Friday, May 3, 2013

Broadcast Voice: Tonight on NHK10, Hiroshima’s one and only cable access baseball broadcast, we bring you “Baseball Bloggers of Japan Unite!”, a new program with your host… Glen “GDogg” Carter.

GDogg is CEO and blogger extraordinaire for the one and only LRSTraderumors.com.  Each week, GDogg will be bringing news, views and interviews with the personalities that shape the League of the Rising Sun.  On this week’s show, a sit down interview with Kure Arsenal GM Aaron Tassano.  Tonight, Aaron will share his insights on a variety of topics involving the 2013 season in the League of the Rising Sun.

And now, it’s time to grab a bone, put your paws together and welcome the one, the only, GDogg Cart-er!

(Applause track)

GDogg: Hey everyone!  Thank you very much!  Ruff!  Ruff!  (Makes pawing motion with right hand) Growl! Ruff! (laughs)

(Applause track)

GDogg: Oh, man this is too much fun.  You people are caaaa-razzzzayyy!  Man, this is going to be fun.  My first guest on the very first episode of B.B.O.J.U. (pronounced “Bo-Bo-Ju”) has been the GM for the Kure Arsenal for just three years.  In that time, he’s turned what was hands-down the worst franchise in the LRS’s short history into a team that was a playoff contender right up until the last day of the 2012 season, folks!

(Crowd “Ohhh” track)

GDogg: They didn’t make it last year, but this is a new season and the Arsenal look to be every bit as good as last year… and even a little better!  Please welcome to Bo-Bo-Ju, GM of the Kure Arsenal… Aaron Tassano!

(Crowd “Ohhh” track, followed by applause track.  Tassano approaches GDogg and shakes his hand.  GDogg gestures toward a beanbag cushion on the floor.  The cushion looks like a baseball.  Tassano gingerly falls into the cushion and GDogg sits on one opposite Tassano)

GDogg: Thanks for coming, my man.  Welcome to Bo-Bo-Ju.

Tassano: Thanks.  Great to be here.

GDogg: Well, I really appreciate you coming on, and I want to say thank you, welcome, and I know you’re a busy man, so why don’t we just jump right in with the questions and get this party started?

Tassano: Sounds great, GDogg.

GDogg: So how do you see your team doing this coming season?  We all have expectations.  What’s yours?

Tassano: I think we’re very much the same team we were last year.  I think we’ll be somewhat under the radar going into the year, but I think we’ll be competitive and be in a position to challenge for a playoff spot.  Our young core is a year older and a year better.  We’re, um, hopefully getting arguably our best power hitter in Yasuyuki Hashimoto back after nearly an entire year missed, and during the season we’ll be getting our best reliever back.  Then, in about six or seven weeks, we’ll be getting one of the the greatest pitchers in LRS history back in the fold.

GDogg: Injuries… such a tough part of the game, but something all teams have to deal with.  Of the injured players, who are you expecting to come back and be strong right from the outset?

Tassano: Well, that’s hard to say.  Hashimoto was healthy and having a great spring but then got hit by a pitch and broke a small bone in his foot.  He’s due back in two weeks and we’re really looking forward to getting him back on the field.  He’s never been a player that’s depended on his speed much, and we’ll probably have him mostly DH at least for a few weeks.

GDogg: Okay, switching gears a little bit… the new Juuki designation.  How well and how often do you see this being used?

Tassano: Oh, I think it’s a great step for the league.  Our league is still a struggling one, in a sense, and even though most of our teams have achieved solvency, we still need to build for the future.  Being able to designate one player as vital or transitional will be of great help, particularly to a low-budget team like Kure.

Part of the reason the original LRS was brought to the brink of collapse was due to bad financial planning, often in the form of long-term contracts for way too much money.  Teams have had to scale back somewhat and, frankly, the demands of the players haven’t always followed that course.  Some players have signed for less, while others have priced themselves out of the market.  Others have moved on to the PEBA, which is fine, but there have been a number of players caught in the middle – they’re too expensive for the LRS as it operates today, and they aren’t talented enough to play in the PEBA.

GDogg: There was a column a couple weeks ago that suggested Akihito “Snake Hip”’ Ichihara might make sense for a Juuki designation, even though it wouldn’t be an issue for another three years.  The writer pointed out that Ichihara will be 28 by the end of the 2013 season, has had some injury problems in the past, and that the team might choose to keep him for three years at his present salary, then get one more year via the Juuki designation.  That would keep him in a Kure uniform until he was 32 at a cost of $46,000 per year, as opposed to signing him long term for millions.  Care to expand upon that some?

Tassano: Well, while team finances and payroll are obviously a big part of the game, the Kure Arsenal realize our players are human.  Ichihara is the core of the Kure franchise at present, and we want him to retire in an Arsenal uniform.  We’re going to work very hard to make that happen.  We’ve already had discussions with Akihito, and I think it’s safe to say both sides have the same goal.  It’s just a matter of working together to make it happen, and I think it will.

GDogg: Okay, switching gears again… if you were starting a new franchise and had to build around one current LRS minor leaguer that’s not a member of your organization, who would it be?

