YANKS SIGN MASAHIRO TANAKA

Banzai, Banzai, Banzai / 万歳, 万歳, 万歳 / Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah

 
Finally, the NYY fans have some very hopeful news as the New York Yankees signed Masahiro Tanaka this past week.  The acquisition offers two major positives:  pitching and no more restricted spending for the upcoming season.  We now potentially have a number one or two starting pitcher to help boost a not-so-old starting rotation.  Furthermore, the whole attempt for luxury tax savings for 2013-2014 has officially ended as the $155 million contract for seven years (with an annual average of $22 million for the first 6 years and the final year amounting to $23 million) clearly hits the ball out of the park for this upcoming season’s tax restriction goal.

Of course, NYY fans can’t help but reflect upon the pain still lingering from our past non-MLB experienced Japanese pitching acquisitions - Kei Igawa and the late Hideki Irabu; but, the Yanks have revamped their whole Japanese (and overall) international scouting system since those baseball “errors” and have also added many more scouts to offer multiple opinions to help offer variant analyses.  Plus, we’re not the only ones who feel strong about Tanaka’s potential - although we’re the only ones who have fully scouted him for seven years!  There were allegedly many teams that bid the mandated $20 million fee to negotiate with Tanaka.  If this signing somehow (although doubtful) doesn’t amount to a successful signing, the other teams would be hypocritical to point their fingers at the Yankees, especially the Dodgers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks, who each supposedly offered contracts similar enough to what the Yankees proposed.

Additionally, Tanaka’s signing didn’t cost the Yankees any draft picks or require them to lose any players in a trade.   For the Yankees, it just cost them money, which is something that’s never been an obstacle during the Steinbrenner era.  I happily state “never” because this transaction clearly proves that the young Steinbrenners have definitively demonstrated what they’ve stated all along - they will continue building the team with the desire their father had - to win at all costs.

So, as we continue to anticipate this upcoming season with a lot of new key players added to our roster, we now have further hope of at least making the playoffs, with a lot of finger-crossing for health this year.  We also still have to continue waiting  a little longer to see the final 2014 season blueprint for our weak infield and weakened bullpen, both of  which Brian Cashman has already acknowledged.  Thus, time will eventually show us a clearer picture in each of those areas, too.

For now, it’s exciting to know we have added another huge piece to the puzzle - a young, 25-year-old phenom from Japan with a superb split-finger fastball and an excellent slider.  If he can initially convert his overly impressive Japanese League record of 24-0/1.27 ERA into at least 16 wins and an ERA below 3.50 during his first MLB season, then we will have enough ace-like pitching hope for years to come.  Banzai, Banzai, Banzai!!!