Draft/ International Signing Day?

Ranma · Post #141 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:03 am

Nice to know that Ismael Cruz has been doing work this off-season by visiting an academy in the Dominican Republic.

Quake Griffin · Post #142 » by **Quake Griffin** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 3:08 pm

Looks like Yasiel Sierra is coming.

6-7 years for 30.

GO ALL OUT. PAY THAT TAX!!!!!111

Just LMAO at these teams acting like there's not enough to get a deal done with us.
FOH

Ranma · Post #143 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:13 pm

It looks like I've been spelling Yaisel Sierra's first name wrong. In any case, as I mentioned before, I'm not a fan of this signing particularly because of the tax. A $35 million bonus over 6 years is a good deal for a live arm that could work out of the bullpen but paying the tax to double that seems like a big overpriced commitment where we're paying anywhere from $10 million to $11.7 million per year with an upfront payment of at least $35 million. Plus However, he's reportedly still negotiating with other teams. At this point, I'm partial to losing out on him at this price point.

He looks more attractive to me as a fast-track candidate for the bullpen, but with this type of investment, it's likely possible that the Dodgers would try to stretch him out as a starter. Most consider his upside to be that of a mid-rotation starter, but I'm guessing the Dodgers' scouts think he's capable of more with our developmental system working out the kinks in his delivery while he polishes up the secondary offerings of his pitching repertoire.

If our scouts like him, I have to defer to their judgment but I am scratching my head on this one. With his live arm and limited upside, I'd prefer we use him as either a relief pitcher in the near future or trade asset, but the purported cost is what really bothers me. We're paying him more than what we gave Starling Heredia, whom I like better. However, I acknowledge that price tag factors in the fact that Sierra is more advanced in terms of being able to contribute much sooner. I'm guessing we're really not limited by a budget in signing these international free agents, so this is probably a sign of encouragement that we'll spend whatever it takes for Gutierrez and Gourriel. I'm looking forward to hearing what our scouts think of him, particularly from Ismael Cruz.

Edit: Disregard my previously stated concerns that have been struck through. I forgot that Sierra is not subject to the tax, so that makes this deal more palatable. At this price point, it's a sound investment even with his limited upside.

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Ranma · Post #144 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:15 pm

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Quake Griffin · Post #145 » by **Quake Griffin** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:40 pm

He's not subject to the tax because of his age right?
Another young live arm under team control. They can't all be Koufax. I can live with this one at those numbers and no tax to double it.

Loving the depth.
What the hell are we going to do with all these players? Something has to go out and bring me back something. SOMETHING!

Ranma · Post #146 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:46 pm

Quake Griffin wrote:He's not subject to the tax because of his age right?
Another young live arm under team control. They can't all be Koufax. I can live with this one at those numbers and no tax to double it.

Loving the depth.
What the hell are we going to do with all these players? Something has to go out and bring me back something. SOMETHING!

Yep. The non-tax aspect of the deal totally changed my opinion. It's a done deal now and represents a good investment for someone who can possibly help right away and possesses such a live arm. At the very least, he makes an attractive trade asset as long as he's healthy. Like I mentioned before, I hope the Dodgers don't fool around and commit to him as a relief pitcher, but we'll probably give him a shot to show us what he's got as a starter.

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Hudson Belinsky, Baseball America (10/23/15)

Just before 1:30 p.m., scouts got a look at Cuban defector Yaisel Sierra. Sierra suited up for the Astros Scout Team (which has players from FTB Tucci as well) in an exhibition game against the Homeplate Chilidogs. Prior to his defection, Sierra ranked as the No. 14 prospect in Cuba. On Thursday, he showed off the electric stuff that earned him that ranking, retiring all nine of the batters he faced and striking out four.

Sierra threw 34 pitches on Thursday, including 19 fastballs, 12 sliders and two changeups. His average fastball velocity was 94.7 mph, and the pitch peaked at 96 multiple times and once dropped to 91. Sierra had outstanding command of his fastball down and to his glove side. He also had command of his slider in the same spot. Sierra’s slider broke with very late two-plane movement, and he ran it away from righthanded batters consistently, and the pitch showed the ability to compete in the strike zone. Sierra threw what appeared to be a changeup twice. The pitch had more vertical movement than his slider, and did not have overwhelming fade, though he did hit his spots with it.

The righthanded Sierra looked extremely polished on the mound. He repeated his moderate stride very well, consistently landing online and hitting his spots down in the strike zone. Sierra has a clean arm action, with a smooth wrap in the back and ease through release.

