Julio Zuleta

Today's Nikkan Sports mentions a number of foreign players landing in Japan, but I'm afraid that Zuleta isn't one of them.

Valdez and Moore pose in Hanshin's tatejima (pinstripes).

Hara-kantoku announces that new Giant John Wazdean (sp?) will be a starting pitcher.

Nippon Ham's D.T. Kromar (sp?) says that this is his first trip outside of North America.

Orix sound pretty excides about utility man and strong switch hitter Fernando Seginor (sp?). Infielder Scott Sheldon also touched down yesterday (1/27).

I'll keep an eye out for Zuleta.

The correct spelling for those players mentioned above goes like this: Valdes, Wasdin, Cromer, and Seguinol.
Did you know that D.T. Cromer is the brother of journeyman major leaguer Tripp Cromer who has played with (among others) the Cardinals and Dodgers? I believe Tripp is still active somewhere, but he changes teams so often it's hard to keep track.

For those who are interested, John Wasdin used to be a can't miss prospect, but injuries hurt him badly once he reached the majors. He's showed flashes of brilliance, but only over short periods...
Seguinol is an ex-Expos farmhand, and he's a biiig lad. Lots of strength, but unfortunately the "bat-meets-ball" concept sometimes throws him for a loop. I'm interested to see how well he'll do...

> I just read at ChicagoSports.com that Julio Zuleta of
> the Chicago Cubs could sign with a Japanese team. I
> wouldn't doubt this due to his talent and lack of
> playing time. I wanted to ask if anyone knows what
> teams are interested in him and will he play? Thank
> you.

You know, I'm a fan of Julio Zuleta, and I wished that the Cubs had just made him the back-up first bagger, platooning with Coomer instead of trying to convert Matt Stairs to first. I've long hoped that if the Cubs wouldn't play him, then he'd get a chance to play on some other Major League team. But I'm not sure if he'd be a good player in Japan. By all accounts I've heard, he has a problem hitting breaking stuff, which would be a problem in Japan. It could just be a label that's been stuck on him, and certainly he could pull a Cecil Fielder and learn to hit the curveball in Japan, but still... Also, defensively he has some problems. He made some really bonehead mistakes last year. Some bad throws on bunts and one time he cut off the ball on a 3-6-1 double play. It's like he spaced out and just caught the ball without thinking. Playing on turf most of the time and on dirt any other time would not help any defensive problems. And in the U.S., he's the "4A" player, the underdog as it were. If he screws up it's not as bad as if he was in Japan, where he'd be expected to be a main cog in the machinery of the team. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, which is why I wouldn't want to see him get eaten up in the press if he makes a lot of errors and strikes out on breaking stuff in key situations...

I heard on another chat site from someone that went to the Cubs Convention that several Japanese teams are interested in Zuleta. I know that info is kind of stretched. Zuleta is a pretty good first baseman that will never get the chance to play with the Cubs. I hope he doesn't leave, but if he does, I will root for him.

Chicagosports.com reported that Julio Zuleta is very close to signing with a Japanese team. They said he will make double the money, play everyday, and the Cubs will get a six dollar figure for him. Does anyone know the teams that are interested in him? Will he do any good in Japan?

Zuleta was hurt his hamstring sometime last week. This will hurt his chances of signing a million dollar plus deal.

Looks like Julio will play in Japan after all, at least according to this article in the Chicago Sun Times.

Who is the current Giants first baseman? Will Zuleta be the starter as soon as he arrives in Japan?