The New Times' David Waldstein has written an article on Hiroki Kuroda entitled "A Japanese Pitcher Without the Mystery."  A snip:

For weeks before the deal, Cashman, when asked about another Japanese pitcher, Yu Darvish, emphasized his concern that players from other countries always brought a level of mystery about whether they could succeed in the United States. Cashman knew this as well as anyone, for misjudgments on this issue had cost the Yankees far more than other teams.

The Yankees had enjoyed great success with one Japanese star, outfielder Hideki Matsui, but their history with pitchers from Japan was not a happy one. The temperamental Hideki Irabu pitched for the Yankees from 1997 to 1999, went 29-20 with a 4.80 earned run average and pitched once in the postseason, in relief. The hype that greeted him ended up being far out of proportion to his production in the major leagues.

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Munenori Kawasaki arrived in Seattle on February 8 (February 9 Japan time).  He will head to Arizona on February 11.

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Tsuyoshi Nishioka left for US today.  He will touchdown in New York and then head straight Florida from there.

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Via Nikkan Sports:

Yu Darvish makes USA Today's "Countdown of the 100 Names you Need to Know: Nos 1-10."

1. RHP Yu Darvish, Rangers, 25: If Darvish is truly ready to embrace the rock-star image he could project on a championship-caliber team, there's no telling how good he could be. Making the cultural adjustment seems to be all that's standing in the way of him being a top-of-the-rotation impact pitcher. Those who've been around him say Darvish has the personality to handle it.

Tsuyoshi Wada, Hisashi Iwakuma, Norchika Aoki, and Wei-Ying Chen also made the list (Nos 21-40 and Nos 41-60).

28. LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, Orioles, 30: Wada's career ERA in Japan was 3.37 before last season, when the leagues switched to a new ball and scoring dropped dramatically. Still, his walk-strikeout ratios always have been solid, and he has a reputation in his homeland as one of the smarter pitchers. He doesn't get to 90 mph and works on the edges of the strike zone, so his margin for error at Camden Yards will be thin.

50. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners, 30: He couldn't reach a contract last year after Oakland won posting rights and this year he arrives as a free agent. In the meantime, he dealt with some shoulder issues that reduced his fastball to the 90 mph range. But he uses the fastball to make an exceptional forkball more effective. He should be a solid ground-ball pitcher in a ballpark that will be forgiving if and when major league hitters zone in on the fastball.

53. OF Norichika Aoki, Brewers, 30: Signing a two-year contract all but ensures the three-time batting champion in Japan is at least Milwaukee's fourth outfielder. And he would get a quick and extended opportunity to increase his role if Ryan Braun is suspended at the start of the season. Aoki is a strong defender and had an on-base percentage over .400 four of the past five seasons. He's a line-drive hitter but less of a slashing swinger than Ichiro Suzuki.

55. LHP Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles, 26: He's younger and throws harder (92-94 mph) than most pitchers coming out of the Japanese leagues. Plus, he has a sharp slider that should be effective. After Jeremy Guthrie, the Baltimore rotation is wide open. Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada should have an edge over the Orioles' collection of promising young pitchers, most of whom struggled last year.

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The Dallas Morning News is carrying an article about Curt Schilling's thoughts on Darvish.  A snip:

Since he has pitched with Byung-Hyun Kim and Daisuke Matsuzaka during his 20 MLB seasons, Curt Schilling says he knows a little something about how Yu Darvish could fare with the Rangers.

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And after hearing the lofty expectations before Matsuzaka arrived in Boston, Schilling advises to be cautiously optimistic when it comes to Darvish. Matsuzaka was advertised to throw up to 98 miles per hour and possess six pitches, however, Schilling revealed that Matsuzaka's speed was between 92-94 mph and he only had "two and a half legitimate big league pitches."

You can read a little more over here as well.

Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed a ten-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday (Wednesday in Japan).  It was his third since his surgery.

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Takashi Saito left for the US from Narita Airport on Wednesday.  Saito will spend some time working out in Los Angeles before heading to Scottsdale, AZ for Spring Training.

Saito turns 42 on February 14.

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Munenori Kawasaki and his wife left for the US on Wednesday.