Jupiter: Day One Notebook

Ranma · Post #147 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:48 pm

Badler is the expert, so I guess he likes Arozarena. I actually like what I've heard about Jorge Ona in the past, but I didn't expect him to be available during this signing period. Based on Badler's tweet, I guess he has a good shot at being granted an exception to be eligible for the current signing period, after all.

Randy Arozarena is a 20-year-old who will be holding a showcase this month on the 22nd of January. Baseball America ranked him as the 9th best prospect in Cuba and is described as a "quick-twitch athlete" with good speed, contact skills, bat speed, plate discipline, and pitch recognition. He's also a versatile defender playing both shortstop and in the outfield. I was dismissive of him yesterday but he does sound like a well-rounded prospect albeit a littler older and still in need of development. We'll see what our scouts think of him.

Meanwhile, Baseball America ranked Jorge Ona as the 6th best prospect in Cuba. He's a 6'2", 192 lbs. 19-year-old rightfielder who's performed quite well in tournaments. He displays a quick, compact swing as a right-handed hitter and also exhibits raw power and a strong arm in RF. We'll see if he'll actually be available for the Dodgers.

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Ranma · Post #148 » by **Ranma** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:22 pm

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MLB.com just updated its 2015 Top 30 International Prospect rankings again and it looks out of whack. First, I already thought its recent reordering in including Armenteros was off but now they've put Alfredo Rodriguez as a top-4 prospect, which looks like a big mistake in my opinion. He's a defensive SS with little hit tools. Second, he's a shortstop but is listed as an outfielder. His profile summary even talks about him as an outfielder when that is not the case. Third, Rodriguez's picture looks suspiciously a lot like Yusniel Diaz's. The two photos looks like the same player taken at different times. Maybe they just look similar and share the same uniform in being on the same team but I have my doubts.

The rankings will undoubtedly be revised further as more Cubans become available and sign contracts during this signing period, but I have doubts about the integrity of the rankings now.

Quake Griffin · Post #149 » by **Quake Griffin** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 7:11 am

that write up by Hudson Bellinsky gives me hope for this kid playing this year.

I'm REALLY excited about how aggressive this team has been in the international market and how it's opened up opportunities for this team.

This is probably the healthiest the Dodgers have been since I've been alive.

Quake Griffin · Post #150 » by **Quake Griffin** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 2:12 pm

Ranma, I also find it amazing that Armenteros didn't impress but all of his stuff on a scale is a 55 or above.

I mean. The kid is 17.
The only problem I could see with picking him up is the outlay.
Most kids aren't even hitting the majors until what…23? 24?
Are these scouts telling me they can't coach this kid up over a period of 4-5 years? He HAS to be an instant success like Puig to justify picking him up?

Ranma · Post #151 » by **Ranma** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:37 pm

Ranma · Post #152 » by **Ranma** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 6:08 am

Quake Griffin wrote:Ranma, I also find it amazing that Armenteros didn't impress but all of his stuff on a scale is a 55 or above.

I mean. The kid is 17.
The only problem I could see with picking him up is the outlay.
Most kids aren't even hitting the majors until what…23? 24?
Are these scouts telling me they can't coach this kid up over a period of 4-5 years? He HAS to be an instant success like Puig to justify picking him up?

I'll have to defer to Neddy since he has the much more expert eye in judging the mechanics of players. However, I get the concern with the kid's build being too stiff in being overly muscular with regards to his swing. The Dodgers have a history of struggling to develop athletic position players over the past few decades. I recall many times where we would draft athletes and hoped they'd develop into good hitters.

I remember names like Joel Guzman, Franklin Gutierrez, Preston Mattingly, and Karim Garcia never panning out. Even promising batters like Andy LaRoche, Billy Ashley, and Henry Rodriguez never realized their full potential even though Ashley was lauded for his power more so than his hitting ability. We've even had limited contributions from those that have developed like James Loney, Dave Hansen, Todd Hollandsworth, and Raul Mondesi. Matt Kemp, Adrian Beltre, Paul Konerko, Jose Offerman, and--yes, I'm including him--Dee Gordon became successful but either had short peaks or ended up producing more for other teams.

It has proven difficult for the Dodgers to develop good hitters in recent years, which makes Corey Seager such a valuable asset to the organization. Going back to Lazarito, it's already hard enough to develop hitters without having to fix their physical build to be more conducive to good mechanics, so I'd be wary of overpaying for him. Guys like Bo Jackson and Yoan Moncada are all the more impressive excelling with such builds. Yasiel Puig would fall under this category as well.

