Sorry I’ve been a little M.I.A. recently and I don’t mean that in the Sri Lankan rappin’, Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack writtin’ kind of way. Between the holidays and “other projects” I haven’t had much time to post. However, today I got an email from Gary Burnham with some news I wanted to be sure to share with everyone who’s been following his story though his occasional Q&A series here.

Gary just signed a deal to play with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the NPB.

How cool is that? It wasn’t long ago that Gary was struggling to get playing time for the La New Bears in Taiwan. I have to admit, between the fact that he was being overlooked in Taiwan and recently getting engaged to a woman in the states, I wondered if Gary’s visit to Asia would be a short one.

But he didn’t give up, eventually worked his way into the Bears lineup and got a chance to prove he could still be an asset to a team. As recently as Nov. 9 NPB Tracker reported he was going to get a look from Chiba. Apparently the team liked what they saw and signed him to a deal. He didn’t mention the details, but who cares? He’s going to get a shot at playing for a quality team in a quality league. Not to mention…he’ll playing for Bobby Valentine.

Interestingly, the move to sign Burnham likely had big implications for KBO star Kim Dong-ju, who was recently told by the Marines that despite the personal interest in Kim from Valentine himself, that the team would not acquire the longtime Doosan Bears slugger. Apparently, Valentine’s efforts to get Kim to come to Japan ticked off the Marines management, who in turn refused to extend Bobby V’s contract beyond the 2009 season.

Gary and Kim are actually very similar players in terms of age, power, size and fielding ability. Both players can take a walk and project as 1B/DH types in the NPB. However, for 2009, Gary will be playing in the best league in Asia, while Dong-ju will likely be forced to resign with Doosan for the second year in a row.