The Hawks held full-squad workouts at Muscat Stadium today.  Koji Akiyama told reporters that he will begin increasing the number of bunts and hit-and-run type plays during exhibition games.

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Hideki Okajima is scheduled to pitch against the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday (practice game).

Four of the twelve pitches Okajima threw during his outing yesterday were curves.

Said Okajima, "I could not throw the pitch in Majors because the ball was too slippery, but I am a curve pitcher.  This is the type of pitcher I really am."

Okajima has also shortened his stride since the mounds in Japan are more slippery.

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Through Tuesday, the Hawks had twenty-four stolen bases in eleven exhibition games.

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Hideki Okajima is scheduled to make an appearance against the Yokohama Bay Stars on Tuesday (March 13).

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Hiroki Kokubo told reporters after Friday's exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants that it was a little difficult enjoying their six-run outburst in the 2nd inning because his former teammate, Toshiya Sugiuchi, was on the mound.

"I felt a little awkward about our team scoring so many runs.  I am sure feelings like that will go away after a few years, but we played together for such a long time," said Kokubo.

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The Hawks announced on Friday that their San-gun roster will play thirty-two games against the Shikoku Island League plus this year.  The team that finishes with the best record will be rewarded 1M yen.

Hideki Okajima on throwing the curve during hit batting practice outing on Tuesday: "I did not throw [the curve] that much in the Majors, but the Japanese ball does not slip very much so I think I will throw it more often."

Okajima is scheduled to toss another batting practice on March 9.

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Nobuhiko Matsunaka plans to invite Tohoku Earthquake victims that are taking refuge in Fukuoka to regular season games this year.

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Hideki Okajima could make his "debut" in an exhibition game against the Yokohama Bay Stars on March 13 after tossing at least one more batting practice.  Okajima was also given the option to pitch against his former team, the Yomiuri Giants, on either March 9 or 10, but opted to skip both because he wants more time to prepare.

The Softbank Hawks held a press conference for Hideki Okajima today at Yahoo Dome today.

Portions of the press conference can be seen at Ustream.  The Hawks also posted an interview with him.

The Softbank Hawks announced today that they sign Hideki Okajima to a one-year deal.  He was also assigned the number 62.

Okajima underwent a medical examination and tossed a bullpen session for the Hawks.  The team could find no major problems and decided to sign the 36-year-old pitcher.  The Hawks will hold a press conference Yahoo Dome on Monday to formally announce the signing.

UPDATE @ 9:59pm - Okajima got a one-year deal worth 35M yen plus incentives.

The media learned today that the Softbank Hawks have contacted Hideki Okajima to see if he is interested in returning to Japan.  The Hawks apparently are not yet 100% sure if they want to sign him, but with Takahiro Mahara's right shoulder problems and a want for more left-handed pitching out of the bullpen, Okajima does appear to something of a match.

The Hawks have been told that Okajima's left should be ok and that they will most likely ask to have it examined again.

Okajima also posted an update to his blog entitled, "I have made up my mind."  In it, he thanks fans for all their support and that he has decided to return to Japan.

Daily Sports also reports that the Hawks could make an announcement that they are in the process of signing Okajima within the next few days.

UPDATE @ 11:36pm - Sports Hochi posted a report this morning that indicated the two sides are close to a one-year deal.

UPDATE 2/28 @ 3:29am - Forgot to add that the article also mentions:

• that a number of MLB teams did show some interest in Okajima but never submitted an actual offer.  
• that Okajima was told not to throw even though he felt no pain.  After his contract with the Yankees was terminated, he tossed bullpen sessions every other day (about sixty pitches each time).
• that Okajima tossed two 100+ pitch bullpen sessions during his workouts in Hawaii in January.
• Okajima's deal will likely have a low guaranteed base with a lot of incentives.
• Okajima will undergo a medical upon returning to Japan.  The Hawks will make their final decision on him once they get the results from the examination.

Nikkan Sports' update for Saturday:

• Ichiro Suzuki's workouts including fielding and batting practice.  Munenori Kawasaki and Hisashi Iwakuma worked on some infield drills.
• Yoshinori Tateyama threw fifty-five pitches in the bullpen.
• Hiroki Kuroda threw twenty-five pitches, including off-speed pitches, in the bullpen.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka threw about ten change-ups while playing catch on Friday.  It was the first time he threw the change since his surgery.

