He reminds me of Grienke. Great location and nothing overpowering but when he needs the juice he can put it in another gear. _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
At 27 years old, he is not physically impressive in stature. At 6-feet and somewhere around 165 to 170 pounds, he is on the small side for a major-league pitcher. One of his recent teammates told me, though, that he’s strong for his size. Maeda has never had a major injury, but the switch to the five-man rotation is always a concern for Japanese pitchers. Darvish and Matsuzaka both needed Tommy John surgery after coming to the States, and Tanaka is pitching with a partially torn ligament in his elbow that will at some point likely lead to the same procedure.
What works in Maeda’s favor is his repertoire. Unlike the other three pitchers I just mentioned, Maeda does not throw a forkball or split-finger fastball, a pitch many Japanese players have mastered. The stress placed on the elbow when throwing that pitch is always something to keep an eye on when a Japanese player with a forkball or splitter comes to the States, where he is pitching every five days instead of every six or seven in Japan.
Maeda is mainly a fastball/slider pitcher. His slider is his out pitch and the one he relies on most. His fastball runs from 90 to 93 mph, and he has excellent command on it. He walked only 1.9 batters per nine innings in more than 1,500 innings pitched in Japan.
Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 31931 Location: Anaheim, CA
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 8:07 pm Post subject:
Had a feeling we would get Maeda. Definitely a creative contract, and I think he'll do well this year for us (and hopefully for many years to come). And they still have all these prospects. Hmm, what to do, what to do....
Joined: 24 Jul 2015 Posts: 324 Location: Twin Falls, ID
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 8:30 am Post subject:
I really like this contract. Way to think outside the box. Give the player what he deserves if he earns it while also protecting yourself. _________________ Reigning 2015 Lakers Ground Yahoo fantasy football league champion. See ya next year, suckas!
For the Glen Frey fans out there (and who isn't?) and the Vinny fans (especially nice hearing him in his prime), here's the two of them in the booth together:
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