The Cubs should probably sign this guy so they can finally get out of that Jim Edmonds deal.

This is Hakuho. He checks in at about 340 bills, which makes him about 15 pounds lighter than Prince Fielder. Read more…
Japanese men’s national team volleyball players come up a little short in the literal and figurative sense. They haven’t qualified for the Olympics in sixteen years and their centers are under six feet fall. Desperate times have led to desperate measures, so the Japanese have done what you would expect from that country to rectify the situation.

Naturally, they’ve turned to special underwear that is 20% lighter and will “correct the positioning of the pelvis” to allow them to jump up to one centimeter higher. Possibly. We haven’t seen proof. We suspect it’s just an excuse to reload the ol’ panty vending machines.

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Hello, kids. This is Richard McPlenty, and I’m here to take you through another lazy Sunday. What better way to kick things off than with a little bit of mischief at the expense of young Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick.

G.M. Ruben Amaro Jr. was in on it. Manager Charlie Manuel was in on it. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Anna Benson was in on it. She seems to be up for just about anything.
And it worked. They convinced Hendrick he had been traded to Japan. Cruel, and unusually funny. Read more…
Daisuke Matsuzaka can’t be licked - or can he? The star pitcher has just been given the stamp(s) of approval from Japan’s postal service.

SbBer Mark mails in word from MAINICHI DAILY NEWS that the Red Sox hurler will be featured in a set of collectible stamps. The special Dice-K postage will be available throughout post offices in Japan until February 22.
The commemorative sheets are expected to have “10 80-yen stamps showing some of Matsuzaka’s finest moments, including his first victory in his first game as a starting pitcher, and when he held up the trophy celebrating victory in the World Series.”

Looks like the Cubs finally found the right stamps to mail out their own promotional material (that they ripped off of other sports blogs).
On a side note, some Sox fans are selling historically-insensitive shirts of their own. Just don’t send any to China.
The Chicago Cubs have begun their marketing blitz for newly signed Japanese star Kosuke Fukudome.

On the Cubs’ official website, Fukudome is featured in a graphic that displays a historical variation of Japan’s traditional rising sun flag. But that particular flag design is not the official state flag of Japan, and ON 205TH reminds us that neighboring Asian nations aren’t exactly fond of it.
The flag was the symbol of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, which terrorized the region.
Read more…
RED SOX PITCHER’S PLANS FOR JAPAN MIGHT BE NO DICE: As Red Sox Nation knows, Boston’s season will start next year in Tokyo. But now there’s a chance the club’s biggest Japanese star won’t even play:
The ASSOCIATED PRESS delivers news that pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka may be off the mound and in the maternity ward, as his wife Tomoyo is scheduled to be giving birth to their second child around the same time.Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said the team and the MLB front office were already aware of Dice-K’s impending re-fatherhood when they scheduled the games between the Sox & A’s for March 25 & 26.
Lucchino hopes the kid “will be born at such a time to allow (Dice) to participate,” but also added that Dice “has an important obligation with respect to the birth of that child.”If the baby does pop out at that time, Boston won’t be short-handed when it comes to bringing along Japanese pitchers. Hideki Okajima will have a chance to return to the field where he spent 12 years of his career.
And another Sox hurler is already looking forward to the trip. Curt Schilling proclaims, “I’m not going to pitch over there, so I’m going to have fun.”
Seems like he’s already having fun, with his Red Sox squad beating SbB’s Royals in SPORTING NEWS Strat-O-Matic action.Damn him! (for this week, anyway)
Posted by Jason on Nov. 15, 2007 /