Tassano: That’s difficult to say.  I’ve personally been a fan of Kimi “Nails” Fujita for some time, and I would have liked to have drafted him in 2010.  I think he’s the kind of player you can build around – a good combination of speed and power to go along with the aptitude and desire to get better.

GDogg: How about a pick for Shinjinshou?  Which rookie do you see – again, not in the Kure Arsenal organization – making a big impact this season?

Tassano: Again, that’s a little difficult to say.  In a lot of cases, the best rookies in any year don’t begin the year with a starting job and are pushed into service by injury.  I’ve always thought Ryu Sato for Hyakujuu was a nice player and he’ll get a chance to build on last year’s success in AAA.

GDogg: Okay.  In your estimation, what team made the biggest positive moves this off-season?  And on the other side of that, what team took a few steps back?

Tassano: Well, I think anytime you add arguably the best hitter in the league to your team, it has to be seen as a positive move.  It just so happens that the team that added Nobuhito Hasegawa was last year’s champion, so it’s hard to say they had far to go to be considered the best in the league.  Last year, I think Neo-Tokyo caught some people by surprise, barely got into the playoffs, got a little lucky and ended up with the Cup.  Now, the Akira also have arguably the best team on paper in the SSG, as well.

As far as teams taking steps back… I can’t really say any team is taking an obvious step back.  You have teams like the Ghosts, the Crushers and Lupin, all of whom are rebuilding, but I think all three of those teams are making strides in their minor leagues and doing what you have to do to build for the future.  Kawaguchi hasn’t really done anything at all, but the team has money and room to work with, so we might all be in for a surprise before it’s all said and done.

GDogg: I agree.  Don’t sleep on the Transmitters.  That’s a team with a great history and a very good fan base.  They’re going to be back, aren’t they?

Tassano: I think so.  A good organization will only stay down for so long.

GDogg: And how about for Kure?  Who did you sign or trade for this off-season that you think will make the biggest impact on your team?

Tassano: I think Miguel “Warrior” Velasco is going to fill a big hole for us at short, and I think fans in Kure are really going to like him.  He’s a good runner, a very good fielder and an excellent bunter.  It’s going to be nice to see him in the lineup every game.  He’s not going to be our best player and put up a lot of flashy numbers, but he’s going to play good defense and run the bases well, and those are two things we really try to emphasize in Kure.

GDogg: The upcoming draft seems to have a number of GMs on edge.  We’ve seen a couple teams pretty much fold the 2013 draft, and other teams attempting to.  Do you think the draft will be a big deal this year because of player demanding money upfront?

Tassano: Well, earlier we talked about the Juuki designation being a very team-friendly concept.  Here, we have a new addition that is very positive for young players coming into the league.  I think it will be a positive thing.  It puts more emphasis on scouting and player development.  Nothing wrong with that.

GDogg: Okay, now I know you aren’t going to want to answer this, but I’m going to try anyway.  What team will win the most games this year?  Who’s going to lose the most?

Tassano: I think in our division that you have three good teams that will be competitive all year in Neo-Tokyo, Shin Seiki and Kure, and another with a chance to make a jump up in Hyakujuu.  In the Bright Blade Group, you have Edo and Kuwana, with Naha having a small outside chance at getting into the fray, but I think Naha is still a year away from really competing unless they start making moves in that direction.  With three teams beating up on one another all year, it’s hard for me to see the best record coming from our division, so I’ll say Kuwana will finish with the most wins this season.  I think the Steel Dragons have put together a very solid team and have added some nice foreign pieces in Kirby Gibson and Dean Jefferson.

As far as most losses… difficult to say.  Until last year, Kure was perennially in the running, and I hated that, so I’m not eager to say another team will finish with the most loses.  Plus, with injuries and luck, you never know.  It could be one of the teams I’ve just said will be the most competitive.

GDogg: Okay, not bad.  You almost actually answered that question.  So then, who wins it all this year?

Tassano: It’s hard to predict because, like I keep saying, injuries play such a key role in how teams perform.  For several years running, the Evas have had the best team on paper but have lost several top pitchers for long periods of time, which has come to hurt them in the playoffs.  Last year, we lost three key pitchers within the span of two weeks, plus our best offensive player for the entire season.  We were able to make a trade and sign a free agent, which kept us competitive.  Plus, we got some nice innings from a vet whose career ended all too early.

(Applause track plays three times end-to-end)

GDogg: Thank you very much. (stands up and bows)

Tassano: But seriously, I think we would have been better had those players not gotten hurt in the first place.  Going into this season, I think the Akira and Edo have the best teams on paper, but if Morihiro Nakamura gets hurt, Edo might be a 3^rd place team.  So rather than pick a team to win it all or sit here and say Kure is going to win it all, I’d like to simply wish everyone good luck and a very healthy 2013 campaign.

GDogg: Well, on that note let’s say goodbye, and say a very special thank you to the Kure Arsenal’s Aaron Tassano.  Best of luck for the 2013 season.  See you next week everyone on another episode of Bo-Bo-Ju.  Thanks everyone!

(Applause track plays)