Uehara Watch

2007-08-22T11:05:00.001-07:00

Hello Koji Uehara fans.

I'm in the midst of a transition from Japan to the US now and I've been caught without the time to update here for a while. Once things settle down in the next few days, I'll post an update and a recap of all the pertinent news related to our hero.

Thanks for your patience and come back soon as I resume wall to wall coverage.

Mike Plugh

2007-06-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

Uehara Starting Pitcher???

Reports today from Sanspo are speculating that Koji Uehara may have been giving the nod as starting pitcher for the Giants tonight against the SoftBank Hawks, as he was called over to Manager Hara for a 2 minute conference. Uehara appeared to be preparing himself early for the game with a warmup and stretching routine that would lend credence to the theory. I will keep my eyes on this game tonight and provide a recap for you in the event that he in fact has returned as a starter.

In his last outing, Uehara struck out 2 of 3 batters, working a 1-2-3 for his 9th save of the season and now sports an 18-2 K/BB ratio. It makes sense to get him back into the rotation and send one of the back end guys back to the pen. Big move.

UPDATE: Uehara isn't starting tonight. It will be Takahashi taking on SoftBank's Sugiuchi. That doesn't mean that Uehara won't get one of the starts against the Hawks though. I'll keep checking this weekend to update you when we know more.

UPDATE2: Uehara entered the game in the bottom of the 9th to save a 3-2 contest. The Giants scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th only to see the Hawks punch back in the bottom of the frame with 2 of their own. In the bottom of the 9th Uehara jammed Mitsuru Honma and got him to pop out to 3rd. He then got Nobuhiro Matsuda to bounce out to short, and ended the game with his 10th save by getting Japan's premier shortstop Munenori Kawakami to fly out to center. Outstanding again. You have to wonder if this appearance kills any chance of seeing Uehara start a game this week.

2007-06-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Another Day, Another Save

I had the pleasure of watching an interleague matchup between the 1st place Giants and the hottest team in Japan, the Nippon Ham Fighters. Until losing an extra innings affair a few days ago, the Fighters had won 14 straight. They went from the cellar in the Pacific to 2nd place in a hurry and look like the team that won the Japan Series last season. The Giants sent rookie sensation Kaneto to the mound against Nippon Ham's Takeda. The game was a pitching duel that went into the bottom of the 8th inning scoreless.

For the 2nd time in about a week, Kyojin bench man Yano hit a game winning, pinch hit home run. With the score 1-0 Giants, Uehara entered the top of the 9th looking to nail down a win with his 8th save. Pinch hitting, Tomohika Tsuboi put a charge into Uehara's belt high fastball and sent Damon Hollins to the wall to make the catch. Hollins had just shifted to right from center to make way for some defensive substitutions and the ball found him. Uehara spun his head furiously when the ball left the bat and watched, wincing, as it sailed for the wall. When Hollins hauled it in, he wiped his brow and exhaled. The former ace then struck out Oda looking, and induced a pinch hitting Kimoto to ground out to second. Another 1-2-3 inning for Uehara, a save, and a big win for Kaneto and Kyojin. Excellent pitching all around, and a very entertaining game.

2007-06-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, we've seen Koji Uehara participate in two contests for the Giants as the closer. The season of intrigue continues as the impending free agent works from the pen to put opponents to bed. Don't mess with success must be the motto of the Yomiuri braintrust, and Uehara hasn't disappointed. Here are details of his two recent appearances:

June 3rd vs. Seibu

Uehara entered the 9th inning against Seibu with a 4-1 lead and the bottom half of the lineup coming up. He induced shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima to fly out to left before giving up a line drive double to third baseman Norihito Ishii. That was all she wrote for Seibu as pinch hitting Oshima grounded out to the pitcher and center fielder Sato grounded to short.

1 IP, 1 hit, no walks, no strikeouts, no runs, SAVE

June 8th vs. Rakuten

This one is simple. Uehara faced "Rick", Ramirez, and Teppei and struck out "Rick", Ramirez, and Teppei. The first two were swinging and the final out was looking.

1 IP, no hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, no runs, SAVE

Now, on the season, Uehara has appeared in 13 games and has the following line:

13.2 IP
9 hits
1 walk
15 strikeouts
0-1 with 7 saves
3.29 ERA
0.732 WHIP
5.9 hits/9
9.87 K/9
15.00 K/BB

2007-05-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

If you're waiting for updates on Koji Uehara's first start of 2007.....

you're going to have to keep on waiting. It appears as though the Giants have taken a liking to Uehara as a closer in the mold of John Smoltz. The man who is probably their best pitcher has skillfully entered the role of closer and now enters ballgames, close and late, to the sound of tremendous cheers. I don't know if Yomiuri will be able to continue using Uehara in this manner if their starting pitching falters, but to this point they are sitting pretty atop the Central League with the best record in the sport. Their frontline starters, including the young left hander Kaneto, have continued to impress and the team has elected to bolster a shaky pen by adding their best pitcher into a high leverage role. This reminds me a bit of the Phillies recent move to Brett Myers as a Tom Gordon replacement, despite posting a 137 ERA+ over recent times.

