Kyuji Fujikawa got himself into the news the other day, commenting that he intends to hang out in Japan for the time being. "I think I'm happier playing in Japan [than in the majors]", said Kyuji, adding that he wants to beat the Giants next year. I wouldn't have posted this, except that he asked Hanshin to post him last off-season. The team categorically denied the request.
In other news, Kyuji is aiming to hit 160 km/h (100 mph) on the gun next year. Hideki Irabu, Kazuo Yamaguchi, and Ryota Igarashi jointly hold the record for Japanese pitchers at 158 km/h, while Marc Kroon holds the NPB record at 161 km/h. I'm not sure what Kyuji's personal best is, I think the hardest I've seen him throw is about 155 km/h.