Having said that, I think the kid has a better chance under our physical development program. I don't think he has great natural hitting ability, but hopefully the revamping of our developmental program will address the organization's previous shortcomings in developing hitters. This is why I'm not totally buying into his hype. He'd be an intriguing lump of hardened clay, which needs to be broken down again before being re-molded, but I have other priorities higher on my radar.

Also, let's keep in mind that the MLB.com ratings tend to be higher for international prospects before they get lowered once they're added to their major-league teams. Whoever is evaluating the international prospects is skewing the measurements higher than his counterpart for the American prospects.

Neddy · Post #153 » by **Neddy** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:11 pm

Ranma wrote:
Quake Griffin wrote:Ranma, I also find it amazing that Armenteros didn't impress but all of his stuff on a scale is a 55 or above.

I mean. The kid is 17.
The only problem I could see with picking him up is the outlay.
Most kids aren't even hitting the majors until what…23? 24?
Are these scouts telling me they can't coach this kid up over a period of 4-5 years? He HAS to be an instant success like Puig to justify picking him up?

I'll have to defer to Neddy since he has the much more expert eye in judging the mechanics of players. However, I get the concern with the kid's build being too stiff in being overly muscular with regards to his swing. The Dodgers have a history of struggling to develop athletic position players over the past few decades. I recall many times where we would draft athletes and hoped they'd develop into good hitters.

I remember names like Joel Guzman, Franklin Gutierrez, Preston Mattingly, and Karim Garcia never panning out. Even promising batters like Andy LaRoche, Billy Ashley, and Henry Rodriguez never realized their full potential even though Ashley was lauded for his power more so than his hitting ability. We've even had limited contributions from those that have developed like James Loney, Dave Hansen, Todd Hollandsworth, and Raul Mondesi. Matt Kemp, Adrian Beltre, Paul Konerko, Jose Offerman, and--yes, I'm including him--Dee Gordon became successful but either had short peaks or ended up producing more for other teams.

It has proven difficult for the Dodgers to develop good hitters in recent years, which makes Corey Seager such a valuable asset to the organization. Going back to Lazarito, it's already hard enough to develop hitters without having to fix their physical build to be more conducive to good mechanics, so I'd be wary of overpaying for him. Guys like Bo Jackson and Yoan Moncada are all the more impressive excelling with such builds. Yasiel Puig would fall under this category as well.

Having said that, I think the kid has a better chance under our physical development program. I don't think he has great natural hitting ability, but hopefully the revamping of our developmental program will address the organization's previous shortcomings in developing hitters. This is why I'm not totally buying into his hype. He'd be an intriguing lump of hardened clay, which needs to be broken down again before being re-molded, but I have other priorities higher on my radar.

Also, let's keep in mind that the MLB.com ratings tend to be higher for international prospects before they get lowered once they're added to their major-league teams. Whoever is evaluating the international prospects is skewing the measurements higher than his counterpart for the American prospects.

I think you pretty much got the main points discussed already.

Pros - yes he is very young, and incredibly built. he has good straight line speed and has a decent arm. he has natural power similar to Billy Ashley. judging from his own self promotion and brand name moniker, he is motivated to succeed.

Cons- Rnma is right on his points here. I only have watched his promo video and a pair of his in-game international matches so the data is very limited, but from the promo, he appears very stiff, as Ranma said. he appears either not trying hard or does not possess lateral quickness or the agility to change directions. that alone isn't a big problem, as he is already pegged as a cornner OF and not a middle infielder. the problem with that, is he is so young and he is already stiff. kids of that age are often full of athleticism and instinct, but are missing the physical strengh to hit with consistent power or throw a baseball hard from RF to 3rd base or making off balance throw off a tough ground ball from 3rd to 1st. same reason why kids at 15 throwing 80 mph fastball with good command gets a scout's attention if he has a good frame, in hopes he grows into his body but a 19 year old throwing 90 mph with decent control who is at 5 foot 7 may not. of course a 15 year old with frame throwing 90 already will be a first round draft pick, so I am talking about similar, fringe prospects ande how age and skills along with the kid's projected physical growth all comes into play to judge a talent. Larazito seems to have nearly maxed out his physical tools. at 16 or 17 and being 6-2, it could also work against him if he continues to grow bigger. so his size is a bit a double edged sword.
his swing from the promo video was absolutely terrible. his weight shifts in more than in one direction, his shoulders come off too early and he doesn't carry his weight or momentum well into the contact. I thought his swing was just garbage there.
but then I watched his in-game swing. it was more compact, less hurky-jerky and was able to make the contact without opening his shoulder too early. still very raw, his popups that were doubles in the video with aluminum bats against lesser, younger amateur opponents, will surely be a flyout in pros even at a rookie level with a wooden bat. but in game swing was definitely better and more usable than the promo. still, Ranma is right when saying he doesn't seem to have the natural ability to hit the ball well. most hits were missing the sweet spot of the bat and often appeared to have been muscled into the outfield except a few really squarely hit balls which of course were out of the ball park.

