Hey is the ink dry on Kuroda’s contract? Good.  Let’s fire it up for 2009.

It almost seems crass. I’m being slightly sarcastic anyway, but I’ve gotten a couple emails requesting  such information, and this past week produced a couple tidbits I wanted to mention.

It’s likely that one year from this very day we’ll be clamoring for information on Uehara Koji– will he stay in Japan…yes he will…no he won’t. Does he want to play on the west coast? Will he take less money here? What does Akinori Ostuka think?

Uhehra is fantastic. I guess if I had to pick one stat off-the-cuff it’s the fact that he’s never walked more than 28 batters in a single season.  He’s expressed an interest in playing in  America before and will be  a full-on free agent/no-posting required kind of guy after the 2008 season.

What’s important to know for now  is  that with the Yomuri Giants signing  of fireballer Marc Kroon  to be its closer, the Giants have already said they plan to convert Uehara back into a starting pitcher, which  is what he was for the previous eight seasons of his career.

Within a small time frame the vibe  from major league clubs seems to be that Japanese pitchers are either starters,  worthy of being signed to long, expensive contracts —  or, they are relievers and are an unknowable high-risk/high-reward quantity that generally get less money.

If Uehara  was to come over as a starter, as he most likely would, he’ll break the bank. The contract Kuroda just signed will be nothing compared to what Uehara would command, which means he’d basically be off limits to half the league.

The other news concerns closer Fujikawa Kyuji, who when meeting with Hanshin Tigers brass this week, ended up not discussing a new contract, but telling them that he would like to be posted and sign with a major league club after the 2008 season.

Of course the team said no, but this will bear watching as Fujikawa is an amazing arm to the tune of 115 Ks in 83 innings for 2007. He also saved 46 games and held opponents to a frightening .176 OBP. In 2006 his ERA was 0.68 and opponents sported a .170 OBP.

In an email exchange I had with CHONE-master Sean Smith last month he said about Fujikawa: “his translated numbers put him in the class of Rivera, Papelbon, Nathan as one of the best relievers on the planet.”

Definitely keep an eye on that situation.