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Junichi Tazawa threw about thirty pitches in the bullpen on Friday.

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ADDED @ 3:05pm - Kuroda mixed in curves, change-ups, and two-seamers during his bullpen session on Friday.  Pitching coach Larry Rothschild caught the session.

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Ichiro was hitting with his legs spread out about one and a half times wider than usual during batting practice on Friday.  He was also using a short/small slide-step stride (about ten centimeters) and was not letting go of the bat on the follow through (he was apparently trying to keep his swing level).  A number of Doosan (KBO) players also watched Ichiro take batting practice.

During batting practice on Saturday, Ichiro took fifty-one swings and hit seven over the fence.

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Kawasaki purchased some clippers and planned to cut his hair down to about five millimeters but messed up and ended up cutting it down to about 1 millimeter.

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ADDED @ 3:05pm - Tsuyoshi Wada and Wei-Ying Chen worked out together on Friday (like running, playing catch).

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Hideki Matsui told reporters on Saturday that he had nothing new report.  A return to Japan still does not appear to be in the cards.

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Via Nikkan Sports, The San Jose Mercury News' Joe Stiglich notes that the Oakland A's are closing in on a trade with the Texas Rangers for Koji Uehara.

CBSSports' Danny Knobler and the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser have also confirmed the report over Twitter.

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John Blake (Texas Rangers' Executive Vice President, Communications) met with Surprise, AZ police and the team's chief of security at Spring Training about how they will be dealing with fans and media when once Yu Darvish arrives.  The team is also working on a set of guidelines/rules for the media.

UPDATE @ 3:05pm - Darvish's parents visited the Rangers' Spring Training camp facilities on Friday and met with team officials.  Signs in Japanese also started going up around the facilities on Friday.

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Sponichi notes that Hideki Okajima could make a return to Japan this year.

Okajima updated his blog on Friday and wrote about how disappointed and frustrated he was.  He also said he was going to do his best to make sure he was ready to pitch in case his agent manages to strike a deal.  A follow-up blog post from today thanked fans for their support.

Hideki Okajima failed his physical and will not be reporting to the New York Yankees' camp on Sunday.

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Norichika Aoki left for the US out of Hanede Airport on Friday.

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Nikkan Sports is carrying a mini interview with Hisashi Iwakuma.  A few of the more interesting sections quotes:

Do you feel tired?

In terms of being tired, compared to camp in Japan, things are much easier.  I think the style over here suits me more.

Do you feel like you want to build up your shoulder more?

That is not something I really need to do.

Are you using the yellow ball to help you adjust to the how slippery the [MLB] ball is?

That has nothing to do with it.  All [the yellow ball does] is make the regular ball feel lighter.

Did you eat lunch after practice?

I had soup and a banana for lunch today.

Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed his fourth bullpen session (Friday or Saturday) -- ten pitches to a standing catcher and fifteen pitches to a squatting catcher.

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Hideki Okajima left for the US out of Narita Airport on Saturday and told reporters his goal this season was to pitch against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

FYI: his family will continue to live in Boston.

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Norichika Aoki worked out at the newly opened Miyazaki Umeda Gakuen indoor training facilities on Saturday.

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Hisashi Iwakuma took some physical fitness tests in Peoria, Arizona on Saturday.  Iwakuma has been working out in Peoria since February 5 and has already tossed a bullpen session.

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Munenori Kawasaki worked out at Peoria, Arizona on Saturday.  His workouts included playing catch and fielding practice.

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Sponichi reports that Texas Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux plans to have Yu Darvish toss a five minute bullpen session before pitching five minutes of batting practice on the first day of Spring Training.  Maddux is also quoted as saying that Darvish will make one exhibition game start every six days during Spring Training and that he will also toss one batting practice session in between those starts.

Sponichi also adds that Darvish threw forty pitches (all fastballs) on the first day of spring camp last year with the Nippon Ham Fighters and continued to toss bullpen sessions at a pace of one every two days.  Darvish did not toss any batting practice and his first game, intra-squad, came on the nineteenth day (one inning, fourteen pitches, one hit, no runs).