my 2 cents on this kid is, yes he may become a good player, maybe even a star someday, but typically kids have natural abilities and work on skillsets, get their mechanics tweeked along the minor league system as their body fills in to eventually add power. Lazarito appears to be doing the opposite. not sure how easy that will be. if he is a modest investment, why not. but if he is asking Yasmani Tomas' money? we may have to think about that and what the snakes are going through with supposedly an established hitter in his prime.

as for Bo Jackson, if he played baseball only and played through whole season, he would have been one of the best power hitters wth a HOF credentials since his athleticism in the outfield was ungodly. but he was a career .250 BA hitter. people forget that in his best season in 1989 with about 130 games played, he struck out something like 171 or maybe more and more importantly, didn't take a walk. he too was not a natural hitter and his power and .500 SLG kept his OPS just above league average but because it was such a rare thing to see someone with so little natural baseball tools to become a star with pure physical gift, he stood out from the rest. but Bo still holds his track and field records from Auburn University too, he played something like 4 different sports at the AU before declaring for baseball over football, and I believe he was an olympic alternate for long jump and 200 m (or was it 400 m? can't remember anymore) so I am not sure if there are gonna be too many Bo-like athletes to come around so often. even saying all that, and I am a huge fan of his, have his autographed picture framed in my house, but his all power and little ability to get on base unless he hits, from a career .250 hitter, would have driven us mad if he was playing for the dodgers right now in today's baseball.

Ranma · Post #154 » by **Ranma** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:45 am

An absolutely wonderful write-up, Neddy. I enjoyed every word in reading your insight into his build and mechanics. It remains to be seen how interested the Dodgers are in Armenteros. I'm fine with the organization signing him if the scouts think they can break him down and refashion him into a more natural hitter, but he looks like a long-term project in need of extra work, so I wouldn't go crazy in the bidding for him. He shouldn't come anywhere close to what either Yadier Alvarez and Yusniel Diaz signed for, but then again, the consensus is that the Dodgers overpaid for Yaisel Sierra.

With regard to Sierra, I heard a few major league evaluators wouldn't have given him a $1 million signing bonus much less $30 million. However, the Dodgers did outbid the Marlins and Cubs for him, so I like the fact that we're sending a message to other teams not to bother going after prospects we like. While I agree that the price for Sierra was expensive, I'm fine with flexing our financial muscle in this instance, especially since he didn't cost us any more in taxes. I still don't subscribe to the Steinbrenner spending habit of just throwing money at whatever we want, but the front office has noted that they factor in the costs--not just monetary--to every move it makes. We just better do a better job of avoiding the likes of Erisbel Arruebarrena and Alex Guerrero.

I have a tendency to repeat myself, but as was mentioned before, Sierra's live arm and fast-track candidacy at least makes for an attractive trade candidate to a couple of teams. Much like the Braves and Hector Olivera, we know the Marlins and Cubs have interest in him. The fact that Theo Epstein's Cubs like him has me more intrigued given their track record in developing young players during his tenure. Friedman noted before how much he likes pitchers with fastball-slider combos and Sierra certainly fits that bill, but I've been hearing that limiting him to a single arm angle for his pitches is anticipated to increase his control while he's also showing progress on a changeup and maybe curve.

Going back to Bo Jackson, I want to say that growing up, I was never a fan since I thought he was an over-hyped novelty. However, as I've grown older, I've come to appreciate not only his stamina but how he was able to play competently at such a high level across professional-level sports. He may not be a natural like Ken Griffey, Jr. was but he was a force in the NFL and succeeded in MLB when elite athletes in other sports failed miserably such as Deion Sanders and Michael Jordan. Bo Knows Excellence.

In recent news, with agents now able to represent drafted prep prospects only before and after college, this might be a helpful factor in my plans to blow out our draft budget in 2017 or 2018 by paying top-dollar for signability draftees in anticipation of free agency in 2018.

