Sayonara, Masa
As expected, Masa Kobayashi will be removed from the active and 40-man rosters tomorrow to make room for David Huff.
What's not clear is the exact terminology the Indians will use on the press release. Kobayashi can be optioned to Columbus if he consents to the move, and that decision is now in his hands. If he chooses not to go to Columbus, he can become a free agent.
Kobayashi said he does not want to go back to Japan to pitch. He'd rather remain here. He will talk to his agent to see what, if any, opportunities are out there for him.
I just calculated this, and if Kobayashi never makes it back here, the Indians will have paid him $91,837.20 $95,663.75 per out. The dollar might not be all that strong right now, but that's still pretty good yen if you can get it.
Here's the full story.
CORRECTION: I forgot about the $250,000 buyout in Kobayashi's contract, so that dollar-per-out figure is actually higher.
"The dollar might not be all that strong right now, but that's still pretty good yen if you can get it."
Heh. Nice one, AC.
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AC, didn't Paul Byrd announce he wanted to pitch again? Could that be any worse than what we've got?
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That's OK Yanks will pay CC an average of $7,500 a pitch or 3/4 of a million per 100 pitch start over 7 years. Granted there is no comparison between the two -- either in price or in quality. But this way Tribe mistakes seem cheap in comparison.
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I am about to sneeze. Aaaaaaah...aaaaaaah...Pedro Martinez...aaaah choooooo. Oh my word. Bless me, that was a major ruckus. Why would Byrdie come out of semi-retirement to pitch for the worst team in baseball? Talk about sticking needles in your fingernails. I'm glad to see the Huff transaction, even if only for one start. Even happier to see the Kobayashi move despite the monetary ramifications considering we've been playing the entire season with a 24-man roster. I would say a 23-man roster (Dellucci) but he just came back and Wedge apparently liked his veteran-ness (is that even a word? Are you smarter than a fifth grader?) following the players only meeting. Speaking of the 8th Useless Wonder of the A.L. here's some food for thought: DD had 4 hits in his first 5 ABs this season. He has accrued 4 hits in his last 29 ABs. Of those 34 total ABs, 33 of them came in a span of 10 games out of 11 straight.
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I believe Byrd is out of retirement completely, and fielding offers. He'd be the more likely route, as the Tribe won't pay the money a guy like Pedro would ask for.
My friend the Red Sox fan also pointed out that if we're in need of a guy who eats innings, Pedro would be a bad choice.
My latest crazy idea: http://raychapmansrevenge.blogspot.com/
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I'd be shocked if they signed Byrd (they had zero interest in him in the offseason) and even more shocked if they signed Pedro. The Indians don't have any money to spend in free agency, so what you see in this organization is basically what you get, barring a midseason trade.
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Believe the Tribe sent Byrd to Boston to give him a chance to pitch for a playoff team (he covets a WS ring) and more importantly to save $2 million in salary. Unless he's anxious to come here and pitch for the major league minimum ($400K) on a team with less than stellar playoff prospects, don't expect to see him anytime soon. Yes and that ML minimum is the Tribe's share of Vizcaino's $4M salary as well (with the Cubs paying the balance).
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