But...let's say Tanaka doesn't necessarily work out as a starting pitcher; which would be bad for the Yankees. Could Tanaka end up being the closer?
Just a pie in the sky, idea. A lot of bad would have to happen in the starting role for Tanaka, in order for him to be a closer on the Yankees. But I remember what Theo Epstein -- whose the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs -- once said about Japanese relievers, (and I'm totally paraphrasing) that they can become good closers/relievers because of their pitching motion having so much deception. Making it hard for the hitter to time in a crucial spot in the 8th or 9th inning.
Epstein was absolutely right. We saw it when he brought in left-hander Hidecki Okajima in 2007 while Epstein was general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Okajima helped win the Sox a World Series that year, setting up for closer Jonathan Papelbon.
And you saw the Red Sox win another World Series with the same method this year, by having Koji Uehara as their closer. Uehara had a career year, pitching to a 1.09 era with 101 strikeouts, as the Boston closer.
With Mariano Rivera gone, the Yankees have to rely on David Robertson to close, who, you get the feeling, Yankees are not that high on. If somehow, someway, Tanaka (if he's a Yankee) would end up being the closer for the Yanks, he could succeed at it.
I know this is a strange, out-of-the-ass idea I'm bringing up, but Tanaka could do very well because of his low era, strikeout ratio and minor walks; he's only walked 32-batters in 28-games. Tanaka throws strikes.
As a Yankee fan, and if the Yankees do sign Tanaka, I want him to be a starter and only a starter. Yankees aren't going to pay him $100 million to pitch one inning. I'm just...throwing this out there.
