Sorry, Sachi: Sayonara

Gary Trundleburry, Shin Seiki Post

10/09/2017: Nagoya, Japan — At 1:00pm local time today, the Shin Seiki Evas granted their long time closer Sachi “Swamp Fox” Sakurai his outright release. In a statement made in the Sakurai was clearly disappointed in the Evas organization:

“Am I disappointed in the Evas? Am I disappointed in (GM Kevin) Vail? Of course I am.  I was his first major pickup way back in ‘09. He came right in and about the first thing he did was acquire me. That meant a lot to me. In return for his confidence, I signed an absolute bargain of an extension.

“I have poured myself in to this job and this team for 8 long years. I have pitched more games in a Shin Seiki uniform than any other player. I have saved more games than any player in LRS history. I’ll be able to carry those achievements with me for the rest of my life. I am grateful to have been able to have been an integral part of so many great teams and to have been able to play with so many of the greatest players in LRS history.

“But I would have loved to make one most post season run. I know that my stats have fallen off a cliff this year. Mr. Harada can’t even stand to look at me anymore. Still, I think every player thinks they still have a little left in the tank at the end. I am no different.

“I am sure that years from now I will be able to accept this today. But for now, I can’t. This is a sad day for me. It hurts.”

As much as it hurts, Sachi can’t be entirely surprised by the situation. Insiders tell me that the Evas and Sakurai had come to an understanding that his tenure on the team had come to an end before the end of the 2016 season. He was to become a free agent at the end of the 2016 season and would seek career opportunities elsewhere. In retrospect, it seems that both parties were not really on the same page after all.

When the Evas submitted a perfunctory arbitration offer to Sakurai at the end of 2016, instead of granting him his outright release, he was offended. His options in free agency would now be greatly reduced due to his being now tagged as a restricted Free Agent. After all, no LRS squad wants to see the Empire add any more amateur draft picks. Faced with a choice between a gloomy free agency outlook and one year $6.825M contract, he chose the guaranteed money.

Though angered by the move, the Evas’ front office never reached out to Sakurai following his signing of the contract. They were caught off guard and publicly embarrassed and did not like it one bit. But they figured it is best not to make things worse with tantrums. Better to see if they can get any production out of him or possibly deal him.

There would be no such luck. Sakurai’s performance was inadequate through the first 3 months of the season and no other LRS squad would go near him in trade talks. So on July 31^st they designated Sachi for assignment and tried to demote him to AAA Kyoto. As was his right as a veteran player, he refused the demotion.

After that stifled transaction, the relationship between the club and legend was beyond repair. Sakurai sulked and stewed over his reduced role and the humiliation of being DFA’d. Young players were unsure how to respond to a sulking future Hall of Famer and the coaching staff had no luck soothing his ego. He had become an angry clubhouse distraction and had to go.

Given his significant local popularity, the Evas waited until the last regular season home game of the year was played before releasing him, to avoid any revenue reductions due to agitated fans. After all, fans might hold a bit of a grudge during the regular season, but no one will skip the playoffs over something like that. It was a cold and calculated decision, but it had to be made.

History would not judge the Shin Seiki front office well if their playoff run were sunk by a lead blown by a depleted old reliever who had been kept on the roster out of pity and nostalgia. The SSG is an ruthlessly tough place to play in 2017. With three surging rivals nipping at their heels, the Evas just couldn’t afford to take any chances.