Beschwerden » without great velocity, K-Rod has six strikeouts in

NEW YORK -- The latest high-priced addition to the New York Yankees stood on the dais in front of a large news conference, put on his pinstriped jersey with No. 19 and smiled. "Hello. My name is Masahiro Tanaka," he said slowly in English. "Im very happy to be a Yankee." After chartering a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for his trip from Tokyo to New York, the 25-year-old right-hander with the $155 million, seven-year contract was presented Tuesday not in the news conference room downstairs at Yankee Stadium, but in the Legends Suite Club, where the high rollers congregate on game days. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo concluded the teams latest Pacific overture drew New Yorks most-attended news conference since Hideki Matsui was introduced in January 2003. Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said obtaining Tanaka was worth the economic pain of exceeding the $189 million luxury tax threshold New York had hoped to stay under. "We needed another starter, and when we do things, we try to do them right," Steinbrenner said. "And this guy, hes tough. Hes got tremendous ability. We all know that. And hes going to be very exciting to watch. And hes going to be great for the team, a great teammate. And $189 (million) or not, we wanted a good quality starter, and we got it." Tanaka charted a Japan Airlines plane, which seats about 200, for the trans-Pacific trip to New York, reportedly costing about $200,000. There were just five passengers on the plane, including his pop star wife Mai Satoda, plus their poodle Haru. The flight, originally scheduled to depart at noon, was delayed many hours by a snowstorm. "There wasnt many choices of planes," he said through a translator when asked about the big jet. And a lengthy commercial trip could have been uncomfortable. "I thought about my conditioning, just wanted to get here in the best condition possible," he said. For his first meal in New York, he ventured outside his room at the Mandarin Oriental hotel overlooking Central Park. "I ate a sushi," he said, "which I bought at a grocery store nearby." New York, which also added Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran during the off-season, figures to have a big following in Japan this year. Tanaka joins pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on the roster, and reliever Yoshinori Tateyama will be at spring training with a minor league contract. "This would make the Boss proud," general manager Brian Cashman said in a reference to late owner George Steinbrenner. "The Yankees obviously are about always trying to acquire the best talent and a collection of talent that can compete for a championship, but he also liked a lot of attention, and this certainly represents a lot of attention. So this is Yankee big. This is Steinbrenner big." Tanaka was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year, leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to the Japan Series title. That left him with a 99-35 record and a 2.30 ERA in Japan, where he had 53 complete games in 172 starts. New York had one of the most successful Japanese players in the major leagues with outfielder Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP. And the Yankees experienced costly flops with pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa. Manager Joe Girardi was behind the plate for Irabus debut in 1997. "They feel a little bit more weight of representing their country than maybe players that are here on an everyday basis, because they kind of pave the way for the next guy and then the next guy," he said. Girardis advice: "Dont feel like you have to live up to the contract." On a tour of the U.S. with a Japanese high school all-star team in 2006, Tanaka met Matsui when one of the young pitchers games was rained out. During the off-season, he spoke briefly by telephone with Matsui about his pending decision. New York appealed to Tanakas desire to pitch on the biggest stage. "This is where you need to be. A great star. The biggest franchise. The biggest brand. The biggest city," Yankees President Randy Levine remembered saying during the teams pitch session with the player on Jan. 8 in Beverly Hills, Calif. "He said some other teams he had met with wanted him to transition in, and he didnt like that. He wanted to take the ball on Day One, and that told us a lot about him." Tanaka sounded prepared for the Yankees win-or-else mentality. "Ive heard that this place is -- it could be very harsh to you at times," he said. "Just wanted to put myself, though, in this environment and try to see where I can get to with my ability." Cashman is trying to lower expectations, saying Tanaka will slot in as No. 3 in the rotation behind CC Sabathia and Kuroda. "We could be getting more than a three. Maybe its a two. Maybe its even a one at some point," Cashman said. "I think that the adjustments are real, and as excited as we are to have and as much as we need a player of his capabilities, I want to make sure that people understand how difficult this game is over here and that there should be expectations of growing pains." Vincent Lecavalier Jersey . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. Mikhail Sergachev Jersey . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Custo...ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. Steven Stamkos Jersey . So true. It is one thing to create a winning football team, and another to keep it winning. Each and every week it changes. The NFL creates a unique interest of not who is "the best", but much more who is "the best this week". Nikita Kucherov Jersey . