Que forma de vengar el campeonato de la temporada pasada!!!!
Por Enrique Rojas
ESPNdeportes.com
MIAMI -- A pesar de todas las líneas que se han gastado en el último año tratando de explicar quien es Daisuke Matsuzaka y las razones por las que los equipos de Grandes Ligas estarían dispuestos a gastar un dineral para conseguirlo, todavía muchos aficionados están confundidos con el complicado proceso que lo llevará del béisbol japonés al de Estados Unidos.
Estas son las preguntas más frecuentes que hacen los lectores de ESPNdeportes.com para tratar de entender que es lo que pasando con Matsuzaka y si su calidad merece toda la bulla que hacen los medios actualmente.
1- ¿Qué es el sistema de posta?
Respuesta: Mediante este sistema, las Grandes Ligas pueden adquirir a peloteros de las ligas de Japón antes de que consigan declararse agentes libres.
El sistema busca que los jugadores no deserten ilegalmente de un béisbol a otro para cumplir sus sueños y asegura una compensación económica para los dueños originales del pelotero. Los equipos de Grandes Ligas deben comprar el contrato del jugador a su club original y luego negociar directamente con él.
2- ¿Cuándo comienza la posta de Matsuzaka?
Respuesta: El miércoles 1 de noviembre se abre oficialmente la temporada de posta. A partir de que se abra el caso de Matsuzaka, los equipos de Grandes Ligas tendrán tres días para someter sus ofertas a los Leones de Seibu (dueños del lanzador) a través del departamento internacional de la oficina del comisionado Bud Selig.
Las ofertas son secretas y la más alta, en caso de que interese a Seibu, obtendrá los derechos para negociar con Matsuzaka.
3- ¿Cuándo un equipo gane la puja será dueño de Matsuzaka?
Respuesta: No. Un equipo ganará la puja al someter la oferta más alta y ser aceptada por Seibu. Entonces tendrá un plazo de 30 días para negociar con el agente de Matsuzaka, nada más y nada menos que Scott Boras (¡Que Dios proteja esos pobres equipos!).
4- ¿Matsuzaka podría seguir en Japón?
Respuesta: Por supuesto. Hay dos formas para que eso suceda. Si Seibu considera que los equipos de Grandes Ligas no ofrecieron el valor adecuado, anuncian que no aceptaron la mejor oferta.
Por otro lado, aunque Seibu acepte la oferta más alta, si Matsuzaka no llega a un acuerdo con el equipo que la hizo, entonces se regresa a Japón a completar su contrato.
En cualquiera de los dos casos, el equipo de Grandes Ligas no tendrá que pagar la oferta que hizo.
5- ¿Porqué dicen que Matsuzaka será de los Yanquis?
Respuesta: Esto es un decir basado en el historial de gastar dinero que tienen los Yanquis de Nueva York, pero no existe ningún elemento lógico para creer que los Yanquis tienen más oportunidad que los Mets, Boston, Cachorros de Chicago o Seattle, por citar algunos clubes.
El proceso es secreto y para ganar el derecho de negociar hay que hacer una mejor oferta que el otro, sin conocer las ofertas de los otros. No hay ventaja para los Yanquis.
6- ¿Si la posta la gana Kansas City, Matsuzaka aceptaría?
Respuesta: Es poco probable que Kansas City, Milwaukee o Florida se metan en una disputa donde el ganador tendrá que desembolsar al menos 20 millones solamente para ganar los derechos de negociar con un jugador.
Pero si los Marlins o los Rales someten la mejor oferta, entonces Matsuzaka se sentará a negociar. Hay que recordar que su sueño es lanzar en las Grandes Ligas y Kansas City y Florida son equipos de Grandes Ligas.
¿Qué es el "Gyroball"?
El "Gyroball" es como un slider o una curva, pero con un movimiento corto y repentino hacia adentro o hacia afuera, dependiendo si el bateador es zurdo o derecho.
De acuerdo a un artículo de Peter Abraham en el Journal News, el pitcheo fue inventado por Ryutaro Himeno, un científico en computadoras.
