uninformed dismissal unworthy of a careful writer.
Xerve X, loosen up and keep to the subject rather than the person, if you would. “Hee-haw!”