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently.Some notes from the first week of MLB action, including Blackmon, Solarte, Bonifacio, Belt, Eovaldi, K-Rod and more. Charlie Blackmon, CF, Colorado - A 27-year-old who just surpassed 500 career plate appearances, Blackmon hit .309 with an .803 OPS in 82 games last season, and has opened this year with 13 hits in 24 at-bats (.542). As long as he hits, and a minor-league batting average of .309 with an .843 OPS in 2222 plate appearances is an indication that is a possibility, then Blackmon should stay ahead of Drew Stubbs in the Rockies outfield rotation. Josh Hamilton, LF, L.A. Angels of Anaheim - After last seasons flameout, Hamilton is an interesting rebound option in 2014. Remember, hes one season removed from 43 homers, 128 RBI and 103 runs scored for Texas. In the crazy small sample of the first week, Hamilton has at least been showing a touch more plate discipline, with 12.5% swinging strikes his lowest rate since his rookie year in 2007. Yangervis Solarte, 3B, N.Y. Yankees - 26-year-old rookie flew under the radar when the Yankees added veteran infielders Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts in the offseason, but Solarte hit .429, with a 1.061 OPS in the spring, hitting .282 with a .736 OPS at Triple-A over the past couple seasons. Hes off to a nice start (8-for-17, .471 AVG, 1.232 OPS) for the Yankees; certainly fortunate with a .500 batting average on balls in play, but also making a lot of contact, with only 2.7% swinging strikes. Chris Colabello, DH, Minnesota - The 30-year-old DH had his first major league plate appearances last year, when he hits .194 with a .631 OPS in 181 plate appearances for the Twins, but he mashed in the minors (24 HR, .352 AVG, 1.066 OPS in 89 GP at AAA last year) and is off to a strong start this year, leading the American League with 11 RBI while hitting .391 with a 1.112 OPS. Hes been more fortunate (.500 BABIP) than can be expected, but Colabello also has higher line-drive and flyball rate, with a lower groundball and infield flyball rate compared to last season. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston - Coming into the year as the leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, 21-year-old Bogaerts hasnt done anything to slow down that talk, hitting .381 with a .956 OPS, hitting fifth in the Red Sox lineup. Emilio Bonifacio, CF, Chicago Cubs - Its a wonder that a player with a .628 OPS over the previous two seasons would be playing regularly, but such is the situation with the Cubs, and 28-year-old Bonifacio is off to a blazing start, hitting .500 with a 1.120 OPS and tied for the MLB lead with four steals. Bonifacio has always been valuable on the bases, stealing 98 bases on 120 attempts (81.7%) in the previous three seasons, but he hasnt always been able to hit enough to hold down an everyday job. Mark Trumbo, LF, Arizona - Over tthe last three years, four players -- Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, Jose Bautista and Jay Bruce -- have hit more home runs than Trumbos 95, and hes crushed five in nine games to start the year.dddddddddddd Trumbo, whose outfield defence is not a strength, is hitting enough that he wont have any concerns over playing time. Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco - The progress has been steady, if sometimes slow, for the 25-year-old first baseman, but Belt has mashed four home runs early. Not to rain on his parade, since Belt is a nice breakout candidate, but hes been unusually aggressive at the plate early, seeing fewer pitches per plate appearance (3.65) than his standard (3.96 for his career) and hasnt walked once in 31 plate appearances. Yovani Gallardo, RHP, Milwaukee - Responsible for murdering fantasy teams (including one of my own) last season, when he had a career-high 4.18 ERA, Gallardo emerged unscathed from his first two starts. Dont get too carried away with the praise, however, as his strikeout rate (seven in 12 2/3 IP) is way low and hes been fortunate enough to strand every runner thats reached base against him. Nate Eovaldi, RHP, Miami - A 3.46 ERA in two starts is nice for the 24-year-old, but there are more promising results in underlying numbers. For one thing, Eovaldi has been a hard thrower who struggled to miss bats in the past and his average fastball is still up near 96 MPH, but hes missed more bats, and his 14 strikeouts in 13 innings (9.7 K/9) is far better than the 179 strikeouts in 260 1/3 innings (6.4 K/9) to start his career. Francisco Rodriguez, RHP, Milwaukee - The 32-year-old received the early closing opportunities for the Brewers, while they waited for Jim Henderson to find his form. Even without great velocity, K-Rod has six strikeouts in three innings, with a couple of saves, so its not like the Brewers figure to be rushing him out of the role. Pedro Strop, RHP, Chicago Cubs - A 28-year-old journeyman with four career saves entering the year, Strop is pushing Jose Veras, who has six walks in 1 2/3 innings, for the closers role with the Cubs. Strop throws hard enough, though hes been slider-heavy in the early going this year. Jose Valverde, RHP, N.Y. Mets - With word that Bobby Parnell is undergoing Tommy John surgery, the Mets closer role is open for 36-year-old Valverde, who busted out of the role in Detroit last season after allowing six home runs in 19 1/3 IP. With six strikeouts in 3 1/3 IP, Valverde is off to a good start in that spot, but has spent a career walking the high wire as a closer who rarely makes it look easy. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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