Himeno consultó a un ex lanzador y usando un programa computarizado determinó que un lanzador podría realizar el fantástico e imbateable lanzamiento usando una serie de movimientos de cintura y hombros.
Mientras algunos peloteros dicen que el pitcheo no existe, tampoco pueden explicar porque es tan difícil batearle a Matsuzaka.
Numeritos de Matsuzaka en Japon...........
El derecho de 26 años tuvo marca de 17-5, efectividad de 2.13 y ponchó 200 bateadores en 186 entradas en el 2006.
En su carrera en Japón tiene 108-60, 2.95 y 1,355 ponches en 204 partidos.
Si ustedes piensan que el asunto solamente fue en Japón, entonces observen los números que tuvo en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol: 3-0, 1.38 y fue el Jugador Más Valioso al derrotar a Cuba en la final.
Ahhhh. Usaba el número 18 con Seibu.
El bate de Soriano le ameritaría un contrato multimillonario.......
El dominicano Soriano, que viene de una temporada en Washington en la pasó de la intermedia a los jardines, acapararía las ofertas más llamativas.
Soriano tiene 30 años, es decir en la cúspide de su carrera. En el 2006 emuló a José Canseco (Oakland 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco 1996) y Alex Rodríguez (Seattle 1998) como los únicos en la historia con 40 jonrones y 40 bases robadas en la misma campaña.
La lista de interesados dobla la esquina, incluyendo a los Cachorros de Chicago, los Astros de Houston y los Orioles de Baltimore.
Según una versión del diario The Washington Post, Soriano tendría en mente pedir algo similar al contrato de 119 millones de dólares que Carlos Beltrán firmó con los Mets de Nueva York antes de la temporada de 2005.
The wise guys love to name the San Antonio Spurs as the favorites to win the title because they're the safe pick.
The other reason might also be that they're also the smartest pick, particularly this season — despite the return of virtually everyone for the defending NBA champion Miami Heat and the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks.
And here's why ... they were within an eyelash of winning three of the four games they lost to the Mavs in the thrilling Western Conference semifinals, and this was in a season during which both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were hurt most of the year trying to defend their 2005 title.
Plus, Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker did not play into June in 2006, nor go through the rigorous international play they had experienced in previous seasons. In other words, this team is irritated about what happened last season and healthier than any of the recent years.
"Every year there are about three or four teams that can win a championship, and the three that we won, I didn't know we were going to win those," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of titles won in 1999, 2003 and '05.
"There could have been other teams that wanted them. We could have easily won last year's and so could Dallas or some other team ... Detroit or whoever you want to plug in there. You lose to someone and I think what's important is how you lose and what the series was like. You don't just change willy-nilly because you lost."
So the Spurs didn't. Oh, they added more athletic big men Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto to support Duncan (with Nazr Mohammed leaving), plus Matt Bonner, Jackie Butler and Jacque Vaughn. But that isn't the point considering they are ancillary players anyway.
There are misconceptions about the Spurs, and that is part of what is driving them. With Duncan inside featuring his brilliant all-around game, Parker emerging as perhaps the best point guard in the game at getting to the rim, and Ginobili still a very tough, multi-dimensional shooting guard, they have three players who can dominate offensively.
Plus that's on a team that is also a top-three defensive team, with perennial All-Defense first team forward Bruce Bowen added to the brilliance of Duncan and constant thieving hands of Ginobili and Parker. The concept that this team is old and does not have the athleticism to play with the Mavs anymore may very well be precisely what motivates the Spurs to regain what they lost.
"People have to have definitions and people have to describe winners and losers, but that Dallas series could have easily gone the other way," Popovich said. "Nobody would have mentioned that we looked a little old. I guess when you lose, I guess you do and when you win you look real experienced. I think we are as good as anybody, but in the end it takes a lot of things to win a championship; Good fortune is important, getting some good calls here and there, being on a run, having a player that is playing great. We feel good about our team. We have probably become a little bit more athletic inside, but other than that, we are pretty much the same."
