Dragons' Pair Eye Free Agency

I was totally surprised when I had read that Norihiro had opted for free agency. I thought he said he was going to stay with Chunichi but I guess he had a change of heart.

Nakamura has indicated an interest in talking with Nomura and Rakuten. They have already said they would guarantee him the third base position.

Yeah, Chunichi took a chance on Nori when his career appeared over. Thought he would stick around and retire with them.

Apparently, he just did it as a precaution. He was quoted saying that it's not 100% for sure he is going to leave Chunichi. It's really hard to say how this will end up to be honest with you.

I thought so, too. I'm forever grateful for what Nori did for the Dragons in 2007, but Ochiai-kantoku did mention that he wanted some of his younger players to play more. (A lot of the Dragons' key players over the last 2-3 years are age 33-40; this was coming for quite some time.) Whether Nori joins Tyrone Woods as a victim of this youth movement remains to be seen. (Can't count Kenshin with this, as he was pretty much guaranteed to try out for the majors once he became a free agent.)

Either way, I'm bracing for a rebuilding year for the Dragons. A lot of kids may get their first shot on the first team next season. That's why I'm so glad the Dragons won the championship last year; the window of opportunity may be shut now.

Actually, Nori already signed with the Eagles, so he's definitely gone. Now it's just Woods left. With Kawakami also leaving for the MLB, it's very probable that someone will be in the playoffs next season.