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Hideki Matsui visited the Komatsu plants in Ibaraki and Fukushima on Wednesday.  Matsui told reporters that he was still not worried about not having a team to play for and that he would be fine so long as he got a deal done in time for the start of Spring Training.  He also said there was nothing he could do if he ended up missing a portion of Spring Training.

Matsui is a spokesperson for Komatsu.  Komatsu has been buying ad space in right since Matsui played for the New York Yankees.  They want to keep the tradition going and plan to sit down with whichever team signs him.

A day after tossing his first bullpen session since May 2011, Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch at a distance of about 20 meters on Tuesday and told reporters his elbow did not feel especially tight and that there were no problems.  Matsuzaka is scheduled to toss another bullpen session on February 3.

Matuzaka also decided to get a new hairstyle to mix things up a bit -- his stylist apparently dropped by his hotel on January 22 and that is when he decided to get his first perm in about 10 years.

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Hideki Matsui worked outdoors on Tuesday for the first time in five days.  He finished out his practices by taking 102 swings during soft toss, a high for the current off-season.  Regarding any potential offers, Matsui said he still had not heard anything and that he was not considering a return to Japan.  When asked what he would do if he did not receive any offers from teams in the US, he replied, "I have not thought that far ahead."

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Sponichi notes that Munenori Kawasaki was assigned the number 61.

The Seattle Mariners announced on Wednesday that they signed Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league with an invite to Spring Training.

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Hisashi Iwakuma worked out at a Rakuten Eagles Ni-gun facility in Sendai today and tossed about 50 pitches to a standing catcher in the bullpen.  Trainer Daisuke Sekiba caught the session.  Sekiba is also apparently scheduled to work with Iwakuma in the States this year.

Iwakuma is currently scheduled to attend Mariners FanFest on 1/28, 1/29.  He has also prepared three different kinds of cleats to try in the US.

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Hideki Matsui practice for the fifth straight day on Wednesday.  He also swung the bat for the first time this year.

Matsui's workouts last about an hour and a half and included about 40 minutes of running, playing catch, and taking 10 about pitches while batting right-handed and 69 pitches while batting left-handed during soft toss BP.  Sponichi mentions 28 pitches from the right and 69 swings from the left.  Sports Hochi 12 pitches from the right and 69 from the left.

Matsui did not start swinging the bat until 2/5 last year and 2/21 the year before that.

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Junichi Tazawa has been working out in Kawasaki since 1/4.

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Nolan Ryan apparently sent Yu Darvish a pair of boots.

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Via Nikkan Sports, MLB.com posted the start of the various MLB Spring Training workout dates.

Munenori Kawasaki worked out with Ichiro Suzuki at Hotto Motto Kobe today.  After BP and some weight training, Kawasaki met with reporters and said, "I signed a deal with the Mariners and have an invite to Spring Training.  I will do my best during camp so that I can get called up to the Majors."

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Norichika Aoki left for the US out of Narita Airport today.  Before leaving, he told reporters, "I will do my best so that I can give everyone good news about signing a good contract."

Aoki also turned 30 today.

Baseball America's Matt Eddy tweets that the Seattle Mariners signed Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league contract.  No other information is known.

Nikkan Sports mentions a Boston Globe report by Nick Cafardo on remaining free agents.  A snip:

Starting pitchers

7. Hiroki Kuroda, free agent - The former Dodger still has some desire to stay out West. The Rockies have interest. Kuroda would be a good fit in Boston, where Bobby Valentine’s experience with Japanese pitchers would help. The Yankees are interested.

Outfielders

6. Kosuke Fukudome, free agent - He never lived up to the hype coming from Japan to the Cubs, but he is a serviceable platoon outfielder who plays decent defense.

Designated hitters

4. Hideki Matsui, free agent - All of Japan is wondering whether anyone will take him on. The 37-year-old former Yankee star is still capable of playing some defensively, but his production has slowly decreased.

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Munenori Kawasaki attended a party at a hotel in Fukuoka on Monday and hinted, to about 300 fans, that he would be playing in the US next year.

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Yu Darvish updated his blog on Monday asking fans how their winters were going (specifically mentioning Christmas).

Tsuyoshi Nishioka made an appearance at an adidas press conference on Thursday and said that he would be willing to play the outfield (or any other position) if it meant more playing time, especially with the addition of Jamey Carroll.

