Kosuke Fukudome of the Chunichi Dragons has been getting a fair amount of play as a potential impact outfielder should he cross the pond. Jackson compares him to Bob Abreu, with the caveats that Fukudome recently underwent elbow surgery and that some of his power could be lost in translation on moving to MLB (sometimes you get Hideki Matsui, sometimes you get Kazuo Matsui).

The pitching side is less clear. As Akinori Otsuka, Shingo Takatsu, Takashi Saito, and Hideki Okajima have shown in recent years, Japan can be a virtual gold mine in terms of finding good, cheap relievers. With all the fuss over someone like Daisuke Matsuzaka, this fact often gets overlooked.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Like everyone else, Stark has San Diego’s Jake Peavy and Arizona’s Brandon Webb in the top two slots in the National League. Nice to see Stark also recognize what Aaron Harang is accomplishing on a very bad Cincinnati team.

I still think Dodgers closer Takashi Saito belongs in the discussion. Lefties are hitting just .194/.239/.311 against him this year. They are the lucky ones: right-handers are batting — I can hardly write this — .117/.170/.160. Saito has fanned 71 batters and allowed 47 total bases. That’s not quite vintage Eric Gagne, but it’s mighty impressive.

Over in the American League, the situation remains muddy. I’m with Stark on Chien-Ming Wang; I don’t see how that guy is even in the discussion. Then again, he finished second in the voting last season despite mostly pedestrian numbers. Put Harang on the Yankees and he’d win 20, no problem.

I’m also not sure that Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia has as decided an advantage over Boston’s Josh Beckett as Stark seems to think. Beyond the media hype that will accompany Beckett because of the team he plays for, the guy has had a fantastic season. (So has Kelvim Escobar, with much less fanfare.)

Who do I think should win? Peavy and probably Sabathia (unless something weird happens over the next couple weeks). Who do I think will win? I don’t have a lot of faith in the writers: I’ll say Webb and Beckett.

Post from: Knuckle Curve