Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

BASEBALL

Chunichi's Wei-yin Chen agrees to contract with Orioles

Sports Jan. 11, 2012 - 06:43AM JST ( 3 )

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lostrune2Jan. 11, 2012 - 04:23PM JST

That's more than Iwakuma.

Taiwanese have the advantage of leaving NPB early.
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Patrick HattmanJan. 12, 2012 - 11:15AM JST

Taiwanese have the advantage of leaving NPB early.

It's not because he's Taiwanese. It's because he's a foreigner, and NPB rules for domestic and international FA don't apply to him. How do you think the Yomiuri Giants regularly raid other NPB teams for their successful "gaijin suketto" after a year or two in the league?

The O's are taking a big risk with Chen. Chen's numbers really tailed off last year, especially his K/BB ratio which does not bode well for success as a starter in the majors. Supposedly, his decreased velocity was due to a leg problem, but let's remember this guy hardly pitched for a couple years after an arm injury several years ago. I would hope the O's did their due diligence with a thorough physical exam.

Barring a major injury, I think Chen will be a useful pitcher for the O's, but probably not long-term as a starter. Uehara could not hold up physically til he was moved full-time to the 'pen, and I think the same will hold true for Chen.
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Clément DelestradeJan. 13, 2012 - 02:53AM JST

Uehara was much older, it's not really a good argument. He would have been a great MLB started if he had come at the same age of Chen.