"The fact that [Carroll] will be making about the same as me means the team probably wants him to play about as much as they want me to play.  The bottom line is whether or not I can win the starting job," said Nishioka.

He also said that he was feeling great physically.

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Sponichi is reporting that Ryota Igarashi's split contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates could end up being worth more than the two-year deal he signed with the New York Mets, assuming everything on the contract is maxed out.

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The Seattle Times' Larry Stone is reporting that the Seattle Mariners are expected to sign Munenori Kawasaki.  A snip:

But Kawasaki could be a useful player for the Mariners, most likely in a utility role. He and his wife are in Seattle this week, and sources say he will sign a minor-league contract with a spring-training invitation. The signing might not be announced until after the holidays.

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Hisashi Iwakuma left for Los Angeles on Thursday.  Before leaving he said to reporters, "Things are moving on [Yu Darvish] so teams will probably begin moving on other pitchers.  I want to be able to talk to my agent if/when contract talks move into the final stages and it will be easier to get updates if I am in the US."

Sponichi notes the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics as teams with interest in Iwakuma.  Regarding this, Iwakuma said, "It would be nice if things were decided before the end of the year, but I will consider whatever offers are made.  It is also possible that other teams that were not interested will get involved as well.  I am a worried/nervous but also excited like on draft day."

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Via Nikkan Sports - Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Hiroyuki Nakajima could be signed and traded to another team.  A snip:

The Yankees could work a sign-and-trade involving Nakajima — an idea that the player’s U.S. agent, Greg Genske, has broached with the club, major-league sources say.

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Nakajima, 29, is open to all possibilities, sources said. While he wants to play every day, he also is intrigued by the idea of playing for the Yankees, even in a backup role.

Nikkan Sports is reporting that Munenori Kawasaki left for the US today.  Before leaving, Kawasaki told reporters he was going on a trip with his wife, but Nikkan Sports wonders if it might be to finalize a deal with the Seattle Mariners.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 4:01am - Just to clarify, this is just speculation on Nikkan Sports' part.  I did find another source that mentioned he likely took off for the US (he left on an international flight) and wondered if Kawasaki's decision to back out of the team's trip to Hawaii had anything to do with wanting to be available in case the Mariners came knocking.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 6:32am - Sponichi is reporting that a deal could be close.  An unnamed MLB source is also quoted as saying that negotiations have gone smoothly and that it probably will not take much longer.

UPDATE 12/15 @ 11:10am - Nikkan Sports reports that Kawasaki could have a contract in his hand by the time he returns to Japan if negotiations continue to go smoothly.  They are even reporting that the Mariners are starting to make preparations for a press conference and that Kawasaki will likely get a one-year split contract with a club option for a second year.

Nikkan Sports is reporting that about eight MLB teams are interested in Takashi Saito.  Sponichi figures about six teams.

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Bobby Valentine hates the Yankees.  He also told reporters on Wednesday that he did not want Daisuke Matsuzaka to worry about any deadlines and to just focus on getting healthy.  Valentine added that after he accept the managerial job with the Boston Red Sox, he tried calling Matsuzaka (and about four other players) but could not get through and had to e-mail him instead.

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MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko tweets that the Baltimore Orioles are trying to reacquire Koji Uehara.

#orioles are talking to #rangers about reacquiring Koji Uehara. Don't think it would take much these days.

Via Sponichi: MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli goes into a bit more.  A snip:

I wrote earlier this season that Uehara, who was traded to Texas at the July 31 deadline, had expressed a desire to come back to the Orioles, where he still owns a home. And O's executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has made it no secret that the club is trying to upgrade their pitching staff any way they can, with trades being the most likely route.

And MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan mentions that a number of teams, including the Boston Red Sox, are interested in Uehara.

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Nikkan Sports and Sponichi are getting excited over the possibility of seeing Munenori Kawasaki batting lead-off and Ichiro Suzuki batting third.

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Sponichi notes that the Arizona Diamondbacks may have offered Hiroki Kuroda a one-year deal.

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Tsuyoshi Wada told reporters on Tuesday that he plans on working out in Japan this winter instead of heading overseas.