Most favor the Heat to repeat in the East, but they are old and Dwyane Wade is already exhausted from the off-season before the 2006-07 season even tips off. The Pistons still are tough and dangerous but lacking depth and Ben Wallace. The Chicago Bulls are the vogue pick to watch out for because they signed Wallace, but they lack a go-to player to win the big game. And of course any time LeBron James leads the Cleveland Cavaliers — everyone is in love with the opportunity they may have to turn the world upside down despite the obvious lack of championship quality players around him.
Of course, the Mavs remain one of the favorites, and rightfully so. Avery Johnson did a brilliant job in his first full season, helping further evolve Dirk Nowitzki's game, and a defense that was previously a joke suddenly became a factor. It's easy to be excited about the possibilities for the Phoenix Suns to return to the conference finals for a third consecutive year with the return of Amare Stoudemire — with the caveat that his knees really have healed, which is still unproven. And it's fun to fall in love with the Los Angeles Clippers for a second year because they have been so dismal forever, along with the fact that the core of Elton Brand, Sam Cassell and youngsters Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston are so intriguing. Nonetheless, they are still the Clippers.
Besides, this is a reality check, and that's why the Spurs have always been so good and so consistent. They are about reality. They are about defensive toughness and consistency — no easy shots are allowed because they are always there in the half-court and transition.
Offensively, they push the ball for easy baskets at every moment — with Parker flowing up the floor more than running, and Ginobili and/or Duncan coming off the wing. They hit big 3-pointers and have clutch veterans, such as Robert Horry, Michael Finley and Brent Barry, to knock down shots from the bench.
"I think," Popovich stressed, "that people tend to oversimplify teams."
And that's impossible when it comes to the Spurs because they have been for the past seven seasons, they do indeed break down the game to its simplest form.
This season will be no different in that regard, with one difference. They have something to prove, and beware of the lion-hearted who believe they've been wronged. They won't be pretty ... just effective on the way to their fourth title in eight years.
That's the San Antonio Spurs' way of life, and why the wise guys know that the efficiency of the champions is all that really matters. Because even if the whining and TV ratings say Duncan will bore everybody all the way to the title as opposed to James, Wade or even the Mavs, who cares? Certainly the Spurs don't and won't throughout the 2006-07 season.
Get used to it.
DUBAI (AFP) - Slated to become the world's tallest skyscraper and symbol of a city given to grandiose projects, "Burj Dubai," or Dubai Tower, is rising in parallel with the profits of its promoter, Emaar Properties.
With two stories added every week, Burj Dubai is taking shape as the centerpiece of a 20-billion-dollar venture featuring the construction of a new district, "Downtown Burj Dubai," that will house 30,000 apartments and the world's largest shopping mall.
Launched in early 2004, the construction of the tower by South Korea's Samsung should be completed at the end of 2008 and cost one billion dollars, according to Greg Sang, the Emaar official in charge of Burj Dubai.
Burj Dubai already has 79 stories, taking its height to more than 200 meters (656 feet). But even after having gone that far, Emaar is still not revealing the tower's final height.
"At the moment, we are not answering. We'll say it (will be) more than 700 meters (2,296 feet) and more than 160 stories ... The people who need to know, know," Sang, a 40-year-old New Zealander, told AFP.
The world's tallest inhabited building is "Taipei 101" in Taiwan, which is 508 meters (1,666 feet) tall.
"At the moment, we've got around 2,500 workers on the tower site alone. We expect that to peak about a year from now at over 5,000 ... And for the whole site ... at any point in time, when the whole Downtown Burj Dubai district is under construction, there will be 20,000 men working here," Sang said.
Some 2,500 of these laborers hired by one of many firms working for Emaar downed tools for two days earlier this year and demonstrated in protest at poor working conditions and delays in the payment of salaries.
The protests degenerated into riots during which equipment and cars were smashed.
According to Sang, the protesting laborers did not work on the tower site and construction was therefore not affected.
"We actually work very closely with the contractors and with the authorities to ensure conditions for the labor are adequate and good. So we were a little disappointed that they weren't completely satisfied," Sang said.
He said the average wages of the south Asian laborers, who work in summer in temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), are "probably in the range of a couple of hundred US dollars a month" for a shift of "eight to 10 hours" a day, six days a week.
"They can get overtime if they like," Sang said.
