Iwase chews on Chunichi offers, to decide in 2008

4.3-oku for a closer?

Is it even worth it? Even as good as Iwase has been these few years, and his performance in the playoffs/Japan Series, I don't think a closer deserves 4.3-oku a year. Would that make him the highest paid pitcher in the NPB if he signs?

Probably. I think he's been one of the highest-paid Japanese players in Japan for the last couple of years regardless, though.

The stupid part is, 4 million dollars for a closer in the MLB is downright cheap nowadays. And yeah, despite the importance of a reliable high-leverage-situation guy, you have to wonder why it makes sense to pay someone 3 times as much money to pitch 1/3 as many innings as a starter, but whatever. I think in this case it's more about keeping Iwase happy because Chunichi fans love him, though.

He was at 3.9-oku, and now, at least until he signs, Uehara is the highest-paid pitcher in the NPB.

I agree that they want to keep Iwase happy by giving him what he wants, which also will make the fans happy. But if I remember correctly, last season Fukudome or Kawakami or whoever being mad that their highest paid player is a closer, when these guys play much more than he does.

So would it be wise to just make their closer happy, when there are other players on the team being upset about it?

After looking at some Japanese threads on the Dragons and their contract negotiations, I don't think you could do much to make some of these guys happy. They're well known for being "whiners" when it comes time to negotiate a new deal. I think for the most part, Japan doesn't like people who try and haggle, especially when they're being paid so much.

Fukudome made some comment a while back about how he couldn't afford a 500,000 dollar Mercedes because Chunichi gave him a bad offer. Poor baby!

Kawakami is being ridiculous right now because he turned in a very average year and expects to get paid a lot more. I think these guys are seeing players like Kuroda signing huge Major League deals and expect their teams to let that influence their salaries.

From what I've seen, it seems like Kubota of the Tigers is also very bad when trying to negotiate a new contract. It seems like he says something stupid every year. Ohnishi, formerly of Orix, also complained a bit during this year's negotiations and he was promptly traded. Of course we can't forget Sekimoto's crying episode from a couple years ago.

You'd think that people would learn from what happened with Nori Nakamura.

I agree with the assessment of Kawakami. His homers given up this past season, his batting average against and his hits/innings belie that 1.18 WHIP. If you project that OBA in MLB, you are looking at around a .290 mark, which is horrible. And all this in arguably the best pitcher's park in the Central League.

In MLB, at least at the outset until he proves otherwise, he is a six innings back of the rotation man. His stuff doesn't exactly set the house on fire, either. He has been able to succeed because he has good control against lineups inferior to those in MLB, plus the cutter is still a relatively uncommon pitch in NPB.

So he will have some things to prove going into 2008. He certainly doesn't have a true devastating pitch like Uehara does with that splitter, and he doesn't have Koji's intangibles, either.

Iwase, on the other hand, was an idiot not going to MLB. He would have been able to print money. He is the only guy since Kazuhisa Inao hung it up to have 500 appearances and a career ERA under 2.00. With great closers in short supply in NPB, Iwase is worth every yen he is making, especially if you look at how much the lack of a viable closer has cost Yomiuri in previous years and how much of the power hitting in the CL is left handed. Iwase held lefties to a .203 average last season.

Katsuhiro Nagakawa's inconsistency impeded Hiroshima in 2007. Even Masahide Kobayashi was demoted to the minors at one point despite the fact that the Pacific League is short in middle of the order power and the 7-8-9 guys in PL batting orders are pretty much automatic outs.

Iwase, on a team built to win close ballgames, has been a linchpin in those pennant winning clubs because of the confidence that even if the middle relievers weaken, he can come in and stanch the bleeding. That is a great morale booster for a club that was largely bereft of the 2006 CL MVP.

Pay the man, Chunichi.

Looks like it's the one year contract.