Uehara's current pitching line on the year is:

11 games
11.2 IP
0-1 record
5 saves
8 hits
2 HRs allowed
1 BB
1 HBP
12 K

The Ratios

3.86 ERA
.771 WHIP
12.00 K/BB
9.26 K/9
.186 BAA
.222 OBA
6.17 H/9
7.71 baserunners/9

So far his resume is impressive as the Giants closer. I wonder to myself each time he enters a game in relief what his conversion means to his prospects for a big MLB payday next season. As a premier starting pitcher, you have to figure that someone will pay Uehara something in the neighborhood of Igawa money. As a closer, does his value suddenly drop whether he ends up reclaiming a starting role for a Major League club? Has his value taken a hit? Would a Major League player, in what figures to be his last chance at a big payday, accept a move like this? Keep watching for more. I'll try to update Uehara Watch at least once a week from now on, whether it's for a handful of relief appearances or for a start. Any news related to Uehara's 2007 season and beyond will appear here as well. Keep comin' back!

2007-05-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

What a relief!

So far this season, as I reported earlier, Koji Uehara has been pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. His hamstring rehab essentially consists of throwing on the side, and taking over late inning situations for the Giants. It's been a goo strategy that has helped the Yomiuri club finish off a number of wins on their way to the best record in the Central. Before the season started, it was hard to imagine that the Giants would be in 1st place at this point in the year, largely because they had a number of giant question marks in their rotation, not the least of which was the health of their ace.

Uehara has been lights out in the pen, after surrendering a run and a few hits in his debut. To date, his pitching line on the season is:

6 games
6 IP
21 batters faced
75 pitches
3 hits
no walks
5 strikeouts
1.50 ERA
0.500 WHIP
5.00 K/BB
7.50 K/9
3 saves

It will be good to see Uehara get his first start sometime soon, but in the meantime it's good to see that he's himself. Not a walk on the season to date. I'll keep my eyes peeled for his starting debut and you'll read about it all here soon enough.

2007-05-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

9th Inning Koji.

Apparently, the Giants are going to work Uehara back into the rotation by pitching him one inning at a time. For the second consecutive day the man of the hour entered a game more or less decided to get in a little work. Today, Uehara induced pinch hitter Hidenori to ground out to short, followed by leadoff man Ibata's ground out to third, and finally Araki duplicated the feat by weakly dribbling a grounder to Ogasawara at the hot corner for the final out of the game.

Uehara was more than economical, sitting down the Dragons 1-2-3 on 7 pitches. It's good to see him back on the mound finally, and I expect you'll see more quality work the rest of the way. Since there's not much to write about the latest one inning audition, I'll give you the breakdown on each of those batters.

Hidenori (.273/.250/.273 - 12 plate appearances)
1st pitch: 88mph fastball down the middle (out G6-3)

Ibata (.299/.380/.430 - 123 plate appearances)
1st pitch: 80mph cutter low and inside (ball one)
2nd pitch: 88mph fastball in (foul)
3rd pitch: 86mph shuuto away (out G5-3)

Araki (.243/.270/.279 - 119 plate appearances)
1st pitch: 75mph forkball low (ball one)
2nd pitch: 80mph forkball high (strike one)
3rd pitch: 81mph cutter in (out G5-3)

None of the speeds will knock your socks off, but that's Uehara. He puts pitches in spots you can't hit. I expect to see him get a few more innings like this before taking the mound for a start, but the Giants will probably fool me again by starting him tomorrow. Who knows? I'll be there when he pitches though. Stay tuned!

2007-04-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Uehara Sighting!!

After some very long weeks of waiting and watching as Koji Uehara tried to work himself back into condition for the 2007 season, the Kyojin ace took the mound in a relief appearance for his season debut. Hamstring problems plagued the 32-year old star pitcher throughout the spring sessions and it was only recently that he was even able to throw off the bullpen mound. Recently, Uehara was back with his teammates doing calisthenics and it appeared that we would see him back with the team, in live game action before too long. I never expected to see the veteran debut out of the pen, but it made a lot of sense given the lack of a decent Japanese minor league system for veterans to warm up with a few tests before coming back from injury.