But he stressed that it is the contractor, not Emaar, "who employs the workers, and it's his responsibility to provide them with accommodation and pay the salaries on time."
Emaar, which is listed on the Dubai stock exchange and boasts of being the world's largest property company by capital, is setting great store by this flagship project.
The figures bear out its confidence. Emaar, in which the Dubai government has a 32.5 percent stake, is seeing its profits climb.
The real estate giant posted record net profits of 437 million dollars in the third quarter of this year, a 39 percent increase on the same period in 2005. It posted a 21 percent hike in profits in the first half of 2006 compared to the first six months of last year.
Business cirles attribute the steady rise in profits to the sustained sales of apartments in Downtown Burj Dubai, a trend helped by a law allowing foreigners to become freehold property owners in certain areas of the Gulf city state which went into force this year.
"Certain buildings take on iconic status, like the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, instantly recognizable and instantly associated with the city that they are placed in," Sang said.
"I hope the same happens with the Burj Dubai. It's definitely going to be very unique," he said.
But Sang admitted that he did not expect Burj Dubai to remain the tallest building in the world forever.
For it will face competition in Dubai itself, where the city's other property development major, Nakheel, has announced it will launch the construction of "Al-Burj" or "The Tower" -- whose projected height also remains a closely guarded secret.
Stars are born, the Xprize surprises, a witch looks blue and other highlights from Space in October 2006.
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The inaugural edition of “The Month in Space Pictures” features Saturn's greatest portrait.
CAMBRIDGE, England (AP) -- Charles Darwin's work has evolved into cyberspace with the launch of an online archive on Thursday.
The creators of www.darwin-online.org.uk say that the archive is not yet complete, and manuscripts and other material will be added over the next two years.
Much of the material comes from the Darwin Archive housed at Cambridge University.
"The idea is to make these important works as accessible as possible; some people can only get at Darwin that way," said project director John van Wyhe, a researcher at Christ's College, Cambridge.
"Most of the materials provided are appearing online for the first time," he added.
These include the first edition of the "Journal of Researches" (1839) (or "Voyage of the Beagle"), "The Descent of Man" (1871), "The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Beagle" (1838-43) and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th editions of the "On the Origin of Species."
The site also includes manuscripts and notebooks.
"One of these, the notebook in which Darwin recorded his immediate thoughts on the Galapagos, was stolen in the early 1980s and is still missing, but the text has been transcribed from microfilm," van Wyhe said.
The Web site also includes the largest Darwin bibliography yet produced, and the largest catalogue of manuscripts with over 30,000 entries, van Wyhe said.
"As vast as the collection now is, there is much still to come," he added.
"The site currently contains about 50 percent of the materials that will be provided by 2009, the bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'The Origin of Species."'
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Intel Corp., el mayor fabricante de chips para ordenadores, anunció el martes un descenso en su beneficios del tercer trimestre del 35%, en relación al mismo período de 2005, logrando 1.300 millones de dólares (unos 10.300 millones de euros), pero superó las expectativas de Wall Street.
Intel, inmerso en una dura batalla con la competencia y en dificultades por el cambio en la demanda de tecnología, anunció beneficios de 27 centavos por acción, excluyendo cargas especiales y compensación de stock, que superan ampliamente los 17 centavos esperados por el mercado.
El volumen de negocios en los tres meses finalizados en septiembre bajó un 12% en relación al mismo período del año pasado, hasta los 8.700 millones de dólares (6.900 millones de euros).
1 hora, 21 minutos
SUNNYVALE, EEUU (AFP) - El fabricante estadounidense de microprocesadores AMD obtuvo en el tercer trimestre una ganancia neta de 134,5 millones de dólares (106,5 millones de euros), un aumento del 77% con relación a los 74 millones de dólares (58,6 millones de euros) del mismo período del año anterior.
La ganancia por acción fue de 27 centavos con relación con relación a los 18 centavos del año pasado, superior a la media de las previsiones de los analistas financieros, que era de 24 centavos. El volumen de negocios aumentó un 32%, a 1.330 millones de dólares (1.052,8 millones de euros).
Wao...increible...
SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORÍS. Las Águilas Cibaeñas combinaron una defensa insuperable de su cuadro interior con el pitcheo mancomunado de seis de sus lanzadores, para vencer anoche a los Gigantes del Cibao 3 por 1 en el inicio aquí del béisbol profesional de invierno Osvaldo Virgil.
Tony Batista en tercera, Tony Peña Jr. en el siore y Tony Abreu en segunda, no dejaron pasar nada por sus predios, mientras Derek Lee, Edward Valdez (que ganó) Héctor Almonte, Claudio Galvá, Jim Warden y Travis Hughes, que salvó, pusieron chiquitos los bates de los Gigantes, dándole a las Águilas su primer triunfo del torneo y a San Francisco su primera derrota. A la ofensiva, los santiagueros contaron con el apoyo de Brandon Moss que bateó de 4-4 y de Bernie Castro que conectó de 4-2, con un triple empujador.
Tras anotar una en el inicio del partido, las Águilas marcaron nuevamente abriendo el cuarto inning, producto de un triple a lo profundo del prado derecho del importado Brandon Moss y un fly de sacrificio de Tony Batista por el left. En el cuarto, después de dos outs, con John Hannahan en la primera, Derek Lee se viró mal a la inicial avanzando el corredor a tercera, tras lo cual Wilson Valdez se embasó por transferencia y Alberto Castillo, tratando de sorprenderlo, tiró mal a primera anotando Hannahan la primera carrera de los Gigantes.
Las Águilas ampliaron ventaja en el sexto, al combinar sencillo al center de Tony Abreu, toque de sacrificio de Alberto Castillo y tripletazo de Bernie Castro contra la pared del center field. Fue la victoria número 75 de las Águilas Cibaeñas contra 35 derrotas de los Gigantes en la serie particular entre ambos equipos.
Excelente juego....Tony Abreu en la defensa...haciendo jugadas increibles...Tj Pena luciendose con el guante tambien,Bernie castro bateando a la hora buena...Brandon Moss el primer dia..se fue de 4-4....en fin,mis aguilitas jugaron como unos campeones en el dia de hoy...espero que sigamos jugando como jugamos hoy!!!
NUEVA YORK El jardinero novato de los Cardenales de San Luis, Chris Duncan, planea jugar en diciembre con los Tigres del Licey del béisbol invernal dominicano.
Duncan reveló sus planes a ESPNdeportes.com mientras durante los preparativos de los Cardenales antes del primer partido de la Serie de Campeonato de la Liga Nacional el jueves en Shea Stadium de Nueva York.
"Quiero jugar pelota invernal para seguir puliendo mis herramientas de juego", dijo Duncan.
"Ya he conversado con ejecutivos del Licey y creo que estaré en Dominicana para el mes de diciembre", agregó.
Duncan, quien es hijo del coach de pitcheo de los Cardenales, Dave Duncan, tuvo una destacada actuación con los Cardenales después de ser subido desde triple A en julio.
El jardinero de 25 años bateó .293 con 22 jonrones y 43 carreras remolcadas en 90 partidos.
Pegó 19 jonrones en la segunda mitad de la temporada para establecer marca de la franquicia para un jugador de primer año y fue seleccionado como Novato del Año de los Cardenales por el capítulo local de la Asociación de Escritores de Béisbol de América.
Sin embargo, Duncan no estuvo en la alineación de los Cardenales en el primer juego por el campeonato de liga, contra los Mets de Nueva York. El veterano Preston Wilson ocupó su lugar en el jardín izquierdo.
En la Serie Divisional contra San Diego solamente consumió seis turnos en cuatro partidos.
Duncan lució terriblemente mal a la defensa en los jardines en algunos partidos esta temporada. Aunque también puede jugar en la primera base, la presencia del estelar Albert Pujols convierte en inútil esa habilidad, al menos en San Luis.
"Necesito seguir trabajando fuerte, tanto en la defensa del jardín izquierdo como en otras áreas y jugar pelota invernal en una liga tan fuerte como la de República Dominicana me ayudará en eso", dijo Duncan.
Si es asi...el licey tendra un excelente refuerzo.....Se calientan los motores!!!Hoy empieza nuestra pelota invernal Dominicana!!