Daisuke Matsuzaka played at catch at a distance of 27 meters on the 18th (threw the ball 50 times).  He also closed out his practices at Fort Myers and will now head to Boston in order to continue his training.  The hope right now is that he'll be ready to start tossing bullpen sessions in January.

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Hisashi Iwakuma returned to Sendai on Friday from Arizona and told reporters that he learned some new training methods and felt that it was a worthwhile trip.  He also spoke to his agent and was informed that the market was moving slowly.  Regarding his visit to Chase Field, Iwakuma said that he was impressed by the atmosphere.

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Joe Nathan thinks it's too early to give up on Tsuyoshi Nishioka.  A snip, from a Pioneer Press article (via Nikkan Sports):

Free-agent closer Joe Nathan, still undecided about whether he'll play in Minnesota or elsewhere next year, isn't ready to give up on Nishioka.

"I don't want to jump the gun on Nishi because I still think that's a huge adjustment for him," Nathan said.

...

"He's got to get settled in in this country before you can pass judgment on a guy," Nathan said. "Let him get his feet wet a little bit. Let him sink in and get used to being over here."

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A couple of Yu Darvish - New York Yankee related articles (via Sponichi).

From the Daily News' Mark Feinsand:

Hal Steinbrenner said Wednesday that the Igawa disaster wouldn't stop the Yankees from signing another Japanese pitcher if that's the move they believe makes the most sense.

"Every person is different; every player is different," Steinbrenner said. "We're going to look at every single one. We're going to look at every single option, and we’re going to analyze it. It will be a go or no-go, but we look at each person as an individual."

...

Darvish, a 25-year-old considered to be one of the best pitchers available on the free-agent market this winter, will likely command a financial commitment similar to the one the Red Sox made to Matsuzaka, a significant risk to any team that takes that gamble.

From Newsdays' Ken Davidoff:

Yankees scouts generally like Darvish from what they've seen of him, but there is internal skepticism concerning Steinbrenner's willingness to try another significant Japanese investment.

Steinbrenner insisted that wasn't the case, yet he conceded that assessing an international player was trickier than pursuing a major-league free agent such as Rangers lefthander C.J. Wilson.

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Former Lotte manager Bobby Valentine is a candidate to become the next manager of the Boston Red Sox.  The NY Times' Tyler Kepner mentions why it might make sense in his blog post, The Red Sox and Bobby Valentine: A Better Fit Than We Think?

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