Alex Ochoa to join Hiroshima Carp

Awesome. He shouldn't have been released by Chunichi.

Good signing. He's been steady in Japan.

Is there any hope left for my Buffaloes?

Ochoa is now unemployed, so the Carp won't have to pay big bucks to acquire him, maybe around $200,000. Ochoa's salary for 2006 was reported to be $2,500,000. Looks like the Carp have found another good, but inexpensive player.

Carp's RHP Jared Fernandez, whose salary is $200,000, is generating buzz among Carp followers.

- Is there any hope left for my Buffaloes?

Depends on what there ever so hopeless ownership does. They just recently renamed Katsuhiro Nakamura as general manager. We've all seen how successful his run as general manager has been in the past.

They might be able to acquire a big name foreign player, but what good is it going to do for them? Collins has a big mess to clean up after years of bad decisions by the front office.

What a great player, and also a better person. Good luck Hiroshima.

No, Alex shouldn't have been cut. Still, he was not really productive in his final season in Nagoya - not nearly as good as the guy the Dragons offloaded for spare change after the 2005 season to the Eagles - Teppei Tsuchiya.

They compounded their stupidity by spending a ton of money on Lee Byung Kyu. Lee might have worked, and might still, but it is not looking good.

His signing gives the Carp yet another front-line outfielder. But unless he can be as good as he was in 2004, Ochoa will be taking playing time away from someone who is nearly as good and thus not much of an improvement.

I hear the Carp are also trying to sign a player named Tony Tee.

Anyone hear this?

Yeah, I played with Tony Tee in the Shanghai Instructional League back in the 1990s. Heck of a player.

I hope Alex was just kidding when he talked at his press conference about hitting homers like Tuffy Rhodes. He's always been at his best when using the whole field and hitting lots of doubles. He has problems when he tries to please people who say he should hit more homers.

He had a marvelous season and a half with Cincinnati, eventually earning everyday playing time as a lead-off hitter for Manager Bob Boone. Then he got traded to Colorado and was expected to hit lots of homers at Coors Field. There he got pull happy and went into a slump.

When he stays within himself, he'll hit some homers, but don't try to put up Tuffy-type numbers, even though Hiroshima is a bandbox.

This is great to read about my friend Alex. We met back in his first season in the minors with the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately his time in Japan has made it impossible to get in touch with him. If any of you that have replied to this message know how to contact him, or if his wife Suzie reads this site, please let me know. I would send a letter to him, but have never sent anything to Japan, and honestly don't know how to address the letter.

Hope he is doing well since joining the team last week! He is a great player and an even better person.

I think it's a good move by the Carp, and I'm rooting for Brown-kantoku to improve this team back into contention in the near future.

Perhaps someone can tell me how Ochoa's defense is? I remember when he came up with the Mets (some dozen years ago now) he had a cannon arm. I am talking about the rare Clemente-type arm; no exaggeration. I thought he was going to be a major star in MLB, but it never really happened for him.

I see he had 8 outfield assists last year, but since I never get to see CL games maybe someone can tell me if he can still play the outfield well. I apologize if this was mentioned elsewhere, as I seem to recall someone talking about Hiroshima's outfield situation.

This [YouTube] is what Alex could do back in 2005. There was a video on YouTube before of him throwing three direct strikes to the catcher in his debut game in Japan. It was pretty darn impressive.

Scott, this is Alex's friend Tony. Send me an e-mail to tonyt 0980 atMark yahoo d0t com (remove spaces and make appropriate substitutions) and I will get you in contact with him.

Tony - Just sent you an e-mail. Please reply if you get it. My e-mail is scott_clemenson at msn d0t com.

Thanks so much!

Alex is no longer married. He has been divorced for a couple of years now! I will let him know that you want to communicate with him so that he can get in touch with you.

See, shows you how long it's been! I just sent a letter to his brother Carlos, but who knows if it will make it to Alex. Thanks so much for the help. My e-mail address is:

scott_clemenson at msn d0t com. I also have AOL Instant Messanger username Urge15 or Yahoo IM name Pwfics.

Thank You Again!

[Moderator's Note: If you want the above contact information taken down after its gotten to its intended target, I'll grant that request. I can't protect this public information from IM spammers gathering it.]

Tony,

Hey thanks for calling the other day. It was nice to share some memories and talk about Alex. Appreciate you passing along my info. Hope to hear from both of you guys soon.

Take Care,

Scott

Hey whats up? I live in Nagoya and have been good friends with Alex. A number one guy. If you would like to get in touch with him you can send me an e-mail and I will forward it to him.

By the way, he is doing great this year.

My e-mail is gmbjapan2000 atMark yahoo d0t com

I'm happy to see the success he's having, especially in games against the Dragons, who never should have let him go. Whenever I see bad outfield plays or bad throws in MLB games, I always think, Ochoa should be here. Alex's run prevention is just as useful as his run production.