Believe it or not, the year-round extravaganza that is Japanese baseball is gearing up for another season.It seems like only yesterday -- mere weeks after my arrival here -- that the Trey Hillman-managed Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters bested the Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Series.What prompted this post? One of the sports channels offered by …
Tag: sports
Matsuzaka is signed
So at the last minute, the Red Sox reached a deal with Seibu Lions pitcher Matsuzaka Daisuke (or rather, Scott Boras, his agent).Total price tag, including the posting fee? $103.11 million.There's no question that Matsuzaka is a phenomenal pitcher, but then you read an article such as this from the IHT, which includes the following …
Bell on the Chinese way of sport
The always enjoyable Daniel Bell has an essay in Dissent called "The Politics of Sports: Watching the World Cup in Beijing." Before elaborating further, I just want to note as an aside how much I look forward to Bell's essays from Beijing. Bell is one of my intellectual heroes, and he has an extremely sharp …
What were the Red Sox thinking?
Switching gears, the big news in sports this week is that the Boston Red Sox had the highest bid in the auction for the right to talk -- that's right, talk -- to Seibu Lions pitcher Matsuzaka Daisuke. They reportedly paid $51.1 million.Mull that over for a minute.$51.1 million. To talk....Sorry Red Sox fans, but …
