Contributed by Michael Street This year hasn't seen a lot of high-profile free agents—not like 2006, when Daisuke Matsuzaka, Aki Iwamura and Kei Igawa were signed. And the furor surrounding Junichi Tazawa has sucked a lot of the oxygen from the very small room where people talk about Japanese baseball. Except for Kenshin Kawakami, who remains unsigned, the biggest name on this year's rather short list was pitcher Koji Uehara, who signed a two-year, $10 million contract this month with the Baltimore Orioles. The deal is still pending a physical—no small concern, given Uehara's recent injury history— but it's a deal that should go through. But who is Uehara, and what kind of impact might he have on the Oriole rotation and franchise? Interestingly, Uehara might have been the Junichi Tazawa of 1999—he and the Angels were very close to signing a contract before the NPB amateur draft had occurred, but the deal fell apart when the Angels wouldn't guarantee him a major-league roster spot. So Uehara signed with the Yomiuri Giants, the Japanese equivalent of the New York Yankees: a big-market team with a huge fan base and consistent success. Uehara continued that trend starting in his very first year. As part of a rookie class that included Daisuke Matsuzaka, he shared ROY honors with Dice-K, and edged him out for the Sawamura Award (the Japanese Cy Young, awarded to one pitcher overall, instead of one per league). In 25 starts, Koji put up a 20-4 record with a 2.09 ERA and 12 complete games, something that's not unusual in Japan, where starters aren't under such strict pitch counts, but still impressive. Even better, Uehara demonstrated the pinpoint control that would characterize his approach throughout his career. In 197.2 IP, he put up 179 Ks and only 24 BBs, giving him a DOM (K/9IP) of 8.2 and a CMD (K/BB) of 7.5. Those are elite scores in MLB, comparable to Johan Santana (7.9 DOM, 3.3 CMD in '08) or CC Sabathia (8.9 DOM, 4.3 CMD in '08), among others. Uehara would continue those strong numbers in 2000, with a 9-7 record, 3.57 ERA and 6 complete games in 20 starts, with 126 Ks and 22 BBs in 131 IP. That's a DOM of 8.7 and a CMD of 5.7; the Giants would win the Japan Series that year. After an off-year in 2001, Uehara rebounded to win his second Sawamura in 2002, notching a record of 17-5 in 26 starts, a 2.60 ERA, with 8 CGs. His 182 Ks and 23 BBs in 204 IP would give him a 8.0 DOM and 7.9 CMD. The Giants won their second Japan Series during his tenure, and their last with slugger Hideki Matsui, who would be with the Yankees in 2003. Now, before Baltimore fans start doing cartwheels, there are several warnings to these statistics. First, of course, the competition in Japan is considered at a lower level than MLB hitters, so Uehara was dominating hitters who are generally about AAA or AAAA quality. Second, Japan is a breaking-ball league, so that a pitcher can succeed without a dominant fastball—Uehara's is generally clocked at 90-91. But he has a nice array of other pitches, including two forkballs, a cutter that might be the best in the NPB, and a slider. That's why Japanese pitchers generally succeed in a relief role in the States: major-league hitters start to hit breaking balls when they see them the second or third time in a game, something they can do against starters, but not relievers. Third, Japanese umpires are far more forgiving than MLB umps—no QuestTek checking them out, and their strike zones are variable and big. Think Tom Glavine's best strike zone, but even wider, and all the time; elite pitchers like Uehara get the benefit of the doubt, and some umps can be intimidated. And so the Orioles see Uehara as a mid-rotation starter at best, and probably only that high because he’d be on a weak rotation like Baltimore’s. Uehara spent 2007 as the Giants' closer, ostensibly due to injury, though some commentators think that it was in retaliation for his repeated requests to be posted. (In fact, Uehara would have come over to America last year, but he missed the free-agency cutoff date by a mere eight days). In 2008, he did very poorly, even getting demoted at one point, although again, some think that his poor treatment and performance came about as a result of his declining relationship with the Giants. Several clubs, particularly Texas, made Uehara better offers based on his ability to close, but Koji made it clear that he saw himself as a starter. At age 34, his long-term success is uncertain, and one of the problems with importing Japanese players is the prognosis of a player whose workouts are far different in Japan. Though NPB teams have six-man rotations, they have much smaller staffs, and starters often pitch out of the pen on their off-days. The workouts are far more rigorous; Dice-K's 2008 success is partly attributed to him dialing his workouts down a notch. Years of overuse leads to early burnout, so that except for guys like Hideo Nomo (who pitched until he was 39, albeit with increasingly poor results), Japanese pitchers haven't shown a lot of longevity in the majors. While he's here, however, Uehara will bring plenty to the Orioles. In addition to his extensive repertoire of pitches, he's got playoff and championship experience, as well as a bulldog-like tenacity. As the team's first Japanese import, he's likely to increase their ability to sign other Japanese players, much as Dice-K opened the door to Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa, and (most recently) Takashi Saito. Uehara’s signing introduces another interesting dynamic to the AL East. With Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Takashi Saito playing for Boston; Hideki Matsui and (perhaps again someday) Kei Igawa playing for New York; and Akinori Iwamura playing for Tampa Bay; the MLB's AL East looks more like the Far East each day. Ultimately, Uehara should offer some great short-term value to Baltimore, though Orioles fans shouldn't expect the eye-popping numbers he put up in Japan. If he can learn the major-league strike zone, and if his splitter and cutter prove as baffling to MLB hitters as they did to Japanese pitchers, he’ s going to help the Orioles, but it’s doubtful he’ll carry such a weak team to a championship. --

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