Tanaka Has Landed

The Yanks will do one of those great Yankee Stadium pressers tomorrow to introduce Masahiro Tanaka to the press and the the fan base.   I haven't been this excited about a player intro since Tex, though that's fallen a little short, and haven't been this excited about a pitcher since Contreras, though that fell even shorter.   Don't get me wrong, I was excited about CC when he finally became a Yank, but I had argued the previous year that the Yanks should wait for CC instead of trading for Johan Santana.  So when CC finally arrived, I was relieved more than anything else.

Darrell Rasner, the ex-Yankee AAAA pitcher, was quoted in the paper today saying the Tanaka was strong, and that his stuff would play up because MLB mounds are so much harder than Japanese mounds, which he said, were essentially sand.   That was a tantalizing thought.   So I really can't wait to see how good this guy can be.

The comps we always here is to a younger Kuroda, but with a knockout split.   That's sort of a different package than Kuroda.  I don't think we'll have a real comp for a season or two.  We'll have to see where his K's, BB's and GB's are.  He didn't have a great K rate in Japan, but I think he will over here, since guys strike out more often.  We'll have to wait and see though.

I hope he can pitch effectively to both righties and lefties.  That was a bit of an adventure with El Duque for awhile (btw, El Duque is among my top 3 favorite Yankee starters that I have seen), so hopefully Tanaka will come prepared with a solution for each.

I do think Tanaka will drive attendance.  Not sure if it will be to Fernandomania or Nomomania levels, and I'm not really sure that sort of continued mania is possible in NYC.  Also, he'll have to dominate out of the gate to get it going, and the organization is definitely soft peddling that prospect.

And of course, attendance will be down unless CC,  Kuroda and Nova and whoever else is in the rotation can pitch well enough to make the Tanaka starts matter.   Yankee fans are not Cub fans, and they just won't show for a team that doesn't also show.  Having said that, at the new Stadium, they have always had some empty seats.  The Yanks would be thrilled if Tanaka or the team finally filled those.  

Later, I might write something about the #5 spot.