Ottima , ottima mossa. Un rilievo in più è sempre ben accetto, poi i rilievi giapponesi sono sempre interessanti, soprattutto nei primi mesi (se non anni) sono molto difficili da “toccare”, nessuno li ha mai visti e possono essere letali negli ultimi innings (vedi Oki l’anno scorso).
Ecco alcune statistiche dell'
avvocato Kobayashi (.cit)
2001 - 48 Games, 33 Saves, 52 IP, 47 K, 4.33 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
2002 - 43 Games, 37 Saves, 43 1/3 IP, 41 K, 0.83 ERA, 0.74 WHIP
2003 - 43 Games, 33 Saves, 47 IP, 30 K, 2.87 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
2004 - 51 Games, 20 Saves, 57 2/3 IP, 50 K, 3.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
2005 - 46 Games, 29 Saves, 45 1/3 IP, 33 K, 2.58 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
2006 - 53 Games, 34 Saves, 53 2/3 IP, 48 K, 2.68 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
2007 - 49 Games, 27 Saves, 47 1/3 IP, 35 K, 3.61 ERA, 1.37 WHIP
''He pitches aggressively with his fastball, which comes in at 90 and sometimes gets up to 94,'' said scouting director John Mirabelli, who has watched Kobayashi throw. ''His out pitch is a wipeout slider, and he throws a split, which is more of a forkball.''
One thing that Shapiro emphasized is that Kobayashi throws strikes, unlike many pitchers who have come from Japan and prefer to nibble at the corners of the plate as if they were afraid to throw a strike.
The Indians' financial commitment and two-year deal indicate that club officials like Kobayashi's chances of ''adding to our back-of-the-bullpen depth,'' as Shapiro put it.
It's likely that Kobayashi will be worked into the bullpen pecking order slowly, behind Borowski, the closer, and Rafael Betancourt, the setup man.
Ottimo anche il prezzo. Sulla carte un bullpen ancora più forte e con più armi a disposizione.
Potenziali 6-7-8-9 innings da paura con: Rafael Perez,
"l'avvocato" Kobayashi, Betancourt e Joe
"attacco di cuore" Borowski.
Ciao
.
