Sadaharu Oh

Here is some WBC redux on Sadaharu Oh. Oh was getting plenty of commentator fellatio the past few weeks with his Japanese team. Of course, his numbers are intriguing. His .301/.446/.634 line with 868 homers, 2170 RBIs, 1967 runs, 2786 hits, 2390 walks, with only 1319 strikeouts is certainly jaw dropping. You really would not be a baseball fan not to wonder how those numbers would have translated in the states. Would their best have made a mark on the game out here during that era? Through their first ten seasons in the Japanese League, Oh, and Hideki Matsui were very comparable.

            G  Runs  Hits   2b  3b   HR  RBIs
Mastsui  1268   901  1390  245  16  332   889
Oh       1293   833  1222  216  22  356   906

         SB  CS    BB    K   Avg   Slg   Obp
Matsui   46  33   844  934  .304  .582  .413
Oh       58  37  1000  735  .294  .614  .435

I would say that is very comparable to say the least. Throw in the exodus of top tier players during Matsui's time playing baseball and the more players due to migrate to the US to play with the best of the best, it is not unreasonable to think that Hideki, if healthy, could continue his output. If Hideki put up the same numbers he averaged in his first nine full years over the next twelve, he would have ended up with a .306/.416/.586 line with 760 homers, 560 doubles, 2038 RBIs, 2066 runs, 1947 walks, and 2113 strikeouts.

Pretty impressive. However, just for the record, Oh had a better twelve ending years than his first ten years. If I followed the same math as I did with Matsui's first full nine years with Oh, Sadaharu would have finished up hitting .298/.439/.622 with 2758 games, 1829 runs, 471 doubles, 783 homers, 1983 RBIs, 2193 walks, and 1545 strikeouts. Of course this is not scientific, but still, it shows that Hideki was very comparable to Oh and considering they both debuted at the age of 19, it is not unreasonable that would have continued somewhat following the same career path in terms of numbers and years played in the league.

So while all the fanfare about Oh is well deserved, I doubt he would rank up with the Major League's greats. There is no doubt he was a tremendous player and would have most likely succeded here and been one of the better players of the day, but he seems to be a cut above Hideki Matsui by my rudimentary look at things and not a legend.

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The delusional Alfonso Soriano wants to return to the Yankees despite the fact that have no openings whatsoever for him unless he wants to DH and play a utility role in the field. He probably thinks it makes sense for the Yankees to remove Cano for him. I'm beginning to look forward to his daily ridiculousness.

As it relates to the Mets, it does not look like it is going to happen.

Although the Mets are frustrated by Kaz Matsui's continuing troubles and still could have a need at second base, two Mets people characterized their chances of trading for Soriano as a "long shot" and one Mets official suggested they'd listen only if the division rival Nationals offer to virtually give him away.

If they gave him away, I would be dumb not to say I have interest. It is intriguing, but giving anything of value to this team like Aaron Heilman would be detrimental.

Cuba celebrated the return of the team upon arrival back to the motherland.

Wagner's finger hurts, but it is not serious.

"Let's make it known, it's not serious," said Wagner, who remained here while the team bussed to Fort Lauderdale. "It's not career-ending. [The MRI] was negative. Everything was normal, no swelling, no ligaments or tendons, nothing like that.

"I did it against the Braves [Thursday night]. It felt weird. I pitched on Saturday. Sunday, it didn't feel so good. Instead of trying to pitch with it, since I had time, I just wanted to see if I could get it to heal up."

Keep moving along, there is nothing to see here. Looks like no big deal. The ace and the closer are just having minor setbacks.

Kris, no one will get me to say a bad word about you.

"I didn't really think much about [facing] Victor," Benson said. "But it's just ironic that I'm facing them twice in spring training. It was fun. No doubt it was fun to face the guys. They've got a great lineup."

Zambrano looked good in his first game starting with the team this spring. He only struck out one batter, but did not walk one. He now has a K/BB ratio of infinity.

Dan Graziano thinks the Mets should get Soriano. He does throw it out there that it needs to be cheap and he thinks Victor Diaz fits that bill. I guess the plans they have for Nady vs. Diaz would heavily factor into this because the Mets publicly say the still like Diaz, but with Milledge on the horizon and their preference for Nady, it is hard to see how Diaz will find at bats at all with the Mets...ever.

Jose is saying the right things.

"I swung at a lot of bad pitches last year," Reyes said. "Last year, I didn't take a walk. This year, I will be more patient. I'm going to be aggressive and look for my pitch."

If he can lay off the breaking ball in the dirt, that alone is worth .020 points. Of course, these are things that you work on in the minors when it doesn't count, but he is here now.

Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money.

Catcher Jesus Montero, a 16-year-old Venezuelan phenom, had a painful tryout. Looking to get a jump on a base stealer from behind the plate, he reached too soon and was clobbered by minor-leaguer Jamar Hill's swing. Observers feared a broken arm as Montero writhed in pain, but that concern proved unwarranted. Montero could command more than the $1.4 million Dominican outfielder Fernando Martinez got last year at 16 if the Mets win the bidding when Montero is eligible in July

Classic.

It's a good thing I no longer have internet access at home - this Heilman BS would make me rip my hair out.

Down the stretch last year, Pedro was arguably the 4th best pitcher on the Mets. Of the guys in front of him, all of which had 2-or-under ERAs, one is 40 and throws one stinkin' pitch, another was traded for a pair of goggles and the third, people are now advocating, should be put in middle relief (or traded).

Heilman was lights out last year, this winter and this Spring. Also, Omar promised him the starter's job AND traded away a perfectly decent pitcher for a sack of shit with two first names (Jorge Julio?). What's the guy gotta do to start a few games?

Also - who wants to bet that George July loses at least 6 leads before the all-star break?

- MikeinSpain