*official 2007 red sox thread*

[Scary_Tiger]

[ QUOTE ]
i dont really mind them burning okajima out. he wasn't very good in japan, i think there's a pretty good chance he's not very good in september no matter what.

[/ QUOTE ]

He was a good pitcher in Japan. There was nothing not to like in his numbers last year. He is no Denney Tomori. (5-18 in Japan from 1999-2004) Last year, Okajima posted a 2.14 ERA with a 10.37 K/9 and a 2.31 BB/9 for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. In his career he had 681 strikeouts to 295 walks in 642 innings with a 3.36 ERA. He apparently developed his forkball changeup last year and it allowed him to take a leap forward.

Obviously his 10.2 IP 3 H 0 R 3 BB 17 K line since April 7th isn't sustainable, but it's the kind of dominance that even in a small sample size shows he's no fluke. We have control of him for his age 31-36 seasons, so being a little careful with him seems prudent.

Interesting note, he appeared in all five wins against the Yankees, and they're the only team with a hit off of him during this stretch.