The line was not that impressive as Uehara entered the 9th inning of a 9-2 game versus Yakult on April 30th. His final pitching line was 1 inning, 16 pitches, 2 hits, no walks, 1 earned run, and a strikeout. The hits were both ringing doubles off the bats of pinch hitter Yasushi Iihara and third baseman Hirobumi Watarai. The strikeout was at the expense of leadoff man Aaron Guiel. All in all, it's great to see the Giants' ace back in action. The team is off to a fast start without him with a trio of excellent left handed starters taking control. The pressure to perform immediately has been greatly lessened by the team's success out of the gate, and we'll be looking forward to a starting performance in the very near future. Keep your eyes on the blog for the remainder of the season as we gear up for the final campaign of Koji Uehara in Japan.

2007-04-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you checking in for the start of the 2007 campaign, greetings. You may wonder what's new with the Yomiuri Giants ace and the launch of the new season. That's the million dollar question right now, as Uehara has been sidelined with a tender hamstring for the better part of Spring Camp and the start of the regular season. At this point, a few weeks into the regular schedule, Uehara has been working out on flat ground for several weeks, long tossing to keep his arm in shape. There is no timetable for his return to the mound, but I would expect that he would need at least a week of bullpen sessions before he joins the team on the field for serious competition.

I will keep my ears open for his return to the bullpen mound, and we will get Uehara Watch 2007 under way. Whatever the ETA for the Kojin ace's return, you can expect to find several pieces in the near future examining Uehara's MLB projections, past performace recaps for both 2006 and his lengthy international resume, and more. Thanks for your patience. Keep coming back for the latest on Koji Uehara, and his quest for a 2008 Major League contract.

2006-11-14T03:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Uehara Watch. This is yet another spinoff of the Yankees blog Canyon of Heroes. Perhaps you've come here from COH, or the wildly popular Matsuzaka Watch. It's possible that you've found me via the lesser known, and extremely neglected Darvish Watch or Baseball Japan. However you've come to find Uehara Watch, you're joining the chronicles of the next big name Japanese player to cross the Pacific to the Major Leagues.

Unlike the madness surrounding the posting of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Koji Uehara will be able to select the team for which he wishes to play. Like his Yomiuri Giants teammate of many years ago, Hideki Matsui, Uehara will be entering the market as a free agent in the offseason of 2007. He has repeatedly asked to be posted, but the Giants are clinging desperately to their fanbase and could not afford to let him walk. It is our aim to bring you the best of this fine pitcher before he is on the international radar. As with Matsuzaka Watch, I expect this blog to begin slowly. By the end of the posting process, Matsuzaka Watch entertained more than 10,000 visitors a day and was the subject of more than one piece in major media outlets. The same may be said of Uehara Watch come October and November of 2007, so get on the bandwagon now. Amaze your friends and family with your knowledge of this stellar starting pitcher from the Far East. He's not the once in a lifetime talent that is Daisuke Matsuzaka, but he is a big game pitcher with Major League star quality. Where Matsuzaka is overpowering and throws lighting bolts, Uehara is accurate and throws darts. Let's begin things today with a look at his background and the major points of emphasis to focus on going forward.

The vitals: Uehara is a right handed pitcher, standing 6 foot 2 inches and weighing in at 190 pounds. He features a 88-90 mph fastball, a nice cutter, two kinds of forkball, and an outstanding slider. His pitches are all thrown with tremendous accuracy, and he is rarely behind in the count. His motion is nice and easy.

Koji Uehara was born in Osaka, Japan in 1975. Osaka is a hotbed for baseball in Japan and is home to the wildly popular Hanshin Tigers. Baseball was an important part of young Koji's life as he participated in youth baseball in his hometown and was managed by his father Ryuichi. He was unable to play in Junior High School as his school did not field a baseball club, and he took up track and field instead. This is a rare circumstance in Japan, as baseball is as essential a part of school life as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Upon entering Tokaidai Gyosei High School, Uehara was able to participate in baseball as an outfielder and reliever, while another future professional baseball player, Yoshinori Tateyama of Nippon Ham, played the role of starting pitcher. His was virtually unknown at the time, as he was overshadowed by his teammate, and fellow Osakan Kazuo Matsui, who was the talk of the town.

Uehara decided to forgo the allure of professional baseball to play at Osaka Taiiku University, where he went 36-4 and was the top pitcher in his league all four seasons. Uehara initially failed the entrance examination for Osaka Taiiku, and sat out a year to work on his game and his test scores. He wears the #19 to commemorate that difficult year of his life. His university years also saw the dawning of an international powerhouse. Koji has been Japan's #1 choice for big game starts since his college years and he began with a bang by ending Cuba's 10 year, 134 game unbeaten streak in major international baseball competition at the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. That competition is little known to the average baseball fan in the United States, but represented the most important international tournament play in the sport, prior to the World Baseball Classic.

