Signing International Pitchers

[godzilla]

I know it's too early but i think next offseason the bombers shud use their cash for japanese or other international pitchers who starred in the WBC. Since the yanks have a really good but not guaranteed healthy rotation and bulpen i think the asians,europeans or the carrebians will fill up the gap in our roster. Here are some top Picks:

Uehara (1 run allowded against Team USA and has an effective curveball), Matsuzaka (150+fastball and great fighting spirit), Watanabe Shunsuke (Pitched well twice against korea and also starred in the chiba lotte japanese championship-his underthrow windup will probabely contend in the majors, Pedro Lazo (great relief pitching in the semis), Matis (an amazing no-hitter for the oranjes), Fujikawa (set up man of the year in japan and an amazing fastball)

what are your views on signing international hopes?

[jalbright]

Well, first off, at least for the Japanese, those guys either have to reach free agency over there or get their teams to cooperate (which they rarely do). Another concern with the Japanese is their usage patterns--they're used far harder than American pitchers, and it tends to show up as they age. Combine that with the teams' reluctance to give up until the bitter end, the Japanese pitchers that get over here often don't and won't have a lot of good years left. Don't get me wrong--I love their talent, but just not the chances of seeing a lot of it at or near their best in the major leagues.

Jim Albright

[pacewon]

I like Matsuzaka a lot, but if he ever finally gets posted, I imagine there will be a huge bidding war for him. Not to say we can't land him, but the competition will be steep.

[Mariano_Rivera]

I like Matsuzaka a lot, but if he ever finally gets posted, I imagine there will be a huge bidding war for him. Not to say we can't land him, but the competition will be steep.

I agree but next year Barry Zito`s contract is up so the bidding war won`t be as fierce though we will need to sign someone Johnson will be far to old next year and Mussina will be 38 I believe

[farmsystem]

I'm all for the Yankees exploring different ways to improve their pitching staff. Matsuzaka is big and has good velocity. I tuned in to the WBC championship game just to see this guy. He's going to cost a lot so I prefer if the Yankees use that money on Zito.