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Ranma · Post #155 » by **Ranma** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 1:24 pm

My hope for a dream Dodgers rotation fronted by Kershaw, Otani, and Urias is looking more promising than ever. I was taken aback by the latest pictures of Shohei Otani's increased bulk with my initial reaction being worried that he may be taking PEDs, but apparently, it's just that he's committed himself to the Harada Method, which seems to be based on the Japanese version of the Tony Robbins approach. Plus, I don't believe Japanese players are susceptible to performance-enhancing drugs, anyway. Hopefully, he's still maintaining his flexibility but it's further encouraging that he's adding a change-up to go along with his awesome fastball as well as fork ball and slider.

The initial news I've heard was that Otani was anticipated to be a few years away from being posted, but Jeff Passan previously reported buzz that he could be available after 2016 and now Joseph Kim, a follower of Korean major-leaguers as well as some other Asian pro-ballers, is saying that Otani could indeed be available after 2016 with 2017 also a possibility. This supposedly is tied to the posting fee being higher than the current $20 million maximum, but I haven't come across any report of that. Neddy, have you heard any recent details about this?

What's interesting is that Otani supposedly said that he wanted to sign with the Dodgers, Rangers, or Red Sox back in 2012. The Dodgers are no surprise since we aggressively pursued him at the cost of diplomatic relations. The Rangers and Red Sox make some sense since Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched for them, respectively. I'm just surprised the Mariners weren't mentioned given their Japanese ownership and the Japanese players who've played for that team including Ichiro Suzuki and Hisashi Iwakuma. Come to think of it, Seattle wouldn't be competitive bidders in an arms race with Los Angeles, Boston, and Texas involved.

In any case, we can't be outbid for this guy once he becomes available, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.

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Quake Griffin · Post #156 » by **Quake Griffin** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:28 am

Tanaka/ Darvish level?

Ranma · Post #157 » by **Ranma** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:41 am

He's more Yu Darvish than Masahiro Tanaka. I think he has the upside to be better than Darvish. I really wanted Darvish when he was posted in 2012 at the age of 26 but the Dodgers were still under McCourt ownership back then. Darvish is 6'5", Tanaka is 6'2", and Otani is 6'4" so Otani and Darvish have the more similar builds. Plus, Otani and Darvish also have the more similar stuff with higher-velocity fastballs to go along with multiple off-speed pitches.

Darvish is the more polished pitcher having been posted at 26 but Otani is 21 right now and, if the recent reports are true, he would either be 22 or 23 when he's posted. The sooner he gets into the Dodgers' developmental pipeline, the sooner we can condition him to an MLB workload as he continues to refine his repertoire under the guidance of Rick Honeycutt and possibly even get input from Greg Maddux (if hired by the Dodgers) and Sandy Koufax. Both Darvish and Tanaka have incurred elbow injuries requiring surgery, so the hope is to get Otani at a younger age in order to avoid such complications due to the Japanese workload.

I've had my eye on this kid for a while. He'd be priority #1 once he's posted and arguably the most important international prospect in the world. Who knows how good this kid really is, but I'd probably rank him ahead of Corey Seager if he were added to our system right now. He wouldn't be our co-ace right away but I'm optimistic he'd get there soon after arriving to the United States.

Quake Griffin · Post #158 » by **Quake Griffin** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:03 am

If he is under 23 then we aren't going to be able to sign him right?

Neddy · Post #159 » by **Neddy** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:14 am

Quake Griffin wrote:Tanaka/ Darvish level?

Ranma wrote:He's more Yu Darvish than Masahiro Tanaka. I think he has the upside to be better than Darvish. I really wanted Darvish when he was posted in 2012 at the age of 26 but the Dodgers were still under McCourt ownership back then. Darvish is 6'5", Tanaka is 6'2", and Otani is 6'4" so Otani and Darvish have the more similar builds. Plus, Otani and Darvish also have the more similar stuff with higher-velocity fastballs to go along with multiple off-speed pitches.

Darvish is the more polished pitcher having been posted at 26 but Otani is 21 right now and, if the recent reports are true, he would either be 22 or 23 when he's posted. The sooner he gets into the Dodgers' developmental pipeline, the sooner we can condition him to an MLB workload as he continues to refine his repertoire under the guidance of Rick Honeycutt and possibly even get input from Greg Maddux (if hired by the Dodgers) and Sandy Koufax. Both Darvish and Tanaka have incurred elbow injuries requiring surgery, so the hope is to get Otani at a younger age in order to avoid such complications due to the Japanese workload.

