February 23, 200422 yr Evidently the Sox pitchers and catchers are quite amazed at the nasty pitches Takatsu has. They talked about it on Smurf and Fred this morning. This could be very very good. I can't wait to see him pitch.
February 23, 200422 yr I'm looking forward to seeing Shingo throw, too. I always like pitchers with weird deliveries. Of course, if the weird delivery leads to a 450-foot homer, then I'm not so thrilled. I'm going to give him a chance, though.
February 23, 200422 yr I heard on Joe Bartosch's show last night when they said that some of Takatsu's pitches have unbelievable movement. As long as they're near the plate and nestle safely in Olivo's glove, it'll be all good.
February 23, 200422 yr Let's be honest, when he was signed, we had absolutely no idea what to expect, we still don't. All we know is that he was good in Japan, REALLY good. I can't wait to see him in action.
February 23, 200422 yr There's a real interesting article about Takatsu in the Trib and on Chicagosports.com Basically talks about him getting use to new surroundings. I like the fact that Ozzie is encouraging players to talk to him even though he doesn't speak English well... it may sound silly but at least he won't feel like an outsider, the other players seem to have a good attitude about treating him like everyone else
February 23, 200422 yr Good stuff, but I'm going to take everything and wait to see how they pitch against real hitters. I do like hearing about how filthy his movement is.
February 23, 200422 yr i dont really know much about him except that he was amazing in japan. Hopefully that carries over to here.
February 23, 200422 yr Best part about control pitchers is their longevity. Not saying Takatsu will be on this team over 5 years, but the possibility exists. I remember this guy Phil Neikro, he pitched almost 30 years I think. Knuckleballer, unlike takatsu, but it shows you how much longer they can last.
February 24, 200422 yr I heard on Joe Bartosch's show last night when they said that some of Takatsu's pitches have unbelievable movement. As long as they're near the plate and nestle safely in Olivo's glove, it'll be all good. Here's alittle quote from Olivo and Guillen. Olivo "Right now, the sinker he has ... I've never seen a ball move like that," said White Sox catcher Miguel Olivo, who caught Takatsu Saturday. "His sinker moves like a splitter. Guillen "He was consistently hitting his spots and throwing strikes," Guillen said. "His delivery is smooth and relaxed. "I don't want to tell everyone what he has because I want them to be surprised," added Guillen with a wry smile. "But he was changing speeds and had great location."
February 24, 200422 yr what i dont understand is why was koch handed the closers role did his velocity come back or something?
February 24, 200422 yr Heres a grain of salt to go with the spring reports. Zero was a free agent who could sign with any team. He signed for $750,000 in 2004, with a club option for $2.5 million in '05 or a club buyout of $250,000. A 1 Mil deal. Even the Brewers could have done that but choose not to. Were the other 29 MLB scouting departments all wrong? We'll all find out together watching the games. I lo-o-ove baseball.
February 24, 200422 yr Heres a grain of salt to go with the spring reports. Zero was a free agent who could sign with any team. He signed for $750,000 in 2004, with a club option for $2.5 million in '05 or a club buyout of $250,000. A 1 Mil deal. Even the Brewers could have done that but choose not to. Were the other 29 MLB scouting departments all wrong? We'll all find out together watching the games. I lo-o-ove baseball. There were similar deals offered by teams. The Padres and Yankees were among the teams interested in Takatsu, but he chose the White Sox partly because of our Japanese culture here and his wife attended graduate school in Chicago and liked it.
February 24, 200422 yr There were similar deals offered by teams. The Padres and Yankees were among the teams interested in Takatsu, but he chose the White Sox partly because of our Japanese culture here and his wife attended graduate school in Chicago and liked it. I believe it was also partly due to the fact that he wants a chance to close, and he probably felt this was his best chance to close for a major league team. Who wouldn't feel that way?
February 24, 200422 yr There were similar deals offered by teams. The Padres and Yankees were among the teams interested in Takatsu, but he chose the White Sox partly because of our Japanese culture here and his wife attended graduate school in Chicago and liked it. Yeah, but nobody offered 1.25 Mil. What the heck, everybody (including me) was wrong on Loiza last year. It will be a fun story to watch as it unfolds.
February 24, 200422 yr Yeah, but nobody offered 1.25 Mil. What the heck, everybody (including me) was wrong on Loiza last year. It will be a fun story to watch as it unfolds. Hey TLAK, Been real busy, so my board time is scarce lately. Just wanted to say, got a big kick out of your avatar. Work has been brutal! Needed a good laugh.That one did me in for the night!!! Thanks!!! On the serious side, I hope Guillen does real well. Only time will tell. As far as Shingo goes, does anybody know how long he was locked up for before he became a free agent? With scouts all over the friggin' place nowadays, you think somebody would have jumped on the bandwagon a few years ago since his stuff is supposedly so great. Just curious if anyone knew if/why he was unavailable, and for how long of a period. If he was available before, why didn't anyone grab him? Thanks!!
February 24, 200422 yr Amazing. Since we got Shingo and no one else did, he must suck. I can't believe I'm reading this kind of stuff. We don't know what he can do, but let's get him on the mound and find out before jumping to conclusions like that.
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