As his amateur career wound down, Uehara found himself the target of Major League scouts from the Anaheim Angels organization. The Angels made an aggressive pitch to the young Japanese righty, only to find him more interested in joining the famed Yomiuri Giants as their #1 pick. He cites the extraordinary pressure by people around him to join the prestigious club, as the reason he went in that direction. I turn to the Baseball Reference wiki listing for Uehara for the description of his rookie season:

"It was a grand year(1999) for rookie pitchers in Nippon Pro Baseball - Daisuke Matsuzaka led the Pacific League in wins, while Uehara led the Central League. Both were named Rookies of the Year in their respective circuits. Koji was 20-4 and won 15 games in a row at one point. Uehara edged Matsuzaka as the Sawamura Award winner, made the Central's Best Nine, won a Gold Glove and was an All-Star. He led the Central League in ERA (2.09, .56 lower than runner-up Shigeki Noguchi and strikeouts (179) in one of the best debuts in NPB history. He walked only 24 batters in 197 2/3 innings."

Uehara has had some very nice moments for the Giants in his career. During their most competitive years, Koji helped lead the legendary club to two titles in three years, capturing the 2000 and 2002 Japan Series crown. The Giants have finished no higher than 3rd place since their last title, and the franchise is sinking into mediocrity to the dismay of their loyal fan base. Uehara's performance has been somewhat inconsistent during that period, but a lack of run support can be attributed to his low win totals. His ERA isn't among the most outstanding in the league during that same stretch, although still quite good, but the telling statistic is his uncanny K/BB ratio. He is not a strikeout pitcher, despite averaging about 8 strikeouts per 9 innings over his career. He simply does not walk batters, in the mold of David Wells or Brad Radke. Get ready for this number.....

Koji Uehara's CAREER K/BB ratio is 6.66

I put that on a separate line to highlight it's importance. There are only a handful of guys in the Major Leagues that are able to put up a number like that in a single year, let alone over a 10 year period. In 2006, Uehara put up a 7.19 K/BB!!! To give you some perspective on that number, I'll list the top 10 MLB K/BB career numbers for comparison.

1. Tommy Bond (4.439)
2. Curt Schilling (4.382)
3. Pedro Martinez (4.277)
4. Ben Sheets (4.114)
5. Roy Oswalt (3.863)
6. Jim Whitney (3.822)
7. Jon Lieber (3.736)
8. Doug Jones (3.680)
9. Johan Santana (3.673)
10. Bret Saberhagen (3.641)

Now, I know that you are going to say, "Those are Major Leaguers. You can't compare Major Leaguers with Japanese pitchers." You're right. The thing is, if you scour the best pitchers in Japan over the last several decades, there's no one even close to the consistent excellence in this ratio. Uehara is almost freakish with his control. It doesn't tell the whole story, but I like this stat to give a sense of the accuracy and power that a guy works with. It also indirectly shows a player's mound smarts. It shows that he won't give in when he's down in counts, and more often than not gets the batter to swing at something close, or put the ball in play. Combined with some nice ERA figures and other more precise metrics, Uehara is an assasin. His 2003 K/BB ratio of 8.435 would rank him 10th in the history of Major League baseball, behind Schilling, Maddux, and Pedro among others.

Koji attracted the attention of more Major League scouts when he struck out Barry Bonds 3 times in an exhibition game at the 2002 MLB/Japan All-Star Series. He also struck up a friendship with Roger Clemens at the same competition in 2004, and shared a meal and a few offseason training sessions with the future Hall of Famer. The World Baseball Classic was the latest showcase for Major League people, and while Matsuzaka got the press and the MVP award, Uehara matched his numbers and deserved just as much credit for the title. If not for a Bob Davidson blown call in the Japan/US contest, Uehara may have walked away with 3 wins, and the MVP award. A lone Chipper Jones home run was the only blemish against Uehara's line over 5 strong innings.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll attempt to paint a pitcure of this great talent by performing various statistical analysis, recaps of his international competitions, and projecting his numbers to a Major League team. In 2007, I'll follow his start by start performances, counting down to his free agency and Major League move in the offseason. In the meantime, let's keep an eye open for the success of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa in the Majors next season. It will give you an idea of Uehara's translation to the Bigs, as he is somewhere between the two in ability. Look for a 2006 season recap in a few days, including a game log, and World Baseball Classic review. Let the Watch begin.