I've had my eye on this kid for a while. He'd be priority #1 once he's posted and arguably the most important international prospect in the world. Who knows how good this kid really is, but I'd probably rank him ahead of Corey Seager if he were added to our system right now. He wouldn't be our co-ace right away but I'm optimistic he'd get there soon after arriving to the United States.

Quake Griffin wrote:Tanaka/ Darvish level?

Yu is half persian, thus his last name being "Darvish". he was blessed with an incredible physique and skillset, probably the best in terms of pitcher's frame is concerned, out of Japan. mentally, he has come a long way. he was always suffering from racism all through out his lfe and inferiority complex despite his excellent tract record for being a half something else in a proud nation of Japan that can be very hostile and racist against non-japanese, but he survived it and now is a star, but then again he was always a star, he just wasn't comfortable with it in Japan.

Otani is probably the best "framed" pticher out of Japan that is bound to US ever, among the pure Japanese DNA. I know it is so stupid to think in such backwater racist ideas and I'm sure you guys agree, but that is because we are Americans. Japanese think differently. and Otani is their true 'born and raised' and 'full blooded from the pride of Nippon' athlete in their eyes. Otani is often compared to manga characters, and I am sure Ranma knows what I mean.

the latest I have read just today, about Otani is that he is committed to gaining a changeup to his arsenal. he has 100 mph fastball, and ungodly slider but his change up was a rare "show me" pitch that wasn't within the K zone unless it was a mistake (in which case he was hit hard at times for floating a meatball) and occasional curve. Otani originally signed with the dodgers but the NPB introduced new regulations to prevent the Japanese highschools from becoming MLB's farm system, to force Otani's hands to choose to stay with the NipponHam Fighters of Sapporo, but the compromises from what I remember when Otani signed with them after that team picking him #1 overalll draft pick out of high school were,

#1, Otani was allowed to bat as well as pitch. he BTW has been a rather impressive hitter in a limited at bats. he is maybe better hitter with greater power potential as a pitcher than MadBum.

#2. was that he was gonna get posted much sooner than other Japanese pitchers of the past.

the NPB's posting agreement with MLB is about to face a renewal, and that 20 million dollar cap is about to evaporate once again, so yeah, the talk of Otani coming to America soon, hangs in a balance of the new agreement of posting system MLB and NPB will settle on. but whichever the system they agree on, as long as it turns profit for the Ham Fighting Sapporo snowmen ( I love the Beer from that region BTW, but never tried their ham) I am sure Otani has contractual right to be posted at the earliest mutually oppotunistic chance. so I would assume if the changes that favor the team comes in 17 or 18, he will be posted for the max money for the Hams.

Neddy · Post #160 » by **Neddy** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:34 am

BTW, it's off the subject but since the Japanese and Koreans have their baseball teams named not after the cities they play in but the parent corporations they are owned by (unlike US where teams are owned privately and ran for profit, asian baseball teams are often owned by mega-conglomerate companies who use the teams and their success as an extension of company PR) while takning finantial loss, there are some funny names that I find just hilarious.

names like Samsung Lions(obivously the electronic company based in South Korea) Yomiuri Giants ( the largest newspaper company based in Tokyo), and Kia Tigers are rather boring and simple to identify, have you guys heard of Yakult Swallows? Nippon Ham Fighters I already mentioned about being Otani's parent team, but really, "Ham Fighters"??? SK Wyverns? I had to look up the dictionary to find out that it is a form of a dragon. I did not know such word existed prior. NC Dinos... cute. they are little dinosours.... okay.... playing baseball with short itty bitty arms.... KT Wiz? now defunk and since merged with Bufflalos, but the team Ichiro came from, was called Orix BlueWaves... cool name, but was never sure what that meant...... but the greatest/weirdest baseball teams' name of all time has to go to that Aussie league team that is currently the 3rd in standing of the ABL (which BTW is in playoff run, for those of you guys mad enough about baseball, find live stream... they are a fun international bush league guys who truly play for the love of the game cuz surely they ain'y getting paid much) has to be the.... Adeladie Bites!

okay it's really the Adelaide Bite, referring to the sharks, but one of my former patients who was from Australia and since have gone back, when I mentioned about baseball team in her home town and it being called the 'bite' she replied "that sounds about right, Adelaide Bites, you should come visit! then again, why should you?"

LMAO.