|
|
| According to Ian Browne on Twitter, the Red Sox avoided arbitration with lefty reliever Hideki Okajima by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million. |
Our View: Okajima will receive performance bonuses of $50,000 each time he reaches 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 appearances. Last season the valuable reliever was 6-0 with a 3.39 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 61 innings.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima is believed to be over his recent oblique injury, and ready to pitch in the postseason, according to WEEI. |
Our View: Okajima has thrown just one inning since September 23, but the team does not appear to be worried at all, and he should be ready to go for game one of their division series on Thursday.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima is scheduled to play catch before Monday's game against the Blue Jays, according to MLB.com. Okajima is out with an ailing right side. |
Our View: The Sox don't expect Okajima to be able to pitch for a few more days, but he should be fine before long. There is no reason to rush him back right now, so expect him to be fine for the postseason.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima will not be with the Red Sox this weekend, as he returned to Boston to receive acupuncture treatment for soreness in his right side, according to the Boston Globe. |
Our View: This does not seem to be anything serious, just a precaution to ensure Okajima is at full strength for the playoffs.
|
|
|
|
| The Boston Globe reports that Red Sox management is not happy that lefty reliever Hideki Okajima will be running in the Honolulu Marathon this weekend. |
Our View: The team is likely worried about an injury, but the fact that Okajima is in good enough shape to run a marathon should be a positive.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima has made four appearances in the ALCS and allowed just one hit and no runs over 6.1 innings.
|
Our View: Jonathan Papelbon and Justin Masterson have gotten most of the attention but it's hard to pitch any better than Okajima has in this series.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima has made enough appearances that his $1.75 million option for 2009 has kicked in. |
Our View: Okajima has had hiccups every now and then, but the southpaw has had his second straight great season in Beantown.
|
|
|
|
| The Orioles got to Hideki Okajima again. The reliever allowed two hits and three runs over 0.1 innings on Tuesday night. He hurt himself by walking two batters. Okajima allowed four runs to the O's on June 2. |
Our View: Okajima has allowed only nine runs all year, and the Orioles are responsible for eight of them. We have no way of explaining that.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima posted the worst line of his major league career on Monday. The reliever allowed four hits and four runs over 0.2 innings against the Orioles. Okajima allowed three straight singles, a sacrifice fly, a fielder's choice, a walk, and a double before being pulled. He had never served up four hits in an outing before. Okajima's ERA jumped from 0.72 to 2.10. |
Our View: We don't think there's anything wrong with the southpaw specialist, and he was probably due to have a rough outing sooner or later. Nobody maintains such a low ERA.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima, who hasn't thrown since last Wednesday, was given permission to play catch this afternoon, this according to the Providence Journal. Okajima was shut down after that outing in Baltimore, with the team saying the left-hander has been suffering from soreness in his left wrist.
|
Our View: The Japanese import, according to the report, was throwing from about 20 feet, but felt well enough to play catch from 60 or so feet. His status for tonight, and the series against the Royals has yet to be determined.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima has been shut down for a few days due to a sore left wrist, according to MVN.com. |
Our View: The Red Sox decided to rest Okajima for precautionary reasons. The left-hander has been complaining of discomfort for a few days, but tried to pitch through it. The team needs to be cautious with him, as he is enjoying a great season with a 0.93 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over 19.1 innings of relief, with 16 strikeouts. He has one save to his credit this season as well.
|
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima got rocked for four runs on two hits over 2/3 of an inning against Toronto, with two walks and no strikeouts. He was dealt a loss today, but has been throwing the ball well this spring and he should bounce back. |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima looked great in relief on Tuesday, according to the Providence Journal. He came in to the game in the fifth inning in place of Jon Lester and pitched two scoreless innings, while only allowing one hit and notching a strikeout. Manager Francona was pleased and said that he threw the ball very well. |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima has a new secret pitch that he calls the "Doki-doki," according to the Boston Globe. "He doesn't know which way it breaks, and it works for either hitter," translator Jeff Yamaguchi said. "He started working on the new pitch since August last year, throwing catch against me." Yamaguchi added that Doki-doki means "sounds of a heartbeat," and "he makes me nervous." Okajima piled up 63 strikeouts in 69 innings last season, while posting a 2.22 ERA and 0.97 WHIP without the Doki-doki, so watch out in 2008! |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima (tired arm) threw 40 pitches in a side session Tuesday while pitching coach John Farrell watched, the AP reports. Terry Francona said Okajima could pitch on Thursday. "John Farrell seemed very pleased," Francona said. |
|
|
|
| The Red Sox have shut Hideki Okajima down for a couple of days to give the lefty some time to right himself before the playoffs, according to the Boston Herald. In his last 5 1/3 innings of relief, he's allowed nine runs. "What we did was shut Okie down for a couple of days," manager Terry Francona said. "And then we got him on the throwing program. You probably won’t see him for a few more days. It's not an easy thing to do, but I think it's the right thing to do." |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima was given the night off Thursday after working in four of Boston's five previous games, the team's official site reports. "One of the first things I told him when he came through the line (Wednesday) night was, 'You're not pitching tomorrow.' He nodded," said Terry Francona. "I'm not sure if he knew what I was saying." |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima worked two scoreless innings at New York Sunday, allowing one hit and striking out four. He's become a particularly valuable member of the Boston bullpen because he's nasty on lefties but still effective against righties, and it doesn't hurt that most of the AL is unfamiliar with him. For the season Okajima has a 0.71 ERA, with 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. |
|
|
|
| Hideki Okajima worked a perfect inning in Wednesday's victory at Baltimore, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Okajima now has a 0.93 ERA with 12 strikeouts against just three walks (and three hits) over 9 2/3 innings this season, making a case to be the main set-up guy in Boston's bullpen. Keep in mind he was used to close out last Friday's victory over the Yankees, on a night where Jonathan Papelbon was not available. |
|
|
|
| The Red Sox have agreed to terms with Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima, according to Sports Ticker. Terms of the contract aren't known, but it's believed to be a two-year deal, with an option for 2009. Okajima, 30, went 2-2 with a 2.14 ERA and four saves in 55 appearances in 2006 with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He looks to serve as a left-handed specialist out of Boston's bullpen. |
|
